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Fuel Cell Marvel "Bloom Box" Gaining Momentum
Many sources are continuing to excitedly report on the latest in a long line of startups chasing the holy grail of power sources. This incarnation, the "Bloom Box" from Bloom Energy, promises a power-plant-in-a-box that you can literally put in your backyard, and has received backing from companies like eBay, Google, Staples, FedEx, and Walmart. CBS recently aired an exclusive interview with K.R. Sridhar about his shiny new box. "So what is a Bloom Box exactly? Well, $700,000 to $800,000 will buy you a 'corporate sized' unit. Inside the box are a unique kind of fuel cell consisting of ceramic disks coated with green and black 'inks.' The inks somehow transform a stream of methane (or other hydrocarbons) and oxygen into power, when the box heats up to its operating temperature of 1,000 degrees Celsius. To get a view of the cost and benefits, eBay installed 5 of the boxes nine months ago. It says it has saved $100,000 USD on energy since."
Out of that $700,000 how much does it cost to manufacture? How much is the markup? Most of these magic snake oil things have a huge percentage of the price going to the patent holder. Lets say it costs $100,000 to make and the other $600K is going to Mr Snake. How is that good for anyone?
If it is REAL, maybe we "the government" should use eminent domain and make the technology available for everyone. Why let the greed of Mr Snake hinder us all?
* Carthago Delenda Est *
A fine point. Agree 100%. Sadly, I can't mod you, so 1,000 internets to you sir...
Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
You'd still have nothing, Google didn't exist yet. Apple is probably a better example :)
Actually, what'll happen is that the yeast, depending on the strain, will enter a dormancy state and cease reproducing. They can kill themselves off, a process called autolyzation, but it can take months in a closed environment. Their alchohol tolerance, the availability of fermentable sugars, temperature conditions and more will determine when they enter that dormancy state.
In non-filtered/non-pasteurized beer, little specks of yeast will gather at the bottom of the end bottle and happily begin reproducing if given the chance in a fresh batch of wort. Some hobbyist will actually buy a bottle of something just to be able to use the same yeast in their own brew.
import system.cool.Sig;
Not quite so simple, IIRC... residual sugars are key to the profile of many ales. Different yeasts will consume a different percentage of the original sugars... this is the attenuation profile of the yeast. I think most are in the 70-80% range. Typically when the sugars drop to the threshold for that particular yeast strain, the yeast flocculates out of suspension and becomes almost completely inactive. I'm not sure if flocculation is the mechanism for the yeast becoming inactive, or if it's something else.
To sum up, it's not that the alcohol concentration is toxic.. it's that the sugar concentration is too low for the yeast to actively metabolize.
You're 100% right on it not being a tragedy of the commons situation. This makes me happy, now I can enjoy my bottle-conditioned ales without reservation.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
Judging by this video, I'd guess so.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpMkCF3AdMY
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