Nuclear Fusion Power On The Way

They may not be quite ready to flip the switch to "On" but Nucor Steel, the largest US steel company, is planning on powering at least one of its mills with electricity generated by a nuclear fusion reaction. Helion Energy will supply the expertise in the project to develop a 500 megawatt power plant using the so-far never realized use of nuclear fusion by 2030. Which of Nucor's 23 mills will be the first to get the new juice hasn't been determined.

The successful production of nuclear fusion power has been the Holy Grail of physics for many years but the limitations of driving small molecules together to produce larger ones of less combined atomic weight, releasing energy, has yet to be practically overcome.

The use of nuclear fission, the technology that has been in use for many years all over the world,  produces radioactive waste and requires expensive and rare raw materials together with extensive safety procedures. 

There will soon be only six years for Nucor and Helion to meet their schedule for something that has never been done.

 

© HELION ENERGY/VIA REUTERS

 Maybe a fusion reactor when completed. The impetus for this includes making people happy that no CO2 is produced so the oceans won't boil.

 

Geometry and Beauty

Often the scientists drawn to fractal geometry felt emotional  parallels between their new mathematical aesthetic and changes in the arts in the second half of the century. They felt that they were drawing some inner enthusiasm from the culture at large. To Mandelbrot the epitome of the Euclidean sensibility outside mathematics was the architecture of the Bauhaus. It might just as well have been the style of painting of Josef Albers: spare, orderly, linear, reductionist, geometrical. Geometrical--the word means what it has meant for thousands of years. Buildings that are called geometrical are composed of simple shapes, straight lines and circles, describable with just a few numbers. The vogue for geometrical architecture and painting came and went. Architects no longer care to build blockish skyscrapers like the Seagrams Building in New York, once much hailed and copied. To Mandelbrot and his followers the reason is clear. Simple shapes are inhuman. They fail to resonate with the way nature organizes itself or with the way human perception sees the world. In the words of Gert Eilenberger, a German physicist who took up nonlinear science after specializing in superconductivity: "Why is it that the silhouette of a storm-bent leafless tree against an evening sky in winter is perceived as beautiful, but the corresponding silhouette of any multi-purpose university building is not, in spite of all efforts of the architect? The answer seems to me, even if somewhat speculative, to follow from the new insights into dynamical systems. Our feeling for beauty is inspired by the harmonious arrangement of order and disorder as it occurs in natural objects--in clouds, trees, mountain ranges, or snow crystals. The shapes of all these are dynamical processes jelled into physical forms, and particular combinations of order and disorder are typical for them.

Gleick, James, Chaos, making a new science, Penguin, NY, 2008, pg. 116-117.

 publicdelivery.org 

Joseph Albers art

 unsplash.com 

A tree 

There remain on earth many people whose culture doesn't include rectilinear sights. At one time everywhere there were no corners, no right angles. Only during the industrial revolution when mechanized manufacturing displaced hand-built items did the 90 degree angle become common place, indeed dominant.

In art, an artist centered at the intersection of geometry and nature was Tamara de Lempicka, whose portraits often included very human, non-geometrical forms against a cubist background.

 

neverwasmag.com   

Medals For Dogs

  Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., has introduced legislation to create a medal to honor military dogs that have demonstrated courage and heroism during their careers.

 jewishinsider.com

Currently a Representative of Michigan's 7th District, Slotkin has announced a run for the Senate seat held by the retiring Debbie Stabenow.

As man's best friend, the canine is a popular beast for more than its engaging personality, being able to detect dangerous substances and immobilize bad people. Slotkin says she appreciated the work of service dogs during her time with the CIA in Iraq.

It is, however, doubtful if even really smart dogs can understand abstractions like heroism and duty. In general they are trained by food treats and petting for following commands. In fact, domestic animals that obey instructions could very well be less intelligent than their more independent cousins. That's an argument for another day. 

The point is that the dog can't understand the meaning of a medal. So bestowing it upon him or her is waste of their time. Unlike military decorations given to human soldiers, which encourage patriotism and enlistments, dogs don't drop into the recruiting office to talk over the available options. Nor do they have an established hierarchy of ranking. No canine is promoted to colonel from "dog" after a successful raid. In fact, dogs quickly size each other up and establish ranks themselves. Maybe that has something to do with smelling one another's rear end, a practice somewhat similar to that of the military itself but more obvious.

Rather than medals dogs are certain to appreciate more a nice piece of filet mignon or even a pound of raw ground beef.

 101dogbreeds.com

 

OSIRIS-REX Dumps A Sample On Earth

NASA's OSIRIS-REX spacecraft, launched in 2016 and on a continuing journey that has now covered 3.86 billion miles at a speed of 27,650 miles per hour, swept to within a distance of 63,000 miles of earth and released a container holding 8.8 ounces of asteroid material that landed on the Utah Test and Training Range early Sunday. The price tag for this incredible exercise was estimated by the Planetary Society as being in the neighborhood of $1.16 billion.

The wonder of this miraculous feat is eclipsed by the conditions of the nation's highways. Why is it that a relatively simple item like a stretch of concrete or asphalt is only capable of surviving two or three years before developing cracks, potholes and other destructive features? Is it actually impossible for scientists with valid but different credentials than their NASA counterparts to find a remedy for the rapid deterioration of the US highway system? 

Construction of a 4-lane rural highway costs from $4 to $6 million per mile. Resurfacing and paving the same stretch could cost $1.25 million for the same distance according to knowledgeable sources. Urban roads are much more expensive. There are about 4.09 million total miles of usually bad highways in the US.

It's not to denigrate the efforts of NASA or the defense of Ukraine but couldn't some money be found to research and develop highways capable of withstanding more than a few seasons of bad weather and truck traffic?

 

 

Road resurfaced just two years ago.

 

 

 

  

Ladies Cyclings Biggest Star Calls It Quits

 

A Crude Oil Pipeline For Uganda

 Sputink, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The East African Crude Oil Pipeline is being built between  the Lake Albert oil fields in Uganda and the Tanzanian port of Tanga, a distance of 897 miles. The plan calls for the 24 inch pipeline to carry a maximum of 216,000 barrels per day. 

Financing for the $5 billion project has been a problem since its initiation in 2013. Western banks have withdrawn their commitments in view of objections by environmental groups. Owned by the French oil company Total Energies, the Uganda National Oil Company, Tanzania, and China National Offshore Oil Corporation, financing is likely to be assumed by   the China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) and the Export-Import Bank of China (Eximbank).

It would seem that some of the fruits of China's trade surplus with the West will be used to enable profits by a French oil giant, assist a developing African country jumping into fossil fuels and Chinese financial institutions.

This project will employ thousands, as will the development and operation of the oil fields. Full scale production is likely to lower oil prices somewhat, a positive for everyone.

 

 

Photo: Handout 

710 Megawatts of Solar Power to be Generated at Becker, Minnesota

 Xcel Energy, dominant producer of electrical power in the Upper Midwest, Colorado and western Texas, has had its proposed addition to the solar generating project adjacent to its Sherburne County Generating Station in Becker, MN approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Upon completion the installation will replace Unit 1 and its 680 MW of coal-fired power.

 “We thank the Commission, Minnesota Department of Commerce and labor partners for their support of our solar portfolio,” said Chris Clark, president, Xcel Energy for Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota. “Sherco Solar will provide the lowest-cost solar on our Upper Midwest system, and these projects demonstrate our focus on clean energy without compromising affordability.”

 

 

 

 "Chris is leading the company’s Upper Midwest (Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota) visionary energy transition and delivering on customer energy solutions, all while ensuring clean and reliable energy at affordable prices. He’s responsible for the strategic plan and financial results of the company as well as customer, community, regulatory, legislative and governmental relationships in all three states.

Chris co-chairs the Minnesota Department of Transportation Sustainable Transportation Advisory Council with Minnesota Department of Transportation Assistant Commissioner, Sustainability and Public Health, Tim Sexton. Chris is a member of the Minnesota Governor’s Advisory Council on Climate Change. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies (CTS). He is a member of the board of directors of the Saint Paul Downtown Alliance.

Chris previously served as co-chair, appointed by former Governor Dayton, of Minnesota’s Connected and Automated Vehicle Task Force with former Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Charlie Zelle in 2018. He also served on the board of directors of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa and Drake Law School."

Clark is an attorney, a necessary qualification for the Advisory Council on Climate Change. And, as a member of the Executive Committee of the University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies, he's another example of many of the close affiliation between academia and government.

 

 

Minnesota Public Utilities Commission 

The design and construction of the project is being done by National Grid Renewables LLC, whose Vice President for Development is Nathan Franzen, husband of Melisa Lopez-Franzen, former State Senate Minority Leader and current Director of Communications at the University of Minnesota.

 

 

 

A cynic might come to the conclusion that this project is actually being done by the State of Minnesota itself in conjunction with the University of Minnesota.

According to Solar Power World:

 The project will provide economic benefits in Becker and the surrounding area. Sherco Solar will provide nearly 400 union construction jobs. The project will use Xcel Energy’s Power Up workforce and development program, designed to integrate women and people of color who are underrepresented in the utility industry and building trades. The Public Utilities Commission and Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development were key in shaping the program.

In other words, skilled and experienced union Caucasian workmen will go to the back of line or be entirely ineligible for employment on the project.

 

review-journal.com

A solar array in Nevada that will produce 100 MW of power to supply the needs of 5 Las Vegas casinos.