| Vuzman | All the water in the world... |
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| | Admiral |  |
| | Group: Klikan,
Outsiders,
Administrator,
Regulars
| | Location: Copenhagen, DK | | Joined: 10.06.06 | | Posted on 15-03-2008 17:47 |
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Credit:
ADAM NIEMAN / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Global water and air volume. Conceptual computer artwork of the total volume of water on Earth (left) and of air in the Earth's atmosphere (right) shown as spheres (blue and pink). The spheres show how finite water and air supplies are. The water sphere measures 1390 km across and has a volume of 1.4 billion cubic km. This includes all the water in the oceans, seas, ice caps, lakes and rivers as well as ground water, and that in the atmosphere. The air sphere measures 1999 km across and weighs 5140 trillion tonnes. As the atmosphere extends from Earth it becomes less dense. Half of the air lies within the first 5 km of the atmosphere.
... Don't know about you guys, but that just blew my mind ...
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When I kill her, I'll have her
Die white girls, die white girls |
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| Norlander | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | Field Marshal | |
| | Group: Administrator,
Klikan,
Regulars,
Outsiders
| | Location: Copenhagen | | Joined: 09.06.06 | | Posted on 15-03-2008 18:18 |
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*shrug* the air sphere is the size of Pluto, which is quite a lot.
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The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking.
- John Kenneth Galbraith |
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| Vuzman | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | Admiral | |
| | Group: Klikan,
Outsiders,
Administrator,
Regulars
| | Location: Copenhagen, DK | | Joined: 10.06.06 | | Posted on 15-03-2008 19:17 |
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No...
Pluto is 2390 km in diameter, which is roughly 7.15 billion cubic km, whereas the volume of the air sphere is 4.18 billion cubic km, making it only slightly larger than half of Pluto. Basic math.
Anyway, I don't see what a comparison with some arbitrary non-planet is supposed to tell. Only a comparison with the Earth makes any sense.
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When I kill her, I'll have her
Die white girls, die white girls |
Edited by Vuzman on 15-03-2008 19:22 |
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| Norlander | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | Field Marshal | |
| | Group: Administrator,
Klikan,
Regulars,
Outsiders
| | Location: Copenhagen | | Joined: 09.06.06 | | Posted on 15-03-2008 19:27 |
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vuzman wrote:
Anyway, I don't see what a comparison with some arbitrary non-planet is supposed to tell. Only a comparison with the Earth makes any sense.
It's supposed to tell that it's a huge amount of air and water on our planet...
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The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking.
- John Kenneth Galbraith |
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| Vuzman | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | Admiral | |
| | Group: Klikan,
Outsiders,
Administrator,
Regulars
| | Location: Copenhagen, DK | | Joined: 10.06.06 | | Posted on 15-03-2008 21:16 |
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Norlander wrote:
It's supposed to tell that it's a huge amount of air and water on our planet...
Well, it does a shitty job since most people (including you, apparently) have no conception of Pluto's size. Sure, it used to be a planet, and planets are big, right?
I think a visual comparison to the Earth, which we are somewhat more familiar with than Pluto, makes more sense.
And it's not a lot of water; it's less than 0.4% of the Earth's total volume.
0.4% is a lot if you've been drinking and driving, but not if you're water and you have to fill all the oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, ice caps, glaciers, clouds and other vaporized water, and all the ground water, and if by far the most of you isn't drinkable.
On the other hand, it's almost 17% of Io's volume. See how a comparison to the Earth makes more sense?
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When I kill her, I'll have her
Die white girls, die white girls |
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| Grizlas | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | General | |
| | Group: Administrator,
Klikan,
Regulars,
Outsiders
| | Location: Denmark | | Joined: 08.06.06 | | Posted on 16-03-2008 01:38 |
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Usually, I have trouble deciding which one of you is more anally retentive, but vuzman is leading in this thread - hands down.
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You want to tempt the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing? |
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| Torellion | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | Joined: 08.06.06 | | Posted on 16-03-2008 12:24 | |
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Love the comparison, Norlander is just jealous that he didn't come up with it first.
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| Jogvanth | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | General | |
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| | Location: Hoyvík | | Joined: 08.06.06 | | Posted on 18-03-2008 16:09 |
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It's still a hell of a lot of air and water. And since it's in perpetual circulation, then it is not that finite.
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No decision is so fine as to not bind us to its consequences.
No consequence is so unexpected as to absolve us of our decisions.
Not even death.
-R. Scott Bakker. 'The Prince of Nothing' |
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| Norlander | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | Field Marshal | |
| | Group: Administrator,
Klikan,
Regulars,
Outsiders
| | Location: Copenhagen | | Joined: 09.06.06 | | Posted on 18-03-2008 21:48 |
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jogvanth wrote:
It's still a hell of a lot of air and water.
That was my point exactly, but you made it more to-the-point
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The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking.
- John Kenneth Galbraith |
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| Vuzman | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | Admiral | |
| | Group: Klikan,
Outsiders,
Administrator,
Regulars
| | Location: Copenhagen, DK | | Joined: 10.06.06 | | Posted on 18-03-2008 22:35 |
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jogvanth wrote:
It's still a hell of a lot of air and water.
Compared to a glass of water and a filled balloon, yes. Compared to the Earth, no.
And since it's in perpetual circulation, then it is not that finite.
The part that is in circulation is only a tiny fraction of the existing water...
All life exists in the biosphere, the zone of air, water and land that envelops the planet. We often think of the atmosphere as extending to the heavens when in fact, it is only about ten kilometers thick. The biosphere, astronomer Carl Sagan used to say, is as thick as a layer of varnish painted on a basketball.
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When I kill her, I'll have her
Die white girls, die white girls |
Edited by Vuzman on 18-03-2008 22:35 |
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| Norlander | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | Field Marshal | |
| | Group: Administrator,
Klikan,
Regulars,
Outsiders
| | Location: Copenhagen | | Joined: 09.06.06 | | Posted on 19-03-2008 14:24 |
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vuzman wrote:
All life exists in the biosphere, the zone of air, water and land that envelops the planet. We often think of the atmosphere as extending to the heavens when in fact, it is only about ten kilometers thick. The biosphere, astronomer Carl Sagan used to say, is as thick as a layer of varnish painted on a basketball.
Next you'll say it's a true miracle that life has excisted for 3 billion years on this varnish and hail Shem HaMeforash?
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The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking.
- John Kenneth Galbraith |
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| Vuzman | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | Admiral | |
| | Group: Klikan,
Outsiders,
Administrator,
Regulars
| | Location: Copenhagen, DK | | Joined: 10.06.06 | | Posted on 19-03-2008 23:32 |
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That doesn't make sense on so many levels.
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When I kill her, I'll have her
Die white girls, die white girls |
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| Jogvanth | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | General | |
| | Group: Klikan
| | Location: Hoyvík | | Joined: 08.06.06 | | Posted on 20-03-2008 15:38 |
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What doesn't make sense, is Vuzman going from "If Global Warming isn't stopped, then the polar icecaps will melt, realeasing unbelievable amounts of water, that will drown us all!" to "The amount of water and air on this planet is so small an amount, that it is unbelievable, and if we aren't careful, we'll all die from Asphyxiation and Dehydration!"
Please stop being alarmist on several issues at the same time. Life has existed on this planet for millions of years, even during much worse epocs than our comming flooding and doom, and I'm sure it will manage to survive that as well.
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No decision is so fine as to not bind us to its consequences.
No consequence is so unexpected as to absolve us of our decisions.
Not even death.
-R. Scott Bakker. 'The Prince of Nothing' |
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| Vuzman | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | Admiral | |
| | Group: Klikan,
Outsiders,
Administrator,
Regulars
| | Location: Copenhagen, DK | | Joined: 10.06.06 | | Posted on 20-03-2008 16:12 |
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I'm not being alarmist at all, you nitwit, I'm just trying to put things into perspective. And perspective is something you need.
I haven't said anything close to those two "quotes" that are supposed to have come from me, so stop putting words into my mouth and pissing me off.
Good thing I'm in a good mood today!
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When I kill her, I'll have her
Die white girls, die white girls |
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| OKJones | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | Group: Klikan
| | Location: Argir | | Joined: 12.06.06 | | Posted on 20-03-2008 18:54 |
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Jeez this is like a soap opera, keep it up 
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Why would I want to end every post the same way? |
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| Jogvanth | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | General | |
| | Group: Klikan
| | Location: Hoyvík | | Joined: 08.06.06 | | Posted on 20-03-2008 21:38 |
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I've never claimed those quotes to you. They are simply my abreviation of your comments on these matters. But you are alarmist. Try and calculate the sphere of all living entities on this planet, and compare that size to your air and water bubbles! I'm quite sure we'll all fit nicely inside them, and what about 2 or 3 thousand years ago? where the bubbles the same size back then? And if so, what is the problem?
Take a chill-pill!
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No decision is so fine as to not bind us to its consequences.
No consequence is so unexpected as to absolve us of our decisions.
Not even death.
-R. Scott Bakker. 'The Prince of Nothing' |
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| Vuzman | RE: All the water in the world... |
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| | Admiral | |
| | Group: Klikan,
Outsiders,
Administrator,
Regulars
| | Location: Copenhagen, DK | | Joined: 10.06.06 | | Posted on 21-03-2008 00:13 |
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I never said there was a problem, Einstein...
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When I kill her, I'll have her
Die white girls, die white girls |
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