Diamond mountains and tar oceans

[Black Globe Generator]

Carbon planets sound like fun.

 

[TempMal]

They're probably going to be rare in our neighbourhood, if they exist at all (and bear in mind that New Scientist is not a particularly reliable science source - you'll notice that they're making a big deal about something that was presented at a conference, not a peer reviewed paper. NS tends to report wacky ideas from the fringes of science).

I suspect that theory in this matter is going to be somewhat different to reality. The universe tends to surprise us .

 

[Black Globe Generator]

Originally posted by TempMal:
...(and bear in mind that New Scientist is not a particularly reliable science source - you'll notice that they're making a big deal about something that was presented at a conference, not a peer reviewed paper. NS tends to report wacky ideas from the fringes of science).

Yes, thank you, I'm familiar with New Scientist - I'm an educator and I know the difference between popular press and professional journals, as do my students, who spend a unit on library research so that they don't use inappropriate references in their work.

Originally posted by TempMal:
I suspect that theory in this matter is going to be somewhat different to reality. The universe tends to surprise us .

Malenfant/Evil Dr. Ganymede/TempMal/whatever aliases I've missed, part of the fun for many people who enjoy Traveller and other science-fiction RPGs is the speculative nature of the game-universe, the wow of what-if.

The idea of a diamond-world is a fun what-if to me - it's just plausible enough that it rises above the level of "It's raining on the jungle-planet Mongo" space opera.

For me, this is a fun diversion, not a planetology simulation. In the same vein I'd rather populate my worlds with all sorts of fascinating life-forms than spend my time explaining to my players why they are on yet another planet with nothing by a few puddles of bacteria or a handful of stromatolites on a quiet seashore.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Wouldn't that entire planet be a fire hazard?! Or, hey, you could mine it to keep the Scouts in briquettes for their Smokey Pete Portable Grills!

 

[Straybow]

I assume whatever atmosphere it had would be CO2, not an O2.

 

[Ptah]

Nice ideas for a TU, I quote:

"Composed largely of heat-resistant carbides and graphite - as well as diamond - these planets could withstand much higher temperatures than terrestrial planets or gas giants, he says. This might account for giant non-gas planets found surprisingly close to other stars."

(emphasis added)
I wouldn't want to jump out near this planet or be a diamond miner on its surface. Looks like a good location for a penal colony if you ask me.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

And, imagine how hard it would be to keep your vacc suit clean!

Straybow, that's why its so safe to mine "Smokey Pete" charcoal briquettes, there!