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Phanatic posted:Also KH-11 images were leaked in 1983, I’m pretty sure any adversary already knows how good they are. Phanatic posted:If a KH-11’s going to be overheard wouldn’t you just assume that it’s as close to optically-perfect as makes no difference and treat it as diffraction-limited? You’re not gonna split hairs and say “well, it’s pretty hot out today, the seeing’s gonna screw up their resolution, so we don’t need to put our secret poo poo under cover this pass.” evil_bunnY fucked around with this message at 13:11 on Aug 31, 2019 |
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Aug 31, 2019 13:02
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Schadenboner posted:Can you use the surface of water as a solar panel? What? How would the surface of water produce electricity when light hits it?
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Aug 31, 2019 13:05
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CarForumPoster posted:What? How would the surface of water produce electricity when light hits it? I dunno, I saw a pond and it was mirrory like a solar panel?
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Aug 31, 2019 13:12
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Schadenboner posted:I dunno, I saw a pond and it was mirrory like a solar panel? You want the opposite of a mirror. An ideal solar panel would be like Vantablack.
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Aug 31, 2019 13:13
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Schadenboner posted:I dunno, I saw a pond and it was mirrory like a solar panel? Floatovoltaics is actually a thing, but I don't think it is what you meant.
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Aug 31, 2019 13:15
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Schadenboner posted:I dunno, I saw a pond and it was mirrory like a solar panel? Oh okay
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Aug 31, 2019 13:16
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A floating solar panel farm is a possibility, but you'll have to deal with all the traditional problems of things that float on the seas: mechanical motion of waves, corrosion caused by the salt water, barnacles, boats colliding with it, oil spills, guano accumulation from having flocks of birds perching on it, maintenance being complicated by the whole thing being on the sea, creating a shadow that may kill aquatic plantlife under it, etc.
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Aug 31, 2019 13:24
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BIG HEADLINE posted:That's why this will be ignored writ large by the public despite being such a colossally big deal. I'm an optics guy; I understand the issues involved. My professional opinion is that most of the pearl-clutching is unwarranted.
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Aug 31, 2019 13:30
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explanation, followed by...*
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https://twitter.com/cgbassa/status/1167578706379988992?s=19 This twitter thread has some details of some of what can be deduced from the picture
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Aug 31, 2019 13:54
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I dont really care about trump and his picture but man do I love some rocket failure videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9EnUQltR9A warning: this video is hypnotic
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Aug 31, 2019 14:01
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Electric Wrigglies posted:Agree with this, I am commissioning an ore processing plant in Burkina Faso right now and we elected to build a HFO powerstation (6 x 4MW sets, 3 x 1.4 MW sets) instead of tying into the local grid. Were there no alternatives? If Africa brings all its new power needs online with fossil fuels future generations are pretty hosed.
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Aug 31, 2019 15:50
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Phanatic posted:Still not "horrendous." As solar continues to decline in cost it'll approach a point where, sure, just throw more panels up and eat the loss. Losing 10-15% off the top is actually very bad. And I hope they don't just throw up "more panels", photovoltaics are terrible compared to just plain old mirrors in solar thermal plants w/r/t environmental impact. Solar would be a fantastic way to power pretty much anywhere on the equator in an efficient and responsible way. Progressively less so the further you go from it.
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Aug 31, 2019 16:45
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Yeah, better stick with coal and oil.
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Aug 31, 2019 16:51
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bewbies posted:I dont really care about trump and his picture but man do I love some rocket failure videos. I'd be interested to see a plot of failure altitude by year. Seems like we're getting slightly better at not having to replace the launch pads, but maybe are having to invest more in downrange firefighting apparatus.
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Aug 31, 2019 17:09
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Godholio posted:Yeah, better stick with coal and oil. Better to go with wind, hydro, and nuclear rather than putting up a bunch of solar panels in places with frequent cloud cover, short days for half the year, etc. that kill the efficiency of solar plants - or trying to transmit it a quarter of the way across the globe from the places that can do it efficiently.
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Aug 31, 2019 17:20
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bewbies posted:I dont really care about trump and his picture but man do I love some rocket failure videos. Man the V2 looks derpy as gently caress e: I like the one where it falls over and spills its contents into a puddle for just long enough to give everyone watching time to go OH SHI before everything blows right the gently caress up e: first US failure is majestic as hell aphid_licker fucked around with this message at 17:28 on Aug 31, 2019 |
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Aug 31, 2019 17:23
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Arglebargle III posted:Were there no alternatives? If Africa brings all its new power needs online with fossil fuels future generations are pretty hosed. First prize would have been tying directly into the interconnector that transmits hydro power from Cote D'Ivoire to Burkina Faso (for a few 10's of millions of dollars). Unfortunately the local government mandated that if wanted to access that power, we instead run ~160 km of powerline (mostly alongside the interconnector) to North of a major township and into a government transformer yard (that we would have paid to upgrade for the purpose). This would have exposed us to the unreliability of local power (the interconnector is reliable, once off that it is not), a future indeterminate per kW price of using the upgraded transformer yard and the unpalatable possibility we would have had to allow third party access to the power line (for villages, hospitals and the like). Basically a non-starter. Second option was to look at solar but the land area required is considerable. Village relocation for the mine itself has already run a few 10's of millions and a 36 month process without putting the power provision at risk from a delayed relocation. Power storage is also hilariously expensive (we consume pretty steadily 10-12 MW 24 hrs a day) and planned uptime over the year is ~95%. Partnering with an NGO to defray the capital cost of the above as well as allowing a useful asset to be left behind for the community is a possibility but it is not a quick enough process to start the project with. So we continue to investigate that option to changeover to solar later on but in the meantime to get the project up and running we spent about US$27 million over two years on a new powerstation that will provide power >99.97% of the time (I managed a similar powerstation in Senegal that achieved >99.997% power availability over the last five years). What we are doing is pretty routine. If you rent in Accra, Dakar, etc, experienced players will always investigate the backup generation systems installed at the rental to ensure they are a nice big Caterpillar, FG Wilson or other reputable make with an automatic changeover switch and sensing. Very common as you walk down a street you will hearing the lovely tones of six or seven automatic generators kicking in as one when the grid power drops out (for the fifth time that day). To keep it air related, I am sure Dakar airport used to have more $ in foreign air force assets on the ground there (an E-3 was seemingly based there for awhile, C-9's, occasional C-130's, French logistical jets, charter Russian logistic jets) then there was in public power infrastructure in Dakar. Hell, I bet the monstrous American Embassy there has more $ invested in its own power than Dakar has. e:kW not k/w Electric Wrigglies fucked around with this message at 07:45 on Sep 2, 2019 |
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Aug 31, 2019 19:01
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Electric Wrigglies posted:This would have exposed us to the unreliability of local power (the interconnector is reliable, once off that it is not), a future indeterminate per k/w price of using the upgraded transformer yard and the unpalatable possibility we would have had to allow third party access to the power line (for villages, hospitals and the like). Basically a non-starter.
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Aug 31, 2019 19:07
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bewbies posted:I dont really care about trump and his picture but man do I love some rocket failure videos. https://bennyhillifier.com/?id=Z9EnUQltR9A
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Aug 31, 2019 19:16
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Hey. Hey guys. What if we dam the mediterranian?
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Aug 31, 2019 19:39
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Let's also fight rising sea levels by flooding the Qattara Depression.
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Aug 31, 2019 19:44
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shame on an IGA posted:Hey. Hey guys. Ahh Atlantropa back in vogue..C:
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Aug 31, 2019 19:57
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Dante80 posted:Ahh Atlantropa back in vogue..C: Wait, when was it out-of-vogue? 
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Aug 31, 2019 20:06
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Electric Wrigglies posted:First prize would have been tying directly into the interconnector that transmits hydro power from Cote D'Ivoire to Burkina Faso (for a few 10's of millions of dollars). Unfortunately the local government mandated that if wanted to access that power, we instead run ~160 km of powerline (mostly alongside the interconnector) to North of a major township and into a government transformer yard (that we would have paid to upgrade for the purpose). This would have exposed us to the unreliability of local power (the interconnector is reliable, once off that it is not), a future indeterminate per k/w price of using the upgraded transformer yard and the unpalatable possibility we would have had to allow third party access to the power line (for villages, hospitals and the like). Basically a non-starter. So it would have been nice not to materially contribute to the downfall of civilization, but that would have been inconvenient? Is that basically the situation? Or is it inconvenient enough that whatever you're doing would be uneconomical without the dooming future generations part?
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Aug 31, 2019 20:26
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This makes me so angry.
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Aug 31, 2019 20:57
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Arglebargle III posted:So it would have been nice not to materially contribute to the downfall of civilization, but that would have been inconvenient? Is that basically the situation? Or is it inconvenient enough that whatever you're doing would be uneconomical without the dooming future generations part? It's about time-not-mining. So yes, yes and yes. Speaking of, people were talking up thread about subsea mining. So far all that's achieved is blowing hundreds of millions of VC money on not being able to secure the permits, and not being able to properly develop the remotely operated diggers. Look at Nautilus Minerals for a story in how these things are going to go until there's a significantly higher impetus to do them. Finding rare earth deposits on land isn't actually that hard, there's a bunch of projects going on in Australia where old exploration files are being re-interpreted and old drill core is being re-assayed with new methods that are promising.
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Sep 1, 2019 00:21
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Memento posted:It's about time-not-mining. So yes, yes and yes. Also when certain resources start to get scarce, R&D usually catches up and either finds a way to use significantly less of those resources, they find an alternative, or the price increases enough that deposits that were previously unprofitable become profitable.
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Sep 1, 2019 01:41
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I'm going to Berlin for 5 days in October. What is the must see thread related stuff in the most cold war of cities?
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Sep 1, 2019 02:50
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AlexanderCA posted:I'm going to Berlin for 5 days in October. What is the must see thread related stuff in the most cold war of cities? Contemplate the various geopolitical implications of the Cold War and its repercussions by taking in Checkpoint Charlie while eating a Big Mac you purchased across the street?
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Sep 1, 2019 02:51
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AlexanderCA posted:I'm going to Berlin for 5 days in October. What is the must see thread related stuff in the most cold war of cities? I know this isn't Berlin specific and I'm five years sober...but drink an actual Reisdorf (sp?) Kolsch while you're there. Best beer I've ever tasted.
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Sep 1, 2019 03:32
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priznat posted:And then there were three.. I didn't think this would become a priceless antique so quickly  
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Sep 1, 2019 05:42
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AlexanderCA posted:I'm going to Berlin for 5 days in October. What is the must see thread related stuff in the most cold war of cities? A - Berlin is awesome, eat a kebab for me B - Cyrano needs to get in here as well, he will have the most answers of anyone here Couple things I'd recommend right off the top of my head: DDR museum is fascinating for a couple reasons. For one, it's completely focused on East Germany during the Cold War. It's very interactive, and it's privately owned which is apparently pretty rare in Germany. Definitely recommend - especially since you get to sit in a Trabant (or you could as of 3 years ago), and so you can cross a Trabi tour off your list unless you're just dying to do it. Cyrano's first recommendation to me when I went was Hohenschonhausen which was a Stasi prison, and is now a Stasi museum. Forgive me if I butchered the spelling. Again, very Cold War stuff. The Deutsches Historisces Museum is the general German History museum - it goes over the Cold War, but also has a lot of very cool stuff such as the coat Bismarck was wearing when he was shot - bloodstains intact, but it covers the entire history of Germany going back centuries. East Side Gallery of course, it's not hugely impressive in and of itself, but it's a powerful reminder of what people really lived through for decades. The downside is, my recollection is that it's a bit out of the way. It's probably worth taking a day for a walking tour of the major sites such as Brandenberg Gate, Alexanderplatz, etc. Similary, take some time to walk around east Berlin just to see how different it is even today, 30 years after the wall was taken down - it's been a few years since I went, but even then it was very noticeable. Really, there is plenty to see and do over 5 days there. I'm going to shut up and let Cyrano and others weigh in, I'm sure there are better suggestions than mine.
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Sep 1, 2019 06:09
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AlexanderCA posted:I'm going to Berlin for 5 days in October. What is the must see thread related stuff in the most cold war of cities? For maximum cold war you should definitely try Berliner Unterwelten. They offer guided tours through Flak Towers and cold war nuclear bunkers that are otherwise unaccessable to the public.
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Sep 1, 2019 07:37
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The Luftwaffe Museum is in Berlin at what used to be RAF Gatow. There's also the Allied Museum (known better as the Alliierten Museum) as well as the German-Russian Museum (Deutsch-Russische Museum Berlin-Karlshorst). Seeing both would likely provide an interesting contrast. And the Stasi Museum. There are a lot of Cold War/war-in-general museums in Berlin, and even with five days you'll find it difficult to shoehorn them all in. Here's a list of what's at the Luftwaffe Museum so you can decide if it's "Cold War" enough: http://www.aviationmuseum.eu/Blogvorm/militarhistorisches-museum-der-bundeswehr-flugplatz-berlin-gatow/ BIG HEADLINE fucked around with this message at 09:07 on Sep 1, 2019 |
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Sep 1, 2019 09:04
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For day trips there's the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr in Dresden and the German Tank Museum in Munster (u without the ü, important difference). Both are good IMO but either would take 3,5x2 hours to go there and get back to Berlin.
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Sep 1, 2019 10:37
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Thanks for the recommendations. Should note I live in Enschede (eastern Netherlands). So easier to visit more western German destinations another time.
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Sep 1, 2019 11:48
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AlexanderCA posted:I'm going to Berlin for 5 days in October. What is the must see thread related stuff in the most cold war of cities? You might try asking in the Milhist thread as well.
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Sep 1, 2019 12:04
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Arglebargle III posted:So it would have been nice not to materially contribute to the downfall of civilization, but that would have been inconvenient? Is that basically the situation? Or is it inconvenient enough that whatever you're doing would be uneconomical without the dooming future generations part? The standard of living increase in the surrounding communities and the wealth improvement of the country that goes with what we do has me feeling very comfortable that it is by far and away a net positive for humankind. One mine I worked at was only relatively small and not the largest company in country but contributed the single largest source of funds for the national democratic government. groda posted:This makes me so angry. My bad, sorry about that. evil_bunnY posted:Can't have the locals get a whiff of the good stuff It sucks. If we were able to transmit to the local communities with the spare capacity we have, it would be very heart warming. It has been tried several times but it is a disaster for the company most times. What happens is the company is accountable for whatever happens to the power but is not in a position to enforce/prevent things such as; improvised (illegal) connections, non-payment, overloading the connections, theft of conductors, poles and manhole covers etc. A village of 500 people can blossom into 15, to 20 thousand including illegal miners hooking up their own industrial equipment to the minesite generated power. If someone is killed trying to remove copper from an energized HV powerline, a compensation claim is lodged with the company and negotiations (say for village resettlement at a mine lease location that Chinese backed illegal miners are currently mining with company power) can breakdown until the company compensates the family for the death. What this leads to is the situation where for safety and sustainably reasons the feeder to the local community has to be dropped off but the community will not tolerate the plant still operating while the community feeder is offline. This in turn creates a huge negative legacy from something originally intended to be an act of goodwill.
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Sep 1, 2019 16:01
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The economic benefits I'm sure are very real, for now. Mines powered by fossil fuels are the poster child for unsustainable industry though. The long and short of it is you had the option of not building a fossil fuel power plant, and decided to do it anyway. Most of us are not part of organizations that are able to make those sorts of decisions. It's up to those of us who are to avert disaster. I mean if Industries like yours refused to make responsible decisions when given the chance, what are the inhabitants of the planet supposed to do? Just let you ( or the organizations you work for) continue to be in charge of those decisions? And face the loss of 85% of the human population over the next three hundred years?* We're already going to be reaching Auschwitz per year sorts of death numbers in the mid-century. I'm sorry if people feel like this is not an appropriate subject for the thread, but it does have appropriate death tolls for the kinds of things we talk about in this thread. * that number comes from recent projections that the Earth's carrying capacity may fall to around a billion people at current levels of resource utilization and global warming in a 4 degree or worse scenario.
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Sep 1, 2019 20:31
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You know ivory is an inhumane material to build a tower out of, right?
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Sep 1, 2019 20:46
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