Actually, we already have that. When you drive over the top of San Augustine pass and look down on the White Sands Missile Range HQ area, it looks remarkably like Mos Eisely as seen in Episode IV. Maybe if I have time someday, I'll take a picture and post it along with a screen capture side-by-side on Google Earth.
What I hate is when old classic rockers sing their tunes in concert at a lower key, since their voices can't quite hit the high notes like they used to. ..it makes the whole thing sound flat and lifeless to me. Plus, I know EXACTLY what they're doing and why. Cheap cheap cheap.
I would love for this to happen. Not because I am for the invasion aspect of it, but just imagine if we spent as much money on spaceflight development every year as we have in Iraq and Afghanistan. We'd have that fleet (or invasion force, if you prefer) in relatively no time. BUT, it could then be followed up by countless scientific ventures based on the technology that might actually make the whole thing worthwhile. All this stuff we've mostly just been talking about for the past 40 years (large ion engines, NERVA type nuclear thermal drives, possibly even quasi-contained fusion, etc.) could all be within our reach. Plus, it would keep me employed for a LONG time. . .
You're right. The technical bits are that the "cooling" of the nuclear reactor comes from extracting the heat energy of the reaction in the steam turbines (converting it into electrical energy). Once the energy of the steam is reduced to the point that water begins to condense out of it, it is re-heated again by the reactor (thereby cooling the reactor a little bit more). The law of diminishing returns soon takes effect, and it gets more expensive to run the piping and heat exchanges, etc. for more round trips -- and you're left with a bunch of water at just above the boiling point that needs to be cooled and have its pressure dropped so it can be re-pumped through the reactor to begin the round trip again. "Cooling water" for a nuclear reactor is really no different than "cooling water" for a coal or natural gas fired power plant.
In fact, a similar sized coal or natural gas plant will heat a river just as much as a nuclear plant if the river is being used as part of the thermodynamic cycle.
Oil may not need dead plants and animals to form. From an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, September 28, 2004:
"The study demonstrates the existence of abiogenic pathways for the formation of hydrocarbons in the Earth's interior and suggests that the hydrocarbon budget of the bulk Earth may be larger than conventionally assumed."
They go on to show how methane can be formed from iron oxide (FeO) reacting with calcium carbonate-calcite (CaCO3) in the presence of water at pressures and temperatures commonly found in the upper mantle of Earth. "Abiogenic" means non-biologically originated.
As for oil, one theory is that heavier hydrocarbons (oil) are formed (and re-generated) by the polymerization of this abiogenic methane underground. This sometimes is used as an explanation as to why oil can be found at practically every latitude, while coal is limited to more temperate regions where plants and animals tend to live.
So go ahead and gas up your car. There may be plenty where that came from!
Well, the poster of this article obviously doesn't consider CD quality to be "lossless." How far we've come from the OLD audiophiles who wouldn't touch anything that wasn't a meticulously cared for LP -- or better yet, reel-to-reel tape in your home rig.
How much longer before we consider 128-kpbs MP3's to be the "standard" for quality music, especially as we're moving to more and more of a "download on demand" compression crazed society?
As a jr. high kid, I remember being fascinated by the intro sequence to the short-lived Blue Thunder TV series -- where the helicopter flies through the smoke cloud, causing a beautiful double-curl shedding vortex. (And yes, the title sequence was the best part of the show.) However, I think that was one of the reasons I went on to be a mechanical engineer, specializing in fluid mechanics. I still think that stuff is cool.
You're right. It would eliminate the radiation, because it would eliminate the means to support the elevator in the first place and thus make it physically impossible (as opposed to practically impossible) to build.
Unfortunately, the elevator doesn't stop on the "first floor" (space boundary). It goes all the way to the penthouse apartment (geosynchronous orbit). That's non-stop to 35,786 kilometers high! Better pack a lunch. . .
Laika also died during the trip, although not because of the radiation she encountered. But who's to say that she wouldn't have died later as a result. . .
What perhaps the parent poster was referring to was that at the time of the accident, the Russians were testing their ability to use the reactor's steam turbines to provide power to the feedwater pumps during startup/shutdown of the reactor core. This involved running the reactor at normal operating conditions to get the turbines spinning, then throttling the power down to very low levels to simulate a core shutdown, while the inertia present in the turbines provided enough rotational energy to provide electrical power to the pumps. What they knew (but perhaps didn't fully appreciate) is that at low power levels, that particular reactor design becomes meta-stable. A slight bump either way could shut it down completely, or cause it to run out of control. Guess which happened.
But then there's the problem of how to collect it in low/no gravity, and what to do to replace the water that you're throwing overboard with each waste dump. Not a trivial problem for a long-duration space mission.
This is not to mention the fact that the average human produces a huge amount of flatulence (farts) every day that the air handling equipment on the spaceship needs to be able to deal with. I recall stories from the early shuttle flights that the limiting factor on the duration of a mission was how long the astronauts could stand the smell on the spacecraft. Mir had the same problem, as I recall.
Some of NASA's most obscure research has been in the area of what to do about human waste products (including and especially the resulting methane gas) in a spacecraft environment. There still isn't a good solution, AFAIK.
. ..when reading about the X-Prize Foundation rewarding all this work in DNA sequencing was:
"I guess they're doing that so it will be easier to identify and differentiate the remains of the tourists who get blown up while flying in experimental spacecraft."
Just part of a morning of disturbing thoughts. . .
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, it was a troll. But a very successful troll, nonetheless. ;-)
One (1) French military rifle. Never fired. Dropped once.
Actually, we already have that. When you drive over the top of San Augustine pass and look down on the White Sands Missile Range HQ area, it looks remarkably like Mos Eisely as seen in Episode IV. Maybe if I have time someday, I'll take a picture and post it along with a screen capture side-by-side on Google Earth.
You know how to get two oboes to play in tune, don't you?
What I hate is when old classic rockers sing their tunes in concert at a lower key, since their voices can't quite hit the high notes like they used to. . .it makes the whole thing sound flat and lifeless to me. Plus, I know EXACTLY what they're doing and why. Cheap cheap cheap.
I would love for this to happen. Not because I am for the invasion aspect of it, but just imagine if we spent as much money on spaceflight development every year as we have in Iraq and Afghanistan. We'd have that fleet (or invasion force, if you prefer) in relatively no time. BUT, it could then be followed up by countless scientific ventures based on the technology that might actually make the whole thing worthwhile. All this stuff we've mostly just been talking about for the past 40 years (large ion engines, NERVA type nuclear thermal drives, possibly even quasi-contained fusion, etc.) could all be within our reach. Plus, it would keep me employed for a LONG time. . .
You're right. The technical bits are that the "cooling" of the nuclear reactor comes from extracting the heat energy of the reaction in the steam turbines (converting it into electrical energy). Once the energy of the steam is reduced to the point that water begins to condense out of it, it is re-heated again by the reactor (thereby cooling the reactor a little bit more). The law of diminishing returns soon takes effect, and it gets more expensive to run the piping and heat exchanges, etc. for more round trips -- and you're left with a bunch of water at just above the boiling point that needs to be cooled and have its pressure dropped so it can be re-pumped through the reactor to begin the round trip again. "Cooling water" for a nuclear reactor is really no different than "cooling water" for a coal or natural gas fired power plant.
In fact, a similar sized coal or natural gas plant will heat a river just as much as a nuclear plant if the river is being used as part of the thermodynamic cycle.
Oil may not need dead plants and animals to form. From an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, September 28, 2004:
"The study demonstrates the existence of abiogenic pathways for the formation of hydrocarbons in the Earth's interior and suggests that the hydrocarbon budget of the bulk Earth may be larger than conventionally assumed."
They go on to show how methane can be formed from iron oxide (FeO) reacting with calcium carbonate-calcite (CaCO3) in the presence of water at pressures and temperatures commonly found in the upper mantle of Earth. "Abiogenic" means non-biologically originated.
As for oil, one theory is that heavier hydrocarbons (oil) are formed (and re-generated) by the polymerization of this abiogenic methane underground. This sometimes is used as an explanation as to why oil can be found at practically every latitude, while coal is limited to more temperate regions where plants and animals tend to live.
So go ahead and gas up your car. There may be plenty where that came from!
Like, totally! Fer sure!
Touche'! I forgot about that option. . .
Well, the poster of this article obviously doesn't consider CD quality to be "lossless." How far we've come from the OLD audiophiles who wouldn't touch anything that wasn't a meticulously cared for LP -- or better yet, reel-to-reel tape in your home rig.
How much longer before we consider 128-kpbs MP3's to be the "standard" for quality music, especially as we're moving to more and more of a "download on demand" compression crazed society?
Won't anyone think of the children!
As a jr. high kid, I remember being fascinated by the intro sequence to the short-lived Blue Thunder TV series -- where the helicopter flies through the smoke cloud, causing a beautiful double-curl shedding vortex. (And yes, the title sequence was the best part of the show.) However, I think that was one of the reasons I went on to be a mechanical engineer, specializing in fluid mechanics. I still think that stuff is cool.
You're right. It would eliminate the radiation, because it would eliminate the means to support the elevator in the first place and thus make it physically impossible (as opposed to practically impossible) to build.
Unfortunately, the elevator doesn't stop on the "first floor" (space boundary). It goes all the way to the penthouse apartment (geosynchronous orbit). That's non-stop to 35,786 kilometers high! Better pack a lunch. . .
Laika also died during the trip, although not because of the radiation she encountered. But who's to say that she wouldn't have died later as a result. . .
What perhaps the parent poster was referring to was that at the time of the accident, the Russians were testing their ability to use the reactor's steam turbines to provide power to the feedwater pumps during startup/shutdown of the reactor core. This involved running the reactor at normal operating conditions to get the turbines spinning, then throttling the power down to very low levels to simulate a core shutdown, while the inertia present in the turbines provided enough rotational energy to provide electrical power to the pumps. What they knew (but perhaps didn't fully appreciate) is that at low power levels, that particular reactor design becomes meta-stable. A slight bump either way could shut it down completely, or cause it to run out of control. Guess which happened.
I refuse to respond to your ill-educated rant. Oh wait. . .danggit!
bridge
checkers
chess
poker
fighter combat
guerrilla engagement
desert warfare
air-to-ground actions
theaterwide tactical warfare
theaterwide biotoxic and chemical warfare
global thermonuclear war
Of course, these are only available on the WOPR. Shall we play a game?
(The list would look better in all-caps. Stupid lameness filter!)
But then there's the problem of how to collect it in low/no gravity, and what to do to replace the water that you're throwing overboard with each waste dump. Not a trivial problem for a long-duration space mission. This is not to mention the fact that the average human produces a huge amount of flatulence (farts) every day that the air handling equipment on the spaceship needs to be able to deal with. I recall stories from the early shuttle flights that the limiting factor on the duration of a mission was how long the astronauts could stand the smell on the spacecraft. Mir had the same problem, as I recall.
Some of NASA's most obscure research has been in the area of what to do about human waste products (including and especially the resulting methane gas) in a spacecraft environment. There still isn't a good solution, AFAIK.
. . .when reading about the X-Prize Foundation rewarding all this work in DNA sequencing was:
"I guess they're doing that so it will be easier to identify and differentiate the remains of the tourists who get blown up while flying in experimental spacecraft."
Just part of a morning of disturbing thoughts. . .
You can waste time with your friends when your chores are done. Now come on, get to it!
Trying to embiggen yourself with shameless Simpsons quotes, eh?
A: All over the Martian countryside!
90% of my job is half political.