If you are interested in science as I am, or perhaps work in the field, or have simply spotted something cool to post - then this is the place.
Today seems the right day to start this, given the much awaited break through in nuclear fusion technology. Potentially the absolute game changer humanity needs, if it can be fully implemented in time.
Breakthrough in nuclear fusion energy announced https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63950962
So clever my foot fell off.
In at the ground floor of this thread.
I'm sceptical about the possibility of fusion - I mean, I know it happens! But the idea of usable fusion. But many of the technologies we use now would have been difficult to imagine two hundred years ago. We'll see.
Can I use this space to recommend a book?
It's... amazing. Even if you know the names, the science of the people, in the story.
It's infuriating, at times, but chilling and memorable.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/20...ide-of-science
Very interesting.
I like books and I have a very passable knowledge of quantum mechanics and things like string theory. I am an advance Science reader.
Do you think I'll like it? Is it too "entry level"?
What does it achieve by the end?
They've proven its possible . If its possible its scaleable and refinable , took them about 6 years to build a fission bomb on the basis of the theory .
They'll have power stations rolling out in 20 years now its proven to be not a white rabbit
This feels huge. 50% more energy out than in. It sounds like this could be developed into the standard energy source for centuries.
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It's easily accessible to the laymen, I think. It's a series of biographical chapters - more about the scientists than the science. It focuses on disagreements and rivalries. It's very good. If you like science you'll have no trouble.Originally Posted by The Doc
Yes, that's what I'm worried about.
Is it too facile? I want trouble :)
Although ‘the laboratory's lasers had input 2.05 megajoules (MJ) of energy to the target, which had then produced 3.15 MJ of fusion energy output.’
If you include the energy used to drive the lasers in addition to its 2.05mj output, it was higher than the output
Not a slam dunk, but exciting…. Can’t come soon enough
And in other good news today (God knows we need some), mRNA cancer vaccines are looking promising. If there’s one good thing to come out of the pandemic it could well be this:
Cancer mRNA vaccine completes pivotal trial https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-63959843
So clever my foot fell off.
An old book - Who Got Einstein’s Office? - is well worth a read. Biographies of very famous people and why they were famous - including the developer of string theory.
Yes, noticed the official public announcement online revealed the 'at outlet' energy in after a journalist's question.
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Doesn't this break the first law of thermodynamics? To quote Montgomery Scott, "Ye cannae break the laws of physics".
No, cos of E=MC2. No energy has been created, it was already there contained within the matter. Energy into some matter resulted in more released energy that was put in, but some left over material that has a corresponding reduction in energy within it, probably
Think of an LED battery circuit, you press the switch, using a little energy from your finger, boom, an LED is lit, energy, more and longer than the energy to push the button, has energy been created? No, it's just what was stored in the battery. Matter contains energy, lots, 1kg of matter contains 1xspeed of light squared which is like 9 with 16 zeros after it, joules of energy. Same with fission, split an atom, release the energy within, it's how current nuclear power stations work, bombs too
Last edited by Brighty; 14th December 2022 at 00:06.
No as pointed out matter has been converted into energy .
I think there are a couple of breakthroughs in nuclear fusion just announced, a combination of the amount of energy needed to trigger it and controlling it.
Very, very good news though.
Groundrush gave a good description, with the right graph!, but I can;t let the bolded bit stand, below -
OK, technically correct, but that's not what you get from fusion (or fission, as it happens). The "m" in em-cee-squared is only the difference, the "mass defect", between the ingredients and the products - the difference in mass between what you start with, and what you end up with. This is a tiny mass, on our scale of things, but that whole "multiplied by the speed of light squared", coupled with the sheer number of these reactions happening - that's where the usable energy comes from!
Great idea for a thread. Some genuinely exciting developments in the last couple of weeks.
Up until just over 4 months ago I was working on the next generation of UK fusion reactor for the UKAEA.
Have you looked into quantum computing at all?
Up until five or six years ago there was something of a dearth of books and readily accessible information on the subject. Nowadays however there is a pretty wide selection ranging from Quantum Computing for Babies all the way through to the well regarded textbook Quantum Computation and Quantum Information by 'Mike and Ike'. A number of online courses at varying levels can also be found with just a little googling.
That is quite cool.
I am currently watching Dark on Netflix. I don’t trust them thare newcleare reactors.
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Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
Back to fusion, it has occurred to me that even if it's a viable power source, it won't change much. The technology is going to stay firmly in the US. I'm doubtful of allied nuclear powers like France and the UK getting fusion reactors, and there's zero chance of the big polluters like India or China or Russia getting by their hands on them.
Is there a way the technology can be shared with the world?
phage therapy for antibiotic resistant bacteria. Nearly 100y old treatment is becoming popular again.
http://www.phagetherapycenter.com/pi...nst&language=0
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
This is fascinating - why the Roman's buildings have lasted so long - self-healing concrete:
https://edition.cnn.com/style/articl...scn/index.html
Potentially big implications!
So clever my foot fell off.
Amazing. What would you estimate the time-scale is for commercial fusion reactors going on-line?
50 years from whenever you ask the question.
The prototype is due to start up in about 2040. I would say, if successful, maybe towards the end of the century.
Was going to post - not in our lifetimes or even in our children's lifetimes.
Especially for laser fusion, just so many hurdles to overcome - economic fabrication of the pellets at scale, injection(?) of the pellets, generation of tritium fuel and so on. No-one appears to have an answer to these challenges.
Thanks for replying. Something for humanity to look forward too!
Beyond AI is AGI:
https://time.com/6246119/demis-hassa...ind-interview/
Big, big stuff here. I think like many I am on the fence with regard to AI - the potential is unimaginable (note the proteins algorithm mentioned, and fusion), but the potential is both good and bad.
Will it help solve so many of our problems, but at the same time creating new ones?
So clever my foot fell off.
Without a doubt. It is the duality of humankind.
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Now this is very clever!
Using moon dust to create a shield that reduces global warming:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/...e_iOSApp_Other
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64492456
This and AI with only a few years till the T800.
Also this thread needs Yeah Mr White, yeah science.
You see, the term AI is bollocks.
It’s artificial intelligence in the way an artificial flower is. It is not synthetic intelligence.
It’s masquerading by drawing on existing knowledge only, not generating and applying new knowledge.
"Bite my shiny metal ass."
- Bender Bending Rodríguez
Starship engine test today. Look at the size of the thing! I knew it was big but I did not know it could carry a hundred people if needed:
Starship: SpaceX tests the most powerful ever rocket system https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64590147
So clever my foot fell off.
It's certainly a beast at over twice the height of a fully fuelled space shuttle. What's so different with SpaceX's philosophy to every other operation is that Starship has redundancy built in, even with 2 engines not running there's enough power to take it to orbit. As well as the 33 Raptor engines in the booster there's another 6 in the starship itself, mind boggling stuff!
This is really fascinating - a new way of examining ancient manuscripts that is transforming what we know about them:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...ks-and-objects
So clever my foot fell off.
I've just finished reading this, and it's about as approachable as an intro to quantum physics can be, and full of biography. It's very good.
Thanks, just ordered it.I've just finished reading this, and it's about as approachable as an intro to quantum physics can be, and full of biography. It's very good.
Currently reading this one which does a good job of explaining astrophysics.
"Astrophysics for People in a Hurry (Astrophysics for People in a Hurry Series)" by Neil de Grasse Tyson.
Start reading it for free: https://amzn.eu/7VO23DM
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Absolutely incredible full scans of Titanic:
Titanic: First ever full-sized scans reveal wreck as never seen before https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65602182
So clever my foot fell off.
This could be an absolute gamechanger - electricity from thin air, and it's essentially simple:
https://www.inverse.com/science/scie...icity-from-air
So clever my foot fell off.
The cynic in me says that the fossil fuel sector won't be very happy...
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
The science behind seeing ghosts. Very interesting indeed and seems pretty plausible. Some new evidence here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/artic...d-0c637d8265c1
So clever my foot fell off.
Wow! Look at the speed the probe is going to hit:
Nasa mission lines up to 'touch the Sun' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67837161
So clever my foot fell off.
Ingenuity cashes in it's chips.
Quite remarkable really, I think all the rovers sent to Mars far exceed their mission design capability, notably Spirit and Opportunity.
And the helicopter did well with 72 flights.
BBC News - Ingenuity: Damage puts end to ground-breaking Mars helicopter mission
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68099672
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