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The Dry Ice 'Snowflakes' of Mars
astroengine writes "After collecting the vast quantities of data gathered by orbiting Mars spacecraft, MIT scientists have uncovered some rather interesting facts about Martian snow. For starters, as the majority of the Mars atmosphere is composed of carbon dioxide, the snowflakes are made from CO2 ice — basically tiny particles of 'dry ice.' Also, the snowflakes are very small — approximately the size of a red blood cell. 'These are very fine particles, not big flakes,' said MIT assistant professor Kerri Cahoy in a press release. If you saw these 'snowflakes' fall, 'you would probably see it as a fog, because they're so small,' she added."
I assume even with the smaller size the mechanics for formation are more or less the same as rain and snow here on earth. If so, it could be possible that microorganisms past, present, or imagined would play a part in the process at times to assist in precipitation. Of course for something to live at temps low enough to live through dry ice formation would be nothing like here on earth, but if they are capable of withstanding extreme conditions that could be a place to find them.
Personally, I wouldn't try it, but if you like exposing your penis to pressures so low that the blood inside it boils, while also subjecting it to temperatures so low as to cause the urine to flash freeze before it can leave the urethra, be my guest.
Not exactly what I would call "fun" myself, but I guess everyone has their kink.
With very little atmosphere the only significant heat loss would be through radiation. Water requires the loss of a significant amount of energy to freeze.
As for your blood boiling, it depends if your penis skin can handle the pressure...
According to Wikipedia fluids inside the human body don't boil when depressurized from 1atm to 0atm, why would penis blood boil on Mars, which has a higher atmospheric pressure than a total vacuum? Granted, if one were to expose only his penis to the low pressure (strategically placed airlock and gasket I guess...) of the Martian atmosphere he would have the most insane erection of his life as all his blood would quickly pool there. Most likely it would freeze in a matter of a second or two, depending on season and time of sol, then rocket off as warm blood would still be trying to depressurize out of his body in an icy spray.
On second thought, that'd be an interesting, if horrific way to die.
Hectice, baby, Mercator says hello to you
Have gnu, will travel.
penis skin can handle the pressure
I thought they were designed to handle a lot of pressure before they blow....
Pluto has nitrogen snow, carbon monoxide snow, and methane snow.
Mars only has water snow and carbon dioxide snow.
Venus though is the coolest of them all because it has lead sulfide snow and bismuth sulfide snow - but only in the cool uplands above 2600m.
I said - don't look Ethel!..., but it was too late..., she'd already looked.
Actually, you would be able to pee on mars easily, without very much damage. If you only exposed that single part of your body somehow, and the rest of your body could breath and was at a somewhat normal pressure.
It would take some time to freeze. The pressure would cause some bruising and an erection (like a hardcore penis pump.)
Flash freezing requires extremely fast heat exchange. The low pressure and light atmosphere would not do this at all. Humans can survive total vacuum for 30 seconds to a minute easily.
From an article in Aviation Week: "The experiment of exposing an unpressurized hand to near vacuum for a significant time while the pilot went about his business occurred in real life on Aug. 16, 1960. Joe Kittinger, during his ascent to 102,800 ft (19.5 miles) in an open gondola, lost pressurization of his right hand. He decided to continue the mission, and the hand became painful and useless as you would expect. However, once back to lower altitudes following his record-breaking parachute jump, the hand returned to normal."
The lubrication in skiing comes from a thin layer of the snow beneath the ski melting, it's the water lubricating you. Im going to assume that thise CO2 is still subliming on mars since liquid CO2 requires atleast 5atm of pressure. Therefore no lubrication even if liquid CO2 acts as a lubricant (does it?). At very low temperatures snow actually becomes incredibly hard to ski on because that thin layer no longer melts
The most useful, entertaining, and educational source, IMHO, for all things optical and atmospheric is the Atmospheric Optics site of Les Cowley. Originally built to support HaloSim halo simulation software (developed in collaboration with Michael Schroeder), the site now includes photos and physical explanations of everything from green flashes and other refractive phenomena to glories, ice halos (including the types that may form on other planets), and rainbows.
It's the kind of site that nearly everyone finds interesting and, if they're not careful, learns something from.
Coldest temperature ever recorded : -89.2 C, in Antarctica
Sublimation temperature of Dry ice (solid CO2) : -78.5 C (-109.3 F) at atmospheric pressure.
So, there are places on the Earth where occasionally the temperature gets low enough to precipitate out CO2. I have always wondered if anyone has ever thought to look for it.
yes... but this is low external pressures. I don't think women are capable of producing 14.5psi.
Yet they can still suck the life out of you......