There is one possible method of creating hydrogen and electricity at the same time. It's called the Supercritical Water Reactor, a type of nuclear reactor that operates at much higher temperatures. The "supercritical" part refers to operating past the critical point of water, not to any nuclear properties. This allows for higher thermal efficiency, and a high enough temperature to directly produce hydrogen gas at the same time. However, the technology is still a long ways off, as there are currently no known materials that can withstand the extreme conditions for prolonged periods (>900 F @ >3600 psi)
The article itself states that the guy working on the project is working to develop small scale RTG's, presumably for use in portable electronics, and rejected funding from DARPA for work on larger scale reactors.
What specifically was copied, other then the very broad outline of "a western in space"?
Cowboy Bebop: Takes place in our solar system political system defined by crime syndicates Near future Crew are bounty hunters (basically good guys) Has an arch nemesis (Vicious) Jazz/Blues theme
Firefly: Takes place in a distant solar system political system defined by powerful military Distant future Crew are essentially criminals (anti-heros) No arch nemesis (except Nisca or that red-head babe I suppose but they both got taken care of in their second appearances) Western theme
Similarities: Dystopian future Both crews frequently poor/downtrodden/ship run down Vague love interest that never develops
I would say Firefly and Cowboy Bebop are more different then you think.
We aren't out of gasoline yet, and by the time we start running low in 100 years (in the sense that it becomes too expensive to extract) we'll have batteries/capacitors/fuel cells/hamster wheels/Mr. Fusions/etc.
All these estimations seem to think that the Uranium just appears in the reactors. It's hauled great distances from mines that tear into the planet and refineries that throw out most of the rock. Almost none of this is powered by nuclear power, or even biofuels or some other renewable energy.
Nuclear power is dependent upon cheap portable energy to produce such cheap energy. Unless we come up with a better way to power all the equipment that makes it possible to run the reactors, they'll be useless.
You are right, I didn't really make an apples-to-apples comparison because $80/lb is the raw uranium ore price, while $3/gal is the price of refined and processed gasoline. A better comparison would be to compare the processed reactor fuel, which I think cost something like $400/kg. So for 1,851,429 MJ/kg, that comes out to $.21/GJ, which is still over 100 times cheaper then gas. I can't really make the comparison of raw uranium to raw crude oil because I don't know the specifics of how crude is refined, i.e. if 1 gallon of crude actually has as much energy as 1 gallon of gas, etc.
I was really surprised to find that something so powerful and dangerous as 1 lb. of Uranium is selling in the $60-$80 USD range. Does anyone know how much energy a typical modern reactor squeezes out of a pound of uranium?
Uranium is not dangerous, and one pound of uranium is not very much as far as power reactors are concerned. For reference, the density of uranium metal is 18 g/cm^3, so 1 lb of uranium metal would only be 25 cm^3 in size.
A typical PWR generates around 3000 MWt, runs for ~500 full power days, and is loaded with around 70,000 kg of uranium metal. So that is [3000 MW*500 d*24 hr/d*3600 s/hr]/[70 000 kg] = 1,851,429 MJ/kg. For comparison, gasoline contains 47 MJ/kg. Keep in mind though that the uranium metal is not really consumed, it is only depleted until it builds up too much neutron-absorbing fission products, at which point it can be reprocessed and reused.
If uranium metal is $80 per lb, then it costs a mere 2 cents for 1 GJ of thermal power. Gasoline costs about $3/gallon and one gallon weighs about 6.2 lbs=$0.48/lb. So gas is about $22.51 for 1 GJ, which is more then 1000 times more expensive then uranium.
You must be my alternate personality posting while I'm asleep, or my long lost twin brother, because I am exactly the same way. My house is pretty clean most of the time, but if I leave something go, then everything starts to pile up until it becomes an issue. I have about 1.5 years worth of mail that I have hardly rifled through because I pay all my bills electronically and don't normally have a need to open anything. All my important documents, taxes and passports and such are just sitting in a neat pile on my couch. My desk at work is organized by "this pile is from random stuff I was working on last month. That pile is from random stuff I was working on 2 months ago".
I am also extremely indecisive about mundane matters, a couple months ago I was attempting to buy socks at Walmart. I already had several pairs of brown business socks and was trying to find ones that matched, but all they had were black and blue socks. I must have spent 20 minutes staring at socks going through my mind whether they would match with all of my pant and shoe combinations, how they would hold up in the wash, and if it would be possible to buy additional socks of the same color in the future. I guess we are obsessive but compulsive types.
Forcing people to pay for their own externalities is not socialism.
Taxing fuel to directly pay for road construction and maintenance fine. Built-in costs used to finance refinery smog-reducing technology is fine and dandy. But punitive taxes that try to force people to drive less over dubious global warming concerns smacks of fascism.
Y'see, in the UK we pay approximately $6.40 a gallon of petrol. I don't think you have that much of a right to complain.
Yeah, but how much of that is tax? A quick google search came up with this (somewhat outdated yet informative) article. From the look at the graphs, the cost of fuel has only increased marginally (due to increased global demand and international conflicts), while the proportion of tax has has increased substantially. Part of the reason for the price increase was "...designed as a means both to raise money and discourage car use on environmental grounds." While you limey's might be content to waste your hard earned money subsidizing bloated socialist government policies, we in the US are not (for the most part).
Based on anecdotal evidence, I say no. My room mate in college was a kinesology major and a major smoker. He routinely smoked WHILE exercising (especially hilarious smoking while jogging, ashing on bench pressers while spotting for them, etc).
It's the Harry Reid Real-Estate Plan x1000! (now with correct formatting!)
Phase 1) Buy some cheap undeveloped land (Pluto) Phase 2) Use your political connections to strong-arm local governments into rezoning the land to make it three times as valuable (declare Pluto a full-fledged planet) Phase 3) ? (Liberal media completely ignores your scandal) Phase 4) Profit!
It's the Harry Reid Real-Estate Plan x1000!
Phase 1) Buy some cheap undeveloped land (Pluto)
Phase 2) Use your political connections to strong-arm local governments into rezoning the land to make it three times as valuable (declare Pluto a full-fledged planet)
Phase 3) ? (Liberal media completely ignores your scandal)
Phase 4) Profit!
We'll need water cooling for the water coolers.
And then someone will get the smart idea to stick his whole tower in the freezer. Then nerds will become buff by moving around all their heavy equipment.
Putting your whole tower in a consumer refrigerator or freezer wouldn't work too well, because of the moisture and condensation. However, there are computer refrigeration units available for -50 deg. C cooling.
As an interesting side-note, a Geothermal power project in Switzerland was recently discovered to have caused several small earthquakes, to the alarm of local residents: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16128362/
Slashdot Mirror
There is one possible method of creating hydrogen and electricity at the same time. It's called the Supercritical Water Reactor, a type of nuclear reactor that operates at much higher temperatures. The "supercritical" part refers to operating past the critical point of water, not to any nuclear properties. This allows for higher thermal efficiency, and a high enough temperature to directly produce hydrogen gas at the same time. However, the technology is still a long ways off, as there are currently no known materials that can withstand the extreme conditions for prolonged periods (>900 F @ >3600 psi)
If this drug pans out, we all know what phase 3 is! ;)
Do they have Vista drivers for that out yet?
The article itself states that the guy working on the project is working to develop small scale RTG's, presumably for use in portable electronics, and rejected funding from DARPA for work on larger scale reactors.
What specifically was copied, other then the very broad outline of "a western in space"?
Cowboy Bebop:
Takes place in our solar system
political system defined by crime syndicates
Near future
Crew are bounty hunters (basically good guys)
Has an arch nemesis (Vicious)
Jazz/Blues theme
Firefly:
Takes place in a distant solar system
political system defined by powerful military
Distant future
Crew are essentially criminals (anti-heros)
No arch nemesis (except Nisca or that red-head babe I suppose but they both got taken care of in their second appearances)
Western theme
Similarities:
Dystopian future
Both crews frequently poor/downtrodden/ship run down
Vague love interest that never develops
I would say Firefly and Cowboy Bebop are more different then you think.
We aren't out of gasoline yet, and by the time we start running low in 100 years (in the sense that it becomes too expensive to extract) we'll have batteries/capacitors/fuel cells/hamster wheels/Mr. Fusions/etc.
Unlimited as in human stupidity, or unlimited as in comcast/verizon/netflix/etc?
It's SOP for slashdot, throw some numbers in your post and get free mod points! Hey, it worked for me! ;)
You are right, I didn't really make an apples-to-apples comparison because $80/lb is the raw uranium ore price, while $3/gal is the price of refined and processed gasoline. A better comparison would be to compare the processed reactor fuel, which I think cost something like $400/kg. So for 1,851,429 MJ/kg, that comes out to $.21/GJ, which is still over 100 times cheaper then gas. I can't really make the comparison of raw uranium to raw crude oil because I don't know the specifics of how crude is refined, i.e. if 1 gallon of crude actually has as much energy as 1 gallon of gas, etc.
Uranium is not dangerous, and one pound of uranium is not very much as far as power reactors are concerned. For reference, the density of uranium metal is 18 g/cm^3, so 1 lb of uranium metal would only be 25 cm^3 in size.
A typical PWR generates around 3000 MWt, runs for ~500 full power days, and is loaded with around 70,000 kg of uranium metal. So that is [3000 MW*500 d*24 hr/d*3600 s/hr]/[70 000 kg] = 1,851,429 MJ/kg. For comparison, gasoline contains 47 MJ/kg. Keep in mind though that the uranium metal is not really consumed, it is only depleted until it builds up too much neutron-absorbing fission products, at which point it can be reprocessed and reused.
If uranium metal is $80 per lb, then it costs a mere 2 cents for 1 GJ of thermal power. Gasoline costs about $3/gallon and one gallon weighs about 6.2 lbs=$0.48/lb. So gas is about $22.51 for 1 GJ, which is more then 1000 times more expensive then uranium.
Just give me a cybernetic implant. Preferably with a laser-pointer attached.
RESISTANCE IS FUTILE
Obviously you've never played Diablo.
To: Philip
I really liked your video and would like to see you in person to discuss it. Meet me at Fort Marcy Park tomorrow at 6.
-Hillary C.
You must be my alternate personality posting while I'm asleep, or my long lost twin brother, because I am exactly the same way. My house is pretty clean most of the time, but if I leave something go, then everything starts to pile up until it becomes an issue. I have about 1.5 years worth of mail that I have hardly rifled through because I pay all my bills electronically and don't normally have a need to open anything. All my important documents, taxes and passports and such are just sitting in a neat pile on my couch. My desk at work is organized by "this pile is from random stuff I was working on last month. That pile is from random stuff I was working on 2 months ago".
I am also extremely indecisive about mundane matters, a couple months ago I was attempting to buy socks at Walmart. I already had several pairs of brown business socks and was trying to find ones that matched, but all they had were black and blue socks. I must have spent 20 minutes staring at socks going through my mind whether they would match with all of my pant and shoe combinations, how they would hold up in the wash, and if it would be possible to buy additional socks of the same color in the future. I guess we are obsessive but compulsive types.
Taxing fuel to directly pay for road construction and maintenance fine. Built-in costs used to finance refinery smog-reducing technology is fine and dandy. But punitive taxes that try to force people to drive less over dubious global warming concerns smacks of fascism.
Foster: Remember when we said we'd have to send away to NASA to calculate your attorney's fees?
:O
RIAA: Yeah, we all had a good laugh.
Foster: The results are back. You owe us 70 billion dollars.
RIAA:
Foster: Oh wait, that's for the space shuttle. You owe us 14 billion dollars.
Based on anecdotal evidence, I say no. My room mate in college was a kinesology major and a major smoker. He routinely smoked WHILE exercising (especially hilarious smoking while jogging, ashing on bench pressers while spotting for them, etc).
Dr. Strangespam: When one only wishes to bury ads, there's no limit to the amount of bandwidth they consume!
General: Mr. CEO, we cannot allow a flash-ad gap!
It's the Harry Reid Real-Estate Plan x1000! (now with correct formatting!)
Phase 1) Buy some cheap undeveloped land (Pluto)
Phase 2) Use your political connections to strong-arm local governments into rezoning the land to make it three times as valuable (declare Pluto a full-fledged planet)
Phase 3) ? (Liberal media completely ignores your scandal)
Phase 4) Profit!
It's the Harry Reid Real-Estate Plan x1000! Phase 1) Buy some cheap undeveloped land (Pluto) Phase 2) Use your political connections to strong-arm local governments into rezoning the land to make it three times as valuable (declare Pluto a full-fledged planet) Phase 3) ? (Liberal media completely ignores your scandal) Phase 4) Profit!
This is unconfortable and humiliating! Now, if they could put it the form of a suppository...
As an interesting side-note, a Geothermal power project in Switzerland was recently discovered to have caused several small earthquakes, to the alarm of local residents: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16128362/
Why do you think they brought all those animals on the Ark to begin with? BBQ!