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good news thread (non polItical please)


Mark F

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54 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

My question with biodegradable plastics is how long is the shelf life? Especially when it comes to food packaging. Does anyone know?

Hey, let's just get them as grocery bags. All the plastic grocery bag ban has done is make me buy kitchen catchers. I still need bags to take the garbage out in.

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FYI:

For the past 7 years I have been following the work of Prof. Andrea Rossi in Italy. He is a physics professor who has been following up on the work of Pons and Fleishman who claimed to have created "cold fusion"- the holy grail of energy research. There was a great flurry of publicity at first but subsequent researchers claimed to have been unable to replicate the results, so it died out. There was speculation that the surge of energy (heat) was due to a chemical rather than nuclear reaction and the metals used were very expensive, so the whole concept was largely abandoned.

Rossi persisted, though and claimed to have both replicated the initial results and was eventually able to do it without rare, expensive metals- nickel, in fact. His work challenged the most basic tenet of physics that energy cannot be created, and that energy out of a process must always be less than energy put in.  This has always been the challenge for creating a fusion reactor- the energy required to run it has always been less than the energy output. 

Rossi's work was pure heresy. His experimental "cold fusion reactors" initially produced wildly inconsistent results but yielded as much as 35-1 energy output vs input but only in bursts. He eventually found a way to make the processes self-sustaining, needing no external power once started. There has been no radioactive waste or output. About two years ago, he began to move towards production, with further refinements along the way and was able to scale up his reactors. His sustainable output has gone up as well. 

All this sounds too good to be true, and these things almost always are, but Rossi has not made extravagant claims nor has he been asking for investments. His progress has been what one would expect from a cautious researcher- slow and steady with independent validation. His concept is that every home would have a reactor the size of a refrigerator which would supply all the heat and electricity for the home, independent of any central station. 

I am cautiously optimistic that there may be a way to supply energy needs without pollution, nuclear waste transmission lines (which have problems) or massive investment and risk.  My biggest concern is that once everyone has unlimited heat and electricity, will people stop insulating their homes and workplaces, pouring cumulative, massive amounts of heat into the atmosphere, worsening the existing problems we already have?

E-Cat World (e-catworld.com)

Edited by Tracker
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2 minutes ago, Tracker said:

FYI:

For the past 7 years I have been following the work of Prof. Andrea Rossi in Italy. He is a physics professor who has been following up on the work of Pons and Fleishman who claimed to have created "cold fusion"- the holy grail of energy research. There was a great flurry of publicity at first but subsequent researchers claimed to have been unable to replicate the results, so it died out. There was speculation that the surge of energy (heat) was due to a chemical rather than nuclear reaction and the metals used were very expensive, so the whole concept was largely abandoned.

Rossi persisted, though and claimed to have both replicated the initial results and was eventually able to do it without rare, expensive metals- nickel, in fact. His work challenged the most basic tenet of physics that energy cannot be created, and that energy out of a process must always be less than energy put in.  This has always been the challenge for creating a fusion reactor- the energy required to run it has always been less than the energy output. 

Rossi's work was pure heresy. His experimental "cold fusion reactors" initially produced wildly inconsistent results but yielded as much as 35-1 energy output vs input but only in bursts. He eventually found a way to make the processes self-sustaining, needing no external power once started. There has been no radioactive waste or output. About two years ago, he began to move towards production, with further refinements along the way and was able to scale up his reactors. His sustainable output has gone up as well. 

All this sounds too good to be true, and these things almost always are, but Rossi has not made extravagant claims nor has he been asking for investments. His progress has been what one would expect from a cautious researcher- slow and steady with independent validation. His concept is that every home would have a reactor the size of a refrigerator which would supply all the heat and electricity for the home, independent of any central station. 

I am cautiously optimistic that there may be a way to supply energy needs without pollution, nuclear waste transmission lines (which have problems) or massive investment and risk.  My biggest concern is that once everyone has unlimited heat and electricity, will people stop insulating their homes and workplaces, pouring cumulative, massive amounts into the atmosphere, worsening the existing problems we already have?

E-Cat World (e-catworld.com)

E-Cat World (e-catworld.com)

Pons and Fleishman...that's all i had to read!

Then I stopped reading.

Edited by FrostyWinnipeg
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3 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

Pons and Fleishman...that's all i had to read!

Then I stopped reading.

You would do well to be skeptical. I have been following these developments for quite a while and so far he appears credible. Time will tell.  BTW: Fleishman and Pons were never proven or alleged to be scammers. Their academic records are and continued to be spotless. The knock was that no one except some Russians were able to replicate the results on a consistent basis. Remember that as recently as 19 years ago, no one was convinced that electric vehicles were practical.

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On 2021-01-23 at 11:03 AM, Tracker said:

And it wasn't me. Again. Maybe I should buy a ticket next time.

also, it will never happen again in wpg. so younhave to move.

On 2021-01-22 at 2:43 PM, Tracker said:

You would do well to be skeptical. I have been following these developments for quite a while and so far he appears credible. Time will tell

bit of a Ponsi scheme is my understanding. 🙃

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34 minutes ago, Mark F said:

also, it will never happen again in wpg. so you have to move.

bit of a Ponsi scheme is my understanding. 🙃

There is always that risk. Neither Pons, Fleishmann nor Rossi have tried to solicit "investments", and all have had credible academic careers, and Rossi still does. He has submitted his working devices to two separate universities in Europe and they apparently confirmed his work. What has impressed me about Rossi is that over the past 6-7 years that I have followed his work, is that he posted the results of his work- good, bad, and indifferent.

While the concept of getting more energy out of a process or device than you put in is anathema in physics (as currently understood), this would not necessarily be terminal. Until the past 10 years, it was a pillar of physics that the speed of light is an absolute constant, and that nothing but nothing could move faster than that. Both have been proven to be false assumptions. In quantum physics, an object can be proven to be in two places at once and traverse distances instantly without moving (AKA teleportation). Before you snort too loudly, quantum physics made transistors, cellphones and such possible. The same science that allows for "spooky action at a distance" has made much of our everyday technology possible. 

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1 hour ago, Tracker said:

In quantum physics, an object can be proven to be in two places at once and traverse distances instantly without moving

interesting. lots of youtube lectures on quantum physics, but even when intended for the average person, its beyond me. royal institute has a few.

things they are working on seem like magic. 

saw a short feynmann video where he said nobody understands quantum physics but who cares as long as it works. tongue in cheek maybe.

think of what entities that have been in existence say a million  or a hundred million years longer than ours could be doing. sagan said they would seem like gods to us.

"ponsi " was jest.

Edited by Mark F
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50 minutes ago, Mark F said:

interesting. lots of youtube lectures on quantum physics, but even when intended for the average person, its beyond me. royal institute has a few.

things they are working on seem like magic. 

saw a short feynmann video where he said nobody understands quantum physics but who cares as long as it works. tongue in cheek maybe.

think of what entities that have been in existence say a million  or a hundred million years longer than ours could be doing. Sagan said they would seem like gods to us.

"ponsi " was jest.

Sagan said that any technology, sufficiently advanced, would seem like magic to us. There is a certain amount of dishonesty in every field of endeavour, including physics research.

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Scientists develop transparent wood that is stronger and lighter than glass

Bob McDonald · CBC Radio · Posted: Feb 05, 2021 3:22 PM ET

Researchers at the University of Maryland have turned ordinary sheets of wood into transparent material that is nearly as clear as glass, but stronger and with better insulating properties. It could become an energy efficient building material in the future.

Wood is made of two basic ingredients: cellulose, which are tiny fibres, and lignin, which bonds those fibres together to give it strength.

Tear a paper towel in half and look closely along the edge. You will see the little cellulose fibres sticking up. Lignin is a glue-like material that bonds the fibres together, a little like the plastic resin in fibreglass or carbon fibre. The lignin also contains molecules called chromophores, which give the wood its brown colour and prevent light from passing through.

Early attempts to make transparent wood involved removing the lignin, but this involved hazardous chemicals, high temperatures and a lot of time, making the product expensive and somewhat brittle. The new technique is so cheap and easy it could literally be done in a backyard.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/scientists-develop-transparent-wood-that-is-stronger-and-lighter-than-glass-1.5902739?fbclid=IwAR3SQUyUZE_t55aE8_4rd6vIK9wHl26WHwRCRFQBsDju9qhVDcVhmN5CrVg

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