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{{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.


[[File:Atmospherics.png|thumb|600px]]
=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 Technicians goof off in the break room. But this is far from the truth.
'''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!


==Atmosia==
'''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.


===Content===
'''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.


Atmosia contains several notable things that every Atmospheric Technician should know about:
'''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.


* '''Monitoring Computers''' that allow the Atmospheric Technicians to check the atmospheric, fire, and power condition of the entire station
'''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 Atmospheric Pipe System''' that takes in waste air from the rest of the station, filters it, and gets it ready to be used again
* '''The Distribution Computers''' that allow control of the composition of the atmosphere station-wide
* '''Reserve air tanks''' that can be filled in case Atmospherics' reserve tanks are destroyed
* '''Fire-fighting equipment''' that enables Atmospheric Technicians to survive easily for extended periods in difficult atmospheres
* '''[[Portable air pump|Portable air pumps]]''' that can be used to repressurize or depressurize areas of the station
* '''Portable air scrubbers''' that can be used to clear toxins from the air
* '''Portable space heaters''' that can be used to keep an area from freezing
* '''Pipe dispensers''' that allow repair of disposal and air distribution pipes
* '''Fuel and water tanks''' for use when fighting fires or other hazards
* '''Freezer and Heater''' that can heat or freeze the gas in the pipes


== The Gases and What They Do ==


{| 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 Pipes===
|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]]


[[File:Atmos.png|thumb|600px]]
|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]]


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:
|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]]


*The dark blue loop is the '''distribution loop'''. It sends air to all the vents on the station, and is fed by the cyan and orange loops
|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.
*The cyan air mix loop, which contains '''mixed air''' to feed into the distribution loop
|-
*The red/green loop, which '''retrieves (red) and filters (green) waste air''' from the rest of the station
! {{Anchor|Nitrous Oxide}}Nitrous Oxide (N2O)<br> [[File:N2O_canister.png]]
*The yellow/orange loop, internal to Atmospherics, which is used for '''custom air mixes'''


|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]]


The arrows on the image indicate the direction of flow of various pipe systems. The dark blue arrow indicates the distribution loop carrying gas out to the rest of the station. The red arrow shows the waste intake. The yellow arrow shows both the direction of mixed air flow and points towards the portable air pumps that are outside Atmospherics.
|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]]


The air breathed by humans on Baystation 12 is made out of oxygen and nitrogen, and is mixed on the south end of Atmosia (Air Mixing). The gasses are pumped through the cyan tubes from their respective canisters ('''N2''', '''O2''') and are mixed in the air canister ('''Air'''). 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.
|A gas that has a higher heat capacity than plasma. Acts similar to Nitrogren. Able to set fire to Carbon Dioxide while generating Oxygen.
|}


The filtering loop basically runs the gasses through the filters along the green piping and injects all gas not filtered into the mixing canister.
== Where to Get Pipes ==
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:15%"|'''Name'''
|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:heat_exchanger_pipe.png|64px]]
|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.
|-
|[[File:universal_pipe.png|64px]]
|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.
|}
</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:Vent_Port.png|64px]]
|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.
|-
|[[File:Scrubber_Port.png|64px]]
|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.
|-
|[[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.


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, a small valve that allows the gas to be injected into the pipes, and a filter pump that moves the gas through the pipes.
|-
|[[File:Connector_Port.png|64px]]
|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.
|-
|[[File:Pump.png|64px]]
|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
|-
|[[File:Volumetric_Pump.png|64px]]
|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.
|-
|[[File:Passive_Gate.png|64px]]
|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.
|-
|[[File:Gas_Filter.png|64px]]
|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.
|-
|[[File:Gas_Mixer.png|64px]]
|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
|-
|[[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|64px]]
|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.
|-
|[[File:Manual_Valve.png|64px]]
|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.
|-
|[[File:Digital_Valve.png|64px]]
|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.
|-
|[[File:meter.gif|64px]]
|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.
|-
|[[File:Gas_Sensor.png|64px]]
|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.
|}
</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>


To create a custom mix of gas, turn on the output of the supply control computers, open the manual valves, and turn the output of the pump to what you wish it to be. The gas will travel through the orange pipes into the mixing chamber. The air mix is pumped into the mixing chamber via a pump north of the orange loop. The mix obtained can then be pumped into the distribution and filtering loop. Remember to open the hand valve south of dark blue t-shaped  valves and turn on the pumps or your custom mix will just be redistributed through the red loop.
=Atmospherics 1.02: Your Tools and You!=


===The Gases===
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.


*'''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.
====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.


*'''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.
====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.


*'''Air''': The gas mix that is distributed in the station. It is composed of 70% N2 and 30% O2.
====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.


*'''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 low levels is (gasps alone? chokes and gasps?)
====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.


*'''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.
====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.


*'''Plasma''': The one truly flammable gas on the station, plasma is orange, 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.
====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 Atmosia==
[[File:AtmosGuide.png|thumb|300px]]
Properly initialized, Atmosia can keep the station aired-up through nearly any emergency.  Improperly initialized, it's a waste of space at best and an outright fire hazard at worst.


Here's how to do it the right way:
====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>


*1) Go to every green-circled pump and filter (shown on the image) except the topmost one. Make sure they're all on and set to max pressure (4500 kPa), so gas will actually be moved.
====Prepping Space Cooled Gas For Engineering====
*2) Go to the topmost green-circled pump (the one feeding air into distribution from the cyan air mix loop) and set it to 700 kPa
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.
*3) Go to every yellow-circled valve and make sure they're turned on. You can tell if it's on by looking at the small light on its side; if it's green, it's on.
*4) Go to every computer at the edge of the room and click "Search", so that the computer will actually register that it has gas to inject into the system. Use the O2 and N2 computers and set their vents to the maximum pressure (5066.25 KPA).
*5) Go outside, to the external ports, and make sure the portable air pumps are connected to the gas ports so that they'll fill.


[[File:Boxstation_Example_Cooling_Loop.png| A [[Chief Engineer]] filling a cooling loop with Carbon Dioxide.|thumb|right]]


Now that Atmosia is set up, there is a short list of things which fall under your stead:
====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. 


*First and by far most important: make sure pipes don't get broken and if they do, fix them.
====Basic Mathematical Applications====
*Go around swiping your ID on air alarms, setting Plasma and N2O to siphon, and then re-swiping to lock it. You can ask the AI to do this as well, and probably should.
*Least importantly, maintain the disposals system. You can generate pipes with the disposal pipe dispensers.


==Air Alarms==
=====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.


Air alarms are the central tool of an atmos tech outside setting atmospherics up. To use an air alarm, simply swipe your ID across it. Here's the different options:
Formula: '''PV=nRT'''


'''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>


'''Panic Syphons:''' They turn all vents off and set all scrubbers to syphon.  
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 [[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.


'''Vents:''' you control vents through the air alarm. There are the following settings:
Formula: '''K = C + 273.15'''
*External on, Internal off: will drain/add air from the tile the vent is on to make it the correct amount. All air being moved goes into/comes out of the pipe the vent is attached to. Set to 0 to drain air, or pressurise to specific levels.
*Both on: completely useless. Don't bother.
*External off, Internal on: Drains/adds air to the tile to get the pipe attached to the correct level. Setting a vent to internal and the desired pressure to 0 causes ALL gas which enters the pipe to be shunted out onto the tile.


'''C''' - Celsius<br>
'''K''' - Kelvin


'''Scrubbers''': two settings, scrubbing and syphoning.
(Basically, subtract 273.15 from your Kelvin temperature and you have your Celsius temperature)
*Scrubbers will slowly drain any gasses set to scrub in the air of the tile they are on, and transfer it to their pipe. Really, really slow with N2O.
*Syphons will do the same, except indiscriminately and drain all gasses on their tile.


====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.


After you've set up Atmosia, you can go around and configure the various air alarms on the station to filter out toxins, NO2, and CO2. They default to filtering only CO2, but the other two are just as dangerous. You can get the AI to help you with this, though, so it's not that difficult.
=Additional Guides=


*[[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]]


==Pipe Dispensers==
==Related Links==
*[[Atmospheric Technician]]


There are a few different pipes and devices that you can get from the dispensers, each with specific uses.
Pipe Dispenser:
*'''Regular pipes''' - The station is infested with these thing.
*'''Insulated pipes''' - Keeps the cold out if you're placing pipes out in space. (Regular pipes don't transfer outside heat at all from the environment, so these are pretty much regular pipes without the luxury of manifolds.)
'''Devices'''
*Connector - 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.
*Unary vent - See: Vent. Once placed down it will have to be turned on by activating it at an Air alarm terminal.
*Gas pump - The basic pumps you'll find all over atmospherics. Good for precise pressure levels. Goes up to 4500 kPa.
*Passive gate - Think of it as a one-way manual valve, but electronic. Doesn't pump gas, but lets certain pressure through. Can let up to 4500 kPa pressure through. It should be noted that its on status can be easy to miss, being just a small red/green light.
*Volume pump - A bit like the gas pump, but pumps via volume rather than going for pressure. 200 is its max output, but this is fairly significant. Faster than a gas pump (You can even fill canisters up past the standard 4500 kpa pressure!), so best used in systems where precise pressure isn't needed. (Such as anything to do with the waste loop.)
*Scrubber - Self explanatory, scrubs the nasty out of things, or acts like a vacuum. Like unary vents, needs to be turned on by an Air alarm terminal after wrenched into place.
*Meter - Wanna know how much gas is in a pipe? Use these. (Helpful hint: In a room with the default 101.3kPa atmosphere pipes < 303.9 kPa pressure can be unwrenched.)
*Gas Filter - Them big ol' blocks of things that ring Atmosia, takes certain gasses out. Filters them if you will.
*Gas Mixer - Like a filter, but mixes gasses instead of filters. There is one in Atmosia that mixes nitrogen and oxygen.
'''Heat Exchange'''
*Pipes - H/E pipes transfer temperatures between the environment and gas within'. Besides looking spiffy, you can place some in space to cool gasses, or create a burning length of death pipe.
*Junction - Turn that regular pipe network into a H/E network, and back again! After all, you have to get that gas safely into space ''somehow''!
*Heat Exchanger - These strange and esoteric devices equalize the temperature between two pipe networks without actually mixing the gasses. To use, place them facing each other. (So you're going to need at LEAST a 1 X 4 area to set this up.)
Disposal Pipe Dispenser:
'''Disposal Pipes'''
Those pipes are made through the disposal pipe dispenser, use them to fix or expand to the disposal system of the Exodus.
==Pipe Prospecting==
Atmospherics isn't the only place with pipes, the entire pipe system is there to explore.
*Officially, Atmospherics has one other official room on the station, a small room in maintenance just north of the [[Fitness Room]]  and just east of the [[Detective's Office]]. This room can isolate the Security wings distribution system with its own feed of gas, canister of air mix included within.
*The [[Incinerator]] provides a good off-site burn room.
*The [[Construction Area]] is a oft disused little haven that's just asking for some pipes, it even comes with an Air alarm that controls nothing that you don't build yourself! This place provides a great blank canvas for any sort of atmospheric experimentation outside of Atmosia. However, it's a little far from any distro pipes.
*The [[Vacant Office]] is also a prime location for Atmospherics, though there already is a vent system in place as well as plenty of annoying desks to dismantle, it can be a place to practice your pipe skills.
*By [[Arrivals]] and also the airlocks leading to the [[Toxins Test Chamber]] in the maintenance tunnels are two large cans of emergency air mix that can be put into the system with the turn of a valve.
Finally, the entirety of the maintenance system itself is a giant playground of pipes. Try using your T-ray to explore the vast pipe systems.
Whatever you do, be responsible with your experiments. When in doubt, adminhelp what you're going to do.
==Useful Atmos Trivia==
*Using H/E pipes in space you can cool things down to a very low temperature very quickly. By making a cross with two off them you can have two on one tile, which is known as 'sequesteral' cooling.
*Air Filters on currently burning mixes can siphon out heated but PURE O2 and Plasma. Do the O2 first then the plasma, as there is less O2 in a fire and thus it functions faster. This (and H/E) allow you to reach really obscene temperatures.
*Air Filters and H/E allow you to expose gasses to the heat of fires (or their CO2 product) but keep/make them pure, allowing for hot N2O or similar.
*You can use fire to burn out floor tiles into space tiles.
*Using a small starter flame/heater you can have in pipe combustion.
*Canister bombs are heated Plasma in a canister, with a O2 tank placed in the canister, and then open the valve between them. You will also need to run very, very fast.
*The gas diverted by an air filter has no maximum pressure, and can therefore reach an insane amount. For example, you can filter out the oxygen into one sealed pipe and it will keep rising.
*You can hack an air alarm to use it as a non-atmostech.
*Any time chemistry sets off an air-affecting grenade (Think Welderfuel/Ground Plasma), the particles spread themselves as part of an airmix. This is bloody annoying, because though the Air Alarms pick them up as "High Concentration of Unknown Particles Detected", they are impossible to suck down to Atmos. Spacing the entire affected air is, as far as I know, the only real "cure". There is a viable way to clean this, if you can safely cordon off the area. Detonating a welding fuel tank usually (always?) cuts a hole to space on the tile beneath it, and thus if you set your internals on and wear a fire suit, is an highly unsafe but effective way of draining the air. It is also one of the few ways to destroy pipes which are at a high pressure and thus can be a useful emergency cut-off if there is plasma irrevocably linked to distribution. It does KO you, do damage, and can make a space tile, which means without internals and a fire suit it can kill you. Caution is advised.
*Pipes at around 300 kPa pressure can be unwrenched, however, devices such as pumps and filters don't really 'hold' pressure and can be unwrenched at any time! (Assuming they're off.)
*Gas pumps are for precise pressure control, volumetric pumps are for really fast pumping, and passive gates are for having 'one way' manual valves.
==Fun projects==
*The Atmospherics system is far from optimal, and I'm talking about just the pipe configuration! Break out that wrench and start experimenting! (Just make sure you know what's what.)
*Extremely high temperature gasses (Like those from a panic siphoned fire.) can really clog the waste loop. Can something be done to correct that?
*No one uses the ports outside of the 'refilling' station, but that doesn't mean that functionality can't be added onto them!
*The main cargo area inside Cargo has a laughably small number of vents, and how many times have those dumb dumbs sent the shuttle off while the doors are open?
*The brigs distribution system is set up to be potentially independent of the rest of the stations distribution loop, maybe other places can be set up like this as well?
*The mining station doesn't have air recycling. Very long rounds might make this a problem for any miners working there.
==HOW TO BE A TRAITOROUS BASTARD==
*1) Open valves connected to harmful gas you want to add to the station.
*2) Set pumps to the distribution loop to maximum pressure output (4500kPa)
*3) Set filters to not filter harmful gasses you want to add to the station
*4) Open valve from custom mix chamber
*5) Turn on pump leading to distribution loop
*6) Wait for vents to slowly kick out your deathgas mix as regular atmos drains out through the inevitable hull breaches. (Alternatively turn off pressure checks on atmos alarms vents)
*7) If you need to kill someone for your objective, and you want to be more proactive, the Fire Axe mounted in the wall is surprisingly effective. Just don't leave it lying around, because it's the only one in the station.
To hurry this process up, you can set the air vents at local control panels to maximum output pressure. Not doing so gives the AI and atmos techs more time to notice what you've done and shut it off before it takes effect.
Crafty atmos traitors will want to cut cameras, replace pumps with pipes, and use tricky pipe configurations to avoid the AI interfering or the detective trying to fix it.
'''Warning'''
If you plan using any dangerous gas as a traitor, adminhelp first. Say what you're planning and wait to get approval. Do not act without an admin greenlight.
==The less well know hazards of gasses==
*Any gas at pressure over 1000 KPA will cause you to start suffocating as in a vacuum. You can just use internals, though.
*N2O is invisible at low pressures. If you start giggling, put on your internals to avoid passing out.
*Any gas can displace O2, and less than ''16'' (also useful for optimizing internals) KPA of oxygen starts the Oxyloss. CO2 can be removed with the scrubbers, but to get rid of N2 simply apply some way of removing gas from the air and adding O2. My personal favorite is 2 air pumps, 3 connectors and a Air Filter and a canister: 1 pump draws in, goes through the connection and filters N2 into the canister, and the rest to the other pump, which expels it. Can also be used for N2O which is only sluggishly scrubbed otherwise.
*Pressure's above 750KPA do 10DPS + 5DPS for every extra 375KPA above that mark,  rounded off. Space suits completely block it all, but there is no other defence.
==Notes about Pressure, Temperature, Volume and Heat Capacity==
'''PV=nRT''' where R = 8  The following are linked by this equation. Sadly, without either Volume or Moles, it's not useful in game and is here for the theory.
'''Pressure (P)''': Measured in kPa, kiloPascals, Pressure is lethal above 750 KPA's.
'''Temperature(T)''': Measures in K, Kelvin, Temperature above x and below y causes burn damage. Bomb making usually relies on a temperature at or in excess of 90 kK. Floors and walls melt at a temperature of z.
'''Moles(n)''': While not a variable that can be seen, Moles are the amount of particles of a gas in the air. It is moles that cause odd effects with a certain chemical. As it dumps so many moles to a turf, to keep the pressure acceptable, the moles have to be very, very cold, causing the infectious effect.
'''Volume(V)''': Another unseen variable, Volume is the size of a turf, or a canister, tank or piped tank. This helps dictate how much gas it can hold. (Potential list of volume for a tile, pipe, airtanks, etanks, canisters, ect?)
'''Heat Capacity''': A gasmix has heat capacity, and it is calculated by taking into account the quantity of all of the gases in the air and their specific heat. Oxygen has a specific heat of around 20, CO2 has 30, and N2 has 300. When you factor in the normal 70% N2 it leaves you with a very high specific heat. The higher the specific heat, the more energy required to heat up the mixture, meaning that with an air mix vs. pure O2 mix, it takes much more energy to heat the air than the O2, and the increase in energy required also decreases how much the fire spreads. Simply slowing it down means that heat energy will be 'soaked up' by the air instead of super-heating everything extremely quickly.
'''Fire''': An effect caused by burning plasma, fire comes in two different forms of hotspot. It causes massive burn damage, and a strong fire will not be stopped by standard firesuits. Plumbing N2 into a room might work, but heavy firefighting is not the point of this section. Fire will ignite any form of combustibles in near tiles. Sufficiently hot fires use less oxygen as they rise in temperature. This is due to the fact that fires remove X plasma and X*(1.4-Y, Y< or = 1) oxygen. X CO2 is produced.




[[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

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