Domed Cities on Mars: Life, Temperature & Light

[GTOM]

Lets suppose we could build domed cities on Mars.
The surface of the planet has major temperature shifts. Would people inside the domes experience such things too, or no, since if the dome can provide enough radiation protection, it provides enough heat insulation too? With present day anti-rad materials, could they have enough visible light for plants and everything else, or should they have artifical lighting during daytime too?

 

[256bits]

it provides enough heat insulation too?

That's a good question.

As a physical barrier, just like a window in a house, which keeps warm air in a cold air out, or vice versa.

Would the thin Martian atmosphere have a significant conductive and convective heat transfer coefficient acting upon the dome barrier for the inhabitants to worry about if their heat source malfunctioned. Could the dome be made opaque or reflective to long wavelength heat radiation produced within the interior, while at the same time passing radiation from the sun for the plants and to also warm the interior.

 

[mfb]

If you want to get to Earth-level radiation you'll need thick shielding. Not impossible with glass but impractical. Plants for food will grow better in a place with thinner shielding. They won't mind elevated radiation doses.

 

[GTOM]

If you want to get to Earth-level radiation you'll need thick shielding. Not impossible with glass but impractical. Plants for food will grow better in a place with thinner shielding. The won't mind elevated radiation doses.

Well i thought about lead glass or something like that.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0925838817329754
That talks about borate glass. I don't know what kind of materials can be easily mined on Mars.
Yes, green areas can have lighter protection than actual living places, there can be a mixed underground/dome solution.

 

[Rive]

The surface of the planet has major temperature shifts. Would people inside the domes experience such things too, or no, since if the dome can provide enough radiation protection, it provides enough heat insulation too?

If the inhabitants can feel it then the engineers had messed up, no?
A better question would be about the necessary effort to prevent the (noticeable, or: inconvenient) temperature shifts.

could they have enough visible light for plants and everything else, or should they have artifical lighting during daytime too?

The solar irradiation on Mars is ~ half of what you get on Earth. Based on this I think light would be barely enough outside. Inside - that depends on the material of the dome.

Honestly, I think artificial light will be necessary and that makes this dome-thing questionable in whole. Maybe a cave with only a decent sized PV array outside would work better?

 

[Ophiolite]

This article, from Nature Astronomy 2019, seems relevant: Enabling Martian habitability with silica aerogel via the solid-state greenhouse effect.

The authors' pertinent conclusion is this:
we demonstrate via experiments and modelling that under Martian environmental conditions, a 2–3 cm-thick layer of silica aerogel will simultaneously transmit sufficient visible light for photosynthesis, block hazardous ultraviolet radiation and raise temperatures underneath it permanently to above the melting point of water, without the need for any internal heat source.

The article is behind a paywall, but this Smithsonian Magazine article discusses the idea in some detail.