To keep going with this argument... in a case like this, where a reformed open relay tries to send your company mail, and it doesn't go through, you have to be willing to admit that it is your fault.
In essence, you are saying that he has no responsibility to get off the black lists (it's probably still a good idea for him to try) but really, the responsibility lies with you to make sure your people can get the data they need.
That's his answer really. If you can't mail people, and you try to get off the lists (and of course you deserve to be off the lists) then it's really the blockers problem.
It doesn't matter if you re-define stupidity to mean apathy. You assume if you're not one of the elite who "know the truth" that you're worthless and letting people run all over you.
Try having a conversation with people who don't have any college experiance, don't program, manage or research. You'll fine they can still think.
The terrible thing is that they only get their information from ONE source. The mainstream media. In a society like Brin proposes, information would be free.
They simply don't know about a lot of issues, but things like personal security, you'll find most people (even the apathetic plodding morons) still have an opinion.
You can't call people apathetic or studid just because they disagree with you!
ITER, the fusion project being built by the international community is being built in Europe... currently without the US.
The main method of Magnetic Confinement Fusion (the article subject) is to confine the plasma in a tokamak, Russian technology.
Most fusion technology can't be said to be "American". Even in cases where it is developed in the US, there usually is some visiting scientest from Japan or Europe who is part of the team.
The US hasn't built any next generation fission reactors either, although they are popping up all over the place in the rest of the world.
If you get nothing else out of this, know that neutron absorbtion and tritium production are GOOD, not sneaky, nor nefarious. They are things we are trying to accomplish so that this will be a commercially viable technology.
From working at General Atomics in San Diego, I know that the "wall problem" is one of the few last hurdles that fusion programs will have to clear before they produce a commercial grade reactor.
So... what will this wall need to do?
First, it's there in part to seal in the vacuum chamber, but there are many ways of doing that.
Second... well, there are a LOT of things the wall has to do, but one of the most difficult, and important is that it HAS to absorb neutrons.
You point out that lithium absorbs neutrons all over the place, and that makes you suspicious. The reason they want to use lithium in liquid walls is because it absorbs neutrons! In fact, it would be nice if it absorbed MORE neutrons. They want to use lithium in solid walls, but it melts too quickly, hence, liquid walls.
We don't want those things just flying around everywhere, I would rather create some tritium than irradiate my office (and if you can feed it back into the reactor... remember tritium is FUEL for fusion plants!)
I'm sure that the engineers who will eventually design a lithium, liquid metal wall reactor will have no idea what to do with all this spare fuel they are generating. What a problem! Better just go sell it to the government, because we don't want any more fuel in our reactor.
You're major is important, but it is also important what other skills you pick up. A language is always a good one, especially in the US, as many people don't speak more than english.
I tried to be as general as I could, so I'm getting a degree in physics, a minor in music, and a minor in Law. I figure that gives me lots of flexibility in three areas I enjoy.
People are always talking about how much energy such and such reaction gives out for fusion.
They are missing the real problem. That is, how do you get the energy out? Most of that "free" energy is in the form of high energy neutrons, which hit the vessel wall. Protons are kept away from the vessel wall by the EM fields (for the most part-- it's the neutral Deuterium you have to worry about there).
Ideally, you have a substance which can absorb the neutrons and turn the energy into heat, which can be used to generate electricity, while at the same time, staying non-radioactive.
Keep in mind that the walls of most fusion reactors are kept at about 4K to sustain the superconducting magnets. There are some serious engineering issues left, even using "high temperature" superconductors.
Work was done on this question at General Atomics last year.
I believe it was found that adding a very small amount of neon to the plasma will stop the reaction in a matter of nanoseconds. With no harmfull effects at all.
It effectively turns the reactor into one big neon light. It was quite a thing to see (via CCTV cameras in the reactor of course).
With the cost of these reactors, they don't want the plasma to even touch the wall, let alone have the chance to eat through it. It's far easier to just add a little neon to the vessel, than to try to control any sort of energy surge. It took less than 5 minutes to have the reactor ready to go again, and it worked fine.
Given that we spend over $500 billion on electricity every year here in the US, we could probably afford to spend a little more on technology that is finally coming of age.
In the UK (US too) a legal system of precedent is used. This means that judges and juries should follow what was set down before.
When a case comes to court that challenges an old way of thinking, or would have NEGATIVE consequences, the judge or jury is well within thier rights to rule AGAINST the law. A poor judge is one who refuses to do his moral job and simply upholds the letter of the law.
This is the advantage a precedent system has over a penal system. There is a flexibility so that a single ruling can change the face and scope of the law.
You're right. We Americans obviously have no sense of sarcasm or subtlety. But at least we all have a firm scientific education.
HA!
However, a few years ago, I did read an account of a similar claim, but made by someone willing to give a name (don't remember who right now). He claimed to have a design using large gyroscopes to pull energy out of the Earth's rotation to generate power.
This is the kind of thing that works perfectly in theory, where many, many things work. In real life though, it's going to require some serious social engineering to be used the right way. Perhaps the moderation system on Slashdot will be the seed that one day determines how something like this runs.
I would, however be interested now in seeing the slightly less interactive version of this, where users can submit comments to be approved. Provided that only users (human beings), and not corporations can take advantage of this.
There is a difference between Coca-Cola buying a stretch of freeway space to bombard you with SPAM, and the owner of a restaurant posting specials once a day.
Here in Southern California, we have many people from Mexico who need or want to have a CA drivers licenense. This means that not the best documentation is provided as it is hard sometimes to get good certificates and such from rural areas of Mexico. Not to say that people never get good documentation, just that it would make a really good way to fake one.
The point is... it's a driver's license, not an ID, and although it may be used that way.
I found it interesting that these "results" ended up in the media before being accepted by the Journal they are publishing in.
In science, especially physics, there is a tradition of review which has caught many claims such as this before.
It is likely that they have missed some minor force or effect in thier Standard Model calculations, or that we simply need to understand neutrinos better.
Until a Physical Review Journal accepts research, and even sometimes after that, it should not be viewed as anything more than fantasy.
I found The Pillars of Eternity at a garage sale for $0.25.
It then became one of my favorite books.
Boquaz is a long and complicated derivation of Boaz, the name of the main character of the book.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm curious how they are trapping these neutral particles.
Once they form atoms, shouldn't they not be as easy to trap using magnetic fields?
Does anyonw know how they do this?
Think of it this way:
Having a larger brain means more stuff to make connections out of, that doesn't necessarily mean we have to make those connections.
To keep going with this argument... in a case like this, where a reformed open relay tries to send your company mail, and it doesn't go through, you have to be willing to admit that it is your fault.
In essence, you are saying that he has no responsibility to get off the black lists (it's probably still a good idea for him to try) but really, the responsibility lies with you to make sure your people can get the data they need.
That's his answer really. If you can't mail people, and you try to get off the lists (and of course you deserve to be off the lists) then it's really the blockers problem.
You suffer from exactly what he is talking about!
It doesn't matter if you re-define stupidity to mean apathy. You assume if you're not one of the elite who "know the truth" that you're worthless and letting people run all over you.
Try having a conversation with people who don't have any college experiance, don't program, manage or research. You'll fine they can still think.
The terrible thing is that they only get their information from ONE source. The mainstream media. In a society like Brin proposes, information would be free.
They simply don't know about a lot of issues, but things like personal security, you'll find most people (even the apathetic plodding morons) still have an opinion.
You can't call people apathetic or studid just because they disagree with you!
ITER, the fusion project being built by the international community is being built in Europe... currently without the US.
The main method of Magnetic Confinement Fusion (the article subject) is to confine the plasma in a tokamak, Russian technology.
Most fusion technology can't be said to be "American". Even in cases where it is developed in the US, there usually is some visiting scientest from Japan or Europe who is part of the team.
The US hasn't built any next generation fission reactors either, although they are popping up all over the place in the rest of the world.
Don't assume.
If you get nothing else out of this, know that neutron absorbtion and tritium production are GOOD, not sneaky, nor nefarious. They are things we are trying to accomplish so that this will be a commercially viable technology.
From working at General Atomics in San Diego, I know that the "wall problem" is one of the few last hurdles that fusion programs will have to clear before they produce a commercial grade reactor.
So... what will this wall need to do?
First, it's there in part to seal in the vacuum chamber, but there are many ways of doing that.
Second... well, there are a LOT of things the wall has to do, but one of the most difficult, and important is that it HAS to absorb neutrons.
You point out that lithium absorbs neutrons all over the place, and that makes you suspicious. The reason they want to use lithium in liquid walls is because it absorbs neutrons! In fact, it would be nice if it absorbed MORE neutrons. They want to use lithium in solid walls, but it melts too quickly, hence, liquid walls.
We don't want those things just flying around everywhere, I would rather create some tritium than irradiate my office (and if you can feed it back into the reactor... remember tritium is FUEL for fusion plants!)
I'm sure that the engineers who will eventually design a lithium, liquid metal wall reactor will have no idea what to do with all this spare fuel they are generating. What a problem! Better just go sell it to the government, because we don't want any more fuel in our reactor.
Have you heard of typos?
People make mistakes, this is an easy one to understand. We all (should) know that nuclei fuse in these reactors, not neutrons.
You're major is important, but it is also important what other skills you pick up. A language is always a good one, especially in the US, as many people don't speak more than english.
I tried to be as general as I could, so I'm getting a degree in physics, a minor in music, and a minor in Law. I figure that gives me lots of flexibility in three areas I enjoy.
People are always talking about how much energy such and such reaction gives out for fusion.
They are missing the real problem. That is, how do you get the energy out? Most of that "free" energy is in the form of high energy neutrons, which hit the vessel wall. Protons are kept away from the vessel wall by the EM fields (for the most part-- it's the neutral Deuterium you have to worry about there).
Ideally, you have a substance which can absorb the neutrons and turn the energy into heat, which can be used to generate electricity, while at the same time, staying non-radioactive.
Keep in mind that the walls of most fusion reactors are kept at about 4K to sustain the superconducting magnets. There are some serious engineering issues left, even using "high temperature" superconductors.
Work was done on this question at General Atomics last year. I believe it was found that adding a very small amount of neon to the plasma will stop the reaction in a matter of nanoseconds. With no harmfull effects at all. It effectively turns the reactor into one big neon light. It was quite a thing to see (via CCTV cameras in the reactor of course). With the cost of these reactors, they don't want the plasma to even touch the wall, let alone have the chance to eat through it. It's far easier to just add a little neon to the vessel, than to try to control any sort of energy surge. It took less than 5 minutes to have the reactor ready to go again, and it worked fine.
Given that we spend over $500 billion on electricity every year here in the US, we could probably afford to spend a little more on technology that is finally coming of age.
In the UK (US too) a legal system of precedent is used. This means that judges and juries should follow what was set down before.
When a case comes to court that challenges an old way of thinking, or would have NEGATIVE consequences, the judge or jury is well within thier rights to rule AGAINST the law. A poor judge is one who refuses to do his moral job and simply upholds the letter of the law.
This is the advantage a precedent system has over a penal system. There is a flexibility so that a single ruling can change the face and scope of the law.
You're right. We Americans obviously have no sense of sarcasm or subtlety. But at least we all have a firm scientific education.
HA!
However, a few years ago, I did read an account of a similar claim, but made by someone willing to give a name (don't remember who right now). He claimed to have a design using large gyroscopes to pull energy out of the Earth's rotation to generate power.
This is the kind of thing that works perfectly in theory, where many, many things work. In real life though, it's going to require some serious social engineering to be used the right way. Perhaps the moderation system on Slashdot will be the seed that one day determines how something like this runs.
I would, however be interested now in seeing the slightly less interactive version of this, where users can submit comments to be approved. Provided that only users (human beings), and not corporations can take advantage of this.
There is a difference between Coca-Cola buying a stretch of freeway space to bombard you with SPAM, and the owner of a restaurant posting specials once a day.
Here in Southern California, we have many people from Mexico who need or want to have a CA drivers licenense. This means that not the best documentation is provided as it is hard sometimes to get good certificates and such from rural areas of Mexico. Not to say that people never get good documentation, just that it would make a really good way to fake one.
The point is... it's a driver's license, not an ID, and although it may be used that way.
I found it interesting that these "results" ended up in the media before being accepted by the Journal they are publishing in.
In science, especially physics, there is a tradition of review which has caught many claims such as this before.
It is likely that they have missed some minor force or effect in thier Standard Model calculations, or that we simply need to understand neutrinos better.
Until a Physical Review Journal accepts research, and even sometimes after that, it should not be viewed as anything more than fantasy.
I found The Pillars of Eternity at a garage sale for $0.25. It then became one of my favorite books. Boquaz is a long and complicated derivation of Boaz, the name of the main character of the book.