The real world can be tough - non-stop traffic, pollution, freezing winters, that annoying
coworker who never does his job...
I’m looking at you, Triangle Bob...
Sometimes, you just want to hide away somewhere and escape reality.
Imagine a bubble-like home where you could be totally self-sufficient and not need a
single thing from the outside world.
Scientists have been experimenting with these so-called biodomes since the 1970s, but what
if you lived in a bubble?
If you’ve ever seen pictures of these biodomes, you know that they are so cool.
Filled with various ecosystems like deserts, farms, and rainforests, to provide inhabitants
with everything they need to survive without any help from the outside world.
In order to live in a self-sufficient biodome, you’d need 4 basic things - food, water,
air, and electricity.
Food would come from a farm-like area housing plants and animals.
It could have animals like chickens and goats for eggs and dairy, but using them for meat
in an environment where you can’t just get more delivered wouldn't be the smartest idea.
Fruits, veggies, and beans growing on your farm could provide you with additional nutrients
to make up for the lack of meat.
You’d need to use water for a number of different things inside and remember, it isn’t
an infinite resource, especially in a biodome.
When it comes to drinking water, it seems like the best option would be to collect rain
water and purify it.
You’d also want to recycle the water from sinks and shower drains and use it for watering
plants and even filling toilets.
An artificial river inside your bubble could be home to phytoplankton which would contribute
significant amounts of oxygen to your atmosphere.
In addition to the phytoplankton, a forest full of plants would release breathable oxygen
thanks to photosynthesis!
Scientists have learned from past biosphere experiments that some kinds of building materials,
like concrete, inhibit oxygen production so you’d want to avoid those.
Air purifying plants, like spider plants and English ivy, and medicinal plants, like echinacea
and peppermint, in this forest would help keep everyone inside breathing and healthy.
Being truly self-sufficient means generating your own energy and using renewable resources.
Solar panels lining the outside of your bubble would collect energy to power all electronics
inside.
And you could even add a mini hydropower turbine to that indoor running river to generate even
more energy!
You’d also want some kind of composting system to allow you to recycle human waste
to use as fertilizer.
Which may sound gross, but you’ve gotta make sure those plants are taken care of too!
Upkeep on this biodome would take a lot of work, so plan to bring, like, 10 people.
Each person would have their own job, like farming or resource analytics.
There are also a lot of mental and physical benefits to having people around.
Being disconnected from society has been linked to higher mortality and greater incidences
of stress, so you’d be happier and healthier with other people inside.]
In the last 40 years, scientists have tested out a few biodome experiments.
Perhaps the most well-known was Biosphere 2 in Arizona that housed 8 scientists in the
early 1990s.
Its ultimate demise was due to poor oxygen generation techniques.
So, after 2 years, the experiment was stopped, but a lot was learned.
In the future, builders can take into account what went wrong with previous biodomes to
create efficient, safe, oxygen-rich bubbles to live in.
What would you want to bring with you to live in a biodome?
Let us know in the comments.