The Biodome
Project
EMPACTS Project
Physics and Human Affairs
Melody Thomas, Instructor
By: Josh Huffman, Raul
Flores, Joseph Childress,
Chelsea Glass, Hannah Saia
Overview
a.
What is a Biodome and their Uses
b.
Where are they located
c.
How Exactly they work in creating rare
ecosystems
d.
How To Build A Biodome
e. Plans on Creating a Biodome here at NWACC
and the Benefits
What is a Biodome
A
biodome is a scientific facility which
mimics an ecosystem in a controlled
environment indoors.
 designed inside geodesic spheres
 create large amounts of room which can
be useful in creating a credible replica of
a real ecosystem
Uses
 Research
education
 Science education
 Experimentation
 Creating an ecosystem that is not
common in the local region
Biodomes are EVERYWHERE
 Dense
urban areas
-precisely controlled
 Visit
rare climates
-may not be easy to reach
Dense Urban Areas
 Precisely
controlled , can be different
regions and climates
Explore
 Able
to explore different rare climates
they are not used to.
How Does It Work
 Different
covering material
 Inside heats up
 Plants reradiate
 CONVECTION
Different Covering
Usually transparent
Solar Radiation
 Infrared,
UV, and Visible Light
 Absorbed by plants
 Plants reradiate the thermal energy into
infrared
 Retained due to walls and roof
 Trapped
Convective Heat Transfer
Main component for heating
Convection- main transfer of heat from one
place to another by movement of fluids
Greenhouse Gasses



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
4 main gasses: Water Vapor, Carbon Dioxide,
Methane, and Ozone
Gases heat water in biodome
Separates the H2O molecules and scatters them
out, making it less dense and easily dispersed
Easier for heat to travel to the cooler parts of plant
or surface , making everything extremely hot.
Law of Thermodynamics: when two
thermodynamic systems with unequal
temperatures are brought into contact with one
another
Temperature Rises
 Venting
systems
POLLINATION YOU ASK?
o
bees
i.
o
Automatic Fertilization Systems
i.
o
Most bio domes have their own bees in order to
pollinate and reproduce plants.
Biodomes can also use a fertilization system. These
systems are scattered throughout the structure and
are time activated to fertilize the plants
Water Supply
i.
In order to pollinate and reproduce plants need to
have water. An irrigation system is needed to
regularly water the plants since it is cutoff from the
rain
How to Build a Greenhouse



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
know what you want to grow and how much
It is important to build a greenhouse with
enough space to allow growth inside and
can hold enough soil for the plants.
Understand the hemisphere you live in
Northern Hemisphere you want the side with
the most surface area facing south and vice
versa for Southern Hemisphere. This is so you
can have the most unobstructed sunlight.
Find a surface that will sufficiently drain water
away and not flood
We Built It
•
The class decided to build a 1-1/2’ X
3’ scale down version of what is to
become the full size dome.
•
Materials: 10 PVC pipes, 1-¼” metal
screws and nuts, saw bits and 2 metal
conduit tubes
•
Problems encountered: When using
the PVC we found that there were no
connectors for the vertices of the dome.
We had to buy bars of conduit and use
them to join the pipes with screws.

• The finished dome will be built out of
metal conduit. We had to use PVC pipes in
the model because we didn’t have the
budget for a conduit model. The model is
built based on a 2V frequency structure. The
frequency is how many structural units there is
per section of the dome. The frequency is
used depending on the size and rigidity of the
dome. Seeing that our dome is only going to
be 7’6” high and 15’ in diameter a 2V will be
enough to maintain the structure.
The Do’s and Don’ts
Beneficial to NWACC

•
•
•
•
•
•
Future EAST projects
Engineering
Would being able to build
a properly working
biodome
Environmental Biology
Would be able to plant
and create ecosystems
that are not in our
environment
Physics
Would be able to learn
how the Greenhouse
Effect works with a model
hat demonstrates it

•
•
•
•
Community
It would allow the
community to enjoy
various different plant life
NWACC
Giving NWACC another
reason why they stand
out from others by
offering hands on
methods of teaching
Being able to build on to
the biodome to further
research, study, and
enjoyment
References
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Website we used as reference. Here all the
steps are listed and all the necessary tools are
too. The links provide much more detailed
information.
• http://www.desertdomes.com/tips.html
www.biodomegreenhouse.com/
geodesicgreenhouse.org/tag/biodomegreenhouse
www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/greenhou/
building.htm