tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-192883022973901942.post9007980527411599972..comments2023-10-08T02:46:24.823-07:00Comments on Bootstrapping Space: SoapChris Wolfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11247630943891521469noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-192883022973901942.post-67746229960170526462019-09-26T10:15:29.594-07:002019-09-26T10:15:29.594-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Haleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11549560110382429574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-192883022973901942.post-20825974876138096392016-03-16T11:47:43.979-07:002016-03-16T11:47:43.979-07:00Lunar dust is made of very sharp fragments. I woul...Lunar dust is made of very sharp fragments. I would be concerned about excessive embedding and tissue damage, plus toxic metal poisoning. It's made primarily of fractured impact remelt, which is essentially tiny slivers of glass and ceramics with shards of nickel-iron for flavor.<br /><br />Pumice is quite benign by contrast. Although it is a porous glass and can be sharp-edged, it is fragile and generally breaks down during use into dust.<br /><br />It would be possible to make artificial pumice. Start with regolith that has been screened (magnetic separation, volatile bake-out and fracture energy sorted), melt it under pressure, inject a volatile (water for example), then spray the results into vacuum or into a large volume of water. It is only an extra step or two vs. making rockwool, plus pumice is also an acceptable hydroponic media.<br /><br />Alternative materials include peanut shell fragments, eggshells or bone. A slightly more radical option would be to use a strigil to scrape off bulk grime before applying a surfactant.Chris Wolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11247630943891521469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-192883022973901942.post-87653771805133139492016-03-14T22:12:08.215-07:002016-03-14T22:12:08.215-07:00Any data comparing moon dust to pumice for industr...Any data comparing moon dust to pumice for industrial hand soap? I'm assuming our colonists will be working on dirty things with the animal and mechanical work and pumice does a great lob of reducing both water and soap consumption in that case.AdSheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09058268743141176345noreply@blogger.com