# Colony on Venus? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 3, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650 "2009-01-03T00:28:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/21 "2009-01-03T06:35:36Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Cloud City anyone? Actually, Castle Wulfenbach is what popped into my mind. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/22 "2009-01-03T17:58:15Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > Is it really much worse than the condition on the moon? Heck, it’s not even worse than the condition on some remote parts of the Earth, where the pressure can be as high as a thousand atmospheres. Manned bathyscaphes have successfully visited such places. I don’t think, therefore, that the high pressure presents a significant technological obstacle to our visiting Venus. (An economic obstacle, certainly, but not technological.) Dealing with the temperature and corrosive atmosphere is another question. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/23 "2009-01-03T18:00:42Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Manned bathyscaphes have successfully visited such places. Yeah, but only for a short time. And decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/24 "2009-01-03T18:21:28Z")
Less than twice, for under half an hour, and while I was still in diapers. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/25 "2009-01-03T18:24:03Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Yeah, but only for a short time. And decades ago. Since which time our technology has improved considerably. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/26 "2009-01-03T18:27:56Z")
Is that the sound of air escaping from our bathysphere? Ah, no. Just a whoosh. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/27 "2009-01-03T20:29:59Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > It’s mostly just straightforward chemistry, I expect. What we lack (I think) is the ability to scale up the effort to sufficient size to make any difference. Well, with infinite money, I hope that means we have infinite power. With infinite power I think we could mine and process huge amounts of aluminum and lithium. Then we just chuck the aluminum at Venus. That should take care of the sulfuric acid. It might even take care of the carbon dioxide depending on how hot it is. The metallic lithium would react with all of the carbon dioxide. Then, we would be left with a venetian? surface coated in aluminum sulfate, lithium carbonate (The first settlers would be quite mellow.) and carbon. Actually, any number of metals would serve this purpose. Magnesium might be easier. The thing is that venus is so hot, that any activation barrier for ripping the oxygen off of CO2 I think is easily overcome. The last bit of CO2 might be a problem as the temperature decreases. Maybe we would could start with magnesium and finish with lithium, since lithium will react with CO2 very easily. I’m not doing the calculations on how much metal we would need. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/28 "2009-01-04T00:17:54Z")
I accidentally the whole planet. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Casserole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b77776/32.png) [@Casserole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casserole)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/29 "2009-01-04T00:41:08Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Well, with infinite money, I hope that means we have infinite power. With infinite power I think we could mine and process huge amounts of aluminum and lithium. Ah, but infinite power and money doesn’t come close to the fact that there is only a limited supply of these metals on our very own Earth. How about we chuck used batteries at Venus? ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/30 "2009-01-04T01:54:28Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > venetian? Venusian? ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/31 "2009-01-04T04:09:39Z")
> [@Casserole](#): > > Ah, but infinite power and money doesn’t come close to the fact that there is only a limited supply of these metals on our very own Earth. > > How about we chuck used batteries at Venus? We have no shortage of aluminum in our crust. I’m not sure about lithium. We’d have to run the the quantities neaded to figure out if there is enough on earth. I suspect we do though. Earth is really big. The venusian atmosphere isn’t so big next to the size of the entire earth. Thank you **Sapo** , venusian appears to be the common term. Also venerean and cytherian are rarely used. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/32 "2009-01-04T04:21:42Z")
If we were to cool the atmosphere, how much of that nasty chemical soup would fall out of suspension? We have the tech NOW to make giant shades, but the cost is clearly pretty prohibitive. But assuming we block the solar radiation hitting Venus for a decade or ten, I bet the planet would cool off quite nicely. It’s not self heating. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/33 "2009-01-04T04:29:35Z")
> [@Tristan](#): > > But assuming we block the solar radiation hitting Venus for a decade or ten, I bet the planet would cool off quite nicely. Hardly. It would take tens, if not hundreds of thousands of years too cool to Earthlike temps. It may not be self-heating (except to the extent that nuclear decay in the core keeps the interior hot, just like Earth), but the thick atmosphere acts as a nice blanket. Even with no atmosphere, it would still take thousands and thousands of years too cool. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/34 "2009-01-04T04:46:56Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Yeah, but only for a short time. And decades ago. Yes, I’ve heard the wisdom of the ancients was great. It’s said they were even able to go to the moon. > [@](#): > > Hardly. It would take tens, if not hundreds of thousands of years too cool to Earthlike temps. Where do you get that with all light blocked, it’d still take many thousands of years to cool? Earth cools within hours, and Venus would take a hundred thousand years? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/35 "2009-01-04T04:49:32Z")
> [@Tristan](#): > > If we were to cool the atmosphere, how much of that nasty chemical soup would fall out of suspension? > > **We have the tech NOW to make giant shades** , but the cost is clearly pretty prohibitive. But assuming we block the solar radiation hitting Venus for a decade or ten, I bet the planet would cool off quite nicely. It’s not self heating. Would those be Venusian blinds? ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/36 "2009-01-04T05:17:36Z")
> [@Alex\_Dubinsky](#): > > Where do you get that with all light blocked, it’d still take many thousands of years to cool? **Earth cools within hours** , and Venus would take a hundred thousand years? Earths **atmosphere** cools in hours, the earth and the oceans don’t change temperature much at all. The venusian atmosphere is considerably thicker and holds considerably more heat. I don’t know how much more heat, but it is a lot hotter and a lot denser. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/37 "2009-01-04T05:48:19Z")
[This](http://gateway-to-the-universe.org/brent/tourist/ptempert.htm) is the only website I found that would put a figure on the day/night temperature difference, without simply saying “very small.” It says a few degrees C. After 100 days of night. Extrapolating naively, we get 50 years to cool down. To argue that the process would be faster, there are strong currents that bring heat from the day side to the night side during the year. Also, presumably, the cooling is slowest at first but would pick up steam. Although, it’s not clear how much of the surface heat is actually geothermal. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/38 "2009-01-04T05:49:40Z")
> **[Atmosphere of Venus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Venus)** > > The atmosphere of Venus is the very dense layer of gases surrounding the planet Venus. Venus's atmosphere is composed of 96.5% carbon dioxide and 3.5% nitrogen, with other chemical compounds present only in trace amounts. It is much denser and hotter than that of Earth; the temperature at the surface is 740 K (467 °C, 872 °F), and the pressure is 93 bar (9.3 MPa; 1,350 psi), roughly the pressure found 900 m (3,000 ft) under water on Earth. The atmosphere of Venus supports decks of opaque cloud > [@](#): > > As sulfuric acid in the clouds at this height is not a threat for a properly-shielded craft, this so-called “solar flyer” would be able to measure the area in between 45 km and 60 km indefinitely, as long as mechanical error or unforeseen problems do not cause it to fail. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/39 "2009-01-04T10:27:16Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Thank you **Sapo** , venusian appears to be the common term. Also venerean and cytherian are rarely used. Venereal gets a lot more use than we care to think. > [@Tristan](#): > > We have the tech NOW to make giant shades, but the cost is clearly pretty prohibitive. But assuming we block the solar radiation hitting Venus for a decade or ten, I bet the planet would cool off quite nicely. It’s not self heating. Do we really? I mean sure, we can launch a metal panel to space, but that doesn’t mean we can do enough of that to cover a planet at any cost. Less so in a way that will stay in place and gets repaired from damage. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650/40 "2009-01-04T17:01:01Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > Venereal gets a lot more use than we care to think. So if H. G. Wells’s Martians travelled to Earth and were killed off by terrestrial diseases, this argues strongly against sending anyone to Venus. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colony-on-venus/479650.md?page=3)