From John Tierney. I’ve discussed this extensively in the past, and tied it to Shuttle costs. As I noted then, if you want to eat healthy, and not overeat (particularly the wrong kinds of foods), don’t eat out.
Category Archives: Technology and Society
Space Solar Power And Launch Costs
There’s a long piece in this week’s Economist on the current prospects for solar power satellites. It’s a pretty good overview, but has a few problems. First of all, it doesn’t mention lasers at all. This is particularly a large oversight when it comes to the discussion of military applications. If space-based power is used for military logistics, it’s unlikely that it will be of the microwave variety — the power density is far too low to be practical for many of the envisioned needs. Lasers are more likely (though they will still not be a cost-effective weapon, despite the paranoia of some who will oppose the concept).
Also, in the discussion on launch costs, they didn’t spend enough time discussing the suborbital route, though they mentioned it. And while there was never much prospect of Gene Myers launching ETs into orbit, the chance that it will happen now is essentially nil, so the discussion of Space Islands is (at best) anachronistic. A description of Bob Bigelow’s activities with his orbital facilities, which weren’t mentioned at all, would have been much more useful and relevant to the reader.
[Update a few minutes later]
There seems to be a push on to get the Obama administration to adopt SBSP as a new energy initiative. Given all the other energy alternatives they want to chase (wind, terrestrial solar, etc.) why not? Even if it doesn’t pan out, it could result in lower launch costs for other things, which (as the report points out) are a prerequisite.
Metamodern
Eric Drexler has started a blog. It should be pretty interesting.
Making Our Own Leaves
Here’s an interesting piece on breakthroughs in artificial photosynthesis. My biggest problem with it is that it talks about hydrogen as being “easy to store,” but it doesn’t describe in any way how this is done. Clearly, if you don’t have to carry it in a vehicle (as would be required for transport fuel) the job is a lot easier, but it’s still non trivial. If it’s simply for load leveling, you have a lot more options, but they still come down to three: hydrides, high-pressure gas, or liquid. The latter uses a lot of energy to chill it, and loses it in rewarming.
There is a picture of a notional system in a garage, but it shows a water tank, hydrogen tank, and oxygen tank, and the separated gases (or liquids?). The water tank looks like about half the volume of the separated elements. How realistic is this? What is going on? I’d expect more from an article in Technology Review.
Living On Mars
Some thoughts from Bob Zubrin, who apparently has a new book
out on the subject.
I have to say, though, that when he says:
It’s a common view that Columbus was just interested in finding a spice route to the Indies, and that was his sales pitch to the Spanish courts. But I actually believe that contrary to conventional history, Columbus was looking for unknown continents — he just couldn’t pitch it that way.
I’d be curious to know the basis for that belief, or if it’s just wishful thinking or projection. My reading of the history does not indicate that Columbus was averse to making a buck.
Evolutionary Pressure For Longevity
An interesting discussion branching off from questions about the benefits of resveratrol. It seems pretty clear to me that there’s no evolutionary pressure to live much past the time that your offspring (or perhaps grand-offspring) are off on their own. And that it violates no laws of physics to figure out how to cheat mother nature in that regard.
Lunar “Science”
Rob Coppinger describes some potential scientific research that could be performed on the moon. As I note in comments over there (assuming that he approves it) he seems to be under the misapprehension that a lunar base (particularly a lunar base that will be as insanely expensive to build and support as NASA’s planned architecture would render it) can be justified on the basis of science return. It cannot.
I think that the root of the problem lies in his statement:
Back in August (how time flies!) I began to set out Hyperbola’s architecture for exploration…
Despite the name “Vision for Space Exploration,” this really isn’t about exploration (as I’ve also noted before). Exploration is just a means to an end. Even more, it’s not about pure science, or knowledge for knowledge’ sake. If we can’t come up with some compelling reasons for developing space technology (and more affordable means than Constellation as currently planned), it’s simply not going to happen.
Is It Just Me?
Or is Summer Glau looking much more hot in the Sarah Connor Chronicles than she ever did in Firefly?
Maybe she’s just growing up. And has a better makeup crew. And is becoming a better actor.
Ominous
As Clark notes, this isn’t directly related to space transportation regulation, but you can see it coming:
The proposed regulation, titled the Large Aircraft Security Program, would require owners of those aircraft to obtain permission from TSA to operate their own personal aircraft every time they carry passengers. Additionally, all flight crews would be required to undergo fingerprinting and a background check, all passengers would have to be vetted against the government’s terrorist watch lists, and numerous security requirements would be imposed on airports serving these “large” aircraft. EAA adamantly opposes this regulation and urges all members to respond to TSA…
“…We thank the TSA for agreeing with the many industry group and EAA members’ requests for an extension, providing an additional two months to study and react to the proposal,” said Doug Macnair, EAA vice president of government relations. “This proposal would be an unprecedented restriction on the freedom of movement for private U.S. citizens. It would also, for the first time, require governmental review and authority before a person could operate his/her own personal transportation conveyance.
First they came after the private aircraft pilots, and I said nothing, because I wasn’t a private aircraft pilot.
Fishing for the Future
…Soylent green. The miracle food of high-energy plankton gathered from the oceans of the world.
Soylent Green, 1973
The New York Times predicts that “if current fishing practices continue, the world’s major commercial stocks will collapse by 2048.” Their solution: lower energy content by eating sardines instead of feeding them to farm-raised salmon.
Mistaking energy content for price is a common mistake. Chew on this: organic lettuce is more expensive than a hamburger.
Wild fish will be eclipsed by farm-raised fish just as farm-raised beef has eclipsed free-range beef. Get used to it, perhaps by preparing to pay an extreme premium for free-range fish. Don’t expect the Chinese middle class to prefer wild cod once a year to farm-raised salmon once a month. Expect the coastal waters to be fenced into fish farms just as the Great Plains was fenced in during the 19th century.
It’s time to manage the pollution and reserve the wild fish parks upcurrent. This tide isn’t going to be turned back by pondering how the old days were until we’re eaten up.