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Mutant 3: Northstar

Facts on Water and Energy

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1. Northstar's Mutant trait is the ability to accelerate atomic motion, to move and fly at superhuman speed. Northstar's challenge: "I can accelerate enough atoms to generate 10⁶ Watts power. How many square meters of solar collector would you need to equal that?"

2. Use your graph of water saturation and temperature to solve these problems.

(a) Suppose that a front of air at 80°F containing 2.0% water vapor blows over Gambier. What is the relative humidity?

(b) What happens if the air cools to 40°F? What is now the relative humidity? What else happens to the water?

(c) If the climate is a desert, what probably happens next?

3.  An alien "cameloid" can lose 40% of its weight in water after 15 days in the desert without drinking; then, when it finds water, it can drink enough in ten minutes to replace it all. Suppose after 15 days in the desert a fully dehydrated cameloid weighing 600 kg finds water:

(a) How much would it have to drink?

(b) What would be its final weight after drinking?

4.  Why do you think a spine-less cactus evolved to produce a brain drug?

(a) Offer a hypothesis as to the basis of natural selection on the cactus.

(b) Explain an experiment to test your hypothesis.

5.  Suppose the Fremen use solar energy in their sietch.  Assume the facts listed above.

(a) Today, the best photovoltaic solar panels are able to convert 20% of the available energy to electricity.  If a glowglobe uses as much electricity as a 30 Watt light bulb, how large an area of solar panels (in square meters) would be needed to light one glowglobe for each of 500 persons living in a Fremen sietch? 

(b)  Suppose the Fremen secretly tap a Harkonnen power supply providing 10,000 Watts power. Now how many square meters of solar panels do they need?

6. In the year 10,180, suppose the Harkonnen planet Giedi Prime consumes 6.10 x 10²⁰ Btu energy, and the Atriedes planet Caledan consumes 4.25 x 10²⁰ Btu. In the year 10,190 the Harkonnens consume 8.50 x 10²⁰ Btu, and the Atriedes consume 7.25 x 10²⁰ Btu.

(a) How long does it take each planet to double its energy consumption?

(b) In what year will Caledan and Giedi Prime consume the same amount of energy?

7. Compare and contrast the ecosystems of Gambier and of Dune.

(a) What organisms comprise each of the key trophic levels in each ecosystem?

(b) What would happen to each ecosystem if the microbes (bacteria and fungi) were removed?