Goonhub
08-12-2016, 12:10 AM
recently i was reminded about how water tanks behave and i thought it was a good start, but could use improvements
currently, water tanks will, when exposed to heat such as sparks, fire, explosion, whatever you want, seem to become filled with steam rather than water. when you try to take water from the tank, you will instead receive a puff of steam and no water. this is a good attention to detail, but so much more could be done
a. when water turns into steam, it expands and puts pressure on its container. there is a possibility that a water tank exposed to high heat may rupture and jet scalding steam and spill boiling water in the room. this could make water tanks a similarly hazardous counterpart to welding fuel tanks. currently, steam clouds seem harmless, when in fact steam is quite hot and can cause injury. is being doused in steam and boiling water any nicer than the plasma flames that would cause it?
b. okay, lets say the water tanks aboard are strongly built and ignore all that rupturing stuff. shouldnt the steam cloud released when you try to get water from it still at least scald you a bit? and shouldnt the steam inside eventually cool back down into water? ive noticed this problem with certain other items such as drinks at the bar and fried food - if they get hot once they stay super hot despite room temperature being mild
c. why not bring cold into the mix? a water tank exposed to cold could become full of ice and need to be thawed. water spread on the ground in a cold enough room could freeze into a small ice patch.
currently, water tanks will, when exposed to heat such as sparks, fire, explosion, whatever you want, seem to become filled with steam rather than water. when you try to take water from the tank, you will instead receive a puff of steam and no water. this is a good attention to detail, but so much more could be done
a. when water turns into steam, it expands and puts pressure on its container. there is a possibility that a water tank exposed to high heat may rupture and jet scalding steam and spill boiling water in the room. this could make water tanks a similarly hazardous counterpart to welding fuel tanks. currently, steam clouds seem harmless, when in fact steam is quite hot and can cause injury. is being doused in steam and boiling water any nicer than the plasma flames that would cause it?
b. okay, lets say the water tanks aboard are strongly built and ignore all that rupturing stuff. shouldnt the steam cloud released when you try to get water from it still at least scald you a bit? and shouldnt the steam inside eventually cool back down into water? ive noticed this problem with certain other items such as drinks at the bar and fried food - if they get hot once they stay super hot despite room temperature being mild
c. why not bring cold into the mix? a water tank exposed to cold could become full of ice and need to be thawed. water spread on the ground in a cold enough room could freeze into a small ice patch.