Just a curious thing that has been nagging at me and I am wondering if it is even possible.

I want to hang a tube from a satellite just long enough for it to go from high atmosphere to just outside of it into space.
Now with that, would it be possible to pump out greenhouse emissions ? Sorta like a planetary exhaust pipe.


Problems I see straight off would be if it could pump out enough to make a difference and that it isn't anchored to the ground so gravity would pull it to the earth instead of making it taut. However making it just long enough for the high atmosphere/space could perhaps save money with building materials.

One problem that immediately comes to mind is that the stuff would exit at approx 500 meters per second (based on planetary rotation). In order to stay out there, it would need at least orbital velocity (approx 8000 m/s) and to get rid of it permanently, escape velocity (11 000+ m/s).

Also, I wonder if pumping away any planet’s atmosphere, even bit’s of it like excess CO2, is really a good idea. Eventually, that could come back at us because CO2 is a necessary part of the biological processes that keep the planet habital.

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Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.

Albert Einstein

For this to work, you would have to go to geosynncronous orbit or 20,000 miles. If you tube had any weight to it you would have to go even higher to counter the weight. The idea has been explored often in science fiction but is way beyond what current materials can handle. Besides that, the current science indicates CO2 is not a problem. This would be a good idea for a low cost way of getting cargo and people off earth and that is what science fiction uses the idea for.

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Please dont Assume that CO2 isnt a problem. Its not a problem if you can respire it. we cannot. Increasing levels make it more difficult for oxygen breathing lifeform much more difficult time breathing. Go ask the Venusians. Oh wait thats pure CO2 and their isnt any life there

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

Here´s something you should watch------->TED Talks Bill Gates on energy: innovating to zero CO2

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Besides that, the current science indicates CO2 is not a problem.

Dena
Please go sit in your car while it is running in a closed garage. When the tank is empty, please come out and repeat this statement.

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I do not fight fascists because I think I can win.
I fight them because they are fascists.
Chris Hedges

A riot is the language of the unheard. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Besides that, the current science indicates CO2 is not a problem.

Dena
Please go sit in your car while it is running in a closed garage. When the tank is empty, please come out and repeat this statement.

Point made. But, it can be dangerous and isn't something that someone should really try to do.

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Cryov said:

"I want to hang a tube from a satellite just long enough for it to go from high atmosphere to just outside of it into space.
Now with that, would it be possible to pump out greenhouse emissions ? Sorta like a planetary exhaust pipe."

Maybe when technology permits. With what we have now? You'd have to hang more that just a tube and have more than a satellite. If some sort of filtering system were built think of the cost of actually puting it in space. And then all the support it would need.

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Besides that, the current science indicates CO2 is not a problem.

Dena
Please go sit in your car while it is running in a closed garage. When the tank is empty, please come out and repeat this statement.

There is a big difference between Carbon Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide. Cars don't output the same amount of Carbon Monoxide that they used to but I wouldn't want to breath it. Carbon Dioxide needs to reach about 1% before you find yourself breathing harder and it will leave your system in the next breath of air. Carbon Dioxide is what makes you breath hard when you exercise and is a normal part of our every day life.

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and you do understand that every vehicle made after 1974 is required to have a catalytic converter which is palladium and other rare earth elements that when heated, as in car exhaust, has the ability to bind and extra Oxygen atom to Carbon monoxide and create the slightly less harmful carbon dioxide. The main reason manufacturers were forced to do this was that any leak on the exhaust system could leak into the cabin and suffocate the occupants. CO2 will eventually suffocate you but it doesnt bind to your red blood cells and prevent your blood from delivering Oxygen.

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

The main reason they put catalytic converters on cars is because carbon monoxide is considered an unburned hydrocarbon. The catalytic converter is located about 2 or 3 feet away from the engine under the car where there is not much danger of the gas getting into the cabin. You can still get leaks between the block and the exhaust manifold that will get in to the cabin. I have been around a few and if you pay attention, they are not hard to find. In one case my brother took the cross over off a V8 and fired up the engine. I think everybody in the neighborhood knew something was going on. Good carbon monoxide detectors alarm a little over 20 part per million because carbon monoxide is that dangerous. Carbon dioxide can go up to 10,000 part per million before we notice it's there. I would say the difference between the two gasses is a little more than slight.

Also catalytic converters are not perfect. They don't burn everything that goes through them and they don't work at all till the exhaust heat warms them to the point where the catalyst is able to function. They also require that the engine or and additional pump adds some oxygen to the input side so there is something to add the extra oxygen atom to the carbon monoxide. My current car is a 96 mustang and I am still amazed how little carbon deposits in the exhaust pipe. The pipe on my 62 falcon was always a good source of black for your finger.

One of the most important steps in cleaning up the gas engine was computer controlled fuel injection. My 82 mustang had a carburetor and because of the poor control it plugged both catalytic converters at about 80,000 miles. That was a very costly repair. On the other hand, the 96 has computer controlled fuel injection and is up to 106,000 miles and there is no indication of trouble. My roommates T bird has far more miles on it and still has the original catalytic converters.

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