4 ms·

I'd like to read a breakdown on this - what is actually impossible, what is infeasible but will be in the future, and what is something we don't aim towards any

I'd like to read a breakdown on this - what is actually impossible, what is infeasible but will be in the future, and what is something we don't aim towards anymore.

drapred7 7y ago
I think aiming to be a responsible housewife has been looked down upon by American elites for a while now.
- Rerarom 7y ago
  I meant the non-obvious stuff.
joezydeco 7y ago
I can give you a data point on one. I used to work in a factory/office building that had a water-retaining roof like the one described in the article. I'm wondering if the architect was reading this magazine - the structure was built around the same time. Suffice to say, having hundreds of thousands of gallons of standing water on the roof was not a good thing in the long term. Nor was it good in the short term. The extra weight. Algae. Mold. Icing. Leaks everywhere. Just awful. The new way is to plant a garden up there, which seems a lot more reasonable and probably gives a similar thermal load.
mdorazio 7y ago
Here are some mentioned things we don't often see: Sun lamps on 200ft towers - definitely possible with modern lighting options, but horribly energy wasteful and likely to annoy people more than help them. Thorium power generators - research is ongoing as you can see from the articles that often pop up on HN. The main barrier is still materials science. Atomic "liners" (passenger vessels) - easily possible if not for general distrust and extreme regulation of nuclear power. For example, there are a number of nuclear powered ice breakers in service today. Metal-walled houses - also possible, but so ridiculously expensive no one actually does it. Worth noting is a lot of commercial construction uses metal studs today. Plastic modular houses - also possible (see mobile homes as an example), but the large majority of people don't want them because of the "cheap" factor. Also in many places the property costs a lot more than the house itself, so construction material savings is low priority. Chemical hair remover for shaving - turns out this is harder than it seems. Chemicals that can break down hair have a rather annoying tendency to also be really harsh on skin. Controlling weather - The amount of energy needed to do this is ridiculous, as are the environmental impacts of things the article suggests (covering the ocean in oil and lighting it on fire...) Supersonic/rocket planes - The tech has been available for many decades, but the market demanded cheaper tickets rather than faster planes, so development went in that direction instead.
- contingencies 7y ago
  There are plenty of metal-walled houses mate... down under we call them sheds, fair dinkum. https://www.google.com/search?q=metal+clad+house+australia https://www.google.com/search?q=metal+clad+house+australia (Thermal transfer properties are notably different from traditional building materials!) Plastic modular houses ... not quite houses but used structurally where providing novel utility. For example they fill two-part fused thermoformed plastic containers with water for crowd control in riots. Recently half of Hong Kong was filled with these. https://www.google.com/search?q=water+filled+barrier https://www.google.com/search?q=water+filled+barrier
  - Smoosh 7y ago
    And steel framed houses are a thing here too: https://www.google.com/search?q=steel+house+frame+australia https://www.google.com/search?q=steel+house+frame+australia

I'd like to read a breakdown on this - what is actually impossible, what is infeasible but will be in the future, and what is something we don't aim towards anymore.

drapred7 7y ago

I think aiming to be a responsible housewife has been looked down upon by American elites for a while now.

Rerarom 7y ago
I meant the non-obvious stuff.

joezydeco 7y ago

I can give you a data point on one. I used to work in a factory/office building that had a water-retaining roof like the one described in the article. I'm wondering if the architect was reading this magazine - the structure was built around the same time. Suffice to say, having hundreds of thousands of gallons of standing water on the roof was not a good thing in the long term. Nor was it good in the short term. The extra weight. Algae. Mold. Icing. Leaks everywhere. Just awful. The new way is to plant a garden up there, which seems a lot more reasonable and probably gives a similar thermal load.

mdorazio 7y ago

Here are some mentioned things we don't often see: Sun lamps on 200ft towers - definitely possible with modern lighting options, but horribly energy wasteful and likely to annoy people more than help them. Thorium power generators - research is ongoing as you can see from the articles that often pop up on HN. The main barrier is still materials science. Atomic "liners" (passenger vessels) - easily possible if not for general distrust and extreme regulation of nuclear power. For example, there are a number of nuclear powered ice breakers in service today. Metal-walled houses - also possible, but so ridiculously expensive no one actually does it. Worth noting is a lot of commercial construction uses metal studs today. Plastic modular houses - also possible (see mobile homes as an example), but the large majority of people don't want them because of the "cheap" factor. Also in many places the property costs a lot more than the house itself, so construction material savings is low priority. Chemical hair remover for shaving - turns out this is harder than it seems. Chemicals that can break down hair have a rather annoying tendency to also be really harsh on skin. Controlling weather - The amount of energy needed to do this is ridiculous, as are the environmental impacts of things the article suggests (covering the ocean in oil and lighting it on fire...) Supersonic/rocket planes - The tech has been available for many decades, but the market demanded cheaper tickets rather than faster planes, so development went in that direction instead.

contingencies 7y ago
There are plenty of metal-walled houses mate... down under we call them sheds, fair dinkum. https://www.google.com/search?q=metal+clad+house+australia https://www.google.com/search?q=metal+clad+house+australia (Thermal transfer properties are notably different from traditional building materials!) Plastic modular houses ... not quite houses but used structurally where providing novel utility. For example they fill two-part fused thermoformed plastic containers with water for crowd control in riots. Recently half of Hong Kong was filled with these. https://www.google.com/search?q=water+filled+barrier https://www.google.com/search?q=water+filled+barrier
- Smoosh 7y ago
  And steel framed houses are a thing here too: https://www.google.com/search?q=steel+house+frame+australia https://www.google.com/search?q=steel+house+frame+australia