Friday, February 24
An Aviation Milestone
An artificial intelligence algorithm developed by DARPA’s Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program flew a modified F-16 fighter jet for over 17 hours in December, officials announced this week.
The jet, a Variable In-flight Simulation Test Aircraft (VISTA), took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California, marking the first time that artificial intelligence has been used to fly a tactical aircraft.
"We conducted multiple sorties [takeoffs and landings] with numerous test points performed on each sortie to test the algorithms under varying starting conditions, against various simulated adversaries, and with simulated weapons capabilities," Air Force Lt. Col. Ryan "Hal" Hefron, the DARPA program manager for ACE, said in a statement.
"We didn’t run into any major issues but did encounter some differences compared to simulation-based results, which is to be expected when transitioning from virtual to live."
US AIR FORCE'S NEW F-15EX BREAKS KEY RECORD AS THREATS AGAINST AMERICA GROW
VISTA was developed by Lockheed Martin Skunk Works and the Calspan Corporation for the U.S. Air Force's Test Pilot School. READ MORE...
Thursday, February 23
Nuclear Fusion Basics
Nuclear energy can also be released by fusion of two light elements (elements with low atomic numbers). The power that fuels the sun and the stars is nuclear fusion.
Nuclear Fission
In a hydrogen bomb, two isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium are fused to form a nucleus of helium and a neutron. This fusion releases 17.6 MeV of energy. Unlike nuclear fission, there is no limit on the amount of the fusion that can occur.
A fission bomb, called the primary, produces a flood of radiation including a large number of neutrons. This radiation impinges on the thermonuclear portion of the bomb, known as the secondary. The secondary consists largely of lithium deuteride. The neutrons react with the lithium in this chemical compound, producing tritium and helium.
The production of tritium from lithium deuteride
This reaction produces the tritium on the spot, so there is no need to include tritium in the bomb itself. In the extreme heat which exists in the bomb, the tritium fuses with the deuterium in the lithium deuteride.
The question facing designers was "How do you build a bomb that will maintain the high temperatures required for thermonuclear reactions to occur?" The shock waves produced by the primary (A-bomb) would propagate too slowly to permit assembly of the thermonuclear stage (the secondary) before the bomb blew itself apart. This problem was solved by Edward Teller and Stanislaw Ulam.
Gamma Radiation
To do this, they introduced a high energy gamma ray absorbing material (styrofoam) to capture the energy of the radiation. As high energy gamma radiation from the primary is absorbed, radial compression forces are exerted along the entire cylinder at almost the same instant. This produces the compression of the lithium deuteride. Additional neutrons are also produced by various components and reflected towards the lithium deuteride. With the compressed lithium deuteride core now bombarded with neutrons, tritium is formed and the fusion process begins. READ MORE...
Nuclear FissionIn a hydrogen bomb, two isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium are fused to form a nucleus of helium and a neutron. This fusion releases 17.6 MeV of energy. Unlike nuclear fission, there is no limit on the amount of the fusion that can occur.
A fission bomb, called the primary, produces a flood of radiation including a large number of neutrons. This radiation impinges on the thermonuclear portion of the bomb, known as the secondary. The secondary consists largely of lithium deuteride. The neutrons react with the lithium in this chemical compound, producing tritium and helium.
The production of tritium from lithium deuterideThis reaction produces the tritium on the spot, so there is no need to include tritium in the bomb itself. In the extreme heat which exists in the bomb, the tritium fuses with the deuterium in the lithium deuteride.
The question facing designers was "How do you build a bomb that will maintain the high temperatures required for thermonuclear reactions to occur?" The shock waves produced by the primary (A-bomb) would propagate too slowly to permit assembly of the thermonuclear stage (the secondary) before the bomb blew itself apart. This problem was solved by Edward Teller and Stanislaw Ulam.
Gamma RadiationTo do this, they introduced a high energy gamma ray absorbing material (styrofoam) to capture the energy of the radiation. As high energy gamma radiation from the primary is absorbed, radial compression forces are exerted along the entire cylinder at almost the same instant. This produces the compression of the lithium deuteride. Additional neutrons are also produced by various components and reflected towards the lithium deuteride. With the compressed lithium deuteride core now bombarded with neutrons, tritium is formed and the fusion process begins. READ MORE...
The World is at a Crossroads
- China
- Russia
- Iran
- North Korea
- India
- Brazil
- South Africa
It is also obvious that if the USA and other NATO countries support Ukraine in its war with Russia that our enemies will support Russia...
It is also obvious that if China invades taiwan, and the USA supports Taiwan that our enemies will come to the aid of China...
These two potential conflicts taking place at relatively the same time, could put the world into a situation where we are getting very, very close to a WORLD WAR III...
The question on everyone's mind is will this war be CONVENTIONAL or NUCLEAR...
If it is conventional, the USA is no match for China with either the Navy, Air Force or Army...
If it is nuclear, then China is no match for the USA with all our nuclear weapons...
With either type of war, the economies of every single country will be impacted and our highly tecnological world will no longer have the financial means to maintain its technology as all our resources will be invested into wartime technologies which have little to do with the advancement of society.
People will be drafted into the military to fight the war. Resources will be diverted from public consumption to military consumptions. factories will abandoned their products to produce military products. Farmers and farmlands will be devoted exclusively to the military. Gasoline supplies will have a military priority first and a public priority second. All this focus on the military will cause a shortage and an increase in prices.
The US of A could turn into a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY overnight with the general public not understanding what the hell just happened.
A global war will be devastating and will set economies back dozens of years...
Given the power breakdown, it is pretty damn certain that no one will win a global war whether it is fought with conventional weapons or with nuclear weapons...
This war will hurt us all...
Green Hydrogen
Decarbonising the planet is one of the goals that countries around the world have set for 2050. To achieve this, decarbonising the production of an element like hydrogen, giving rise to green hydrogen, is one of the keys as this is currently responsible for more than 2 % of total global CO2 emissions.
Decarbonising the planet is one of the goals that countries around the world have set for 2050. To achieve this, decarbonising the production of an element like hydrogen, giving rise to green hydrogen, is one of the keys as this is currently responsible for more than 2 % of total global CO2 emissions. Find out how this is achieved and what its impact will be in the coming decades.
Green hydrogen is efficient and 100 % sustainable, with some experts predicting that it will be the fuel of the future. Our way of life needs an increasing amount of watts to function. The latest estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA), published at the end of 2019, predict that global energy demand will increase by between 25 % and 30 % by 2040, which in an economy dependent on coal and oil would mean more CO2, exacerbating climate change. However, decarbonising the planet suggests a different world in 2050: one that is more accessible, efficient and sustainable, and driven by clean energies such as green hydrogen.
WHAT IS GREEN HYDROGEN AND HOW IS IT OBTAINED?
This technology is based on the generation of hydrogen — a universal, light and highly reactive fuel — through a chemical process known as electrolysis. This method uses an electrical current to separate the hydrogen from the oxygen in water. If this electricity is obtained from renewable sources we will, therefore, produce energy without emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
As the IEA points out, this method of obtaining green hydrogen would save the 830 million tonnes of CO2 that are emitted annually when this gas is produced using fossil fuels. Likewise, replacing all grey hydrogen in the world would require 3,000 TWh/year from new renewables — equivalent to current demand of Europe. However, there are some questions about the viability of green hydrogen because of its high production cost; reasonable doubts that will disappear as the decarbonisation of the earth progresses and, consequently, the generation of renewable energy becomes cheaper. READ MORE...
Wednesday, February 22
Diversity Behind the Camera
Actress Michelle Yeoh, seen here at the 28th annual Critics Choice Awards in Los Angeles on January 15, 2023, is the only non-white actor in the best actress category at the Academy Awards [Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP]
It’s awards season, that time of the year when the moving image is celebrated in all its forms. The world’s most prolific actors, directors, writers, producers, cinematographers, musicians, editors, costume designers, animators and other creatives are feted with shiny statuettes, critical acclaim and, most importantly, cultural and professional currency.
In recent years, this season has also led to increased scrutiny of the lack of representation of women and minorities in the film and television industries. Last year, the Golden Globes went on a hiatus amid criticism of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — which bestows those awards — over poor diversity.
Yet for all the talk and hashtags, the reality remains grim. Michelle Yeoh is the only non-white actor in the best actress category at the Academy Awards, and the Oscars are courting controversy for ignoring Viola Davis in The Woman King and Danielle Deadwyler in Till. The best actor category only includes white men, and the best director segment doesn’t feature any women or Black filmmakers.
In fact, things are getting worse. While there is at least significant media attention on the need to increase representation on screen, the numbers tell an even more sorry tale when it comes to diversity off screen.
A recent USC Annenberg study, which looked at the gender, race and ethnicity of directors behind the 100 highest-grossing movies of 2022, found only 9 percent were women, down from 12.7 percent in 2021. Only 20.7 percent of directors were Black, Asian, Hispanic, Latino or multiracial directors, down from 27.3 percent in 2021. Another study by San Diego State University (pdf) arrived at similar conclusions.
Of course, many prominent television and OTT series and movies have featured non-white characters in lead roles in recent years. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — which awards the Oscars — instituted diversity and inclusion standards in 2020. Under those rules, creatives from diverse ethnic and minority communities must be hired in major roles for films to have a shot at the best picture award from the 2024-25 season. READ MORE...
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