Fermion

joined 2 years ago
[–] Fermion@feddit.nl 11 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

Helion is a completely different technology vs tokamaks which is what you're thinking of. They pulse the plasma to create brief bursts of pressure/heating/fusion. They do already have their seventh prototype machine operational so while we can't independently verify their claims, it's probably not all bluster.

I have mixed feelings about their approach. They plan to use a deuterium and helium-3 fuel blend. That has a couple major advantages. Most of the reactions will be aneutronic and the energy is released in the form of highly energetic alpha particles and protons. The lack of a high energy neutron is a huge advantage for safety and longevity of a reactor. High energy neutrons are hard to shield from and they cause most materials to get brittle and weaken. Netrons are not good for personnel to be around and they can leave some materials radiactive making reactor maintenance/disposal costly. The other advantage is that since all the energy is released as kinetic energy in charged particles, they don't have to try to absorb high energy photons or neutrons into a water blanket to drive a steam turbine. Instead, the kinetic energy results in an electromagnetic pulse that can be harvested by the same magnets that constrict the plasma to begin with.

Sounds amazaing, right? So why doesn't everyone use this approach? Helium is rare, but Helium-3 is especially rare, making up only about 20 parts per million of helium found in geologic deposits. So simply put, it is currently infeasible to use Helium-3 at scale. Helium-3 can be collected as a byproduct of breeding tritium for use in nuclear warheads. Enough helium-3 is produced for some demonstration reactors, but any real amount of demand will quickly outpace what the DOE produces.

Helion plans on breeding their own Helium-3 in Deuterium-Deuterium reactors they will operate. However D-D reactions are not aneutronic. So all the materials lifespan/shielding/ maintenance nightmares that come with operating a nuclear reactor will still apply. That means operators will have to buy very expensive fuel from Helion indefinitely. Helion doesn't exactly deny this drawback, but I really dislike how much they gloss over it in their public communications.

Here's a video tour of their test facilities that explains the basics of their approach. https://youtu.be/_bDXXWQxK38

I'm inclined to think they've demonstrated enough results that they are likely to be able to build a working unit quickly, however, that would still be a long way off from creating any sort of sustainable supply chain that would be a viable option for anyone beside datacenters.

[–] Fermion@feddit.nl 11 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Taking an oral steroid like prednisone can help prevent asthma attacks for milder allergies, but that might not be sufficient for a severe peanut allergy.

Epinephren is not a gentle drug. You do not want to have to use an epi pen if you can avoid it. It causes the heart to race and result in lots of side effects that would make a flight extremely uncomfortable. I think it's also metabolized quickly enough that a single dose is not going to last a whole flight.

I'm not an expert though, I just have multiple family members with moderate to severe allergies.

[–] Fermion@feddit.nl 84 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Remember when Trump motorboated Guliani in drag? That seems like dei that is worth reporting here.

[–] Fermion@feddit.nl 14 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Maybe make a white Russian?

[–] Fermion@feddit.nl 18 points 5 months ago

That's theoretically correct, however, when picking safety standards you should go by how most people would be expected to act, not by ideal scenarios. Is someone commuting to work going to pull over to change the media source or radio station? Probably not. So the controls should minimize how long the driver will look at the console and have their hand off the steering wheel. Media buttons on the steering wheel can seem superfluous, but it helps keep people less distracted.

[–] Fermion@feddit.nl 3 points 5 months ago

It's clearly configured for people to play around with local ai. Any gaming capability is a side benefit.

[–] Fermion@feddit.nl 2 points 5 months ago

Beko would be one to add to the list of appliances.

[–] Fermion@feddit.nl 20 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Ironically, Parks and Recreation is my biggest, "I watched all of this and enjoyed very little of it" show.

[–] Fermion@feddit.nl 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I see it as an extension of the myth of American purity and external corruption. "This person is evil, some outside power must have compromising info on them." "Immigrants are violent criminals preying on innocent americans."

These attitudes ignore the reality that bad people can come from anywhere. There are plenty of villians with very mundane origin stories. What matters is if everyone else has the will and ability to keep bad people in check and hold them accountable.

The grifters in charge need no other motivation than a sense of superiority and an opportunity to make a buck.

[–] Fermion@feddit.nl 5 points 5 months ago

It's a bit early for April fools product announcements.

[–] Fermion@feddit.nl 13 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I couldn't find a link in the article, so here it is.

https://www.wethebuilders.org/

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