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The Long Emergency
Comments (53)Wayne, here's the headline...Crystal power Palmtop Nuclear Fusion Device Invented By Michael Schirber LiveScience Staff Writer posted: 27 April 2005 01:00 pm ET The nuclear reaction that powers the Sun has been reproduced in a pocket-sized device, scientists announced today. Researchers have for years tried to harness nuclear fusion to power the world. But its cousin, nuclear fission -- the breaking apart of atoms -- is the only method so far commercially viable. The latest invention is not in the same league as efforts to build complex commercial reactors. The new device creates a relatively small number of reactions, and requires more energy to operate than it produces. The Real Deal (AP) - Previous claims of tabletop fusion have been met with skepticism and even derision by physicists. In one of the most notable cases, Dr. B. Stanley Pons of the University of Utah and Martin Fleischmann of Southampton University in England shocked the world in 1989 when they announced that they had achieved so-called cold fusion at room temperature. Their work was discredited after repeated attempts to reproduce it failed. Fusion experts noted that the new UCLA experiment is credible because, unlike the 1989 work, it did not violate basic principles of physics. "This doesn't have any controversy in it because they're using a tried and true method,'' said David Ruzic, professor of nuclear and plasma engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "There's no mystery in terms of the physics.'' -- Associated Press But the configuration is so small and simple that its creators think it may inspire unforeseen applications. "I certainly find it interesting that you can heat a cubic centimeter crystal in your hand, then plunge it in cold water and it will cause nuclear fusion," Seth Putterman from the University of California Los Angeles told LiveScience. Putterman's lay description greatly oversimplifies how the compact apparatus works. Specifically, Putterman and collaborators heat a pyroelectric crystal, lithium tantalite, from minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit to plus 45 in a matter of minutes. This generates an electrical charge -- 100,000 volts -- across the tiny crystal, which is housed in a chamber filled with deuterium gas, a heavy form of hydrogen. The high voltage is focused onto a needle-thin tip, which strips electrons from nearby deuterium nuclei and then accelerates them at a solid target containing deuterium. When two deuterium nuclei collide together at high speed, they fuse to form helium. The Sun also fuses atoms in thermonuclear reactions that create light and heat. The byproduct of the newly discovered lab reaction is a particle called the neutron. The scientists detect about 1,000 neutrons per second. Because neutrons are so penetrating, Putterman said that a hand-held neutron source might one-day be used to do geologic surveys or to look into cargo containers for nuclear devices. "Current neutron generators are extremely cumbersome," Putterman said. "They are about as big as a dentists X-ray machine, so you canÂt carry them into the field." Pyroelectric crystals could also provide a beam of ions for use as a microthruster in a miniature spacecraft. The research is described in the April 28 issue of the journal Nature....See MoreI'm sorry, I have an awful sense of humor...
Comments (2)Oh, which reminds me of when friend and I were on our first leg of Mediterranean cruise. Flew into Atlanta, going up escalator, and friend tripped fell back on me, and we rode all the way up me supporting her. I knew that trip was not destined to be a good one. Our friendship ended on that trip. No cause of the escalator....See MoreMay 2018, Week 5, Heat Wave and Hello June
Comments (117)I have not been pushing any limits in the heat the last couple of days. In fact, it is sort of the opposite. I watered the plants well on Thursday and only did minor work for an hour or two yesterday and have stayed away from the garden ever since. As I am typing this, it is 99 here and the heat index is 112 so y'all had better believe I'm smart enough to not be out there in this heat. We did the whole CostCo-Sam's Club run down to the metroplex today and stocked up on everything, so we're good for a couple of weeks. It is terrible when Saturday morning feels too hot to even run errands and shop, but it did....and we went out and did everything we needed to do anyway. Now the game plan is to stay indoors, stay cool and hydrated, and enjoy having our oldest granddaughter here for what is left of this weekend. Jennifer, Armenian cukes love the heat and are very disease-tolerant. They actually are melons and not cucumbers, but if harvested while on the small side, they are very cucumber-like and even can be used to make pickles. The larger they get, the more melon-like they become, but not a sweet melon---sort of bland. I harvest them small for us and let them get as big as possible for the chickens. On hot days, I cut an Armenian Cucumber in half and put it on the ground and the chickens peck away at the flesh until there's nothing left. They love them, and it helps to hydrate the chickens as well as just entertaining them. As soon as something else finishes up in my garden, probably pole beans or squash, I'll plant Armenian cukes so I will have them for the chickens when the real (ha ha, that's a joke) summer heat arrives in July and August. I would have planted them in the back garden this year, if I'd planted the back garden. Megan, I'm sorry to hear that about your beans. If I hadn't planted mine ridiculously early (March), I would be in the same boat. I've pulled one variety because of the spider mites, but the other three are still chugging along. I am watching to see if the blooms form new beans tomorrow and Monday during the cooler weather they say is coming. (I can't see it or feel it here yet, but a lot of y'all who are north of us are cooler today, so I just hope the cold front comes this far south as predicted and doesn't stall somewhere north of us.) That's unfortunate about the gray leaf spot. I hate diseases. I am going to have very low tolerance for anything/everything this summer and won't hesitate to yank out the plants that start looking pitiful or stop producing. I am not foolish enough to think I can baby these plants through a long, extra-hot and likely extra-dry summer. It is just easier to plant fresh plants in late June or early July for fall production. This year does bear some unfortunate similarities to 1998. We lived in Texas then, but already had purchased this land and were up here clearing the woods and working on fencing in our 14.4 acres every weekend. Sometimes we didn't get much done in one weekend between the heat and the dense jungle that was our woodland. I thought we'd die in the heat before we got the fencing done. I remember it was a horrific grasshopper year, and Bruce and I both are seeing signs of that already too. Jen, As the plant gets older it will put out more tall stems. Its' nature is to have a low bushy growth of foliage at the ground level and to send up the tall blooming stems. Just deadhead each one back after it blooms and it will make more. One of the nicknames for verbena bonariensis is verbena-on-a-stick and now y'all see why. Butterflies absolutely adore the blooms. Jennifer, We have those gigantic flies here. They are horrifyingly huge. Back when Chris was in school and they had to do that insect collection in Biology, our place was incredibly popular because the kids could come here and collect enough different insects in one day to have enough for their collection. Until we moved here, I'd never seen those gigantic flies either. Bolted onions can be chopped and frozen. Paula, I have found lemon grass works as well as anything else to repel flies. I agree too, it is the little things that matter. Amy, It looks like you hit Smashed Thumb at an awesome time! Have y'all noticed that on the FB gardening pages this week, there's tons and tons of tomato problems? It is mind-boggling, and I simply cannot believe how many photos we're seeing with herbicide damage, though we also are seeing plenty with plain old physiological leaf roll. I should get off this computer and go sweep and mop my floors. I just don't want to. Heat makes me lazy. Dawn...See MoreJuly 2018, Week 3, Summertime Blues
Comments (117)Farmgardener, I'm sorry you're having such a rough time with the garden this summer. It's this darned weather. Some years we just get to a point where you cannot water enough to keep the garden producing, and it sounds like your area is at that point now. (Mine is getting closer and closer to that point by the day.) There's no shame in walking away from the garden and waiting for better weather---either in the fall or next year. Jennifer, The chickens are fine. They are bored and they are aggravated with being held hostage in a nice climate-controlled area (and I don't care that they are aggravated because I want them safe from the extreme heat). I'm thinking we'll let them out tomorrow because our forecast high for tomorrow is only 106. There's only six chickens left, courtesy of the heavy predator population we've had the last two or three years. The predators get 1 or 2 chickens a week except when I lock them up in their coop/run and don't let them free-range. This is why I'm about to give up on having chickens. We have a much, much, much worse predator problem these last few years than we had when we moved here 20 years ago. The chickens get hot or bored or whatever and wander off into the woods, despite my efforts to stop them. They ignore me and just keep going, and if you try to pursue them, which is dangerous in snake season anyway, they just run deeper into the woods, which is more dangerous for them. Then, something gets them in the woods and we never see them again. If I didn't have these 6 locked up in the mudroom, we probably would have lost at least another one this week. I call these six the smart ones because now they stick close to the house when they're out, but I don't know if they're being smart and cautious or if it just has been too hot to roam around and get very far from the house. When these are gone, I doubt we'll get more. Losing them is hard to bear. If we ever do have chickens again, they won't be allowed to free-range. If chickens are never allowed to free-range and are always confined to a fenced chicken run, they're fine with that because they don't know what it is like to be free ranging. Once they've free-ranged, though, they hate being looked up permanently and it is stressful to them to be confined. So, I try to keep these as safe as possible while still allowing them to free-range, but I'm resigned to the fact that the bobcats or coyotes will get them eventually. We went many years with only losing a couple of year, but for the last couple of years it has been 1 or 2 a week. Jacob, You've had a very adventurous couple of days. I'm glad the garden held up to the hail, and glad the baseball-sized hail didn't fall at your place. My childhood home got hit by baseball-sized hail when I was about 20 or 21 years old, and by the time all the damage was repaired, my parents practically had a new house (and new cars). I'm envious of your cool weather. When we moved here, we thought we'd be able to sleep with the windows open in nice weather. Well, that didn't work out so well as the frogs made such a racket during mating season that you couldn't sleep at all. So, the windows stay closed now. Jen, That Boston terrier sounds very, um, energetic. I hope y'all survive the weekend. Nancy, I like gravel that has been taken over by grass (and/or weeds) just like Mike McGrath described. He's one of my favorite garden writers, and Organic Gardening magazine never was worth reading after he left his job as its' editor. You can have the appearance of a grassy lawn, but the ability to park on it no matter the weather. I'd like to gravel over our entire side yard that sits between the house and garage one of these days and then let the grass grow up through the gravel. The dense, compacted clay in this area holds puddles of water forever after it rains, turning into a lake when it rains a lot, so gravel on top of the clay would be a huge improvement. Kim, I agree with you. For the 3rd or 4th day in a row, we were over 100 degrees by noon. It might have been the same at your place out there west of us. This is ridiculous heat! I'm ready for a break, even though our break here still will include highs in the upper 90s. I bet 97 will feel fairly cool after so many days between 106-111. Tomorrow should be our last triple-digit temperature day for at least a week, if the forecasters are correct. I looked at the garden about an hour ago when I went out there to check on the plants in containers. Considering the excessive heat we've been having, it looks fairly decent. Not great. Not good. Not nearly as good as usual, but mostly still alive and likely to recover if the temperatures will drop down to normal or average July temperatures. Of course, August awaits, and our hottest weather usually occurs in the first half of August so it isn't like I think the garden's hard times are over. They aren't. Maybe, though, we'll at least get a few slightly cooler days. No chance of rain though. If the drought continues to deepen and worsen, though, all bets are off. Dawn...See More
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