[HN Gopher] Biosphere 2
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       Biosphere 2
        
       Author : ndsipa_pomu
       Score  : 18 points
       Date   : 2023-05-26 18:47 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (en.wikipedia.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (en.wikipedia.org)
        
       | lalo2302 wrote:
       | It is open for tourism. Is an amazing thing to see.
        
         | hotpotamus wrote:
         | Came here to add that. I saw it as kind of a joke (and there is
         | a Star Trekky 90's techno-optimism to the whole thing that I
         | miss now) due to the Pauly Shore parody of it, and so I went on
         | a whim when I was in town. It's actually an impressive work of
         | engineering in its way, and used to study ecosystems to this
         | day although it is no longer sealed. I'd recommend a visit to
         | anyone.
        
       | isaacharper wrote:
       | The first biosphere is earth
        
       | FiddlerClamp wrote:
       | After seeing Biosphere 2 we went to see Arcosanti, about 3 hours
       | away: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcosanti
       | 
       | Arcosanti is/was a planned experimental town with a similar 'out
       | of this world' vibe, but a very different approach.
        
       | handsclean wrote:
       | I visited this and thought it was very cool. A few random
       | comments:
       | 
       | - It's underlaid by a dense sprawl of machinery the size of a
       | football field, which is constantly working to create and
       | maintain the above biomes.
       | 
       | - The "lungs" are auditorium-sized rooms with a ceiling that's
       | free to rise and fall as air pressure changes due to temperature,
       | reducing stress on the structure. You can walk up inside it, with
       | air rushing past you in the connecting tunnel.
       | 
       | - There's a library at the top of a short tower, maybe two
       | stories. We were told the crew didn't use it because food and
       | oxygen deprivation kept them too weak to climb the stairs.
       | 
       | - Golf cart sized air vents create what really gets
       | subconsciously recognized as natural wind, not artificial
       | blowing. It was so pleasant that I've become determined to
       | replicate it in my home someday.
       | 
       | - There wasn't a predecessor, "biosphere 1" refers to Earth.
        
       | simonw wrote:
       | It's so weird that Steve Bannon (yes, that Steve Bannon) was
       | brought on to manage this project for two years from 1994 to
       | 1996.
        
       | ndsipa_pomu wrote:
       | There's a documentary about the experiment called Spaceship Earth
       | (2020)
       | 
       | https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/653575-spaceship-earth
        
       | NickHoff wrote:
       | I've read about this. Studying the psychology of group dynamics
       | and conflict in a confined environment was a part of the
       | experiment. Sure enough, the crew of 8 quickly split into two
       | factions. It still seems like a success to me though, because
       | even though some of them were barely on speaking terms despite
       | being friends before, they continued to work together.
       | 
       | > I don't like some of them, but we were a hell of a team. That
       | was the nature of the factionalism... but despite that, we ran
       | the damn thing and we cooperated totally.
        
       | ughitsaaron wrote:
       | George: All right, no more lies. Elaine has been chosen to
       | represent the Upper West Side in the next Biosphere project.
       | 
       | Vivian: I haven't heard anything about another Biosphere.
       | 
       | George: That's because it's underwater.
       | 
       | Vivian: This is insane.
       | 
       | George: Is it?
       | 
       | Vivian: Yes it it.
       | 
       | George: Well, it's all for charity, so what's the difference.
        
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       (page generated 2023-05-26 23:00 UTC)