"...that monstrous atmospheric ocean..."
-Poul Anderson, Three Worlds To Conquer (London, 1966), Chapter 3, p. 21.
This means either literally that
the Jovian atmosphere combines gaseous and liquid properties so that it
could equally be described as a monstrous oceanic atmosphere or metaphorically that the atmospheric gases are dense and turbulent like the waves of an ocean. The gases are:
"...mostly hydrogen, much helium, a few percentage points of methane, ammonia vapor, and other gases..." (ibid.)
The mantis-like "forgar" is said to fly - or swim. (p. 23)
There
are mile-high red cloud banks with tawny precipices. Sun and moons
cannot be seen from the surface but dawn is perceived as a swiftly
climbing brightness. Human eyes would see only by "...the frequent great
lightning flashes..." (p. 21) but Jovians see in the infrared.
Soil
is ice powder intermingled with sodium and ammonium compounds. The real
ocean is "...thousands of storm-swept miles of liquid ammonia..." (p.
22)
Much more later.
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