For example the Hirsch-Farnsworth Fusor - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusor - ?
It's a very useful source of neutron radiation - Portable, unlike a fission reactor - and can be switched on and off, unlike a radioactive source.
"God created the atoms and they weren't meant to be broken"
LOL. Good thing we can just use Pu as a fissile fuel then - God sure as hell didn't create that:)
Nuclear fission reactors certainly have been deployed in Space before, as well as the more common and familiar Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators used in interplanetary probes and such.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RORSAT
http://downlode.org/etext/wipp/http://www.wipp.energy.gov/library/PermanentMarker sImplementationPlan.pdf
As presently planned, the Level II messages will state through text and
pictographs that there is danger present, and the danger is below the land
surface. Level III messages tell that radioactive and hazardous waste is buried,
instruct persons not to dig or drill, indicate the depth of burial, when WIPP was
closed, that the repository is intended to last at least 10,000 years, that there is a
decreasing danger over time, and requesting that the messages be updated to
the current language or languages in use (space will be left on the markers for
this purpose). Level IV messages expand on the above topics, and also address
the potential for releases through ground water, identify cancer as the primary
risk, provide detailed information on radioactive and chemical constituents of the
waste, provide a geologic cross-section with reasons for choosing the Salado
Formation for the WIPP, describe the locations world-wide where other nuclear
waste sites are located, and urge readers to seek out those other sites and
ensure consistency of messages.
To enhance the potential for comprehension of the messages, it is planned that
they will be inscribed in seven languages: English, French, Spanish, Arabic,
Russian, Chinese, and Navajo. This spread of languages representing different
cultures and geographical regions will, it is hoped, potentially allow the markers
to serve as "Rosetta Stones" for future populations, and thus increase the chance
that they will be understood. Other means of improving possibilities for
comprehension include the use of complementary diagrams and pictographs,
use of simple words and short sentences, and through the testing of message
comprehension with populations indigenous to areas speaking each language,
as described in this plan.
The proposed text of the Level II, III, and IV messages are included in Appendix
PIC of the CCA. Pictographs proposed in Appendix PIC include the following.
Level II Message:
Graphic symbols of the human face expressing horror and terror;
DOE/WIPP 04-3302
42
Graphic symbols of the human face expressing something nauseating or
poisonous; and
Trefoil and biohazard symbols.
Level III Message:
The pictographs described above, plus:
Diagram conveying the danger of digging or drilling;
Spatial perspective of the marking system to the underground repository;
and
Time elapse diagram from WIPP closure via north celestial pole migration,
including faces showing disgust at closure to neutral at 10,000 years, to
contentment well beyond 10,000 years, and decreasing size radioactive
symbol.
Level IV Message:
The pictographs described above, plus:
Detailed spatial perspective of the repository;
Geologic cross section of the WIPP site and relative position of the
repository within the formations;
Periodic chart of the elements, identifying the major radioactive and nonradioactive
elements present in waste buried at the WIPP site;
Azimuths of the bright stars Vega, Arcturus, Sirius, and Canopus as they
rise above the horizon at the time of WIPP closure, allowing calculation of
the time of closure; and
World map showing the locations where other radioactive wastes are
buried.
Drawings of these pictographs are shown in CCA Appendix PIC.
It's likely that any future civilisation with the level of science and technology to understand radioactivity and basic nuclear physics would have idenfified the radioactivity / Trinitite / Bloody big craters of the nearby Nevada test site, and worked out exactly what they're dealing with.
To all those discussing the IFR, and reprocessing of the waste, it's important to consider exactly what WIPP is dealing with.
Not spent reactor fuels, but transuranic actinide wastes from weapons research - predominantly stuff produced between WW2 and the Cold War, from the early research in Actinide radiometallurgy through to large-scale weapons Pu production.
Look at the clean up job that is being undertaken with the buried waste tanks at ORNL Y-12 these days - that's the sort of stuff we're dealing with.
Reprocessing waste, to extract the Plutonium, is always going to generate additonal actinide-contaminated waste, and that's what we're dealing with here. Not spent reactor fuel with heaps of Plutonium - waste from fuel reproccessing, basically. It's not practical to further reprocess the waste for IFR use, both for economical reasons, and for the fact that it will simply generate even more spent filters and crap like that contaminated with Pu and other nucleides - exactly like this waste we've already got. If recovering these nucleides was practical, we would be doing just that.
This is definately the most interesting part of this discovery.
We know that simple organic molecules like MeOH were most likely critical steps in the biochemical origins of life on Earth, and it has been generally accepted in the past that these kinds of molecules couldn't remain stable in space, primarily due to radiolysis, whilst now it seems they can.
To everybody wondering about refilling the MeOH solution that these cells use - it probably won't be practical. The 'fuel' needs to be very pure, otherwise catalyst poisoning will destroy your very expensive fuel cell. I imagine swappable methanol cartridges just like AA batteries might be available - one day.
That's just stupid - it's an important pharmaceutical, and i can't think of many other common theraputic drugs that are available OTC that have the limited side effects, that can fill the niche filled by psuedoephedrine.
It's already listed as a Table 1 Precursor by the UN.
As was already established by a previous poster, most large scale methamphetamine and methcathinone production is based around pure psuedoephedrine, which is either stolen or imported - fiddling with 1000 packs of Sudafed isn't worth it.
Banning or restricting OTC chemicals used for the synthesis of illicit drugs, or explosives, is absolutely futile - you can synthesize anything from anything, if you know how.
I might know quite well how a Birch reduction works, but i've still got a cold, gorramit!
Colossus had nothing to do with cryptanalysis of any Engima variant.
The Colossus machines were used to help break the more advanced Baudot code teleprinter systems used for communications between German command posts - particularly the system known to the Allies as 'TUNNY'
Of course you can do the actual lithography yourself with acceptable results (Probably not 8 thou tracks, however), but without a decent layout package, you're never going to get far.
For any electronic hardware that is complex enough to be non trivial, you haven't got a hope with a Dalo or Sharpie pen, except for resist touch ups.
I can't imagine how PCB layout must have been before CAD came along.
Personally, for hobbyist use, the free version of Eagle does everything i want it to do. If you're into commercial production, then you should cough up the money for commercial software.
It's worth learning how to design a board well, and doing without the Autorouter wherever possible.
Diamond, and other simple Carbon containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, cyanides, CO2 and CO etc are generally not considered as organic compounds.
Slashdot Mirror
For example the Hirsch-Farnsworth Fusor - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusor - ? It's a very useful source of neutron radiation - Portable, unlike a fission reactor - and can be switched on and off, unlike a radioactive source.
"God created the atoms and they weren't meant to be broken" LOL. Good thing we can just use Pu as a fissile fuel then - God sure as hell didn't create that :)
Nuclear fission reactors certainly have been deployed in Space before, as well as the more common and familiar Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators used in interplanetary probes and such. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RORSAT
You're thinking of radioactivity, not RF energy.
http://downlode.org/etext/wipp/ http://www.wipp.energy.gov/library/PermanentMarker sImplementationPlan.pdf
As presently planned, the Level II messages will state through text and
pictographs that there is danger present, and the danger is below the land
surface. Level III messages tell that radioactive and hazardous waste is buried,
instruct persons not to dig or drill, indicate the depth of burial, when WIPP was
closed, that the repository is intended to last at least 10,000 years, that there is a
decreasing danger over time, and requesting that the messages be updated to
the current language or languages in use (space will be left on the markers for
this purpose). Level IV messages expand on the above topics, and also address
the potential for releases through ground water, identify cancer as the primary
risk, provide detailed information on radioactive and chemical constituents of the
waste, provide a geologic cross-section with reasons for choosing the Salado
Formation for the WIPP, describe the locations world-wide where other nuclear
waste sites are located, and urge readers to seek out those other sites and
ensure consistency of messages.
To enhance the potential for comprehension of the messages, it is planned that
they will be inscribed in seven languages: English, French, Spanish, Arabic,
Russian, Chinese, and Navajo. This spread of languages representing different
cultures and geographical regions will, it is hoped, potentially allow the markers
to serve as "Rosetta Stones" for future populations, and thus increase the chance
that they will be understood. Other means of improving possibilities for
comprehension include the use of complementary diagrams and pictographs,
use of simple words and short sentences, and through the testing of message
comprehension with populations indigenous to areas speaking each language,
as described in this plan.
The proposed text of the Level II, III, and IV messages are included in Appendix
PIC of the CCA. Pictographs proposed in Appendix PIC include the following.
Level II Message:
Graphic symbols of the human face expressing horror and terror;
DOE/WIPP 04-3302
42
Graphic symbols of the human face expressing something nauseating or
poisonous; and
Trefoil and biohazard symbols.
Level III Message:
The pictographs described above, plus:
Diagram conveying the danger of digging or drilling;
Spatial perspective of the marking system to the underground repository;
and
Time elapse diagram from WIPP closure via north celestial pole migration,
including faces showing disgust at closure to neutral at 10,000 years, to
contentment well beyond 10,000 years, and decreasing size radioactive
symbol.
Level IV Message:
The pictographs described above, plus:
Detailed spatial perspective of the repository;
Geologic cross section of the WIPP site and relative position of the
repository within the formations;
Periodic chart of the elements, identifying the major radioactive and nonradioactive
elements present in waste buried at the WIPP site;
Azimuths of the bright stars Vega, Arcturus, Sirius, and Canopus as they
rise above the horizon at the time of WIPP closure, allowing calculation of
the time of closure; and
World map showing the locations where other radioactive wastes are
buried.
Drawings of these pictographs are shown in CCA Appendix PIC.
It's likely that any future civilisation with the level of science and technology to understand radioactivity and basic nuclear physics would have idenfified the radioactivity / Trinitite / Bloody big craters of the nearby Nevada test site, and worked out exactly what they're dealing with. To all those discussing the IFR, and reprocessing of the waste, it's important to consider exactly what WIPP is dealing with. Not spent reactor fuels, but transuranic actinide wastes from weapons research - predominantly stuff produced between WW2 and the Cold War, from the early research in Actinide radiometallurgy through to large-scale weapons Pu production. Look at the clean up job that is being undertaken with the buried waste tanks at ORNL Y-12 these days - that's the sort of stuff we're dealing with. Reprocessing waste, to extract the Plutonium, is always going to generate additonal actinide-contaminated waste, and that's what we're dealing with here. Not spent reactor fuel with heaps of Plutonium - waste from fuel reproccessing, basically. It's not practical to further reprocess the waste for IFR use, both for economical reasons, and for the fact that it will simply generate even more spent filters and crap like that contaminated with Pu and other nucleides - exactly like this waste we've already got. If recovering these nucleides was practical, we would be doing just that.
This is definately the most interesting part of this discovery. We know that simple organic molecules like MeOH were most likely critical steps in the biochemical origins of life on Earth, and it has been generally accepted in the past that these kinds of molecules couldn't remain stable in space, primarily due to radiolysis, whilst now it seems they can.
Look at what happened to David Mery. (http://gizmonaut.net/bits/suspect.html)
To everybody wondering about refilling the MeOH solution that these cells use - it probably won't be practical. The 'fuel' needs to be very pure, otherwise catalyst poisoning will destroy your very expensive fuel cell. I imagine swappable methanol cartridges just like AA batteries might be available - one day.
That's just stupid - it's an important pharmaceutical, and i can't think of many other common theraputic drugs that are available OTC that have the limited side effects, that can fill the niche filled by psuedoephedrine. It's already listed as a Table 1 Precursor by the UN. As was already established by a previous poster, most large scale methamphetamine and methcathinone production is based around pure psuedoephedrine, which is either stolen or imported - fiddling with 1000 packs of Sudafed isn't worth it. Banning or restricting OTC chemicals used for the synthesis of illicit drugs, or explosives, is absolutely futile - you can synthesize anything from anything, if you know how. I might know quite well how a Birch reduction works, but i've still got a cold, gorramit!
Colossus had nothing to do with cryptanalysis of any Engima variant. The Colossus machines were used to help break the more advanced Baudot code teleprinter systems used for communications between German command posts - particularly the system known to the Allies as 'TUNNY'
Of course you can do the actual lithography yourself with acceptable results (Probably not 8 thou tracks, however), but without a decent layout package, you're never going to get far. For any electronic hardware that is complex enough to be non trivial, you haven't got a hope with a Dalo or Sharpie pen, except for resist touch ups. I can't imagine how PCB layout must have been before CAD came along. Personally, for hobbyist use, the free version of Eagle does everything i want it to do. If you're into commercial production, then you should cough up the money for commercial software. It's worth learning how to design a board well, and doing without the Autorouter wherever possible.
Diamond, and other simple Carbon containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, cyanides, CO2 and CO etc are generally not considered as organic compounds.