"H. Beam Piper - Uller Uprising" - читать интересную книгу автора (Piper H Beam)

(nitrogen), argon, helium, neon, etc., but the major fraction consists of CF4 (carbon
tetrafluoride), BF3 (boron trifluoride), SiF4 (silicon tetrafluoride), PF5 (phosphorous penta-
fluoride), SF6 (sulphur hexafluoride) and probably others. In other words, the fluorides of all
the non-metals that can form fluorides. The phosphorous pen-tafluoride rains out when the weather
gets cold. There is also free oxygen, but no chlorine. That would be liquid except in very hot
weather. It sometimes appears combined with fluorine in chlorine trifluoride. The atmosphere has a
slight yellowish tinge.

3. SOIL AND GEOLOGY

Above the metallic core of the planet, the litho-sphere consists exclusively of fluorides of the
metals. There are no oxides, sulfides. silicates or chlorides. There are small deposits of such
things as bromine trifluoride, but these have no great importance. Since fluorides are weak
mechanically, the terrain is flattish. Nothing tough like granite to build mountains out of. Since
the fluoride ion is colorless, the color of the soil depends upon the predominant metal in the
region. As most of the light metals also have colorless ions, the colored rocks are rather rare.

4. THE WATERS UNDER THE EARTH



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They consist of liquid hydrofluoric acid (HF). It melts at -83┬░C and boils at 19.4┬░C. In it are
dissolved varying quantities of metallic and non-metallic fluorides, such as boron trifluoride,
sodium fluoride, etc. When the oceans and lakes freeze, they do so from the bottom up, so there is
no layer of ice over free liquid.

5. PLANTS AND PLANT METABOLISM

The plants function by photosynthesis, taking HF as water from the soil, and carbon tetrafluoride
as the equivalent of carbon dioxide from the air to produce chain compounds, such as:

H H H H
C - C - C - C
F F F F

and at the same time liberating free fluorine. This reaction could only take place on a planet
receiving lots of ultra-violet because so much energy is needed to break up carbon tetrafluoride
and hydrofluoric acid. The plant catalyst (doubling for the magnesium in chlorophyll) is nickel.
The plants are colored in various ways. They get their metals from the soil.

6. ANIMALS AND ANIMAL METABOLISM

Animals depend upon two main reactions for their energy, and for the construction of their harder
tissues. The soft tissues are about the same as the plant molecules, but the hard tissues are
produced by the reaction:

HHH FFF