Hipster Science in the Sahara
Friday, July 1st, 2011
Using solar power and electronics to fuse sand into complex forms. Amazing.
Zirconium
Thursday, March 17th, 2011This article on Buzzflash by Investigative reporter and Journalism professor, Karl Grossman set me to research references for the outrageous claims. The Insanity of Zirconium in a Nuclear Power Plant I haven’t been able to verify that the Zirconium alloy tubes cladding the reaction pellets will explode at 2000F, but I have found these links:
- Zirconium is used because it is relatively transparent to neutrons, and is corrosion resistant under normal operating conditions.
- Finely slivered zirconium wire was what gave the pop and flash to old fashioned flash bulbs.
- But Massive pieces of zirconium do not ignite spontaneously under ordinary conditions
- Zirconium’s melting point is 3371 °F and boiling point is 7968 °F
- “Hydrogen embrittlement is a problem with zirconium and zirconium alloys, which often are used as cladding materials for nuclear reactors. Zirconium reacts with water as follows.Zr + 2 H2O ® ZrO2 + 2H2″ That is, it makes the cladding brittle and produces explosive Hydrogen in the reaction.
- Partial melting can solidify and block cooling channels, leading to more melting and higher temperatures if adequate cooling isn’t present.
- Diary on the Daily Kos exploring the same issues with the fuel rods.
Inside Fukushima
Wednesday, March 16th, 2011Rachel Madow explains that the problem with the spent fuel rods, may be worse than the situation with the reactors:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Update 3/15: Michio Kaku – If I Had the Ear of the Prime Minister, I Would Recommend the “Chernobyl Option”
- Put the Japanese Air Force on alert
- Assemble a huge fleet of helicopters. Put shielding underneath them.
- Accumulate enough sand, boric acid, and concrete to smother these reactors, to entomb them forever.
- This is what the Soviets did in 1986, calling out the Red Air Force and sandbagging the reactor with over 5,000 tons of concrete and sand.
Meteorologist Jeff Masters blogs about the weather and possible paths the radiation may take
“One case where a ground level release might get lofted to high altitudes is when the source region is located near an approaching low pressure system (extratropical cyclone), as is the case today.”
Computer model has radiation plume over the ocean for several days and then hitting Alaska. Radioactive particles are heavy and will mostly fall int0 the ocean before hitting land. But this weather system in Japan makes it more likely for the particles to reach the west coast of the United States and Canada.
No Bottom in Sight for Nuclear Disaster with Every Hour Bringing More Bad News – Michio Kaku
Rem and millirem can be converted in a straightforward way to the SI unit, sievert:
1 rem = 0.01 Sv = 10 mSv = 10000 μSv
1 millirem = 0.00001 Sv = 0.01 mSv = 10 μSv
1 Sv = 100 rem
1 mSv = 100 mrem = 0.1 rem
1 μSv = 0.1 mrem
Fukushima
Saturday, March 12th, 2011
Bill Nye is worried. The fact that cesium has been detected in the air and that they are using sea water as a coolant is a sign of serious breakdown.
Hard to see, but watch as the rectangular building on top of the containment structure below disappears in a violent explosion.
Haltadefinizione
Monday, October 4th, 2010
This is so cool, they have a viewer that lets you zoom in on classic paintings on almost a molecular level. Brush strokes are clearer than you could see them without a jeweler’s loupe and dedicated lighting. Above is Botticelli’s Venus in a medium zoom.
The project of Haltadefinizione raises from the experience matured in the field of the digital picture: a gallery of extremely high definition pictures of the greatest treasures in the history of art. Thanks to the cooperation with important International technological partners, Haltadefinizione conceived a sophisticated processing of photographic shooting, certificatedby the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro, enabling the production of images of treasures of art whose definition goes into the sharpest details. The images of Haltadefinizione efficiently support the scientific surveys of restoration finding application in the domains dedicated to the enhancement and promotion of the historical-artistic heritage.
