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Pressurized for health

Ahh, breath in that extra-heavy atmosphere!
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OK, so I know this idea is somewhat baked, but I liked it too much to pass up. I was doing studies in biology, and came across a section in my textbook covering plant and creature responses to increased psi. Apparently, 2x the atmospheric pressure is a very good thing for carbon-based life forms--it helps us heal faster, it promotes growth (esp. plant growth), and all sorts of other benefits. My thoughts (although I was unsure as to how to do this on a large scale) were to create a city that is somehow pressurized to 2 times the normal pressure, and victims of various accidents can be sent here to heal. I know that this is sometimes used in the hospital, but what if it was a sort of glass-domed community that would look like an actual city to help the patient to recover in a more natural setting.

An added bonus: the plant life would be excellent! Think of perrenial veggies (if it were a tropical climate due to the green-house effect of the glass dome) that are HUGE. Any-hoo, see what you think (this is my 1st post, so be kind)

benlevi7, May 07 2003

Here's the concept http://www.eya.ca/s...ightly/EcoDisas.htm
(where I got my idea) [benlevi7, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004]

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       Hmmm, I'll look into the permutations of that. Sounds interesting. And first time poster, get a plus.
sartep, May 07 2003
  

       An underwater hospital perhaps - not only do you have the higher pressure, but also easy access to hydrotherapy, and it's very quiet and relaxing (unless you build it in a humpback whale breeding ground or something). Although it's not really the "natural setting" you were going for.
friendlyfire, May 08 2003
  

       If high pressures are good for healing, I wonder if the low pressures of commercial aircraft cabins contributes to the spread of infectious diseases in flight.
beauxeault, May 08 2003
  

       welcome benlevi7 (funny name - never mind)   

       very interesting - do you have any links for us?   

       +1 in anticipation.   

       I am under pressure at work - it does not feel beneficial at all.
po, May 08 2003
  

       Great, acclimatize to 2,000mmHg... and then when you go out, your lowered haemoglobin levels leave you collapsed on the sidewalk.
FloridaManatee, May 09 2003
  

       does it also accelerate the aging process?
johnmeacham, May 09 2003
  

       Might as well become Incan. Machu Picchu, here I come...
oatcake, May 09 2003
  

       PV=nRT   

       So keeping Volume of the atmosphere constant, the number of moles of gas in the atmosphere constant and as R is always constant, an increase in Temperature (caused by global warmaing) will cause an increase in Pressure.   

       Hopefully this increase in pressure will provide enough of a healing property to protect us against the extra UV radiation.
MikeOliver, May 09 2003
  

       //keeping Volume of the atmosphere constant//
That's a shock. I didn't know the atmosphere was constrained on top.
lurch, May 09 2003
  

       i knew there would be a flaw in my thinking...doesn't the ozone layer keep the atmosphere in?
MikeOliver, May 09 2003
  

       This idea is actually very easy to put into practice. Just build your city underwater. 30 feet down the pressure will be twice atmospheric, and no expensive containment will be necessary. <stretching out in my new submarine digs...hey, what's friendlyfire doing here?!>
pluterday, May 09 2003
  

       Could do with learning to breath underwater first.
MikeOliver, May 09 2003
  

       also [MO], even if the atmosphere was fixed in volume, the temperature in that equation is measred on the absolute scale (kelvin). therefore to get a pressure doubling you would need over to heat the earth to >300C...
cevilthedevil, May 09 2003
  

       Yeah, 30 feet or so underwater would do the trick but you would need air locks.   

       If the hospital was 12,000 feet underwater, or underground, you would not need the airlocks.
KiwiJohn, Dec 06 2003
  
      
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