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Domain: cavendishscience.org

Stories and comments across the archive that link to cavendishscience.org.

Comments · 6

  1. Thorium reactors by deanpole · · Score: 2 · on International Fusion Reactor Project Moves Forward

    Thorium reactors have more promise. They are safer, simpler, and cheaper.

  2. Re:Oil isn't the only source of energy. by fireweaver · · Score: 4, Informative · on Fuel-cell Vehicles for Americans

    If you base your nuclear power on burning thorium (3 times more common than uranium), you gain certain advantages such as no plutonium production, less radioactive garbage to contend with, and greater safety.

    http://www.cavendishscience.org/bks/nuc/thrupdat.h tm

    The thorium fuel cycle has been known since the 1950s but was discarded due to cold-war politics in favour of uranium burning reactors that bred plutonium. Additionally, thorium reactors can be used to get rid of existing plutonium in a safe manner.

    So if the Indian and Russian experiments pan out (and it looks like they will), expect nuclear power to become a more attractive option. Perhaps the Iranians could jump on the thorium bandwagon as well; it would go some way towards keeping that madman in Washingtom at bay.

  3. Re:What's interesting about this... by lawpoop · · Score: 1 · on First Image of Extrasolar Planet Confirmed
    You are talking out of your ass. That's fine if you believe that science without statistics is worthless, but any physicist would disagree with you. Statistics has its place in biology or sociology, but it *has no place* in the hard sciences like physics. Physics does *not* "use a large number of data points". In physics, one run of one falsifiable experiment, like the classic double-slit experiment is good enough to say that the law applies now, in the past, and in the future, everywhere, and for all time. We don't run 100 experiments and find the confidence level of a particular result. It either works or it doesn't.

    You dictionary.com definition of statistics reeks. Statistics is sampling, and that's about it (Sampling gets very complicated, but that's all it boils down to). "The mathematics of the collection, organization, and interpretation of numerical data" is not *necessarily* statistics.

  4. Re:Power outage related to Microsoft by Poofat · · Score: 1 · on WindowsUpdate.com Secured, Permanently

    The show was about terrorism in the US and how unprotected we are - and it really gets you thinking

    I think it shows quite the opposite, actually. Civillian power is out for a few days, who cares? Emergency power came on in hospitals and other critical places, the affected plants shut down just as they should, no one is panicking and looting. So the terrorists disable one powerplant. As long as it isn't nuclear we're just inconvienced. I will agree that we need to get more nuclear power plants up and running- technology is being developed that makes them safer, with the waste product being less hazardous

  5. Thomas Young's experiment by AFaus · · Score: 1 · on The Most Beautiful Experiments in Physics
    The single one that has impressed me more is Thomas Young's one, in which he demonstrated that light is a wave.

    It reasonable simple, and very visual on the results. You set up the stuff, and voi-la! one of the majors results on the history of physics, lays in front of you, right now.

    It is a striking proof of how deep results of physics can show simple, observable effects.

    Before seeing it, i didn't believe a single word of "modern" (20-century) phsyics. It change it all, at least for me. (This one, and seeing an electric microscope work)

    For an explanation of how to reproduce it, go to here It's a nice experiment for a High School pyshics class...

  6. A quick Google search... by iforgotmyfirstlogon · · Score: 1 · on Building Young's Double-Slit Interference Experiment?



    ...gave me this.

    - Freed