The very many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XXV

[bhsup]

Thanks for doing the math! Though I feel kind of bad you bothering to take the time to do that. I was more expecting one of our resident scientists to just say "duh yes" or "duh no" in reply.

 

[Farm Boy]

I was just thinking, "Leave it to a Southerner to come up with that sort of solution to a 1/16th" dusting of snow twice every year."

 

[metatron]

Thanks for doing the math! Though I feel kind of bad you bothering to take the time to do that. I was more expecting one of our resident scientists to just say "duh yes" or "duh no" in reply.

The problem with my calculation is that the water has to go some place. I am pretty much presupposing a clear street/sidewalk.
For the water to evaporate would take so much longer that the whole thig might technically still work but it wouldn#t be practical for a load-of-snow-at-5-morning-commute-at-8 kind of scenario.
Any engineering solution would be rather impractical: Where would the water have to go when there's still a foot of snow in the street? Some tank? That would have to be heated again and emptied and stuff. etc.
So, yeah, no empty street for the water to flow to, no plutonium driveway awesomeness.

 

[Borachio]

I think that that amount of plutonium is going to be prohibitively expensive. Never mind the obvious hazards.

Here's a viable alternative.

 

[Cutlass]

I think that that amount of plutonium is going to be prohibitively expensive. Never mind the obvious hazards.

Here's a viable alternative.

There are 4 million miles of road in the US, exclusive of the added pavement of multi-lane road. So I don't know just how viable that alternative is.

 

[Borachio]

It's certainly more viable than that amount of plutonium.

But I thought the brief was for an individual driveway, in any case.

 

[Cutlass]

But then he'd have to install solar. Much less politically palatable to his persuasion than plutonium.

 

[bhsup]

I was just thinking, "Leave it to a Southerner to come up with that sort of solution to a 1/16th" dusting of snow twice every year."

Well that's exactly it, though! I really enjoy shoveling snow. It's rather exhilarating exercise. But it just isn't worthy of being done for a small layer of ice or a little 1" snowfall. I'd much rather have some sort of quick-melt go away method for those.

Give me a 5"+ snowfall and I'm happier than a pig in slop shoveling it.

But then he'd have to install solar. Much less politically palatable to his persuasion than plutonium.

Exactly! I'm not some tree hugging hippie solar lover. NUCULAR baby!

 

[Kennigit]

The snow wouldn't accumulate on the driveway in the first place due to the constant heating.

edit- actually um, I wonder what the temperature would be with the heat generation in the driveway. I guess you can do a thermal circuit with the heat flux from pu-238, then properties of the ice and whatever convective cooling you have of ambient air temperature.

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

With that much plutonium, you might want to take up a breeding contest with nearby(?) Alabama, to see who gets the most mutated babies the fastest, the regular breeders, or the redneck inbreeders?

 

[Farm Boy]

I'd much rather have some sort of quick-melt go away method for those.

Exactly! I'm not some tree hugging hippie solar lover. NUCULAR baby!

Ahem.

 

[bhsup]

That stuff destroys concrete! Plus, come on. What sounds cooler? "I spread some rock salt" or "my plutonium driveway dealt with it."

 

[Farm Boy]

I'm not sure what all is in that blue s&#!, but it sure isn't only salt. It'd probably kill a moose that came by to lick it. Watch that stuff melt through ice when it's 28 degrees out like the ground was made from fire and you'll come around on how cool it is.

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

In Wisconsin, they're using cheese to melt snow.

 

[Borachio]

I used to use salt on the driveway. But not any more. Do you realize what it does to plant life?

 

[Joecoolyo]

People melt the snow on their driveway?

Here we just dig it or drive over it.

And by that I mean we drive over it.

 

[Borachio]

So that would be a snowblower and chains on the tyres?

 

[Farm Boy]

People melt the snow on their driveway?

Here we just dig it or drive over it.

And by that I mean we drive over it.

Depends on how slippery it gets. Illinois isn't really a land of winter snow. It's a land of winter ice. If it's reasonably snowy I leave it. When it gets really slick I start envisioning my wife slipping while wrangling with holding the son, then I go ice pick(well, it's a grain shovel really) it until it's thin enough the sun will hopefully melt it. I really need to go buy a bag of that blue poison magic salt.

 

[timtofly]

If a driveway were to be made out of plutonium 238, would that be sufficient to keep it ice and snow free during the winter for moderate accumulations?

Would a flame thrower be more practical/fun?

 

[Joecoolyo]

So that would be a snowblower and chains on the tyres?

Nah, just shovels. Chains are illegal, they tear up the road.

Depends on how slippery it gets. Illinois isn't really a land of winter snow. It's a land of winter ice. If it's reasonably snowy I leave it. When it gets really slick I start envisioning my wife slipping while wrangling with holding the son, then I go ice pick(well, it's a grain shovel really) it until it's thin enough the sun will hopefully melt it. I really need to go buy a bag of that blue poison magic salt.

Yeah, this is true. If you leave the snow too long without shoveling it, it does get icy underneath.

In which case you leave the snow on top because that provides more traction