Slashdot Mirror
Microwave Steelmaking
Makarand writes "Researchers at the Michigan Technological University are working on a
low-cost
steelmaking process which uses microwaves to heat iron ore instead of conventional heating.
Their steelmaking facility was made of magnetrons from six household microwaves wired together and an electric arc furnace. When fed iron oxide and coal, the microwave energy could reduce the iron ore to iron within minutes and the electric
arc furnace smelted the iron and coal into steel. The steel industry is taking a closer
look at this new process which could cut steel production costs by upto 50%."
You see, free trade can do good things for the average worker. Though to be fair "good things" in this case means fewer steelworkers will lose their jobs instead of all of them. Still, it's improvement, and who knows? If our costs really drop by 50%, demand very well could increase enough to justify keeping all the old workers around.
(I didn't really have anything to say, but the only other posts with scores higher than zero were... Well, if you've been on Slashdot for more than five minutes, you know what they were like.)
This story is yet another example of what makes the USA great.
The inventor, Jiann-Yang (Jim) Hwang, came from Taiwan to the U.S. to pursue his graduate studies. (Here's his resume.) He graduates from Purdue with a Ph.D., and 20 years later, he's a professor of materials science at Michigan Technological University, and is adding to the collective innovating efforts of our nation.
Personally, I'm all for smart, hard-working people immigrating to the U.S. and staying here. All those temp workers in the technical industry who have come over here from India? All those people from Ecuador who are willing to work like dogs in the restaurant industry? All those people from Eastern Europe who are filled with the entrepreneurial sprit? Don't give them visas, make them citizens!
Why would they rehire american workers if they get another way to raise their profits?