Living in space II
Imagine a special kind of home. It is sealed up, so that almost nothing ever goes out and almost nothing ever comes in. No food, no waste, no water, no air. The only exception is energy. It comes in from sunlight. Energy radiates back out to the surroundings. Otherwise the home is completely sealed, forever.
The home will have to be quite big, so that the occupants all have food and everything else that they need.
In a small group, discuss the following points:
- How can the occupants prevent the food supply from running out?
- How will they have enough water?
- What should they do with their personal waste – faeces and urine?
- What other kinds of waste might they produce? How can they get rid of it?
- Suppose that energy from the Sun sometimes comes in too quickly, so that the occupants are too hot. And at other times it comes in too slowly, so that they are cold. How could they store energy from the Sun to use for heating during the cold times? Will the process of storing and then re-releasing the energy produce waste?
- What about the air that they breathe? How can they prevent the sealed home from running out of oxygen?
- What will the occupants need in their home with them? Make a list.
Compare your conclusions with those of other members of the class.
|
You already live in EXACTLY this kind of home. It’s quite big and there are a lot of other occupants. It’s called the Earth.
|
Extra terrestrial intelligence
Print friendly version