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"Forgotten" technologies
For folks writing or gaming in situations where people might encounter long forgotten (or hidden) installations there are several technological bits that would make fun additions.
First off, our old friend TIMMs. Thermally Integrated Micro Modules.
These were blocks of ceramic and high temp metals. They were developed after EMP was discovered as something that could survive EMP bit still not be much bigger than the then current gear that used printed circuits with individual transistors and the like.
They were tube based, but the tube were the size of a dime. and the units were a solid block of metal and ceramic except for the cavities that were the vacuum inside the tubes or the filling of capacitors.
The didn't have filaments for the tubes, so that eliminated one common source of failure in tube based equipment. Instead the blocks were placed in what amounted to a well insulated oven and heated to a dull red heat which got the cathodes hot enough to work.
These would be great for gear in the stereotypical volcano lair or around a big nuclear reactor.
Next, if you encounter a *really* old installation (say 1890s to 1920s) you may encounter radio transmitters (morse code only, not voice) that don't use tubes. Instead they use an alternator (a sort of AC generator) to generate the signal.
Another fun thing are radon bulbs. Used for emergency lighting, they are glass globes or other shape, The inside is coated with a phosphor much like the ones used in fluorescent lights. They are filled with radon gas, and the particles emitted by the decaying radon strike the phosphor coat and produce light.
You could probably make some something similar with other radioisotopes, but radon is what was used in the ones I've read about.
"Gee, how are these lights still working? They're a bit dim, but..."
"Wait a sec. Look at how they are mounted. There aren't any wires..."
Just the thing to creep out the radiation averse. :-)
(added later)
Oh yeah, refrigeration gear. Before freon was invented commercial refrigeration used 3 different easily liquified gases as working fluid: Chlorine, ammonia and sulfur dioxide.
all of these are toxic. and they meant leaks were a *really* bad thing. Which is why home refrigeration didn't take off until freon came along.
Note that they are *still* used to some extent in commercial plants.
First off, our old friend TIMMs. Thermally Integrated Micro Modules.
These were blocks of ceramic and high temp metals. They were developed after EMP was discovered as something that could survive EMP bit still not be much bigger than the then current gear that used printed circuits with individual transistors and the like.
They were tube based, but the tube were the size of a dime. and the units were a solid block of metal and ceramic except for the cavities that were the vacuum inside the tubes or the filling of capacitors.
The didn't have filaments for the tubes, so that eliminated one common source of failure in tube based equipment. Instead the blocks were placed in what amounted to a well insulated oven and heated to a dull red heat which got the cathodes hot enough to work.
These would be great for gear in the stereotypical volcano lair or around a big nuclear reactor.
Next, if you encounter a *really* old installation (say 1890s to 1920s) you may encounter radio transmitters (morse code only, not voice) that don't use tubes. Instead they use an alternator (a sort of AC generator) to generate the signal.
Another fun thing are radon bulbs. Used for emergency lighting, they are glass globes or other shape, The inside is coated with a phosphor much like the ones used in fluorescent lights. They are filled with radon gas, and the particles emitted by the decaying radon strike the phosphor coat and produce light.
You could probably make some something similar with other radioisotopes, but radon is what was used in the ones I've read about.
"Gee, how are these lights still working? They're a bit dim, but..."
"Wait a sec. Look at how they are mounted. There aren't any wires..."
Just the thing to creep out the radiation averse. :-)
(added later)
Oh yeah, refrigeration gear. Before freon was invented commercial refrigeration used 3 different easily liquified gases as working fluid: Chlorine, ammonia and sulfur dioxide.
all of these are toxic. and they meant leaks were a *really* bad thing. Which is why home refrigeration didn't take off until freon came along.
Note that they are *still* used to some extent in commercial plants.
no subject
Agreed on that, I mean, they're practically built for it. You could actually save power by turning the heaters off once you're down.
Problem is, I'm not sure anyone really wants to investigate Venus that much. Which is a bit short sighted all things considered. Ironically, Venus might be more inhabitable than Mars, [as long as you stay at a certain altitude]. With a breathable if smelly atmosphere and enough of it to stop solar radiation from frying your genes.
Cloud cities yo!
no subject
A TIMMs video camera would be an interesting challenge.
Oh yeah, sodium/sulfur batteries for power.
no subject
Hell, you could use a liquid sodium flow battery!
Hmm.. I think I saw an early design for a charge-couple device that had an operating temperature of +400 or so, pretty big bug on Earth, kind of more a feature on Venus.
and yeah, heaters... so you can use the TIMMs on the way down by pre-warming them. Thus, no interruption of operation.