this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2024
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Science Memes

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But yes. (mander.xyz)
submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Steam implies water! What if we used some OTHER phase-change working fluid? :D

||(No idea what, though. my question is implied with a playful tone and is at least 50% facetious; any actual discussion that might result would be little more than a pleasant coincidence)||

[–] MehBlah 25 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You want to see weird water look up super critical boilers. That stuff was nasty. A regular steam leak will set things on fire. That stuff would explode a broom. We looked for the leaks with straw brooms. You can't see steam in normal conditions. Only its effects.

[–] Benjaben 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Blech, I've heard stories in my industrial automation days of people being clipped by invisible high pressure steam leaks. No frickin thank you, regular stovetop steam jacks me up frequently enough.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Well, now this is on my list of invisible things that scare me:

  • Radiation
  • Methanol fires
  • Supercritical steam jets
[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

It seems you need to learn more about prions.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)
  • Predators with cloaking devices
[–] Benjaben 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Not quite invisible but you could also splash and wade into a pool of strong acid thinking it was water, during what first seemed like a somewhat routine FUBAR maintenance situation...filling your boots etc.

[–] MehBlah 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

At paper mills the fear is caustic pools filled with bases.

[–] Benjaben 1 points 1 month ago

The weird man-lifts used to get a side eye from me

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)
  • Carbon monoxide
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Definitely dangerous, but I'm less scared of that one. I've got detectors for that, and that's more of a "go peacefully in your sleep" kind of danger.

[–] MehBlah 1 points 1 month ago

The regular ones will kill you as well. Boiling water on a stove is nothing compared to steam under pressure.

[–] chaogomu 15 points 1 month ago

Molten salt?

We can then use compressed CO2 in the place of steam to drive the turbine.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

Like Dr. Pepper?