Airplanes will not collapse totally, even if there was zero petroleum right now. It is possible to make compatible transportation fuels synthetics using natural gas, tar sands, oil shale, coal, etc.
Every modern transportation system is heavily subsidized by the state. Last I heard, highways are definitively not cheap. If the road construction and maintenance was not paid by tolls, I bet the government funded it.
Plus assorted kickbacks to oil companies, invasion of certain middle eastern countries to secure oil supply, etc.
Windows compatibility is a moving target. The problem was that OS/2 emulated Windows 3.1 flawlessly, but then Windows 3.11 came out, then Windows 95 came out, etc.
Trying to push Linux as a way to just run mainstream Windows apps is a suicidal tactic. Not to mention that you are bound to bump into a software patent on something down the road eventually. Until there is a Windows spec made by a neutral source, unencumbered, this is always going to be a losing proposition.
You may be able to run old Windows software, but they will keep finding ways to make new software not run on other platforms.
No generalist encyclopedia is good for research paper references. For those, you read survey papers in that field, or generalistic books in that field, fish interesting papers out, then follow those up to see where the trail leads.
There are also many paper search engines. Or you can just do it the old fashioned way and go to the departmental library at your university (assuming you are aggregated to one).
The alternative back then was DAT tape. Which was castrated because you know who (yes, the beloved RIAA) could not allow cheap digital recording for the masses.
For one there are the JPEG patents, which, uh, lots and lots of programs will infringe. Firefox also has that plugin patent to worry about (remember the guys who sued Microsoft for that?)
As for OO.o, the latest "open" XML Microsoft document format is also patented.
Why are they so cumbersome?
Wot? Seem fine to me.
Why is there no good 3D sound API?
Try using OpenAL. Dunno why Linux distros do not bundle it by default though.
Why is OpenGL so slow on some machines, and as fast as directx on others?
On the machines OpenGL is slower, the drivers suck and the programmers who did them should be shot.
There was lots of work on Nuclear Thermal engines in the 1960s. Google Dumbo and NERVA. There were later studies in the 1990s. Google for Timberwind.
These are solid core designs, sort of like a nuclear power plant which vents the heated fluid out to the back, so theoretically you could make the exaust pretty clean of fissile elements and radioactivity.
The problem is despite having a high ISP, their thrust to weight ratios are lousy. This means they cannot be used as a first stage engine for launching from Earth. Only second stages. They cannot lift their own weight, only useful when in space already.
Then there are the fancier designs, like Project Orion (basically lobbing nuclear fission bombs out of the back of the rocket to provide thrust). Theoretically, if you can find a way to use nuclear fusion bombs instead *and* ignite them somehow without using nuclear fission bombs as a trigger like ICBM warheads have (e.g. using innertial containment fusion with lasers, using matter/anti-matter reactions to catalyze the fusion), you could get something which would be reasonably clean. But still nothing you would want to launch near any populated areas. Some people also fear this sort of technology because it could be used to make cleaner and possibly smaller nuclear weapons. But if we ever want to reach other stars, we will need something like that eventually.
Nuclear rockets reduce the amount of fuel you need. The other alternative is to *not* carry as much fuel with you. Which is what solar sails or beamed power launch are all about.
I think beamed power launch will be the thing to get us out of the gravity well on this rock for good, unless someone can get the space elevator or reasonable tethers working.
I had heard about Black Arrow before. Yes the British have destroyed nearly all their industrial capacity. I guess the idea is to buy the goods from China and sell them pop music and trips to parades on Buckingham Palace, sorry I meant services... No surprise the UK government is one of the biggest pushers of IP laws.
My point was, H2O2 is not without its problems either. For one it is expensive and hard to get in the concentrated forms (you would want 90% concentrated H2O2 or better for rockets, ask Carmack how easy it is to get some). Then you need additives to stabilize it, and passivated tanks (simple Teflon coating would do, or so I hear).
O2 may be moderately cryogenic... but guess what, Teflon coated steel works. O2 is not as cryogenic as H2, that is for sure. Hospitals store liquid O2 in tanks just fine.
Provided you got a reliable supply of concentrated H2O2, I suppose a biprop using that is a reasonable prospect. But liquid O2 is not as big of a deal as some people think.
Before Carmack started playing with rockets, there were plenty of VTVL prototypes and designs. DC-X, SASSTO, etc.
Carmack's first attempt used an H2O2 monopropellant engine. This one uses H2O2 as oxidizer and Kerosene as propellant. It is not the same thing by a long shot. To be honest, I would have used O2 instead of H2O2 for the oxidizer (like Carmack is finally doing now). H2O2 is more expensive and decomposes into H2 and O2 easily. Too much trouble considering what it is worth. The only real bonus is that H2O2 is not cryogenic.
Hyperthreading® is just an Intel trademark. The name used in computer lingo is SMT for simultaneous multi-threading.
IBM POWER4 and POWER5 have SMT. It works very well in that platform, giving nice boosts to server tasks. Intels version of SMT does not give as nice a boost.
I can handle 39C+ just fine. Just adjust clothes, use shade, open your windows and drink water. Your skin is the most efficient A/C. Google for liquid evaporative cooling.
The problem with diesel vehicles are tailpipe emissions. Diesel vehicles do not have catalytic converters, because of the high sulfur content of the fuel. A switch to different low sulfur diesel blends (in progress) will eventually allow catalytic converters on diesels as well. Prototypes already exist.
Slashdot Mirror
Airplanes will not collapse totally, even if there was zero petroleum right now. It is possible to make compatible transportation fuels synthetics using natural gas, tar sands, oil shale, coal, etc.
Plus assorted kickbacks to oil companies, invasion of certain middle eastern countries to secure oil supply, etc.
Do not worry. I bet the $310 million are only incoming *if* US contractors are selected. So Halliburton should make some money.
Trying to push Linux as a way to just run mainstream Windows apps is a suicidal tactic. Not to mention that you are bound to bump into a software patent on something down the road eventually. Until there is a Windows spec made by a neutral source, unencumbered, this is always going to be a losing proposition.
You may be able to run old Windows software, but they will keep finding ways to make new software not run on other platforms.
What if someone gets a life sentence in jail? I doubt rehabilitation is expected in that case.
It is if you are looking for a laptop.
There are also many paper search engines. Or you can just do it the old fashioned way and go to the departmental library at your university (assuming you are aggregated to one).
Hello? Wikipedia keeps all versions of an article. Just refer to the specific version in that case.
Even one of them Vorlon Star Dreadnaughts would be nice.
It is all about comedy folks! Those crazy Norwegians...
The alternative back then was DAT tape. Which was castrated because you know who (yes, the beloved RIAA) could not allow cheap digital recording for the masses.
Ever heard the word "Intranet"?
As for OO.o, the latest "open" XML Microsoft document format is also patented.
The Heavy EELV versions of Delta IV and Atlas V can boost even more.
These are solid core designs, sort of like a nuclear power plant which vents the heated fluid out to the back, so theoretically you could make the exaust pretty clean of fissile elements and radioactivity.
The problem is despite having a high ISP, their thrust to weight ratios are lousy. This means they cannot be used as a first stage engine for launching from Earth. Only second stages. They cannot lift their own weight, only useful when in space already.
Then there are the fancier designs, like Project Orion (basically lobbing nuclear fission bombs out of the back of the rocket to provide thrust). Theoretically, if you can find a way to use nuclear fusion bombs instead *and* ignite them somehow without using nuclear fission bombs as a trigger like ICBM warheads have (e.g. using innertial containment fusion with lasers, using matter/anti-matter reactions to catalyze the fusion), you could get something which would be reasonably clean. But still nothing you would want to launch near any populated areas. Some people also fear this sort of technology because it could be used to make cleaner and possibly smaller nuclear weapons. But if we ever want to reach other stars, we will need something like that eventually.
Nuclear rockets reduce the amount of fuel you need. The other alternative is to *not* carry as much fuel with you. Which is what solar sails or beamed power launch are all about.
I think beamed power launch will be the thing to get us out of the gravity well on this rock for good, unless someone can get the space elevator or reasonable tethers working.
My point was, H2O2 is not without its problems either. For one it is expensive and hard to get in the concentrated forms (you would want 90% concentrated H2O2 or better for rockets, ask Carmack how easy it is to get some). Then you need additives to stabilize it, and passivated tanks (simple Teflon coating would do, or so I hear).
O2 may be moderately cryogenic... but guess what, Teflon coated steel works. O2 is not as cryogenic as H2, that is for sure. Hospitals store liquid O2 in tanks just fine.
Provided you got a reliable supply of concentrated H2O2, I suppose a biprop using that is a reasonable prospect. But liquid O2 is not as big of a deal as some people think.
Unequivocal Mixed Monoprop Success
You are correct that Blue Origin and the latest Carmack efforts are biprop, but I did not say they were monoprop either.
As for the H2O2 decomposition... that was a typo. Sorry about that.
If you need to use TeX, BLAS or other things normally used in a research environment, it makes a lot of sense.
Carmack's first attempt used an H2O2 monopropellant engine. This one uses H2O2 as oxidizer and Kerosene as propellant. It is not the same thing by a long shot. To be honest, I would have used O2 instead of H2O2 for the oxidizer (like Carmack is finally doing now). H2O2 is more expensive and decomposes into H2 and O2 easily. Too much trouble considering what it is worth. The only real bonus is that H2O2 is not cryogenic.
IBM POWER4 and POWER5 have SMT. It works very well in that platform, giving nice boosts to server tasks. Intels version of SMT does not give as nice a boost.
Of course, they just keep extending it whenever it is close to the end of the dealine anyway, so it is all a scam really.
I can handle 39C+ just fine. Just adjust clothes, use shade, open your windows and drink water. Your skin is the most efficient A/C. Google for liquid evaporative cooling.
The problem is cost. Nuclear batteries have been used before, in pacemakers for example.
The problem with diesel vehicles are tailpipe emissions. Diesel vehicles do not have catalytic converters, because of the high sulfur content of the fuel. A switch to different low sulfur diesel blends (in progress) will eventually allow catalytic converters on diesels as well. Prototypes already exist.