Darvaz: The Door to Hell

[Zeb_Carter]

Darvaz: The Door to Hell

I have found the reason for global warming...the Russians did it!

 

[voluptuary_manque]

It's a Communist plot!

 

[Handley_Page]

Pity they cannot cap it.
Come to think of it, it would make a superb Incinerator from rubbish.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Actually, run pipe down into it and circulate water through the pipe and use it to generate electricity...for thirty-five years they have been letting the heat generated go to waste.

 

[Handley_Page]

Actually, run pipe down into it and circulate water through the pipe and use it to generate electricity...for thirty-five years they have been letting the heat generated go to waste.

good one!

 

[Liar]

That place is freaky.

I read that the reason they don't use the heat in any significant way is that it's deemd unsafe set up anything near the place. They didn't anticipate a big-ass cavern full of gas, so they don't know enough about the site to not say it might go kablooie on them if they mess with it.

A few pipes is not a bad idea, but I think maintenance might be hella risky.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

That place is freaky.

I read that the reason they don't use the heat in any significant way is that it's deemd unsafe set up anything near the place. They didn't anticipate a big-ass cavern full of gas, so they don't know enough about the site to not say it might go kablooie on them if they mess with it.

A few pipes is not a bad idea, but I think maintenance might be hella risky.

Yeah that would be the problem, but I can think of several ways to lower and raise the pipe so maintenance could be performed. And you wouldn't need to put the plant that close...a klick or so would be far enough away and with todays insulators the water would still be steamy hot when it got to the plant.

 

[Tzara]

Darvaz: The Door to Hell

I have found the reason for global warming...the Russians did it!

Interesting. Reminiscent of Centralia, PA.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Interesting. Reminiscent of Centralia, PA.

Yeah, them there underground coal fires. There was a waste of energy.

 

[Liar]

Yeah that would be the problem, but I can think of several ways to lower and raise the pipe so maintenance could be performed. And you wouldn't need to put the plant that close...a klick or so would be far enough away and with todays insulators the water would still be steamy hot when it got to the plant.

Yah. Sad thuth is that it's probably cheaper to keep burning coal.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Yah. Sad thuth is that it's probably cheaper to keep burning coal.

Yep.

But that gas pocket must be huge and not under a lot of pressure to burn for 35 years. Imagine if they had the forethought to seismically see what was there before they started to drill, they may have made a fortune capping and piping that gas pocket. Oh, wait, back then they were the Soviet Union. Oh well, never mind.

 

[ishtat]

It's a Communist plot!

Quite possibly, Islam Karimov runs the country as his personal fiefdom a la Stalin J. The dictator is an old communist Party apparatchik who runs the country for the benefit of himself and his family - and no one else.

 

[Tzara]

Yah. Sad thuth is that it's probably cheaper to keep burning coal.

I think the bigger problem is that it is more or less impossible to put out the fire. My guess about the Darvaz thing as well.

You don't put those kind of conflagrations out by squirting streams of water on them. You can't really cut off the oxygen.

It's probably safer (though, wasteful of the energy) to let them burn.

I don't know that there is any realistic alternative.