It's about time I added another entry to this blog. It's been quite a while (nearly a month) since the last one and I could say that my only excuse is not having had enough time (studying for an exam, doing websites for friends, doing a full-time job, looking after a 2.5 year old boy, washing-up, cooking food etc etc), but really the excuse is not having enough inspiration! Of course I have had ideas, but I want this blog to be something a little special, rather than containing entries like "got up today and went to work. OK day.".
I want these monologues to say something about me, or society, or the Universe or at least to be a bit funny.
So this blog doesn't really have anything inspirational behind it. It is more of a necessary update to my life (there's been a trip to Budapest, studying for an exam, playing a lot more chess, getting into technical blogs, watching Spaced for the first time and loving it etc).
Having said that there was an interesting article in the news about Iter and how it was probably going to be agreed to proceed with this challenging idea. It's an experiment in Nuclear Fusion to produce commercial energy (electricity). I'm not quite sure how this works in detail since they have to control this plasma reaction at about 100,000,000 degrees Centigrade (which, I would have thought, would be fairly energy-hungry and therefore would defeat the object of generating electricity - they would need more energy than they create. This was exactly what happened to the Zeta experiment the British conducted earlier last century, however the plasma controlling technology has moved on quite a bit (the Japanese are pretty good with materials apparently) and therefore there's a chance they might make some energy. I guess it's something to do with getting the temperature up that high - once you have it there it doesn't take as much energy to keep it going, but hey! my nuclear physics is a bit rusty so what do I know!!). It's a very interesting idea and I'm sure something will come out of it (if only the practical knowledge of how to control a 100,000,000 degree Centigrade nucear plasma).
Something else caught my eye the other day and at first I was shocked. BMW are introducing a sort of hybrid fuel car which runs mostly from liquid Hydrogen, but can also revert back to petrol fuel when the Hydrogen runs out. The thing that shocked me was the idea of driving around with a tank of approximately -250 degree Centrigrade-cooled Hydrogen (one of the most (in)flammable substances around - remember the Hindenberg!?). The thought of a collision and damage to the fuel tank made me wince. But then I started thinking about petrol and realised that Petroleum fuel is also a highly flammable substance (just ask the Mythbusters). So in effect all combustion engine vehicles are moving bombs, which is, of course, why they're good at what they do.
Would I drive a Hydrogen car? I suppose I would if it were more economic, or more green or more groovy etc. I don’t think I'll be driving one of those for a while though.
My preference would be an electric car. If Iter gets its act together in a few years we could have as much electrical energy as we can use and therefore would make electric cars a viable possibility (if only they can sort out the performance issues - those electric cars don't seem to have the same punch that combustion engine cars have - must be that moving bomb thing!).
But you know what the best thing is? One of the "waste" products of the Iter programme is Helium. And we all know what that is best used for don't we?! Squeeky voices! There will be so much laughter generated by squeeky voiced physicists that no-one will ever be sad again. Or something.
