Re: Metal transport (was: platoon stuff and combat engineers)

Sounds like metals won't work for Terran organisms, but there's no
particular reason why they couldn't work for organisms using a different
chemistry. As far as physics and chemistry are concerned, there don't
seem
to be any special obstacles, right?

Which means that your titanium-shelled bugs and titanium-munching wasps
are
at least as possible as anti-grav tanks. Probably more so, come to think
of
it...

on 02.6.26 4:45 PM, Beth.Fulton@csiro.au at Beth.Fulton@csiro.au
scribbleth:
> 
> So for Terran
> animals I'd say for those metals that are not currently utilised
already (so
> calcium is, but to my knowledge nothing uses gold (say) as a major
> intentional skeletal component) that in trying to get enough material
> together to make a support structure they'd end up poisoning
themselves

As far as brittleness, organisms are pretty good at creating composites
to
improve various engineering properties. I don't see this as a problem at
all; it could easily have lattices of something else in it, if it's
built up
through accretion in atomic (or molecular) units.

> if they had to purify it so it couldn't flood back into their system
then
> many metals may end up being to brittle compared to the strength of
things
> like chitin.

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