Mod New pretender: Deep Dagon

Gregstrom · #1 April 15th, 2009, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrispedersen

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redeyes

Water doesn't go below freezing (and ice floats, so the coldest "water" goes on top).

Besides as a matter of physics in an ice/water mixture, both the water and the ice are at a temperature of 32 degrees.

...and 32 degrees is not _below_ freezing point. By definition, water cannot have a temperature below its freezing point (although if you try extremely hard you can get it below zero centigrade/32 F. Brine freezes at noticeably below zero anyway).

It's worth noting that air is a rather good insulator, by the way. Cold water strips heat away from you much quicker than cold air, and hot water damages you faster than air at the same temperature. Since abyssal vents present both extremes of temperature to the life forms that inhabit them (and they're probably the best place to be at that depth if you're a large organism and like eating), a degree of both FR and CR seems pretty reasonable.

whiplashomega · #2 April 15th, 2009, 09:36 PM

actually completely pure water won't freeze at 0 Celsius, you can actually get it much colder than that. Until you introduce some sort (any sort) of impurity, at which point it will all freeze.

chrispedersen · #3 April 16th, 2009, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gregstrom

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrispedersen

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redeyes

Water doesn't go below freezing (and ice floats, so the coldest "water" goes on top).

Besides as a matter of physics in an ice/water mixture, both the water and the ice are at a temperature of 32 degrees.

...and 32 degrees is not _below_ freezing point. By definition, water cannot have a temperature below its freezing point (although if you try extremely hard you can get it below zero centigrade/32 F. Brine freezes at noticeably below zero anyway).

~ ~ ~ ~
water often has a temperature below its freezing point - if you think that its freezing point is 32 degrees. The behavior of water varies markedly under pressure, and as I recall from highschool, I believe every 33 ft of water is 1 atm. Ergo, water 2 miles down.. is under rougly 312 atmospheres of pressure.
~ ~ ~ ~

CR would be required to dwell on the ocean bottoms. FR might be useful if the creature lived in or near vents. CR > FR

This is magic, arguing which is more reasonable is a bit moot. The author can do as he likes. But, if a creature wasn't completely immune to cold, he would still be *AT* the vent. Whats he doing here?