pencilguin

12 ms·

91.
by pencilguin 4y ago
There are exactly three possible outcomes: (1) most gain a little and a few lose a lot, (2) equal numbers gain and lose, or (3) a few win big and most people lose. The system organization favors a few winning big, so the majority must (&quo
92.
by pencilguin 4y ago
The important number when using hydrogen to carry energy is the round-trip efficiency. It has been hard to improve the efficiency of the energy-releasing side. We are fortunate that the number's importance is declining.
93.
by pencilguin 4y ago
Power cables are an attractive theft target, many places. An extra insulated car filled with lightweight LH2 would not appreciably increase the cost of operating a train. Liquified ammonia under low pressure might be more practical, if safe
94.
by pencilguin 4y ago
441 ppm CO2 turns out to be quite close to enough to cause global catastrophe.
95.
by pencilguin 4y ago
It takes a very great deal of hydrocarbon fuel to produce the ethanol going into our engines. When EVs displace gasohol-burning cars, the ag production, 30% of the maize crop, can go back to feeding people (or, more likely, feeding chickens
96.
by pencilguin 4y ago
Probably at lots of other labs their equipment worked in the dark, and they didn't try adding light.
97.
by pencilguin 4y ago
Once LH2 airframes start being delivered, displacement of kerosene airframes will happen very fast, probably limited mainly by production capacity of synthetic hydrogen. The changeover will certainly have started by 2040.
98.
by pencilguin 4y ago
Using synthetic hydrocarbons for energy storage will always cost more than storing hydrogen underground, or bonded to nitrogen as ammonia. There will be reasons to synthesize hydrocarbons, but energy storage won't be among them.
99.
by pencilguin 4y ago
The amount of energy to crack water is already only a small multiple of what you get back when you get the products back together. The improvements are in the cost of equipment per unit output capacity, and the production rate per unit volu
100.
by pencilguin 4y ago
What makes electrolysis expensive is a whole bunch of secondary details. Impurities in the water foul the catalyst, or steal power for side reactions that may contaminate the product or the water. The best catalysts are expensive metals tha
101.
by pencilguin 4y ago
Nowadays coal companies promote nukes, because a new nuke started means at least a decade of continued coal sales. They know coal is doomed, so the best they can do is put off the inevitable. Solar, wind, or tidal would start displacing coa
102.
by pencilguin 4y ago
Probably it would require regularly applied criminal charges enforced on company C-suite officers to make any change in behavior likely. Lately the only cases I know of where the CEO was charged were Ross Ulbricht and Liz Holmes. Notably ab
103.
by pencilguin 4y ago
Poles smuggled out a complete first-model Enigma machine, performed the cryptanalysis that revealed its core weakness, and also created the first of the "bombe" machines used for most of the decryptions. Bletchley Park acted as ce
104.
by pencilguin 4y ago
"Pocket change", "Cost of doing business", and "Too big to regulate" all come to mind.
105.
by pencilguin 4y ago
Two dictators' totalitarian despotries slugging it out while the US and Britain mostly watch, and chip in materiel when the marginally preferred one runs low; and then move in to mop up before western Europe gets engulfed by the winner
106.
by pencilguin 4y ago
A new petroleum refinery issues its first gallon of diesel, and a continuous flow after. You could complain that its first kWh was energy, not power, but that is reaching.
107.
by pencilguin 4y ago
I rely on a biography of the Friedmans. No mistake, they had full access to the Polish analysis and bombe design.
108.
by pencilguin 4y ago
"No Simple Victory", by Norman Davies used material released only after the USSR fell in the early 90s.
109.
by pencilguin 4y ago
It is essential not to confuse Soviet armed forces with Stalin himself. The former had to fight, with a great handicap, under the latter. People of the countries occupied first by one power and then the other suffered most.
110.
by pencilguin 4y ago
British intelligence, Bletchley Park aside, was amazingly ham-handed and ineffective, by accounts of those involved. (See Leo Marks, "Between Silk and Cyanide".) The US, incidentally, was able to decrypt Enigma traffic independent
111.
by pencilguin 4y ago
The key fact about US involvement is that most of it did not arrive until the Axis had been driven far back from its initial takings. Actually occupying territory was crucial, and as the Germans were driven back, transportation to the front
112.
by pencilguin 4y ago
Last weekend, I learned that his name may be rhymed with "melon". And "felon". Not, strictly, "yellin'", except in a pinch.
113.
by pencilguin 4y ago
Phobos landing should be very dramatic. I guess once the upper atmosphere starts clawing at it, it will gradually disintegrate and distribute dust all over the planet. Seems like it will heat up the atmosphere quite a lot.
114.
by pencilguin 4y ago
What the headline giveth, the fine print taketh away. Not really positive at all, just a PR stunt to dress up a tax dodge.
115.
by pencilguin 4y ago
This is the same stunt Gates, Buffet, and the Wal-Mart heirs pulled to dodge taxes. We will end up needing to amend tax law to extract what they owe.
116.
by pencilguin 4y ago
There is nothing grammatically wrong there.
117.
by pencilguin 4y ago
tl;dr: Just 88 MW, used solely to extract oil and gas. Floating wind turbines are considered tricky to maintain, but there are lots more places to put them than sea-floor mounted units. So this farm is insignificant as a power source, but m
118.
by pencilguin 4y ago
what. Definitely what.
119.
by pencilguin 4y ago
Nowadays everything is "ROHS", even in the US, so not even lead.
120.
by pencilguin 4y ago
Effect size 40% observed in cohorts of 46k and 18k patients followed over 6 years.

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