tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post3168789018069692891..comments2024-03-28T18:18:37.133-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: Brilliant innovators - hopeful signsDavid Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-28471862605256515162014-07-19T07:00:57.357-07:002014-07-19T07:00:57.357-07:00I knew stray "neutronium" of whichever f...I knew stray "neutronium" of whichever flavor, if detached would revert to matter, but what type? Would that be a different path to trans-iron synthesis, in addition to supernovae? 97% H, 1% He, CNO, tiny bit of trans-iron? Trans-uranium even?Jumperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794110173836133321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-44438207239696729472014-07-18T21:04:56.201-07:002014-07-18T21:04:56.201-07:00onward
onward<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-87632198643310875622014-07-18T17:26:57.744-07:002014-07-18T17:26:57.744-07:00Independent academics might spend a large fraction...Independent academics might spend a large fraction of their time chasing money, but that just encourages them to band together and put the grad students/post docs to work on some of the administrivia. A good working team is going to have specialists and processes for getting the most out of members with each skill.Alfred Differnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-88997280814881837882014-07-18T17:04:02.302-07:002014-07-18T17:04:02.302-07:00Does neutronium "revert" to normal matte...Does neutronium "revert" to normal matter? Or does it just decay as neutrons cannot exist for any significant length of time without associated protons to provide subatomic stability?<br /><br />If the two neutron stars collided at speed, it might turn into a black hole but we'd not see much matter from it that didn't exist from the remnants of the two stars. The expelled neutronium would likely decay into energy which would likely appear like an explosion.<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-55061199921247267652014-07-18T17:02:08.280-07:002014-07-18T17:02:08.280-07:00Or are the neutron stars metaphors for politics?Or are the neutron stars metaphors for politics?Paul451https://www.blogger.com/profile/12119086761190994938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-46022952295047996262014-07-18T17:00:29.624-07:002014-07-18T17:00:29.624-07:00I haven't seen a simulation of a non-spiral-of...I haven't seen a simulation of a non-spiral-of-death collision, such as a head-on collision. It would be interesting because the radius of the new black hole in a spiral-of-death is small compared to the neutron stars, so it's mainly tidal forces that pull material in as the neutron stars spin to their doom. In a head-on collision, the pressure wave creating the black hole would occur along the whole collision front. It would create an event horizon the shape of a pancake, expanding faster than the shockwave could propagate, then collapsing back to a sphere once the collision passes.<br /><br />(Likewise a (more likely) off-centre near-head-on collision, which would have elements of both the perfect head-on and the spiral-of-death.)Paul451https://www.blogger.com/profile/12119086761190994938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-53009267611734083992014-07-18T16:41:27.252-07:002014-07-18T16:41:27.252-07:00Jumper,
"If two neutron stars collide with en...Jumper,<br /><i>"If two neutron stars collide with enough velocity can they be blown into pieces that scatter? what would happen if they did?"</i><br /><br />Pressure wave at the point of collision would be higher than the density required to form a black hole... The bulk of the colliding material would form the new black hole; material around the edges would be smeared out - which, since the collision would likely be a spiral of death, would create a spiral of material thrown out to form a disc around the new black hole, towards the end becoming a stream squirted out along the poles at relativistic velocities.<br /><br />(Short duration GRB candidate. Thought to be the source of all the elements heavier than iron.)<br /><br />You don't get "pieces" though. Neutronium can't exist without continuous pressure, it would revert to plasma then gas/dust.<br /><br />Reason for the question?<br /><br />[Turing: atabel questioned]Paul451https://www.blogger.com/profile/12119086761190994938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-11537918363606114782014-07-18T15:59:21.479-07:002014-07-18T15:59:21.479-07:00And one for the road:
http://anothersb.blogspot.co...And one for the road:<br />http://anothersb.blogspot.com/2014/02/goodbye-academia.htmllocumranchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-25956724077947794712014-07-18T15:54:14.279-07:002014-07-18T15:54:14.279-07:00Funding Science:
http://www.scientificamerican.co...Funding Science:<br /><br />http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dr-no-money/<br /><br />http://www.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/2013/apr/02/1<br /><br />http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19247851<br /><br />Bestlocumranchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-55406691513859489142014-07-18T15:04:07.180-07:002014-07-18T15:04:07.180-07:00Anonymous locumranch said...
Good piece by Tom Cro...Anonymous locumranch said...<br />Good piece by Tom Crowl, the 30% and 70% time spent fundraising parallels that of the academic scientist who spends the same time proportion seeking grant monies instead of doing science...<br /><br />PROVE THIS.... <br /><br />The top scientist in an academic group may have to spend that fraction of her time on ALL administrative duties but her associates do not.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-58047735452275667992014-07-18T12:30:30.527-07:002014-07-18T12:30:30.527-07:00Good piece by Tom Crowl, the 30% and 70% time spen...Good piece by Tom Crowl, the 30% and 70% time spent fundraising parallels that of the academic scientist who spends the same time proportion seeking grant monies instead of doing science, proving that the our sociopolitical system is irretrievably broken.<br /><br />Also, a quick note to Jumper, who mistakenly argues that natural gas is 'a transition' to hydrogen when natural gas is (1) merely a combustible analogue for coal, oil, wood or buffalo chips (not a replacement) and (2) the preferred source material for industrial hydrogen & helium extraction.<br /><br />Bestlocumranchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-16317167330162782912014-07-18T12:00:48.102-07:002014-07-18T12:00:48.102-07:00And from Mr. Lessig himself... http://lesterland.l...And from Mr. Lessig himself... http://lesterland.lessig.org/<br /><br />"...the key to the system of corruption that has now wrecked our government is the way candidates for Congress raise money to fund their campaigns. Members of Congress and candidates for Congress spend anywhere between 30% and 70% of their time raising money to get themselves elected or their party back in power. But they raise that money not from all of us. Instead, they raise that money from the tiniest fraction of the 1%. Less than 1/20th of 1% of America are the “relevant funders” of congressional campaigns. That means about 150,000 Americans, or about the same number who are named “Lester,” wield enormous power over this government. These “Lesters” determine this critical first election in every election cycle—the money election."<br /><br />Should we be surprised that wealth and power have concentrated?Tom Crowlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04444476865484424912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-15159562013976423092014-07-18T11:18:27.402-07:002014-07-18T11:18:27.402-07:00From The Hill and the University of Maryland:
Pol...From The Hill and the University of Maryland:<br /><br />Polarization is not driven by the people<br />http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/212491-polarization-is-not-driven-by-the-people<br /><br />"Most Americans reject the idea this is a natural feature of the democratic process. They believe that if members of Congress were to listen more closely to the people they are supposed to represent, they would be more apt to find common ground."<br /><br />Most people do NOT contribute to political causes... they see themselves as shut out in any meaningful sense and see their limited capability as leaving them with no voice.<br /><br />The apathy... or more accurately antipathy... of the duopolist Establishment to effective reform is a disgrace to their claimed patriotism. Limits, transparency... and a simplified contribution method with very low thresholds WILL be recognized as a necessary tool for better representation.<br /><br />This requires both thoughtful conservatives and liberals to defy their respective parties elites and agree to a fairer system.<br /><br />And it requires an Internet Industry which will recognize its obligation to facilitate that capability across competing platforms via a vehicle able to serve citizens using all these avenues for Internet access. A one-click capability for citizen advocacy is central to that participation... and the core for a non-partisan home on the net.<br /><br />From the piece:<br />"If you ask the American people, they do not think they are the problem, but rather competing special interests that are pouring ever-growing amounts of money into the political process and deploying ballooning numbers of lobbyists. They see members of Congress raising increasing amounts of money and making commitments that make them more inflexible in their positions. Since many of these influence-buying interests are at odds with each other, Americans do not find it all that mysterious how Congress ends up in gridlock."<br /><br /><br />Eventually this neglect will be recognized for the social, economic and political snobbery that it is.Tom Crowlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04444476865484424912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-88950520250636587962014-07-17T19:22:10.962-07:002014-07-17T19:22:10.962-07:00Natural gas is a transition to hydrogen, i.e. kilo...Natural gas is a transition to hydrogen, i.e. kilowatt hours which produce less CO2 than coal. But since it doesn't solve the entire problem we should just give up and use more coal. Avoiding "hypocrisy." Did I sum that up correctly?<br /><br />If two neutron stars collide with enough velocity can they be blown into pieces that scatter? what would happen if they did?Jumperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794110173836133321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-75012981130157310922014-07-17T16:53:49.626-07:002014-07-17T16:53:49.626-07:00In regard to the research that shows people with h...In regard to the research that shows people with high IQs being better able to discern small objects against a background and less able to pick out much larger objects: Is it possible that this could be another example of countervailing selection pressure, the former better for quickly identifying a food source, the latter for quickly responding to the sudden appearance of a nearby predator? The other example we have of a possible constraint on further increase in brain size would be the very wide human female pelvis required to give birth to a large headed baby, which is already up against the limits of effective locomotion and the main reason that women are at a disadvantage in running.daddyoyohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01694802874831650381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-80500133551456111452014-07-16T17:22:39.857-07:002014-07-16T17:22:39.857-07:00Why not license fracking tech to China at reasonab...Why not license fracking tech to China at reasonable cost, so they can burn less coal? Methane burns cleaner than coal, a small step in a good direction.Tim H.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-58312109975482023832014-07-16T17:21:56.840-07:002014-07-16T17:21:56.840-07:00interesting pointsinteresting pointsDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-22940681456158133332014-07-16T08:42:08.811-07:002014-07-16T08:42:08.811-07:00@DB - I misread your comment 3. I mow see you mea...@DB - I misread your comment 3. I mow see you meant their exports of goods to the US would decline as US manufacturing revived, not that their exports of coal to the US would decline.Alex Tolleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01556422553154817988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-77452864743455455252014-07-16T08:39:57.283-07:002014-07-16T08:39:57.283-07:00@DB (3) undermining China’s headlong rush into co...@DB <i> (3) undermining China’s headlong rush into coal by reducing their exports</i><br /><br />It's the other way around. The US is exporting coal to China as gas fired power stations deliver power at lower coast than coal. The new EPA regulations, that Tennessee is fighting, will reduce coal use in the US even faster. But you can bet that coal mining companies will fight for more export orders. Both China and India are prime markets.<br /><br />IIRC, China is actually ahead of the US in using renewables, especially solar. But their rapid growth is making them an ever larger CO2 emitter. <br /><br />Interestingly, a carbon tax in the US would help curb China's use of coal because of their huge exports to the US, but would lose effectiveness as China's domestic consumption grows, a policy that is desirable for the global economy.<br />Alex Tolleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01556422553154817988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-2985138711410331472014-07-16T06:53:25.200-07:002014-07-16T06:53:25.200-07:00Ah, but here's the thing, Dr. Brin. They are t...Ah, but here's the thing, Dr. Brin. They are targeting business. Furthermore they are targeting an organization that several big business organizations are fully in support of. Thus Big Business has just had their eyes opened to the fact their puppets, the Republican Party, have gotten off the strings and are causing mischief that they don't want.<br /><br />Given that they FUND the Republican Party (and the Democratic Party for that matter), they might retaliate by pulling funding. And if those Republicans are able to remain elected because of gerrymandering, they may in turn retaliate by going after other business-related government organizations. They may literally end up "starving the beast" by defunding most of these government organizations and bring about a more libertarian aspect, all out of revenge.<br /><br />In all likelihood the Export-Import Bank will not be defunded and big business will prevail. The Republicans will have their leashes yanked, Democrats given a small bone in reward for their good faith, and this will fall on the wayside. But it's still interesting to speculate as to what could happen.<br /><br />After all, is not "What If?" at the heart of science fiction? Of all fiction for that matter? :)<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-59193197235757878312014-07-15T18:52:50.607-07:002014-07-15T18:52:50.607-07:00Robert, the Export Import bank mostly helps high t...Robert, the Export Import bank mostly helps high tech industries, which are (1) hated science! and (2) tend to lean democratic. <br /><br />Locum it is worthy of questioning, but not hypocrisy, to posit whether shale gas will net-benefit us by (1) killing coal, (2) making more US manufacturing local (U.S.) and hence making our good lower carbon footprint and (3) undermining China’s headlong rush into coal by reducing their exports and (4) recovering the US economy enough for Culture War to die down and the good guys who want to spend a lot on developing renewables defeat the troglodytes at the polls.<br /><br />Note I favor HEAVY regulation of this new development, seeking and destroying companies that flare or leak methane, for example and banning fracking near aquifers etc. But we live in a complex world. I look for win wins. Without them, we die.<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-19835197858079998812014-07-15T18:17:31.481-07:002014-07-15T18:17:31.481-07:00San Diego will find the argument easier to make ne...San Diego will find the argument easier to make next time the countryside burns... which will happen soon enough. Water discussions gets lots of attention when the smoke clouds are visible. 8)Alfred Differnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-68177755517199657252014-07-15T15:37:47.191-07:002014-07-15T15:37:47.191-07:00from ReproMunchkin
"The prospect of U.S. and...from ReproMunchkin<br /><br />"The prospect of U.S. and Canadian energy independence is .."<br /><br />Impossible. Sorry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-48700479607163352262014-07-15T13:05:11.102-07:002014-07-15T13:05:11.102-07:00@Robert Low vapor-point contaminants. It's wha...@Robert <i>Low vapor-point contaminants. It's what one of my friends pointed out - how does boiling and condensing the water filter out those contaminants?</i><br /><br />Isn't that just simple distillation? They will vaporize first, so you let them bleed off, then start collecting the H2O when the water starts to boil? It isn't perfect for various reasons, but it is adequate. Most water in the tropics is contaminated with bacteria. Then there are particulates and then the various pollutants. Careful distillation should remove all but some of the miscible compounds. <br /><br />I was recently reading that a reverse osmosis plant in San Diego can recycle black (yes!) water to levels so pure that it is far cleaner than municipal water. The cost (~ $700/acre ft) is less than ag water costs today during the drought (~$2000/acre ft). They intend to recycle sewage water for non-potable uses. It will take citizens to agree to change the law regarding using this water for drinking. They are slowly educating the population to overcome the 'yuck' factor. e.g.<br /><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/01/world/from-toilet-to-tap-water/" rel="nofollow">From toilet to tap: Getting a taste for drinking recycled waste water</a>Alex Tolleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01556422553154817988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-72118552172542987342014-07-15T12:38:42.749-07:002014-07-15T12:38:42.749-07:00I spell 'hypocrisy' as follows:
Celebrati...I spell 'hypocrisy' as follows:<br /><br />Celebrating the US federal government’s role in the shale-gas revolution & increased domestic petroleum production while simultaneously condemning fossil-fuel mediated climate change, proving (once again) that our entire society possesses the morality of the debased gambler who prefers to double-down after a loss rather than admit defeat.<br /><br />The DOE says 'frack' to you, me, climate change & the environment: It endorses the Keystone XL pipeline; it predicts that US petroleum production will peak in 2030; it predicts that decreasing energy prices will increase both US Oil Consumption & US Economic Growth; and it insists that the FUTURE of our fossil-fueled society is simply more of the same.<br /><br />I agree that technology is a wonderful thing yet it cannot save us from our innate compulsions (ourselves), so we will find (time after time) that it is easier to develop better & more efficient water purification methods than it is to conserve (as in 'not pollute or waste') the watery resources that we already possess.<br /><br /><br />Best.locumranchnoreply@blogger.com