I am about to prove that the average Slashdotter is more healthy, and gets more sex than the general public.
Please reserve this thread for discussions of your physical fitness level and love life. I will start.
First, before work every morning, I run a marathon. On the weekends, I do triathlons(one each day). Ofcourse, I do this while carrying 12kg dumbbells in each hand (I drop to 8kg when swimming).
Each evening I pleasure three supermodels except during lent when I drop to one due to my highly religious beliefs.
Anyone else have any data to add to this research?
TFA is written very poorly and describes a phenomena involving polymers that is already widely known. There are many examples. Here is one you can try using something far less exotic than the polymers mentioned in the article.
For this example, take a rubber band. Stretch it out. Touch the stretched rubber band to your lips. It will feel warm. Hold it in the stretched position for a few seconds to let it cool down to room temperature. Now let the rubber band relax, and once again touch it to your lips. You should now notice that it will feel cool.
The above process uses exactly the same principles described in TFA. Stretching the rubber band causes reduction of disorder by aligning the polymer chains. It also warms the rubber band because of the work applied. As you hold the rubber band in the stretched state it will cool to room temperature releasing some of the energy needed to heat it. This is equivalent to the step where the electrical field is applied.
Now release the rubber band. The polymer chains now revert back to a disordered state, cooling the rubber. Since the rubber band started in a stretched room temperature state the relaxed rubber band will now be below room temperature. this is equivalent to turning off the electric field as mentioned in the article.
Voila. This is a wonderful new refrigeration system that will replace all existing known cooling systems. NOT.
There are so many issues with practical application of this it is not funny. If these issues didn't exist we would have been using rubber band refrigerators for many decades already.
Also, please note that from a thermodynamics point of view this is essentially how a conventional refrigeration system works (albeit fat far more efficiently).
Going by the rough description in TFA, it sounds like electricity's effect on the ferropolymer causes its bonds to strengthen, or perhaps to magnetically align, increasing rigidity, reducing the material's potential for containing kinetic energy.
If the material's new state caps the amount of kinetic energy it can store, it has to move on - first law of thermodynamics and all.
This may be the next interesting bit in applying their discovery - finding a compatible heat conductor, and also learning the optimal frequency, voltage, current etc. at which to apply voltage.
I'm not sure how close they come to reverse Carnot in a modern "fridge", but they are very durable. It seems like we had two refridgerators the whole time I was growing up, and the only reason we got the 2nd one was because we were in a different house. It's not exactly like they were being fixed all the time either. In fact, aside from the fact that the fridge we had when I was a kid required manual defrost, I don't think they ever required maintenance. The HVAC unit in my old condo had to be pulled. This was in 2006. When the tech opened it up, we discovered it was build in 1979. These units are essentially refrigerators too, with compressors. Now, that was a good old USA unit, with a steel housing and everything. I'm not sure if the cheapo plastic jobs they installed will hold up as well, but that's an implementation issue, not a problem inherent with the underlying tech.
The point is, can this new technology be as efficient as a compressor, as cheap as a compressor and as DURABLE as a compressor?
That said, perhaps it will find applications outside of keeping your OJ cool and your brow dry. If it does, great; but the current tech is pretty good. I wish they were silent, but even at that, a modern fridge is pretty quiet too.
This could feasibly be used to make a practical air conditioner by having a segmented disk shape block that allows air to pass through.
Outside air would pass through one half of the disk that is currently energised (the electric field orders the polymer and thus releases heat).
The inside air would pass through the other half that is currently not energised (the relaxation of the electric field allows the material to absorb heat).
The disk rotates with segments shifting between the outside / inside halves, the electric field is applied by a simple electric comutation.
This is not a true "no moving parts" system but it has the potential to be an order of magnitude quieter than the current air conditioning units.
Crap. I didn't order a new fridge. Where am I going to put it. Damn... bet I am going to have to remove some cabinets. When the wife finds out, she's going to be sooooooooo pissed.
Ya know what? I can accept that. We know that this is theoretical physics. Who would have guessed that understanding the atom would have resulted in the type of electronics breakthroughs that we take for granted today? I don't know what will come out of understanding particle physics, but I would bet a lot of money that we will see some serious breakthroughs in 30 or 40 years that will make it worthwhile.
Now, IT isn't theoretical. If there is an article written about how IT will change because of this, then I want to know how IT will change because of this. I don't think that is unreasonable.
That is fine. But when I read an article about what CERN will do for IT, I expect there to be some specific improvements. Not simply "well, it has some really big challenges, so I suppose something will come as a result".
But how exactly does this impact the IT industry? My company will need to upgrade its backup systems soon. This does not translate into new technology for IT as a whole. CERN = my company * 10^9, but are new technologies coming out of this?
No, this is a case of folks needing to use the right medium for the right purpose. EMail is intended to be asynchronous. If your boss needs an immediate answer, he should walk over and talk to you, or pick up the phone. Sometimes, something is too complicated or will take a lot of back and forth, but is not urgent. I will schedule a brief meeting so as to presume the recipient needs to drop everything to attend to what I need. If something is urgent, I get my butt out of my chair and walk over to the person who has the info.
Slashdot Mirror
Hah! I am level 822545 while you haven't even crossed 200,000 yet. I can't imagine how depressed YOU are!
I am about to prove that the average Slashdotter is more healthy, and gets more sex than the general public.
Please reserve this thread for discussions of your physical fitness level and love life. I will start.
First, before work every morning, I run a marathon. On the weekends, I do triathlons(one each day). Ofcourse, I do this while carrying 12kg dumbbells in each hand (I drop to 8kg when swimming).
Each evening I pleasure three supermodels except during lent when I drop to one due to my highly religious beliefs.
Anyone else have any data to add to this research?
Yeah, and look at financial institutions. They failed because they were all run by the U.S. government, right?
CmdrTaco. Biggest cup size I'd ever seen.
I love it when they try to sell you a service warranty on something that costs $30.
TFA is written very poorly and describes a phenomena involving polymers that is already widely known. There are many examples. Here is one you can try using something far less exotic than the polymers mentioned in the article.
For this example, take a rubber band. Stretch it out. Touch the stretched rubber band to your lips. It will feel warm. Hold it in the stretched position for a few seconds to let it cool down to room temperature. Now let the rubber band relax, and once again touch it to your lips. You should now notice that it will feel cool.
The above process uses exactly the same principles described in TFA. Stretching the rubber band causes reduction of disorder by aligning the polymer chains. It also warms the rubber band because of the work applied. As you hold the rubber band in the stretched state it will cool to room temperature releasing some of the energy needed to heat it. This is equivalent to the step where the electrical field is applied.
Now release the rubber band. The polymer chains now revert back to a disordered state, cooling the rubber. Since the rubber band started in a stretched room temperature state the relaxed rubber band will now be below room temperature. this is equivalent to turning off the electric field as mentioned in the article.
Voila. This is a wonderful new refrigeration system that will replace all existing known cooling systems. NOT.
There are so many issues with practical application of this it is not funny. If these issues didn't exist we would have been using rubber band refrigerators for many decades already.
Also, please note that from a thermodynamics point of view this is essentially how a conventional refrigeration system works (albeit fat far more efficiently).
Going by the rough description in TFA, it sounds like electricity's effect on the ferropolymer causes its bonds to strengthen, or perhaps to magnetically align, increasing rigidity, reducing the material's potential for containing kinetic energy.
If the material's new state caps the amount of kinetic energy it can store, it has to move on - first law of thermodynamics and all.
This may be the next interesting bit in applying their discovery - finding a compatible heat conductor, and also learning the optimal frequency, voltage, current etc. at which to apply voltage.
I'm not sure how close they come to reverse Carnot in a modern "fridge", but they are very durable. It seems like we had two refridgerators the whole time I was growing up, and the only reason we got the 2nd one was because we were in a different house. It's not exactly like they were being fixed all the time either. In fact, aside from the fact that the fridge we had when I was a kid required manual defrost, I don't think they ever required maintenance. The HVAC unit in my old condo had to be pulled. This was in 2006. When the tech opened it up, we discovered it was build in 1979. These units are essentially refrigerators too, with compressors. Now, that was a good old USA unit, with a steel housing and everything. I'm not sure if the cheapo plastic jobs they installed will hold up as well, but that's an implementation issue, not a problem inherent with the underlying tech.
The point is, can this new technology be as efficient as a compressor, as cheap as a compressor and as DURABLE as a compressor?
That said, perhaps it will find applications outside of keeping your OJ cool and your brow dry. If it does, great; but the current tech is pretty good. I wish they were silent, but even at that, a modern fridge is pretty quiet too.
This could feasibly be used to make a practical air conditioner by having a segmented disk shape block that allows air to pass through.
Outside air would pass through one half of the disk that is currently energised (the electric field orders the polymer and thus releases heat).
The inside air would pass through the other half that is currently not energised (the relaxation of the electric field allows the material to absorb heat).
The disk rotates with segments shifting between the outside / inside halves, the electric field is applied by a simple electric comutation.
This is not a true "no moving parts" system but it has the potential to be an order of magnitude quieter than the current air conditioning units.
Crap. I didn't order a new fridge. Where am I going to put it. Damn... bet I am going to have to remove some cabinets. When the wife finds out, she's going to be sooooooooo pissed.
... no more Rick Roll videos, I am all for it.
I definitely wouldn't have wagered on "insightful". Bill Gates doesn't usually log in until the evening.
Mozilla follows Microsoft's lead.
(takes wagers on how this gets modded)
Could it be related to this firehose entry?
Ya know what? I can accept that. We know that this is theoretical physics. Who would have guessed that understanding the atom would have resulted in the type of electronics breakthroughs that we take for granted today? I don't know what will come out of understanding particle physics, but I would bet a lot of money that we will see some serious breakthroughs in 30 or 40 years that will make it worthwhile.
Now, IT isn't theoretical. If there is an article written about how IT will change because of this, then I want to know how IT will change because of this. I don't think that is unreasonable.
That is fine. But when I read an article about what CERN will do for IT, I expect there to be some specific improvements. Not simply "well, it has some really big challenges, so I suppose something will come as a result".
But how exactly does this impact the IT industry? My company will need to upgrade its backup systems soon. This does not translate into new technology for IT as a whole. CERN = my company * 10^9, but are new technologies coming out of this?
Rickroll?
Goatse?
2 girls, 1 cup?
No, this is far worse. Thank goodness for LinkNark.
Popular Mechanics explains this. Not that I think it will matter to the conspiracy crowd.
Huh? Is this a 9/11 conspiracy thing?
"Won't anyone think of the corporations?"
No, this is a case of folks needing to use the right medium for the right purpose. EMail is intended to be asynchronous. If your boss needs an immediate answer, he should walk over and talk to you, or pick up the phone. Sometimes, something is too complicated or will take a lot of back and forth, but is not urgent. I will schedule a brief meeting so as to presume the recipient needs to drop everything to attend to what I need. If something is urgent, I get my butt out of my chair and walk over to the person who has the info.
Iit ain't really complicated/
And get the ink smeared on my ass? Explain THAT to the wife.
Go back to the abacus. Computers are overrated. Penthouse can take over the only other computer function.
Wow! I am behind on my Ubuntu distro then. I am still on the J's.