What substance could potentially flow and pool on the surface of Venus?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Terdbergler
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Venus
AI Thread Summary
The discussion explores potential substances that could flow and pool on Venus, given its extreme surface conditions. While water is absent, the possibility of molten materials like lead and brimstone is considered. Lead, although dense, can flow in a liquid state, but its high density would limit its ability to form rivers unless on steep gradients. Brimstone's boiling point significantly increases under Venus's high pressure, suggesting it could exist in liquid form on the surface. Overall, the conversation highlights that any substance capable of melting without boiling could potentially pool on Venus.
Terdbergler
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
I realize that there are no lakes or rivers on Venus, but, given the surface temperature, pressure, etc. what substance COULD flow and pool on Venus the way water and liquid ethane flow and pool on the surfaces of Earth and Titan respectively?
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
I don't know. Rivers of lead, maybe? :p It would be too dense to flow like a river, I guess. Unless the river is really steep
 
It is certainly possible Venus may once have had liquid water on its surface before 'global warming' took over. Just about anything that melts, but, does not boil in the current Venusian environment could be present.
 
M-TheorySUCKS said:
I don't know. Rivers of lead, maybe? :p It would be too dense to flow like a river, I guess. Unless the river is really steep

In the liquid state, lead flows quite readily. The rate of flow of a fluid is not connected so much to the density as to the viscosity of the fluid. For example, residual fuel oils have approximately the same density as water, but these oils must be heated in order to reduce their viscosity sufficiently to allow them to be pumped without expending a tremendous amount of power to do so.
 
  • Like
Likes 1 person
Another problem is that molten lead, like quicksilver or bismuth, are dense - denser than rocks. They would squeeze into cracks in ground.

How about brimstone? Its boiling point at 1 bar is 444 degrees, but surface of Venus has 92 bar pressure, and the boiling point of brimstone rises to 1041 degrees at the critical point of 203 bar.
 
This thread is dedicated to the beauty and awesomeness of our Universe. If you feel like it, please share video clips and photos (or nice animations) of space and objects in space in this thread. Your posts, clips and photos may by all means include scientific information; that does not make it less beautiful to me (n.b. the posts must of course comply with the PF guidelines, i.e. regarding science, only mainstream science is allowed, fringe/pseudoscience is not allowed). n.b. I start this...
Asteroid, Data - 1.2% risk of an impact on December 22, 2032. The estimated diameter is 55 m and an impact would likely release an energy of 8 megatons of TNT equivalent, although these numbers have a large uncertainty - it could also be 1 or 100 megatons. Currently the object has level 3 on the Torino scale, the second-highest ever (after Apophis) and only the third object to exceed level 1. Most likely it will miss, and if it hits then most likely it'll hit an ocean and be harmless, but...

Similar threads

Back
Top