damn horny bastards

[Ubernoober]

Thank goodness someone mentioned Nuclear Power.The Hydrogen economy can only get running on the back of the petroleum economy. In the end, petroleum will ALWAYS be a valuable resource. It would be nice to free our electrical generation requirements from petroleum so that at the very least our consumption goes down. Sadly, the bug-eating, tree-hugging unwashed masses have been indoctrinated with the fear of nuclear power. Its rediculous. Safer, cleaner, cheaper, centralized, more environmentally sound in every way, and with enough basic fuel to last 400+ years, and using fast-breeder designs, are a nearly limitless source of energy.

I hate this world of morons.....

[rawill240sx]

Nuke plants are a great idea, there is one not more than 8 miles from where I live now on a full production day ~1800 mega-watts come from the two generators there. One of them uses river water for cooling and actually returns the water back to the river cleaner than when it came in. It has been in operation for ~20 years, with no major accidents or scares to my knowledge. Other than a little light poplution in my night time sky I have no problem with it at all.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I agree. Nuke plants are the best solution by a long shot. Unfortunately, people have this built it--thanks to the damn news media--paranoia that anything with the word "nuclear" is bound to blow up and create three-eyed mutants. Nuclear power is efficient, easy to make, clean, and where there is a source of water, we can have situations like the one rawill240sx described. If we can figure out nuclear fusion--plants now use fission, or the division of atomic nuclei--which is far more efficient and effective than fission, and it produces less heat, then we'll be on a roll. However, the way things are looking now, fusion is a long way off. The University of Utah "accidentally" accomplished what they beleive to have been cold fusion for something like a millionth of a second, but since it was an accident, they were not prepared for it, and thus the process was not documented and cannot be duplicated. This was a while ago...maybe a year ago.

[Ubernoober]

Fusion is kind of the Holy Grail for physics researchers. It aggravates them to no end that they can simply look up into the sky for proof of its power. LOL

Blame your current Congress and Senate for stripping away a huge chunk of the fusion research budget. I swear we live in an intellectual dark age.

[MinisterofDOOM]

That's what the private sector is. Once I get out of college (with various doctorates in physics) I intend to start a research corporation foocused on aerospace and particle physics (two areas I beleive to be interconnected on a fundamental level, both can benefit the other) particularly and physics in general. I'm not sure if I'll pay a lot of attention to fusion, since I've got other things in mind. Other people/organizations have been working on it for a while and know what they're doing, even if it hasn't worked yet. Maybe its best to leave it to them.

[Drift Machine]

Yeah, I think the price for gas right now ranges from about 98c to about 1 euro here in Ireland. Thats insanely exspensive compared to American prices, you definately won't hear me complaining about gas prices when I get home. This is why the next vechile I buy is going to be a bike, due to MPGs and fun factor : ).

I agree there is a huge problem in America of people not realising that the world's oil supplies won't last forever. This myth isn't helped any by companies coming out with gas sucking SUVs (I really really don't like SUVs). I would love to have a more economical second car, or bike, so I don't waste huge amounts of gasoline and money with my 240.

Did anyone read about the conversion kit that some guy came out with so that your diesel car can run off of used veggie oil. He goes into restaurants and asks for their used bags of oil, which they usually have to pay to have disposed of so they are more then willing to give him free 'gas'. I believe it was in Car & Driver.

[PoorManQ45]

That's what the private sector is. Once I get out of college (with various doctorates in physics) I intend to start a research corporation foocused on aerospace and particle physics (two areas I beleive to be interconnected on a fundamental level, both can benefit the other) particularly and physics in general. I'm not sure if I'll pay a lot of attention to fusion, since I've got other things in mind. Other people/organizations have been working on it for a while and know what they're doing, even if it hasn't worked yet. Maybe its best to leave it to them.

I agree completely with you guys that Nuclear power is the best way to produce clean effiecient power. It's great for powering houses, and other "permanent" buildings.

But what about the transportation problem? i guess we could use electric cars. And they could have a continuous power supply by using the same method that electric cars use. This would mean that hundreds of thousands of miles of eletrical wire would have to be run though. But, most of the work is done already because we have regular power lines going everywhere. The cars could connect to the electrical line via a conductive pole.

But I don't think americans would like the idea of being on a "leash" very much.

Yeah, I think the price for gas right now ranges from about 98c to about 1 euro here in Ireland. Thats insanely exspensive compared to American prices, you definately won't hear me complaining about gas prices when I get home. This is why the next vechile I buy is going to be a bike, due to MPGs and fun factor : ).

That price is per liter, correct?

I agree there is a huge problem in America of people not realising that the world's oil supplies won't last forever. This myth isn't helped any by companies coming out with gas sucking SUVs (I really really don't like SUVs). I would love to have a more economical second car, or bike, so I don't waste huge amounts of gasoline and money with my 240.

I won't say I don't like SUVs. I will say I Hate SUVs. Around me, they are usually driven by women. When they get into those things, it's like they become king/queen of the road. Anything that gets in there way is gonna die. And if/when they cut someone off, it is always the other persons fault. It's always funny to see one of these things at a stop light. If they are the first one in line, they usually sit 15~20ft back. I guess they can't see from the "cockpit" of their "bus". And the fact that they get an average of 12MPH makes the matter alot worse. These vehicles should not be allowed to exist.

The owner usually says they have to cayyr passengers in their Bus. What's the most they carry? 7 at most? Well, you can get a full size/Mini Van that does the same thing, and gets 2~3 times as many MPH. So, why is it that people prefer SUVs over Vans? I was listening to a talk show on AM radio the other day. The host asked the guest(woman) why she drives a Hummer2. Her was her exact answer, "I like knowing that if I hit something or Someone, I will always win." That is just crazy. I think her license should be taken away (and possibly thrown in jail) because she is pre-meditating murder/Man Slaughter.

Did anyone read about the conversion kit that some guy came out with so that your diesel car can run off of used veggie oil. He goes into restaurants and asks for their used bags of oil, which they usually have to pay to have disposed of so they are more then willing to give him free 'gas'. I believe it was in Car & Driver.

I read about that. That's a great idea. There's a truck around here that runs on frier fat/grease. The local McDonalds usually gives him the fat/grease. He's got a vynil thing on his window that says, "Burning off the fat at 70MPG".

[MinisterofDOOM]

Actually, there is no conversion required. If you ask a trucker, you'll find that diesel fuel is already partly organic--they mix used veggie oel with it. A modern diesel engine will run on literally any liquid that burns--in the right octane range. The conversion simply optimizes performance using vegetable oil. I can see diesels converting over in the next 20 years or so. Think about how much fuel those big rigs use. That'll make a HUGE difference in petroleum consumption.