Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page

Much Sorry with Delays
Birth, Death and All That Stuff in Between
How to Honor Labor Day, Every Day
My Yom Kippur Miracle (Repost from 2010)
Good intro to fly casting
Peach update, with pie
NYC update
Easy for you to say: To the elites on mass immigration
For NYC on 9/11, Sailors' Snug Harbor
Pickled Peaches
Water Shoes
Labor Costs in U.S.
Your "identity"
Good news about The Great Courses
Uses of Hot Pepper Jelly/Sauce, Chutneys, and Jams
A Saturday Drive to Litchfield County, CT
How to Pick a Kayak
Civilized: Fruit forks and knives
Loads of kayaking on Cape Cod
Psychology Experiments' Questionable Results

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Wednesday, December 14. 2022

Wednesday morning links

 The Lost History of Cat Domestication Can Finally Be Told


Scientists Super Enthused Over Nuclear Fusion, Drag Climate Cult Beliefs Into Concern


 Scientists have made a breakthrough in fusion — but don’t get carried away


 Real Life Does Not Fit The Narrative. This past summer, I threw my phone in a drawer and headed for the mountains of Montana. That's true. It's also a metaphor.



 It is almost as though the purpose of the stories we are told is to obscure reality, not to reveal it. Because to observe reality is to trust your own perceptions. You might even start to notice that most stories are not tidy parables with morals. “The world is wilder than that in all directions, more dangerous and bitter, more extravagant and bright,” Dillard writes. A satisfying true story tends to be complicated and irreducible. Reality is messy. People have obscure and contradictory motives; we misbehave, screw up, and rarely do what we should.



NYC recommends wearing masks outside


 Pete Bootiejudge Wants You to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint, But Personally Takes Taxpayer-Provided Private Jets For His Many, Many Pointless Travel Opportunities


 Parents of Bankman-Fried, Professors, Face Scrutiny

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 08:30 | Comments (28) | Trackbacks (0)

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The leap from "a breakthrough in nuclear fusion" to a safe and functional nuclear fusion power generation facility is a million miles wide. It likely will never happen.

On the other hand scientists at Oregon State University created very small nuclear generation units that could solve our energy problems Each of these small units no larger than a pickup truck could power a city. Unfortunately they were designed at about the time that people began to fear nuclear power so they were never put into production.
#1 OneGuy on 2022-12-14 11:11 (Reply)
OneGuy: The leap from "a breakthrough in nuclear fusion" to a safe and functional nuclear fusion power generation facility is a million miles wide.

QUOTE:
NASA’s Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, west of Baja California, at 9:40 a.m. PST Sunday after a record-breaking mission, traveling more than 1.4 million miles on a path around the Moon and returning safely to Earth, completing the Artemis I flight test.
#1.1 Zachriel on 2022-12-14 11:49 (Reply)
The 60's called. They wanted to know why we were doing so poorly at replicating the Apollo program.
#1.1.1 John Fisher on 2022-12-14 12:35 (Reply)
John Fisher: The 60's called. They wanted to know why we were doing so poorly at replicating the Apollo program.

The Apollo program's goal was to just to land people on the Moon and return them to Earth safely. It's primary intention was geopolitical, to redirect American and Soviet missile programs to peaceful purposes. The Artemis program's goal is to establish a lunar base as a step towards a human Mars expedition.
#1.1.1.1 Zachriel on 2022-12-14 13:26 (Reply)
So, the Artemis program has already run much longer than Apollo did, started with 40 year old tech from the Space Shuttle and still hasn't carried a person anywhere. Even ignoring the financial boondoggle, it still is a pretty poor performance. At this point Space X will send people to lunar orbit before Artemis unless the government decides to seriously hinder Space X.
#1.1.1.1.1 John Fisher on 2022-12-14 19:50 (Reply)
John Fisher: So, the Artemis program has already run much longer than Apollo did, started with 40 year old tech from the Space Shuttle and still hasn't carried a person anywhere.

The Apollo project was one of three projects to land a person on the moon: Mercury, Gemini, then Apollo. Artemis entails not just a trip to the Moon, but the establishment of a permanent lunar base.

John Fisher: Even ignoring the financial boondoggle,

The Apollo project alone cost $165 billion (2021 dollars), while Artemis is expected to cost $35 billion through 2024.
#1.1.1.1.1.1 Zachriel on 2022-12-15 08:04 (Reply)
OneGuy: Each of these small units no larger than a pickup truck could power a city.

Well, they're 65 feet tall and can power about 30,000 homes. There are still problems with waste disposal and some safety concerns, but are designed to work without backup power.

OneGuy: Unfortunately they were designed at about the time that people began to fear nuclear power so they were never put into production.

Deployment is scheduled for 2025 or so.
#1.2 Zachriel on 2022-12-14 11:56 (Reply)
I'm old enough to remember when x amount of solar panels "could" power 30,000 homes.

Wonder what happened.
#1.2.1 Zachinoff on 2022-12-14 12:41 (Reply)
Re Fusion: The NY Post article is sound. Beyond the insanely poor conversion efficiency of this setup--a huge net energy loser--I have a hard time imagining how inertial confinement could ever be the basis for a net positive power source. Consider, each laser blast requires a new hohlraum (fuel pellet) containing tritium, which has to be made in a nuclear fission reactor. There are no tritium wells on this planet. So it's kind of like a muzzle-loading rifle: 60 seconds to load the thing for one shot. Then you have to clean it and start over. Interesting physics and worth doing at some level just for that, but hyping it as a power source is dishonest and only lowers the prestige of scientists over time.
#2 Hairless Joe on 2022-12-14 12:20 (Reply)
Hairless Joe: So it's kind of like a muzzle-loading rifle: 60 seconds to load the thing for one shot.

Good analogy. Guns utterly changed the dynamics of warfare, leading to a period of republican revolution and the modern age. Of note, guns evolved considerably over time.

13th century hand cannon
#2.1 Zachriel on 2022-12-14 13:38 (Reply)
I explained this as like trying to heat your house using a string or firecrackers where each one has to be loaded into a holder one at a time. Inertial confinement, in this engineer's opinion, is a dead-end technology for steady-state power production. On a practical basis we have to look at some way of creating a continuous flow, magnetic containment system if there is any hope on a macro scale.
#2.2 Another guy named Dan on 2022-12-14 14:41 (Reply)
Another guy named Dan: I explained this as like trying to heat your house using a string or firecrackers where each one has to be loaded into a holder one at a time.

The internal combustion engine utilizes explosions and yet creates continuous motion. You may be right about fusion, but it is not out of the realm of plausibility, as you suggest.
#2.2.1 Zachriel on 2022-12-14 14:56 (Reply)
missing the point - an internal combustion engine has a near steady-state fuel feed, at least into the intake plenum. the fuel pellets for a laser driven inertial confinement fusion reactor have to be loaded sequentially and alligned to a sub-micron precision, on the order of the wavelength of the laser used to start the detonation. I just don't see this happening multiple times per second. It's way more complicated than opening and closing inlet and exhaust valves or injector gates.
#2.2.1.1 Another guy named Dan on 2022-12-14 15:33 (Reply)
Another guy named Dan: missing the point -

It's like "trying to propel you forward using a string of explosions where each one has to be loaded into a holder one at a time."

Another guy named Dan: an internal combustion engine has a near steady-state fuel feed

Not in a piston engine, they don't. Fuel is injected into the cylinder—stop. Then an explosion is ignited in the chamber—stop. Then the waste gas is expelled—stop. It's all discrete, not continuous.

Another guy named Dan: It's way more complicated than opening and closing inlet and exhaust valves or injector gates.

Well, yeah.
#2.2.1.2 Zachriel on 2022-12-14 15:44 (Reply)
(((Quibble-DickZ))) know as much about internal combustion engines as they do about quantum mechanics.
#2.2.1.2.1 Zachinoff on 2022-12-14 15:54 (Reply)
Their is NO explosion in the cylinder, it is a flame front. An explosion is called "knocking" which is destructive to the engine.
#2.2.1.2.2 indyjonesouthere on 2022-12-14 19:15 (Reply)
indyjonesouthere: Their is NO explosion in the cylinder, it is a flame front. An explosion is called "knocking" which is destructive to the engine.

Explosions can be supersonic, as in detonation, or a subsonic deflagration. See also this patent for an “Explosion or internal combustion engine”.
#2.2.1.2.2.1 Zachriel on 2022-12-14 20:49 (Reply)
Typical piston engines burn fuel as a flame front with NO explosion. A piston engine with explosions would be noisy and short lived.
#2.2.1.2.2.1.1 indyjonesouthere on 2022-12-14 21:17 (Reply)
You were provided a citation and an example. We can’t make you read it.
#2.2.1.2.2.1.1.1 Zachriel on 2022-12-14 22:04 (Reply)
There is a reason the "patent" remained a patent and not a product.
#2.2.1.2.2.1.1.1.1 indyjonesouthere on 2022-12-15 13:33 (Reply)
indyjonesouthere: There is a reason the "patent" remained a patent and not a product.

You made a semantic point. Explosions can be either supersonic (detonation) or subsonic (deflagration). Your semantic point, though erroneous, doesn't address the original topic.

Science Clarified: "In an engine, the cylinder is housed inside an engine block strong enough to contain the explosions of fuel.
#2.2.1.2.2.1.1.1.2 Zachriel on 2022-12-15 16:07 (Reply)
The fuel does NOT explode. That has to be an academics version of piston engine operation. Anyone that actually works on engines knows that the "explosion" of fuel in a cylinder is an indication of an improperly maintained engine.

merriam webster...rapid combustion in an internal combustion engine that results in knocking.
Motor Trend 9/12/2020...detonation is a dirty word around hot rods because when it happens it usually means some lapse of attention to engine assembly.

Have you ever had even a lick of engine grease on your hands?
#2.2.1.2.2.1.1.1.2.1 indyjonesouthere on 2022-12-15 16:49 (Reply)
indyjonesouthere: detonation is a dirty word around hot rods because when it happens it usually means some lapse of attention to engine assembly

Now, you got it! Explosions can be either supersonic (detonation) or subsonic (deflagration). The former is the cause of knocking due to the shock wave.
#2.2.1.2.2.1.1.1.2.2 Zachriel on 2022-12-15 18:03 (Reply)
Now go read your answer to "Dan". Then an explosion is ignited in the chamber-stop. NO. NO. NO.

That is NOT and has NEVER been the proper operation of a piston engine. And that is not a chamber, that is a cylinder.

Intake, compression, power, exhaust...a typical 4 cycle engine. It is not intake, compression, explosion, exhaust unless you are trying to destroy the engine. Just a hint...stay away from engines.
#2.2.1.2.2.1.1.1.2.2.1 indyjonesouthere on 2022-12-15 18:14 (Reply)
You’ve been provided multiple citations. You d)t even seem to understand the distinction. Not sure how else to help you.
#2.2.1.2.2.1.1.1.2.2.2 Zachriel on 2022-12-15 21:13 (Reply)
You simply have zero knowledge of piston engines and you are unable to learn anything about them. Stick to academic subjects where you need little knowledge but can live by the narrative.
#2.2.1.2.2.1.1.1.2.2.2.1 indyjonesouthere on 2022-12-16 00:14 (Reply)
You don't even understand your own citation.
#2.2.1.2.2.1.1.1.2.2.2.2 indyjonesouthere on 2022-12-16 00:16 (Reply)
“I had a friend who said, ‘You don’t want to be seen with them,’” said Larry Kramer, a former dean of the law school and a friend of the Bankman-Fried family. “I don’t see how this doesn’t bankrupt them.”

From what I've read about them, they probably deserve shaming and shunning. I believe their son is on the spectrum, and is their victim.
#3 RebeccaH on 2022-12-14 12:39 (Reply)

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