Guide to Atmospherics: Difference between revisions

From Paradise Station Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
← Older edit
Jovaniph (talk | contribs)
401 edits
No edit summary
 
(94 intermediate revisions by 17 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{OutOfDate
{{JobEngineering}}Atmospherics. To the uninitiated, a magical flow of gases that somehow lets you breathe. To the knowledgeable [[Atmospheric Technician]], an interconnected network of pipes for moving gases around. With the right knowledge, you can refill a breached room quickly like it’s just another Tuesday or burn the brightest plasmafires seen on this side of the sector.  
|reason = Needs table formatting and a general rewrite.}}


{{toc_right}}=Summary=
=Atmospherics 1.01: Basic Characteristics of Gases and Pipes=
Firstly, it’s important to understand what the different properties of gases mean. Grab an [[File:Analyzer.png|32px]] analyzer from a toolbox or an autolathe. Alternatively, enable the Gas Scanner option on your PDA. You can either use the analyzer in your hand to get an analysis of the gases of the tiles you’re standing on or hit a pipe or canister to see the contents of it.


[[Atmospherics]] (or Atmosia) is the land of pipes and air, a peaceful place often left to its automatic work. To the untrained eye, it might appear to be entirely impenetrable and useless, just a mess of pipes that should be left alone to do their own work while the [[Atmospheric Technician]]s goof off in the break room. But this is far from the truth. In the hands of a competent technician, Atmosia can just as easily save the station as it can horribly destroy it. '''Also check out the [[Gas Turbine]] page to learn how to use it.'''


'''Moles''' are  the amount of molecules that are contained in the tile you are trying to analyze.


==Atmospherics==
'''Temperature''' is measured in Celsius and Kelvin and should usually be around 293 Kelvin or 19 degrees Celsius when dealing with air that is to be breathed. Both too hot gas and too cold gas can hurt most species so make sure you’re not pumping gases with extreme temperatures into the distro pipes!


{| class="wikitable" style="width:70%"
'''Volume''' is the total space in the segment of pipes or tile you are analyzing. For example, analyzing the main air distribution pipe would have a much higher volume than the Supermatter Crystal cooling loop.
|+ Tools of the trade
|style="width:32px"|'''Items'''
|'''Name'''
|style="text-align:center;"|'''Description'''
|-
|[[File:rapdid_pipe_dispenser.png|32px]]
|Rapid Pipe Dispenser (RPD)
|This device can rapidly dispense atmospherics and disposals piping, manipulate loose piping, and recycle any detached pipes it is applied to.
|-
|[[File:wrench.png|32px]]
|Wrench
|The primary tool you need to assemble and disassemble pipes, pumps, and sensors.
|-
|[[File:multitool.png|32px]]
|Multitool
|Used to link sensors with atmospheric computers.
|-
|[[File:analyzer.png|32px]]
|Analyzer
|A hand-held environmental scanner which reports current gas levels. It can also sense the gas levels inside pipes and canisters.
|}


'''Pressure''' is the measure of how much force the gas is exerting on the container it is in, whether that be a pipe or canister. If there is too much pressure in a pipe that you try to unwrench, make sure you have magboots lest you be launched and possibly seriously hurt.


===Content===
'''Heat Capacity''' is the required amount of energy needed to heat up a gas. Fires will spread quicker in gas mixtures with low heat capacity and spread slower in gases mixtures with high heat capacity.


Atmosherics contains several notable things that every Atmospheric Technician should know about:
'''Thermal energy''' is the kinetic energy of the molecules in a gas. This is really only used when making theoretical burn mixes. This is not temperature, as that is the velocity of the molecules, not the kinetic energy.


* '''Atmospheric Alert Computer:''' This computer console will tell you where your attention is needed. A green indicator signals everything is alright, a yellow indicator signals something went wrong, and a red indicator means you should get your ass in gear and move out;
== The Gases and What They Do ==


* '''Central Atmospherics Computer:''' From this computer, you have complete control of every air alarm on the station, allowing you to change vent, scrubber and mode options. By default, every air alarm has their remote access enabled, so you can theoretically do your job without ever leaving Atmosia, assuming you have competent [[Engineer]]s;
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" width="80%" style="text-align: center; background-color: #fffcec;"
|- style="font-weight: bold; text-align: center; background-color: #ffc050; color: black;"
| style="width: 150pt; center;" | Canisters
| class="unsortable"            | Description
|-
|-
! {{Anchor|Nitrogen}}Nitrogen (N2)<br> [[File:N2_canister.png]]


* '''The Atmospheric Pipe System:''' This system takes in the station's waste air, filters it, and provides fresh air for everyone (except Vox and Plasmamen) to breathe;
|The most abundant gas you will encounter. Nitrogen is not flammable, making it good for quelling fires in environments such as the [[Supermatter Engine]]. Vox must breathe pure Nitrogen, while the rest of the organic crew breathes a 80% to 20% ratio of Nitrogen and Oxygen.
|-
! {{Anchor|Oxygen}}Oxygen (O2)<br> [[File:O2_canister.png]]


* '''The Distribution Computers:''' These computers allow you to see how much of a certain gas you have in storage, in addition to letting you change the rate at which they output;
|Oxygen is the other portion of what the crew breathes. This is poisonous to Vox and can cause Plasmamen to ignite if they make contact without their envirosuit.
|-
! {{Anchor|Air}}Air <br> [[File:Air_Canister.png]]


* '''The Gas Containment Areas:''' These are small, walled off areas containing large amounts of all gases. Vital for maintaining a breathable atmosphere aboard the station.
|A 1:4 gas mixture of Oyxgen and Nitrogen. This is found all throughout the station and is breathed by most crew.
|-
! {{Anchor|Carbon Dioxide}}Carbon Dioxide (CO2)<br> [[File:CO2_canister.png]]


* '''Reserve Air Canisters:''' Extra canisters of air mix, oxygen, nitrogen and nitrous oxide that can be used to refill portable tanks, or as emergency reserves to fill rooms after a breach;
|A gas slightly heavier than air. This is what crew members will be breathing out and produced by fires. Used sometimes in [[Supermatter Engine]] setups and high concentrations can make you pass out and suffocate.
|-
! {{Anchor|Nitrous Oxide}}Nitrous Oxide (N2O)<br> [[File:N2O_canister.png]]


* '''Firefighting Equipment:''' Enables Atmospheric Technicians to survive easily for extended periods in difficult atmospheres. These include specialized firefighting armour and backpacks that fire metal foam;
|A white gas that is slightly heavier than Carbon Dioxide and invisible in small quantities. In small amounts, it causes giggling and laughing, while in large amounts, it will put you to sleep. Used in Medbay and Robotics to put patients to sleep during surgery and implanting. If heated to over 1000C/1273K, it will decompose into N2 and O2 in an exothermic reaction.
|-
! {{Anchor|Plasma}}Plasma<br> [[File:Plasma_canister.png]]


* '''Atmospherics Hardsuit:''' This hardsuit is completely fireproof and can withstand raging plasma fires, in addition to, of course, freely allowing spacewalking (yes, you too can always be on fire and laugh it off);
|A purple gas that is flammable and toxic to anyone to breathe other than Plasmamen. Highly flammable in the presence of oxygen.
|-
! {{Anchor|Agent B}}Agent B<br> [[File:Agent_B_Canister.png]]


* '''Portable Scrubbers / Portable Air Pumps:''' Allow you to quickly filter / repressurize (respectively) areas of the station;
|A gas that has a higher heat capacity than plasma. Acts similar to Nitrogren. Able to set fire to Carbon Dioxide while generating Oxygen.
 
|}
* '''Portable Space Heaters:''' Can be used to keep an area from freezing;
 
* '''Pipe Dispensers:''' Allow repair / construction of disposal pipes, air pipes, supply / waste pipes and heat pipes;
 
* '''Fuel and Water Tanks:''' For use when fighting fires or other hazards;
 
* '''Freezers and Heater:''' Allow you to freeze or heat the gas in the pipes when routed through them;
 
 
 
===The Pipes===
 
For the following section, it would be best to think of air as a fluid since, technically, it behaves like one. Imagine it as being a current of water flowing through the pipes. Atmospherics is pretty simple, but the pipe layout makes it slightly confusing for the untrained eye. It consists of four pipe "loops", which are color-coded for easy checking:
 
*The dark blue loop is the '''Distribution Loop''', or '''Distro Loop'''. It sends breathable air (roughly 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen) to all the vents on the station, and is fed by the cyan loop lower down in Atmospherics;
 
*The cyan loop is responsible for creating '''Mixed Air''' to feed into the distribution loop;
 
*The red loop is the '''Waste Loop''', which retrieves waste air from the various scrubbers on the station and feeds it to the '''Filtering Loop''';
 
*The green loop is the '''Filtering Loop''', which filters out the various gases in the waste air provided by the '''Waste Loop''' at various filters placed along it;
 
*The yellow loop is the '''Mix Loop''', which is internal to Atmospherics and is used for '''custom air mixes'''. It is rarely used for anything not highly illegal
 
The air breathed by humans on the Cyberiad is made out of oxygen and nitrogen, and is mixed on the south end of Atmosia (in the cyan pipes). The gases are pumped from their containment areas and into the '''air mix''' containment. The breathable gas is then pumped through the cyan loop to the north of Atmosia, where it is then pumped into the blue loop and out to the station.
 
The filtering loop runs the gases through the filters along the green piping and is your main tool in fighting gas spills and large fires.
 
The "canisters" of the station's Atmospherics network are actually rooms filled with the appropriate gas. The output of these rooms are controlled by their respective supply control computers and a small valve that allows the gas to be injected into the pipes.
 
===The Gases===
 
 
*'''N2''': One of the components of the air mix. N2 soaks up heat in the air, and lowers the temperature of a fire. By association, it can very quickly lower the temperature of a fiery rupture to the point where the flames self-extinguish.
 
 
*'''O2''': You breathe this. Running out of O2 will cause your slow death by suffocation damage. It is also required for a fire to even start, and hold, ending the fire when the O2 or plasma is depleted. Having less than 16 kPa of O2 flowing into your lungs chokes you.
 
 
*'''Air''': The gas mix that is distributed in the station. It is composed of 70% N2 and 30% O2.
 
 
*'''CO2''': An invisible, heavy gas, CO2 is one of the first and fastest gases the scrubbers suck out of the air. It chokes people effectively and quickly, and if you can be bothered to set the alarms up, will result in a invisible room that kills those in it. Takes some setup and can be very, very annoying. The emote for this at below incapacitating levels is gasping and choking.
 
 
*'''N2O''': A white-flecked gas. Makes you laugh at low doses and at higher ones puts you to sleep. Scrubbers don't deal with it too well and portable scrubbers just choke on it. If using this as a sleep gas mix do *not* forget the O2 at at least 16 kPa, or you will kill someone.
 
 
*'''Plasma''': The one truly flammable gas on the station, plasma is purple, and highly toxic. Of note is the fact that in the presence of any oxygen at high pressures, plasma pumped into air can and will spontaneously ignite on turf at high pressures.
 
==Setting Up Atmospherics==
 
In it's default state, Atmosia can '''technically''' handle most atmospheric crisis, albeit highly inefficiently. Experienced technicians can play with it at will, re-routing the pipes and adding all sorts of machinery to make it more efficient. This, however, requires a lot of experience with the role, and a guide on all possible Atmospherics configurations would probably require a small wiki of its own.
 
As such, it's important that you understand how exactly gases work, and how they flow from one place to another. Take your time to become acquainted with the Atmospherics layout, and try and wait for a few crisis before attempting any major redesign projects. However, here are some important things to keep in mind:
 
* '''Hotter Gas is under Higher Pressure''' - The hotter a gas is, the more pressure it exerts on the piping. This means that a single room's amount of gas, if properly heated up, can be the equivalent of half the station's atmosphere in pressure alone. This becomes problematic if you're using pressure pumps, since they only go so far. In addition, the filters on the filtering loop work on pressure as well, so keeping gas cool and low-pressure is '''incredibly''' important.
 
* '''Volume Pumps are Far Better''' - Pressure pumps are, by and large, useless in dealing with waste air when compared with volume pumps. Pressure pumps should be used for projects that require very specific amounts of gases to be pumped, such as some Turbine setups. Volume pumps bypass this by ignoring pressure and instead moving volume of gas. Seeing as the gases' volume remains constant inside the pipes, this translates into a faster waste loop.
 
* '''Less is More, does not apply''' - At least for pumps. While you '''do''' still have limited room to work with, three volume pumps will always work better than one. Just remember to keep the number of pump clusters constant: you don't want three pumps feeding a single one, bottlenecking the whole thing.
 
* '''Space is Cold, and so is Gas''' - Aside from the freezers, which are very inefficient if not upgraded, there are two main ways of cooling down gas (which is useful when handling fires, as it reduces pressure and helps it clear out faster): the space loop and heat exchange pipes. Routing a gas through the space loop will cool it down to the temperature of the vacuum outside (a chilly 21 Kelvin), quickly and efficiently. Heat exchange is a bit more complicated, however. It works by having one of set of exchangers have pre-cooled gas (either via freezers or space loop), and having another set of exchangers adjacent to the first one. Any gas that flows through the second group will transfer its heat to the pre-cooled gas, also quickly and efficiently.
 
* '''Round and Round and Round it goes''' - It's perfectly possible for you to just send gas back into the space loop. Having T-valves set up to create tiny loops is a great way of further cooling down gases and setting up buffer zones to keep gases rolling without clogging up the filtering loop. This is '''especially''' useful in the case of fires and large spills, where you '''must''' reduce the waste air's pressure as much as possible in order not to clog the various air filters.
 
==Air Alarms==
 
Air alarms are the central tool of an Atmospheric Technician, outside setting Atmospherics up. To use an air alarm, simply swipe your ID across it, or access it via the Central Atmospherics Computer. Here are the available options:
 
'''Panic Siphon:''' Turn off all the vents and activate the scrubbers to remove '''all''' the air, quicker than normal.
 
'''Vents:''' You control vents through the air alarm. The pressure and gas settings are already perfectly set up by default, so don't bother touching them.
 
'''Scrubbers''': Two settings, scrubbing and siphoning:
 
*Scrubbing will slowly drain any gasses set to scrub in the air of the tile they are on, and transfer it to their pipe;
 
*Siphoning will do the same, except indiscriminately and with '''all''' gases, not just harmful ones
 
In addition to this, you also have several available '''modes''', which change how the vents / scrubbers work:
 
* '''Filtering''' - Default setting. Keeps room filtered of harmful gases while maintaining standard atmospheric pressure of 101.325 kPa;
 
* '''Draught''' - Sets the scrubbers to siphon, while increasing vent output to 202.65 kPa;
 
* '''Siphon''' - Sets the scrubbers to siphon while the vents are shut down;
 
* '''Panic Siphon''' - Sets the scrubber to siphon and extends the range while the vents are shut down;
 
* '''Cycle''' - Sets the scrubbers to siphon, then switches to 'Filtering' mode once the pressure reaches below 5 kPa;
 
* '''Contaminated''' - Extends the scrubber's range allowing harmful gases to filter quickly;
 
* '''Refill''' - Triples vent output to 303.975 kPa for fast re-pressurization;
 
* '''Off''' - Vents and scrubbers are shut down
 
==Portable/Rapid Pipe Dispenser==
 
There are a few different pipes and devices that you can get from the portable or rapid part dispenser.
 
* '''Regular Pipes''' - The ones used in Atmospherics. Useful for remodeling projects;
 
* '''Supply/Waste Pipes''' - Outside Atmospherics, there are two big loops: supply and waste. These are represented by blue and red pipes, respectively, which can only connect to the same type of pipe. In order to connect them with regular pipes, you need to use a universal adapter;
 
* '''Heat Exchange Pipes''' - Allow you to cool / heat gases based on the ambient temperature of the tile they're on. Think space loop (for cooling) or the [[Toxins]] burn chamber (for heating)


{| class="wikitable" style="width:70%"
== Where to Get Pipes ==
|+ Devices
Meet your new best friend. The [[File:rapid_pipe_dispenser.png|32px]] Rapid Pipe Dispenser, also known as the RPD. which is found in your locker or printed at an [[Autolathe]]. It even fits in your backpack and can dispense any type of pipe you need and can recycle any you don't!
<tabs>
<tab name="Atmospheric Pipes">
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="width:80%"
|style="width:32px"|'''Items'''
|style="width:32px"|'''Items'''
|'''Name'''
|style="width:15%"|'''Name'''
|style="text-align:center;"|'''Description'''
|style="width:15%"|'''Description'''
|style="text-align:center;"|'''Details'''
|-
|[[File:Atmospheric_Pipe.png|64px]]
|Normal Pipes
|Generic pipes that can be used for most tasks.
|These are airtight pipes that can carry any gas you pump into them.
|-
|[[File:supply_pipe.png|64px]]
|Air Supply Pipe
|Used to distribute air all across the station.
|Special pipes that are mostly used for the air distribution network. Can be laid in parallel to normal pipes and scrubber pipes.
|-
|[[File:scrubber_pipe.png|64px]]
|Scrubbers Pipe
|Used to move waste or harmful gases.
|Special pipes that are mostly used for the waste network. Can be laid in parallel to normal pipes and air supply pipes.
|-
|-
|[[File:Vent_Port.png|32px]]
|[[File:heat_exchanger_pipe.png|64px]]
|Unary Vent
|Heat Exchange Pipe
|Once placed down it will have to be turned on by activating it at the room's air alarm
|Shares heat between the pipe and the environment.
|Exchanges heat between any gas in the pipe and any gas in the tile. Think space loop(for cooling) or the [[Toxins]] burn chamber(for heating). Connects to normal pipes via junctions.
|-
|-
|[[File:Vent_Port.png|32px]]
|[[File:universal_pipe.png|64px]]
|Passive Vent
|Universal Pipe Adapter
|An air vent that releases pressure if connected to a atmospheric pipe.
|Can be fitted to any pipe type.
|Used to interface between normal, air supply, and scrubbers pipes. They cannot connect to each other without this.
|}
</tab>
<tab name="Atmospheric Devices">
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="width:80%"
|style="width:32px"|'''Items'''
|style="width:15%"|'''Name'''
|style="width:15%"|'''Description'''
|style="text-align:center;"|'''Details'''
|-
|-
|[[File:dual_vent.png|32px]]
|[[File:Vent_Port.png|64px]]
|Dual-Port Air Vent
|Unary Vent
|Has a valve and pump attached to it. There are two ports
|The standard vent used to distribute air.
|Needs to be inside a blueprinted room with a functional air alarm to operate. Typically used to pump breathable air into a room.
|-
|-
|[[File:Scrubber_Port.png|32px]]
|[[File:Scrubber_Port.png|64px]]
|Air Scrubber
|Air Scrubber
|Self explanatory, scrubs the nasty out of things, or acts like a vacuum. Like vents, needs to be turned on by an air alarm after being put in place
|Scrubs the air clean.
|Needs to be inside a blueprinted room with a functional air alarm to operate. Can remove specific gases from the room it is in, or rapidly siphon out all gas. Typically used to remove harmful gases like CO2 from the station's air.
|-
|[[File:Vent_Port.png|64px]]
|Passive Vent
|An unpowered vent that relies on pipe pressure to operate.
|Freely exchanges gas and heat between the tile and the connected pipe network, based on pressure and temperature gradients. Does not require power, or even a blueprinted room.
 
|-
|-
|[[File:Connector_Port.png|32px]]
|[[File:Connector_Port.png|64px]]
|Connector Port
|Connector Port
|Used to attach canisters, pumps or scrubbers to a pipe network. If you can't get a pipe network easily to the filter loop, an empty canister can be a good substitute
|A connector port for canisters of gas.
|Connects canisters to pipe networks. When used in conjunction with pumps, allows you to fill canisters or to empty them into a pipe network.
|-
|-
|[[File:Pump.png|32px]]
|[[File:Pump.png|64px]]
|Gas Pump
|Gas Pump
|The basic pumps you'll find all over Atmospherics. Good for precise pressure levels. Goes up to 4500 kPa
|A generic pressure pump.
|This pump is configured to measure how much gas it pumps by pressure. Can be set to only pump a certain amount of pressure through. The maximum pressure this pump can be set to move is 4500 kPa
|-
|-
|[[File:Volumetric_Pump.png|32px]]
|[[File:Volumetric_Pump.png|64px]]
|Volume Pump
|Volume Pump
|A bit like the pressure pump, but pumps via volume rather than going for pressure. 200 is its max output, but this is fairly significant. Faster than a pressure pump (You can even fill canisters up past the standard 4500 kPa pressure!), so best used in systems where a specific maximum pressure isn't needed, such as the waste loop
|The gas pump's cool sibling.
|This pump is configured to measure how much gas it pumps by volume instead of pressure. Can be set to pump only a specific volume of gas through. The maximum volume this pump can be set to move is 200L/s.
|-
|-
|[[File:Passive_Gate.png|32px]]
|[[File:Passive_Gate.png|64px]]
|Passive Gate
|Passive Gate
|Think of it as a one-way manual valve, but electronic. Doesn't pump gas, but lets a certain amount of pressure through. Can be set up to 4500 kPa. It should be noted that its power status light can be easy to miss, being just a small red / green light
|A passive one-way valve.
|A special one-way valve. Gas will only flow if pressure at the input is greater than at the output. Flow will stop if output pressure reaches or exceeds the target pressure. Pressure range of 0-4500 kPa. Does not require power.
|-
|-
|[[File:Gas_Filter.png|32px]]
|[[File:Gas_Filter.png|64px]]
|Gas Filter
|Gas Filter
|Checks for whatever gas you set it to, then filters it out into another pipe
|Separates out gases.
|A scrubber in pipe form. Checks for whatever gas you set it to, then filters it out into another pipe.
|-
|-
|[[File:Gas_Mixer.png|32px]]
|[[File:Gas_Mixer.png|64px]]
|Gas Mixer
|Gas Mixer
|Like a filter, but mixes gasses instead of filters. There is one in Atmospherics that mixes nitrogen and oxygen
|Mixes gases together.
|The opposite of a filter. Takes the contents of its two inputs and combines them together at whatever ratio you tell it to, then pumps them through the output. Importantly, ratios are measured by pressure, not volume. Maximum output pressure is 4500 kPa
|-
|[[File:Heat_exchanger.png|64px]]
|Heat Exchanger
|Equalize heat between two pipe networks.
|When two heat exchangers are placed next to each other, facing each other, they will try to equalize the heat between the two pipe networks they are connected to. They connect to normal pipes and thus are not part of the heat exchanger pipe system.
|-
|-
|[[File:Air_Injector.png|32px]]
|[[File:Air_Injector.png|64px]]
|Air Injector
|Air Injector
|Used to inject air at a typical value of 50 liters a second. Mostly seen in combustion chambers.
|Used to force gases into high pressure areas.
|A gas injector that will continue to pump its contents out regardless of how high the pressure around it is. Measures how much it pumps by volume. Will not operate without being linked to a console. Will display a green light when on.
|-
|-
|[[File:Manual_Valve.png|32px]]
|[[File:Manual_Valve.png|64px]]
|Manual Valve
|Manual Valve
|A manually-controlled valve, it requires no power and also no ID authorisation to use. Is arguably better over the digital valve in pipe-networks with possibilities of massive destruction due to the need of ID access on the digital valve. Displays a small green light when open.
|A simple hand-turned gas valve.
|A manually-controlled valve, it requires no power and also no ID authorization to use. Doesn't require power(or a blueprinted room), doesn't require ID access, and cannot be operated by the AI, borgs, or drones. Displays a small green light when open.
|-
|-
|[[File:Digital_Valve.png|32px]]
|[[File:Digital_Valve.png|64px]]
|Digital Valve
|Digital Valve
|An electronically-controlled gas valve. It uses the station-grid's power to be operated but requires sufficient ID access to be allowed use. Displays a small green light when open.
|An electronic valve.
|An electronically-controlled gas valve. Requires power, requires ID access, and can be operated by the AI, borgs, and drones. Displays a small green light when open.
|-
|-
|[[File:meter.gif|32px]]
|[[File:meter.gif|64px]]
|Meter
|Meter
|Want to know how much gas is in a pipe? Use these
|Measures temperature and pressure inside the pipe it's on.
|Simply place over any flat stretch of pipe and wrench it on. Upon examination, it should now be yielding measurements on what is going on inside the pipe. Does not provide as much information as an analyser/gas scanner, but good for being able to tell what is going on at a glance.
|-
|-
|[[File:Gas_Sensor.png|32px]]
|[[File:Gas_Sensor.png|64px]]
|Gas Sensor
|Gas Sensor
|Used to sense the pressure and temperature of the gas surrounding the sensor itself, rather than a pipe.
|Senses gas. No, really.
|Used to sense the pressure and temperature of the gas surrounding the sensor itself, rather than a pipe. Must be connected to one of several kinds of computer to be used.
|}
</tab>
<tab name="Disposal Pipes">
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="width:80%"
|style="width:32px"|'''Items'''
|style="width:15%"|'''Name'''
|style="text-align:center;"|'''Description'''
|-
|[[File:Disposal_pipe.png|64px]]
|Disposal Pipe
|Large pneumatic pipes that are used to carry trash, mail, and occasionally people around the station.
|-
|[[File:Disposal_bin.png|64px]]
|Disposal Bin
|The preferred method for delivering garbage into disposal pipes. Holds onto contents until they are flushed, whether manually or automatically.
|-
|[[File:Disposal_outlet.png|64px]]
|Disposal Outlet
|Whenever something or someone has reached this from a disposal pipe, they are ejected after a buzzer sounds.
|-
|[[File:Disposal_intake.png|64px]]
|Disposal Intake
|An open chute into disposal pipes. Objects or people that enter will be sent into connected disposal pipes. Objects or people who reach one of these at the end of a disposal pipe are ejected at high speed in a random direction.
|}
|}
</tab>
<tab name="Transit Tubes">
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="width:80%"
|style="width:32px"|'''Items'''
|style="width:15%"|'''Name'''
|style="text-align:center;"|'''Description'''
|-
|[[File:Transit_Tube.png|64px]]
|Transit Tube
|A glass tube used for transportation with the use of transit pods.
|-
|[[File:Diagonal_Transit_Tube.png|64px]]
|Diagonal Transit Tube
|A glass tube used for transportation with the use of transit pods. This one is diagonal.
|-
||[[File:Curved_Transit_Tube.png|64px]]
|Curved Transit Tube
|A glass tube used for transportation with the use of transit pods. This one is curved
|-
|[[File:Junction_Transit_Tube.png|64px]]
|Junction Transit Tube
|A glass tube used for transportation with the use of transit pods. This one has three sides. You can hold down a directional key to choose which side to go to.
|-
|[[File:Transit_Tube_Station.png|64px]]
|Transit Tube Station
|A station for transit pods to park in midway through the ride, letting the person leave by pressing the directional key the exit is facing in or going through the station faster by pressing a directional key where the next transit tube is. You can board it by walking in through it's entrance. It's density prevents people or bullets from passing through it.
|-
|[[File:Terminus_Dispenser_Tube_Station.png|64px]]
|Terminus Dispenser Tube Station
|A terminus used to signify the end or beginning of a transit tube network. It can be boarded it by walking in through it's entrance. This one creates and recycles transit pods.
|-
|[[File:Dispenser_Tube_Station.png|64px]]
|Dispenser Tube Station
|A station for transit pods to park in midway through the ride, letting the person leave by pressing the directional key the exit is facing in or going through the station faster by pressing a directional key where the next transit tube is. It can be boarded it by walking in through it's entrance. This one creates and recycles transit pods. It's density prevents people or bullets from passing through it.
|-
</tab></tabs>
=Atmospherics 1.02: Your Tools and You!=
You have plenty of tools at your disposal to assist you with your atmospheric duties, whether that be firefighting or refilling a room with air.
====Analyzer [[file:analyzer.png|64px]]====
The analyzer is your eyes into the world of Atmospherics. Able to tell you all sorts of information such as how much gas is a certain area, the temperature, pressure within canisters/pipes, and more. Any [[Atmospheric Technician]] should have this at arm's length, ready to be use.
====Firefighter Suit [[file:Atmospherics Fire Helmet.png|64px]][[file:Atmpspherics Firesuit.png|64px]]====
With the both the helmet and suit, you're completely safe from any fires you may encounter at the cost of your movement speed. Found in an atmospheric technician's locker and any fire cabinets around the station. You're usually better off using one of your [[MODsuits]], though the firesuit can be useful if you need protection quickly.
====Engineering Goggles [[File:Engineering_Goggles.gif|64px]]====
These handy goggles have three modes. A meson mode, which allows you to see the outline of the walls around you and protecting you from the Supermatter-induced hallucinations, a T-ray scanner mode, which allows you to see the piping, cabling, and disposal pipe network underneath plating, and finally a radiation mode, which allows you to see how many total rads something has.
====Backpack Firefighting Tank [[File:Backpack_Firefighter_Tank.gif|64px]][[File:Extinguisher_Nozzle.png|64px]]====
Replacing your backpack, this firefighting tank gives you three helpful substances to assist you in your atmospheric work. Activate it and its nozzle will extend.
From there you can cycle through:
* Water, which is pretty self explanatory, is used to put out fires.
* Nanofrost which is a special substance that replaces burning plasma with Nitrogen, quickly halting plasma fires. However be careful, as it welds vents and scrubbers.
* Metal foam is a liquid that eventually solidifies into a flimsy, yet airtight wall or floor.
The Atmospherics MODsuit is also pre-equiped with a module that serves the same purpose.
====ATMOS Holofan [[File:Engineering_Holofan_Projector.gif|64px]]====
This holofan projector will probably be your second best friend you'll have working for Nanotrasen. This handy tool lets you block any and all changes in the atmosphere. Useful for plasma fires from spreading and gas escaping to space when a breach inevitability happens. You can place up to three at a time and all placed holofans can be cleared by using the holofan in your hand.
====Oxygen Grenades [[File:Oxygen Grenade.png|64px]]====
Want to easily fill up a room with oxygen and throw a grenade? Use an oxygen grenade which after a short period after being primed will release about 50 moles of oxygen into the air. Good for places that cannot be easily connected to the main distribution system.
====Portable Air Pump [[file:Portable Air Pump.gif|64px]]====
This is an invaluable resource when you want to quickly fill a room up with air again. Filled by wrenching it to a connector port with light blue pipes attached to it, this can be taken anywhere and output air when set to the Out setting. Inversely, you can set it to the In setting to refill it by sucking air in from its surroundings. Another option for refilling it while on the go, is to connect a connector to the distro line to refill the air pump. This is also applicable to scrubbers. Also can be used to fill a tank or empty a tank.
====Portable Air Scrubber [[file:Portable Air Scrubber.gif|64px]]====
Alternatively, the air scrubber is good tool to cleanse the air of any unwanted gases. The higher you set the pressure option, the quicker it will scrub the air. Whenever you're finished with it or the internal tank gets full, wrench it down to a connector port that is attached with purple pipes.
====Huge Air Scrubber [[file:Huge_air_scrubber.png|64px]]====
Rarely seen outside of the [[Toxins]] gas storage, these behemoths can only be used when wrenched down and synced to a nearby area air control computer by using a multitool. Can also be used to empty out tanks and be wrenched to a connector to empty its contents.
====Air Alarms [[File:AirAlarm.png|64px]]====
Found all throughout the station, Air Alarms are the main way you'll be controlling the behavior of the vents and scrubbers. Only able to be used in a powered and blueprinted room. For a full explanation, visit the [[Air Alarm]] page.
====The Computers====
* '''The Atmospheric Alert Computer''' will tell you where you should divert your attention. A green color means the air is all good, yellow means something is going wrong or should be checked on, and red means something has gone wrong such as a leak or breach to space.
* '''Distribution and Waste Monitor''' is a console that will tell you the status of your distribution line, waste line, and mixed air tank. Use this computer to make sure your air supply tank hasn't been tainted with Nitrous Oxide, Plasma, or anything else you don't want your crew members breathing. You can also check to see if vents will burst if welded. Remember, if the distro is over 5000 kPA, vents WILL burst.
* '''Tank Monitor''' is the console that does exactly what it says, monitors the pressure and temperature (in Kelvin) of the gases in storage.
* '''Central Atmospherics Computer''' allows you to view the status of every air alarm on station and are able to remotely control any air alarm, assuming remote control is enabled on said air alarm.
====Space Heaters [[file:Space Heater.gif|64px]]====
These industrial little things can be used to heat up cold areas around the station. Use a screwdriver to access its power cell and heat setting. Be wary of its charge level, as it can run out very quickly.
====Atmospheric MODsuit [[File:Mod Atmospheric.png]]====
Thanks to the progression of hardsuit technology, you have your own special MODsuit! Offering COMPLETE fire protection and ash protection, this bad boy will keep you comfortable in any fire. Comes with built in welding protection, a t-ray scanner, magnetic stabilization which acts as magboots, and a firefighter tank that is exactly like the one written above.
=Atmospherics 1.03: Setting Up Atmospherics, Practical Appliances, and Tips!=
====Setting Up Atmospherics====
After getting all your gear, you need to start working on setting up atmospherics. It's best to do this as soon as you can so you won't have to worry about it later on. Your two biggest concerns are preventing the waste lines getting too clogged and vents starting to burst which can allow biohazards such as [[Xenomorphs]] and [[Terror Spiders]] to easily navigate the station. Setting up atmospherics is not too hard once you know what to do. Firstly, you'll want to find the air filters connected by purple and green pipes. Head over to them and max out the pressure on all the filters. These are circled with dark blue in the picture below. What this does is ensures that the gases flowing through the waste line is quickly deposited back into storage so the waste line doesn't get backed up. Next, you'll want to ensure you put down a pump that ensures the distro line stays within the optimal pressure. A normal pump or passive gate are the most commonly used.
<tabs container="width:800px">
<tab name="Cyberiad">[[File:Boxstation_atmospherics.png|Make sure to max the pressure out of the dark blue circles and ensure the pressure is correct by setting what's in the light blue circle.|frame|right]] </tab>
<tab name="Kerberos">[[File:Deltastation_atmospherics.png|Make sure to max the pressure out of the dark blue circles and ensure the pressure is correct by setting what's in the light blue circle.|frame|right]]</tab>
<tab name="Cerebron">[[File:Metastation_atmospherics.png|Make sure to max the pressure out of the dark blue circles and ensure the pressure is correct by setting what's in the light blue circle.|frame|right]]</tab>
<tab name="Farragus">[[File:Cerestation_atmospherics.png|Make sure to max the pressure out of the dark blue circles and ensure the pressure is correct by setting what's in the light blue circle.|frame|right]]</tab>
<tab name="Diagoras">[[File:Emeraldstation_atmospherics.png|Make sure to max the pressure out of the dark blue circles and ensure the pressure is correct by setting what's in the light blue circle.|frame|right]]</tab>
</tabs>
====Prepping Space Cooled Gas For Engineering====
Sometimes, you'll have a [[Chief Engineer]] or engineering team asking for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) for the Supermatter Engine. Pretty easy, right? Just turn on the pumps and valves and let the CO2 flow until however many moles is inside the To Engine line! Sadly, you'll probably be asked to more than 10,000 moles which doesn't always fit in the pipe. Due to more gas being able to fit in a pipe the colder it is, you'll want to space cool it. Utilizing heat exchange pipes in space, you are able to fit large quantities of cooled gas in the same length of piping.
[[File:Boxstation_Example_Cooling_Loop.png| A [[Chief Engineer]] filling a cooling loop with Carbon Dioxide.|thumb|right]]
====How Gas Actually Flows====
It's important to know that gas doesn't technically "flow" through pipes. It is omnipresent in a section of pipes. This means that if you wanted to connect something like a thermomachine, it wouldn't matter where you place it in the pipenet, it will still work the same. Do note, that the bigger the section of pipe or pipenet is, the less efficient atmospheric machines work. 
====Basic Mathematical Applications====
=====The Ideal Gas Law=====
The Ideal Gas Law is helpful to explain how hot your burn mixes will be and why the gas in coolant pipes are the way they are.


==Disposals Pipe Dispenser==
Formula: '''PV=nRT'''


In addition to handling the station's Atmosphere, a secondary job you share with the Engineers is making sure the Disposals network is functioning properly.
'''P''' - Pressure in kilopascals or kPa<br>
'''V''' - Volume in liters<br>
'''n''' - is the amount of substance of gas (also known as number of moles)<br>
'''R''' - is a constant or 8.31<br>
'''T''' - Temperature in Kelvin<br>


Seeing as these don't actually handle anything, it's literally as simple as drawing lines from point A to point B.
Cooling a gas will cause it to take up less space in the pipe, while heating it up causes it to take up more space in the pipe.


That said, it's still possible to create truly dizzying contraptions with the use of outlets and pipes, such as quick travel "highways" in the Central Primary Hallway.
=====Celsius and Kelvin Conversion=====
While using an [[File:Analyzer.png|32px]] analyzer shows you both Kelvin and Celsius, it may be useful to convert temperatures back in forth if you are using a thermomachine, which only gives you the temperature in Kelvin.


==Traitor Atmos: Horrible Deaths Ensue==
Formula: '''K = C + 273.15'''


There is precisely one occasion where large scale Atmos sabotage is permitted: the hijack objective. In any other condition, sabotaging the station in any large scale will result in the staff getting '''very''' annoyed, so unless you have it '''ADMINHELP BEFORE TRYING ANYTHING BIG'''.
'''C''' - Celsius<br>
'''K''' - Kelvin


With that said, wreaking havoc with Atmosia is as easy as hooking up the plasma / carbon dioxide / nitrous oxide containment areas (or an unholy combination of all three) to the main Distribution Loop, then remotely replacing the air on the station's Air Alarms. Slowly, but surely, death ensues.
(Basically, subtract 273.15 from your Kelvin temperature and you have your Celsius temperature)


If, however, misery may not be global, you have a variety of tools at your disposal. Your '''AXE''' can very easily murder anyone if dual-handed, you have [[Engineering]] right next door, and Atmospherics itself is out of the way and rarely looked at. In addition, you're the one closest to the AI Minisatellite. Use that advantage wisely.
====Miscellaneous Tips====
* Most of any the atmospheric devices (valves, pumps, filters, etc.) that come from your Rapid Pipe Dispenser can be safely wrenched up without the fear of being launched back without magboots.  
* All types of pipes, valves, filters, and mixers and be enabled by CTRL+Clicking them and have their pressure maxed by ALT+Clicking them.
* Setting an [[Air Alarm]] to the Contaminated option is usually a better way to clear out lots of unwanted gases than turning on Panic Siphon.
* When people are in-evidently screaming "ATMOS FIX THE DISTRO" when xenomorphs or terror spiders have been discovered, check the Distribution and Waste Monitor to ensure the distro pressure is below 5000 kPA and ensure that the distro piping has been set up properly up.
* It can be useful to just stare at the pipes until you understand them. Make a mental path of how gas flows throughout atmos. For example, follow the path that Oxygen and Nitrogen take to get to the air mix chamber and then to the rest of the station.
* Don't be afraid to ask for help from your fellow Chief Engineer or Atmospheric Technician! Atmospherics is a very complicated thing that can be hard to wrap your head around.
* Arrived late to a station where a biohazard was just announced and worried about the distro pressure? No worries! Simply connect the distro line and waste line with a straight pipe and then unwrench it. This will immediately half all the pressure in the distro line as the other half is now in the waste line.


==The Supermatter: Time to Shine, Baby==
=Additional Guides=


The Supermatter Engine is perhaps the epitome of Atmospheric excellence. It represents a beautiful, pseudo-scientific amalgamation of Engineering and Atmospheric work, and can be used for truly astounding effect.
*[[File:Gasturbine.png|32px|link=Gas Turbine]] [[Gas Turbine|Guide to Gas Turbine]]
*[[File:Supermatter.png|link=Supermatter Engine|32px]] [[Supermatter Engine|Guide to Supermatter Engine]]
*[[File:AirAlarm.png|link=Air Alarm|32px]] [[Air Alarm|Guide to Air Alarms]]


While Engineering concerns itself with constructing the Supermatter's containment area and emergency disposal system, you'll be the one responsible for constructing the system that will scrub out the waste plasma produced, and supply fresh coolant to keep the Shard from delaminating. This is the '''single most important''' component of the Supermatter Engine, and a well-designed cooling system can allow for continuous emitter fire without so much as a minor hiccup. This can snowball into absolutely ridiculous amounts of power.
==Related Links==
*[[Atmospheric Technician]]


In addition, you can also cool down plasma for use in radiation collectors. The colder the plasma, the more you can fit into a plasma tank, and the more power it will generate!




[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Guides]]

Latest revision as of 17:16, 9 March 2025

Engineering Department

Atmospherics. To the uninitiated, a magical flow of gases that somehow lets you breathe. To the knowledgeable Atmospheric Technician, an interconnected network of pipes for moving gases around. With the right knowledge, you can refill a breached room quickly like it’s just another Tuesday or burn the brightest plasmafires seen on this side of the sector.

Atmospherics 1.01: Basic Characteristics of Gases and Pipes

Firstly, it’s important to understand what the different properties of gases mean. Grab an analyzer from a toolbox or an autolathe. Alternatively, enable the Gas Scanner option on your PDA. You can either use the analyzer in your hand to get an analysis of the gases of the tiles you’re standing on or hit a pipe or canister to see the contents of it.


Moles are the amount of molecules that are contained in the tile you are trying to analyze.

Temperature is measured in Celsius and Kelvin and should usually be around 293 Kelvin or 19 degrees Celsius when dealing with air that is to be breathed. Both too hot gas and too cold gas can hurt most species so make sure you’re not pumping gases with extreme temperatures into the distro pipes!

Volume is the total space in the segment of pipes or tile you are analyzing. For example, analyzing the main air distribution pipe would have a much higher volume than the Supermatter Crystal cooling loop.

Pressure is the measure of how much force the gas is exerting on the container it is in, whether that be a pipe or canister. If there is too much pressure in a pipe that you try to unwrench, make sure you have magboots lest you be launched and possibly seriously hurt.

Heat Capacity is the required amount of energy needed to heat up a gas. Fires will spread quicker in gas mixtures with low heat capacity and spread slower in gases mixtures with high heat capacity.

Thermal energy is the kinetic energy of the molecules in a gas. This is really only used when making theoretical burn mixes. This is not temperature, as that is the velocity of the molecules, not the kinetic energy.

The Gases and What They Do

Canisters Description
Nitrogen (N2)
 The most abundant gas you will encounter. Nitrogen is not flammable, making it good for quelling fires in environments such as the Supermatter Engine. Vox must breathe pure Nitrogen, while the rest of the organic crew breathes a 80% to 20% ratio of Nitrogen and Oxygen.
Oxygen (O2)
 Oxygen is the other portion of what the crew breathes. This is poisonous to Vox and can cause Plasmamen to ignite if they make contact without their envirosuit.
Air
A 1:4 gas mixture of Oyxgen and Nitrogen. This is found all throughout the station and is breathed by most crew.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
 A gas slightly heavier than air. This is what crew members will be breathing out and produced by fires. Used sometimes in Supermatter Engine setups and high concentrations can make you pass out and suffocate.
Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
 A white gas that is slightly heavier than Carbon Dioxide and invisible in small quantities. In small amounts, it causes giggling and laughing, while in large amounts, it will put you to sleep. Used in Medbay and Robotics to put patients to sleep during surgery and implanting. If heated to over 1000C/1273K, it will decompose into N2 and O2 in an exothermic reaction.
Plasma
 A purple gas that is flammable and toxic to anyone to breathe other than Plasmamen. Highly flammable in the presence of oxygen.
Agent B
 A gas that has a higher heat capacity than plasma. Acts similar to Nitrogren. Able to set fire to Carbon Dioxide while generating Oxygen.

Where to Get Pipes

Meet your new best friend. The Rapid Pipe Dispenser, also known as the RPD. which is found in your locker or printed at an Autolathe. It even fits in your backpack and can dispense any type of pipe you need and can recycle any you don't!

Items Name Description Details
Normal Pipes Generic pipes that can be used for most tasks. These are airtight pipes that can carry any gas you pump into them.
Air Supply Pipe Used to distribute air all across the station. Special pipes that are mostly used for the air distribution network. Can be laid in parallel to normal pipes and scrubber pipes.
Scrubbers Pipe Used to move waste or harmful gases. Special pipes that are mostly used for the waste network. Can be laid in parallel to normal pipes and air supply pipes.
Heat Exchange Pipe Shares heat between the pipe and the environment. Exchanges heat between any gas in the pipe and any gas in the tile. Think space loop(for cooling) or the Toxins burn chamber(for heating). Connects to normal pipes via junctions.
Universal Pipe Adapter Can be fitted to any pipe type. Used to interface between normal, air supply, and scrubbers pipes. They cannot connect to each other without this.
Items Name Description Details
Unary Vent The standard vent used to distribute air. Needs to be inside a blueprinted room with a functional air alarm to operate. Typically used to pump breathable air into a room.
Air Scrubber Scrubs the air clean. Needs to be inside a blueprinted room with a functional air alarm to operate. Can remove specific gases from the room it is in, or rapidly siphon out all gas. Typically used to remove harmful gases like CO2 from the station's air.
Passive Vent An unpowered vent that relies on pipe pressure to operate. Freely exchanges gas and heat between the tile and the connected pipe network, based on pressure and temperature gradients. Does not require power, or even a blueprinted room.
Connector Port A connector port for canisters of gas. Connects canisters to pipe networks. When used in conjunction with pumps, allows you to fill canisters or to empty them into a pipe network.
Gas Pump A generic pressure pump. This pump is configured to measure how much gas it pumps by pressure. Can be set to only pump a certain amount of pressure through. The maximum pressure this pump can be set to move is 4500 kPa
Volume Pump The gas pump's cool sibling. This pump is configured to measure how much gas it pumps by volume instead of pressure. Can be set to pump only a specific volume of gas through. The maximum volume this pump can be set to move is 200L/s.
Passive Gate A passive one-way valve. A special one-way valve. Gas will only flow if pressure at the input is greater than at the output. Flow will stop if output pressure reaches or exceeds the target pressure. Pressure range of 0-4500 kPa. Does not require power.
Gas Filter Separates out gases. A scrubber in pipe form. Checks for whatever gas you set it to, then filters it out into another pipe.
Gas Mixer Mixes gases together. The opposite of a filter. Takes the contents of its two inputs and combines them together at whatever ratio you tell it to, then pumps them through the output. Importantly, ratios are measured by pressure, not volume. Maximum output pressure is 4500 kPa
Heat Exchanger Equalize heat between two pipe networks. When two heat exchangers are placed next to each other, facing each other, they will try to equalize the heat between the two pipe networks they are connected to. They connect to normal pipes and thus are not part of the heat exchanger pipe system.
Air Injector Used to force gases into high pressure areas. A gas injector that will continue to pump its contents out regardless of how high the pressure around it is. Measures how much it pumps by volume. Will not operate without being linked to a console. Will display a green light when on.
Manual Valve A simple hand-turned gas valve. A manually-controlled valve, it requires no power and also no ID authorization to use. Doesn't require power(or a blueprinted room), doesn't require ID access, and cannot be operated by the AI, borgs, or drones. Displays a small green light when open.
Digital Valve An electronic valve. An electronically-controlled gas valve. Requires power, requires ID access, and can be operated by the AI, borgs, and drones. Displays a small green light when open.
Meter Measures temperature and pressure inside the pipe it's on. Simply place over any flat stretch of pipe and wrench it on. Upon examination, it should now be yielding measurements on what is going on inside the pipe. Does not provide as much information as an analyser/gas scanner, but good for being able to tell what is going on at a glance.
Gas Sensor Senses gas. No, really. Used to sense the pressure and temperature of the gas surrounding the sensor itself, rather than a pipe. Must be connected to one of several kinds of computer to be used.
Items Name Description
Disposal Pipe Large pneumatic pipes that are used to carry trash, mail, and occasionally people around the station.
Disposal Bin The preferred method for delivering garbage into disposal pipes. Holds onto contents until they are flushed, whether manually or automatically.
Disposal Outlet Whenever something or someone has reached this from a disposal pipe, they are ejected after a buzzer sounds.
Disposal Intake An open chute into disposal pipes. Objects or people that enter will be sent into connected disposal pipes. Objects or people who reach one of these at the end of a disposal pipe are ejected at high speed in a random direction.
Items Name Description
Transit Tube A glass tube used for transportation with the use of transit pods.
Diagonal Transit Tube A glass tube used for transportation with the use of transit pods. This one is diagonal.
Curved Transit Tube A glass tube used for transportation with the use of transit pods. This one is curved
Junction Transit Tube A glass tube used for transportation with the use of transit pods. This one has three sides. You can hold down a directional key to choose which side to go to.
Transit Tube Station A station for transit pods to park in midway through the ride, letting the person leave by pressing the directional key the exit is facing in or going through the station faster by pressing a directional key where the next transit tube is. You can board it by walking in through it's entrance. It's density prevents people or bullets from passing through it.
Terminus Dispenser Tube Station A terminus used to signify the end or beginning of a transit tube network. It can be boarded it by walking in through it's entrance. This one creates and recycles transit pods.
Dispenser Tube Station A station for transit pods to park in midway through the ride, letting the person leave by pressing the directional key the exit is facing in or going through the station faster by pressing a directional key where the next transit tube is. It can be boarded it by walking in through it's entrance. This one creates and recycles transit pods. It's density prevents people or bullets from passing through it.

Atmospherics 1.02: Your Tools and You!

You have plenty of tools at your disposal to assist you with your atmospheric duties, whether that be firefighting or refilling a room with air.

Analyzer

The analyzer is your eyes into the world of Atmospherics. Able to tell you all sorts of information such as how much gas is a certain area, the temperature, pressure within canisters/pipes, and more. Any Atmospheric Technician should have this at arm's length, ready to be use.

Firefighter Suit

With the both the helmet and suit, you're completely safe from any fires you may encounter at the cost of your movement speed. Found in an atmospheric technician's locker and any fire cabinets around the station. You're usually better off using one of your MODsuits, though the firesuit can be useful if you need protection quickly.

Engineering Goggles

These handy goggles have three modes. A meson mode, which allows you to see the outline of the walls around you and protecting you from the Supermatter-induced hallucinations, a T-ray scanner mode, which allows you to see the piping, cabling, and disposal pipe network underneath plating, and finally a radiation mode, which allows you to see how many total rads something has.

Backpack Firefighting Tank

Replacing your backpack, this firefighting tank gives you three helpful substances to assist you in your atmospheric work. Activate it and its nozzle will extend. From there you can cycle through:

  • Water, which is pretty self explanatory, is used to put out fires.
  • Nanofrost which is a special substance that replaces burning plasma with Nitrogen, quickly halting plasma fires. However be careful, as it welds vents and scrubbers.
  • Metal foam is a liquid that eventually solidifies into a flimsy, yet airtight wall or floor.

The Atmospherics MODsuit is also pre-equiped with a module that serves the same purpose.

ATMOS Holofan

This holofan projector will probably be your second best friend you'll have working for Nanotrasen. This handy tool lets you block any and all changes in the atmosphere. Useful for plasma fires from spreading and gas escaping to space when a breach inevitability happens. You can place up to three at a time and all placed holofans can be cleared by using the holofan in your hand.

Oxygen Grenades

Want to easily fill up a room with oxygen and throw a grenade? Use an oxygen grenade which after a short period after being primed will release about 50 moles of oxygen into the air. Good for places that cannot be easily connected to the main distribution system.

Portable Air Pump

This is an invaluable resource when you want to quickly fill a room up with air again. Filled by wrenching it to a connector port with light blue pipes attached to it, this can be taken anywhere and output air when set to the Out setting. Inversely, you can set it to the In setting to refill it by sucking air in from its surroundings. Another option for refilling it while on the go, is to connect a connector to the distro line to refill the air pump. This is also applicable to scrubbers. Also can be used to fill a tank or empty a tank.

Portable Air Scrubber

Alternatively, the air scrubber is good tool to cleanse the air of any unwanted gases. The higher you set the pressure option, the quicker it will scrub the air. Whenever you're finished with it or the internal tank gets full, wrench it down to a connector port that is attached with purple pipes.

Huge Air Scrubber

Rarely seen outside of the Toxins gas storage, these behemoths can only be used when wrenched down and synced to a nearby area air control computer by using a multitool. Can also be used to empty out tanks and be wrenched to a connector to empty its contents.

Air Alarms

Found all throughout the station, Air Alarms are the main way you'll be controlling the behavior of the vents and scrubbers. Only able to be used in a powered and blueprinted room. For a full explanation, visit the Air Alarm page.

The Computers

  • The Atmospheric Alert Computer will tell you where you should divert your attention. A green color means the air is all good, yellow means something is going wrong or should be checked on, and red means something has gone wrong such as a leak or breach to space.
  • Distribution and Waste Monitor is a console that will tell you the status of your distribution line, waste line, and mixed air tank. Use this computer to make sure your air supply tank hasn't been tainted with Nitrous Oxide, Plasma, or anything else you don't want your crew members breathing. You can also check to see if vents will burst if welded. Remember, if the distro is over 5000 kPA, vents WILL burst.
  • Tank Monitor is the console that does exactly what it says, monitors the pressure and temperature (in Kelvin) of the gases in storage.
  • Central Atmospherics Computer allows you to view the status of every air alarm on station and are able to remotely control any air alarm, assuming remote control is enabled on said air alarm.

Space Heaters

These industrial little things can be used to heat up cold areas around the station. Use a screwdriver to access its power cell and heat setting. Be wary of its charge level, as it can run out very quickly.

Atmospheric MODsuit

Thanks to the progression of hardsuit technology, you have your own special MODsuit! Offering COMPLETE fire protection and ash protection, this bad boy will keep you comfortable in any fire. Comes with built in welding protection, a t-ray scanner, magnetic stabilization which acts as magboots, and a firefighter tank that is exactly like the one written above.

Atmospherics 1.03: Setting Up Atmospherics, Practical Appliances, and Tips!

Setting Up Atmospherics

After getting all your gear, you need to start working on setting up atmospherics. It's best to do this as soon as you can so you won't have to worry about it later on. Your two biggest concerns are preventing the waste lines getting too clogged and vents starting to burst which can allow biohazards such as Xenomorphs and Terror Spiders to easily navigate the station. Setting up atmospherics is not too hard once you know what to do. Firstly, you'll want to find the air filters connected by purple and green pipes. Head over to them and max out the pressure on all the filters. These are circled with dark blue in the picture below. What this does is ensures that the gases flowing through the waste line is quickly deposited back into storage so the waste line doesn't get backed up. Next, you'll want to ensure you put down a pump that ensures the distro line stays within the optimal pressure. A normal pump or passive gate are the most commonly used.

Make sure to max the pressure out of the dark blue circles and ensure the pressure is correct by setting what's in the light blue circle.
Make sure to max the pressure out of the dark blue circles and ensure the pressure is correct by setting what's in the light blue circle.
Make sure to max the pressure out of the dark blue circles and ensure the pressure is correct by setting what's in the light blue circle.
Make sure to max the pressure out of the dark blue circles and ensure the pressure is correct by setting what's in the light blue circle.
Make sure to max the pressure out of the dark blue circles and ensure the pressure is correct by setting what's in the light blue circle.

Prepping Space Cooled Gas For Engineering

Sometimes, you'll have a Chief Engineer or engineering team asking for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) for the Supermatter Engine. Pretty easy, right? Just turn on the pumps and valves and let the CO2 flow until however many moles is inside the To Engine line! Sadly, you'll probably be asked to more than 10,000 moles which doesn't always fit in the pipe. Due to more gas being able to fit in a pipe the colder it is, you'll want to space cool it. Utilizing heat exchange pipes in space, you are able to fit large quantities of cooled gas in the same length of piping.

A Chief Engineer filling a cooling loop with Carbon Dioxide.

How Gas Actually Flows

It's important to know that gas doesn't technically "flow" through pipes. It is omnipresent in a section of pipes. This means that if you wanted to connect something like a thermomachine, it wouldn't matter where you place it in the pipenet, it will still work the same. Do note, that the bigger the section of pipe or pipenet is, the less efficient atmospheric machines work.

Basic Mathematical Applications

The Ideal Gas Law

The Ideal Gas Law is helpful to explain how hot your burn mixes will be and why the gas in coolant pipes are the way they are.

Formula: PV=nRT

P - Pressure in kilopascals or kPa
V - Volume in liters
n - is the amount of substance of gas (also known as number of moles)
R - is a constant or 8.31
T - Temperature in Kelvin

Cooling a gas will cause it to take up less space in the pipe, while heating it up causes it to take up more space in the pipe.

Celsius and Kelvin Conversion

While using an analyzer shows you both Kelvin and Celsius, it may be useful to convert temperatures back in forth if you are using a thermomachine, which only gives you the temperature in Kelvin.

Formula: K = C + 273.15

C - Celsius
K - Kelvin

(Basically, subtract 273.15 from your Kelvin temperature and you have your Celsius temperature)

Miscellaneous Tips

  • Most of any the atmospheric devices (valves, pumps, filters, etc.) that come from your Rapid Pipe Dispenser can be safely wrenched up without the fear of being launched back without magboots.
  • All types of pipes, valves, filters, and mixers and be enabled by CTRL+Clicking them and have their pressure maxed by ALT+Clicking them.
  • Setting an Air Alarm to the Contaminated option is usually a better way to clear out lots of unwanted gases than turning on Panic Siphon.
  • When people are in-evidently screaming "ATMOS FIX THE DISTRO" when xenomorphs or terror spiders have been discovered, check the Distribution and Waste Monitor to ensure the distro pressure is below 5000 kPA and ensure that the distro piping has been set up properly up.
  • It can be useful to just stare at the pipes until you understand them. Make a mental path of how gas flows throughout atmos. For example, follow the path that Oxygen and Nitrogen take to get to the air mix chamber and then to the rest of the station.
  • Don't be afraid to ask for help from your fellow Chief Engineer or Atmospheric Technician! Atmospherics is a very complicated thing that can be hard to wrap your head around.
  • Arrived late to a station where a biohazard was just announced and worried about the distro pressure? No worries! Simply connect the distro line and waste line with a straight pipe and then unwrench it. This will immediately half all the pressure in the distro line as the other half is now in the waste line.

Additional Guides

Related Links

Retrieved from "https://www.paradisestation.org/wiki/index.php?title=Guide_to_Atmospherics&oldid=49400"