americans, this is why your silly politicians need to invest in science!

[dolf]

look at the awesome shit your geeks are doing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24429621

 

[SeaDaddy1]

This might surprise you dolf, but you got no idea how many Americans agree w/you.

 

[dolf]

This might surprise you dolf, but you got no idea how many Americans agree w/you.

I know the folks of the gb will, in general, agree with me.

but I honestly believe you guys are the deep end of the pool.

 

[SeaDaddy1]

Cesspool is more like it.

 

[thør]

look at the awesome shit your geeks are doing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24429621

Mrs T used to ride the bus to LLL with a lady who made laser targets back in the 70's. They've been in the fusion research biz for a long time.

 

[Ishmael]

Mrs T used to ride the bus to LLL with a lady who made laser targets back in the 70's. They've been in the fusion research biz for a long time.

All three of the weapons labs were in the biz back then. The LANL Antares/Aurora project achieved ignition but never quite reached power parity (energy in = energy out). The NIF at LLL is basically a continuation of those previous projects.

While LANL concentrated on gas lasers, multi-line CO2 (Antares) and KrF (Aurora), LLL put their money on neodymium glass lasers (Nova). The core problem is that all optically based ignition systems face the same hurdles and those are distilled down to being able to put enough optical energy on the target without the system destroying itself. Starting with the discharge banks where the specially built capacitors have a tendency to warp over repeated charge/discharge cycles.

No mirror/window/lens is perfect. Differing wavelengths require differing materials and there is always some level of energy loss in the optics. At relatively low levels of optical power these inefficiencies are a nuisance but not a problem. When you start dealing with 10 Mega Joules + of energy these inefficiencies exhibit themselves as heat dissipated in the optical path, enough heat to literally begin destroying the optics.

So while the recent experiment at LLL is a step forward, the energy gain was miniscule, .001% or so. Antares achieved somewhere in the neighborhood of .9 energy in to out ratio in the early 80's. So the LLL experiment represents an approx. 10% step forward after the expenditure of approx. $4 billion and 30 years.

Without a profound breakthrough in materials science it is unlikely that laser induced, sustainable, fusion based power generation is in anyone's future. The European effort based on magnetic containment holds more promise.

Ishmael

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Government and Science?

Government picks political winners...

"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there'd be a shortage of sand."
Milton Friedman

 

[unregistered]

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Government and Science?

Government picks political winners...

"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there'd be a shortage of sand."
Milton Friedman

And if it was, the environmental movement would create enough phony fear to put a political end to it.

If it had a payoff, it would already be funded.

Government can only fund pipe-dreams because it is not agile enough to beat actual investors to an opportunity.

 

[trysail]

look at the awesome shit your geeks are doing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24429621

The Beeb's reporting of science and climate has fallen short of ideal in recent decades.

 

[richard_daily]

And if it was, the environmental movement would create enough phony fear to put a political end to it.

That would be fission, dumb ass.

 

[evesdream]

look at the awesome shit your geeks are doing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24429621

I believe the accepted term is "nerds".

 

[Sean Renaud]

And if it was, the environmental movement would create enough phony fear to put a political end to it.

More likely they'd fast track. The environmental movement only goes after things that are bad for the environment and considering how silent they are on hydropower they don't even remember to complain about that very often.

People like you have done an outstanding job of shaming them into silence.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Silence...


lmao


Why Wyatt, I am positively rolling!

 

[1sickbastard]

look at the awesome shit your geeks are doing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24429621

The National Ignition Facility is part of the National Nuclear Security Administration, which is part of the US Dept of Energy (i.e. the US Federal Gov't).


Okay, so I found humor in the OP's implication that the American Gov't doesn't invest in science by producing an article about the achievements of a lab that is funded by the American Gov't.

 

[1sickbastard]

If it had a payoff, it would already be funded.

Government can only fund pipe-dreams because it is not agile enough to beat actual investors to an opportunity.

True, for example, the eradication of small pox or developing a vaccine for polio. What pipe dreams!

Oh, wait...

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

That is a pretty poor example of government developing a cure by financing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox_vaccine

It is a real stretch.

 

[Ishmael]

True, for example, the eradication of small pox or developing a vaccine for polio. What pipe dreams!

Oh, wait...

*sigh*

Small pox vaccination was first practiced by the Chinese in the 1500's. The modern vaccine was first developed by Edward Jenner who pioneered the method with his own funds and stipends from friends until granted some research monies from the English parliament.

The development of the polio vaccine was funded by the March of Dimes organization, a private entity.

Ishmael

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

That is our "investment" in History Education at work.

 

[1sickbastard]

*sigh*

Small pox vaccination was first practiced by the Chinese in the 1500's. The modern vaccine was first developed by Edward Jenner who pioneered the method with his own funds and stipends from friends until granted some research monies from the English parliament.

The development of the polio vaccine was funded by the March of Dimes organization, a private entity.

Ishmael

Read it again. I didna say the Fed developed the vaccine for smallpox (however it was the US federal gov't, along with other national gov'ts and the UN's WHO that made a serious investment in the eradication of smallpox, not the pirv ate sector). I did state the Fed invested resources into it developing the polio vaccination.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Read it again. I didna say the Fed developed the vaccine for smallpox (however it was the US federal gov't, along with other national gov'ts and the UN's WHO that made a serious investment in the eradication of smallpox, not the pirv ate sector). I did state the Fed invested resources into it developing the polio vaccination.

That is a different creature entirely then.

That is just making more available that developed by the Private Market, albeit, less efficiently and less cost-effectively.

 

[Dazzle1]

look at the awesome shit your geeks are doing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24429621

Hey dolf the majority of scientific advance come from here

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

America is the land of the relentless struggle tween the SMARTIANS and the MORONIANS

 

[Joeybagadonuts]

look at the awesome shit your geeks are doing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24429621

Our silly politicians have one job and one job only; getting themselves re-elected so that they can continue to serve their sponsors.

 

[Squibbs]

And if it was, the environmental movement would create enough phony fear to put a political end to it.

Like electric cars?