Weather

From: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Matt Gallimore

> I was wondering what the weather would be like in an O'Neal cylinder.
> For example, would it rain?

According to the experts, yes. Cloudbanks would form at the same height
as they do here on Earth (or so they say).

> (If so, would rain fall mostly
> horizontally from a person's perspective?)

No, but due to coriolis effect, it would never fall perfectly
vertically, either. If standing on the inner surface of a habitat, and
watching an object fall from a great height, it would seem to be
following a spiral path. How tight or open the spiral would depend on
the drag coefficient of the object. If one was observing rain falling
from a distant cloud, one would notice a slant (but then we usually see
a slant here on Earth due to wind). I suppose unlike on Earth, the
slant would also have a slight curvature to it.

> Would moisture just condense on the ground?

I've wondered about this myself. On Earth, the atmosphere cools from
the top via IR radiation. In a habitat, I'm thinking it would cool from
the bottom via contact with the landscape which in turn is cooling via
IR radiation from the hull underneath. I've wondered if the result
wouldn't be a very strong dew every single morning.

> Based on heating and cooling cycles would there be a lot of fog,
> reducing visability?

I hope not. Surely we'll be able to engineer something to subtract
moisture from the air. Even a passive system might work (for example,
some (probably aluminum) surface with lots of thermal conduction to an
exterior structure with lots of surface area).

> What are the best methods for weather control?

We will primarily control the weather by controlling both the amount of
sunlight entering and the water vapor content of the air.

Regards,

Mike Combs