[lojban-beginners] Re: more 'suck'

[Andrew Archibald <archibal@Math.McGill.CA>]

On Wed, Dec 01, 2004 at 09:57:24AM -0800, Robert Griffin wrote:
> Due to the relatively low pressure of hydrogen in near-earth space in 
> relation to the higher pressure of hydrogen in the earth's atmosphere, some 
> hydrogen leaves the earth's atmosphere; in other wordds, space sucks some 
> hydrogen from the earth's atmosphere.

This is totally off topic (well, mostly, anyway) but the lower
concentration alone is not enough to cause the Earth's atmosphere to
lose hydrogen - there is a gravity well to hold it there.  A cold
enough or large enough ball of (gaseous) hydrogen can be essentially 
stable - it's one of the kinds of "failed stars".  The Earth loses
hydrogen because it's too hot, so many hydrogen atoms are traveling at
escape velocity.  Most nitrogen molecules are not, so we don't lose
much nitrogen; the heavier gases we don't really lose at all. 

Now, you could fairly say that a region of low atmospheric pressure
sucks in air (and often storms)...

> It appears to me that 'to suck' in the usage requested is 'sakci pinxe' or 
> 'sakpinxe'

That looks like a good coinage for drinking by sucking (for example
through a straw).



Andrew