Survive a Black Sky

Surviving the Asteroid isn't too much different than a super volcano eruption or nuclear winter, where debris blots the sun from the sky. These are about the worst case scenarios you could expect in existential threats, that you might be able to do something about. We could always get sucked into a black hole and couldn't do much about that. Or there's always a 'skynet' takeover, or nano gray goo apocalypse, but those are seperate issues that you wont have much luck doing anything about on your own from inside your bunker.

But you CAN survive the Black Sky.

You're going to need plenty of the typical survival stuff, water filtration, food, and enough ammo to get thru several months of the initial 'zombie' cannibal apocalypse. The later depends on how densely populated your area is. Another important one: LOTS of rechargable batteries.

But the scariest part is the idea that there might not be plant sustaining sunlight for several years time.

My guess is that stockpiling several years worth of food (think: you wont be able to grow anything outside) could cost as much if not more than the actual solution to the sun-less problem:


That's right, LED Grow Lights are the key.

They are rather pricey, but they last for over a decade of constant use, while hardly denting your enegry budget. And it wouldn't be a waste of an investment, because you can still use them now to grow your favorite food crops during the winter. Keep those perennial pepper plants growing right thru the winter and on to a bigger yield the next year.

Problem is with a black sky you might as well make tables out of those solar panels... er, actually you could use them in your grow room to absorb wasted light.

For power a wind turbine would be nice, except it might serve as a beacon for the 'zombies'. So it seems to me that a steam generator would be the solution (if you can contain the sound it creates).

Only problem is I haven't had much luck ever finding practical smaller scale stream generators for purchase. Anyone have a source?

With all the trees dead you shouldn't have any problem finding wood for fuel. You could also resort to a wood gasifier, but you'd still need to hassle trying to run a gas generator, that might eventually give up on you even if new from running wood gas thru it.

From there you better have lots of extra building materials on hand to bunker down your compound to the extreme. You'll have 'zombies' going to all lengths trying to get inside. I guess ammo does curb this.

But if you want your setup to handle a nuclear winter induced black sky, theres a whole list of other precautions to make your efforts pure misery.

But you can be one of the last humans to inherit the earth. Eventually the sun will come back again, although you might be pretty old by then so make sure you have plenty of female on hand and you might just be the new Abraham

[edit on 1-12-2009 by IgnoranceIsntBlisss]

Very interesting. For a Super Volcano going off, say in Yellowstone. Only way of survival is underground. May take months or years for the sunlight to return, and for the temperatures to go back to normal. You need a years worth of food and medicine.

So grains of wheat and grained rice, potatoes, grow some chick weeds, thistle, green chives, and Dandilions (because these weeds are pretty invasive and grow in terrible conditions they're great sources of vitamins.) Water collecter and coffee filters, (to filter out any soot from the water collecter if it rains.) LED lights, etc.

For electricity, you can either go by Magnets, or by Geothermal energy.
Chances are their will be very little or no wind, and definately lack of or no sunlight. So solar and wind power would be useless.

There is a way to get perpetual motion from magnets, and a guy developed a motor that gives out 500 percent more energy than it took to start the motor with, and it keeps on going for years.



Getting sucked into a Black Hole, there's no survival except for getting as far as away as you could.

Nano Grey Goo survival, to contain yourself in place that emits mircowaves, (that will fry the nano bots, and yourself) or contain yourself in a place that emits a lot of heat or contain yourself in a magnet that can repel metal away. Other than that good luck, and supplies remins limited.

I think during nuclear winter or any other "black sky" event, there would be more wind instead of less. The extra particles in the air will create more friction, releasing energy and causing massive storms. Nuclear mushroom clouds and volcanic eruptions have even been reported to produce their own lightning. Wind power would still be feasible, I think.

Perpetual motion is bull crap. Admittedly, there are probably quite a few alternative energy sources out there which are shunned by the mainstream folks. But perpetual motion is not one of them. It's junk science. And the science that junks it is not one of those "up for debate" subjects like multiple universes and so-on. It's hardcore, set-in-stone science - just as sure as a rock will fall every time you drop it (assuming you're on a planet) and two plus two equals four, perpetual motion is impossible.

Gray goo is not something we can plan against at this time, because we don't know for sure how the goo nanomachines would be made. It might not be metallic at all, it could be entirely plastic and immune to EMPs, magnets, and microwaves.

Black hole... who cares? The same instant that it first effected you, it would destroy you. It's probably actually the best way to die - instant, total, and completely unforeseen annihilation.

reply to post by mattifikation


Actually, I was thinking that perhaps magnetrons from old microwave ovens might be deployed in a certain way to fry the nano goo. But you'd have to be behind a sort of faraday cage to ensure the cooking doesnt find its way into your proximity. But still, what you'd buy yourself is a ticket to witness the most drawn out display of its destructive force. Eventually, it might still overrun you if the rest of the world is 'goobar', when the power goes out you'll be busy trying to keep your internal energy sources operating the magnetrons.

I also get the feeling that caustic soda orlow acids wouldn't be something favorable to some nano goo, but you'd run out eventually. You wouldnt go out without a fight.

But honestly, if nano goo is realistic, it would eat its way deep into the earths crust, which would be a disaster beyond comprehension. Like the perspective of an ant, when a fleet of bulldozers comes ripping into the area.

On the positive side, a magenetron defense grid has other uses