Fusion Power with Microwaves

Structure of Heliotron J device. Credit: KyotoU/Heliotron J group

Plasma physicists from Ukraine, Germany and Japan collaborate to spark fusion power.

Despite being forced to evacuate the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology due to the Russia-Ukraine war, lead author Yurii Victorovich Kovtun has collaborated with Kyoto University to create stable plasmas using microwaves. Plasmas must be maintained at the correct density, temperature, and duration for nuclear fusion to occur. 

The research team, including the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, has identified three critical steps in plasma production and utilized the Heliotron J device to study fusion plasma discharges. They discovered that blasting 2.45-GHz microwaves without alignment of the magnetic field produced a dense plasma, which could potentially simplify fusion research in the future.

Lead author Yurii Victorovich Kovtun, despite being forced to evacuate the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology amid the current Russia-Ukraine war, has continued to work with Kyoto University to create stable plasmas using microwaves.

Getting plasma just right is one of the hurdles to harnessing the massive amounts of energy promised by nuclear fusion.

Plasmas — soups of ions and electrons — must be held at the right density, temperature, and duration for atomic nuclei to fuse together to achieve the desired release of energy.

One recipe involves the use of large, donut-shaped devices with powerful magnets that contain a plasma while carefully aligned microwave generators heat the atomic mixture.  READ MORE...

Only in America

MEDICARE PLAN G*


Say you are an older senior citizen and can no longer take care of yourself and the government says there is no Nursing Home care available for you. So, what do you do? You opt for "Medicare Plan G".

The plan gives anyone 75 or older a gun (Plan G) and one bullet. You are allowed to shoot one worthless politician. This means you will be sent to prison for the rest of your life where you will receive three meals a day, a roof over your head, central heating and air conditioning, cable TV, a library, and all the Health Care you need. Need new teeth? No problem. Need glasses? That's great. Need a hearing aid, new hip, knees, kidney, lungs, sex change, or heart? They are all covered!

As an added bonus, your kids can come and visit you at least as often as they do now! And, who will be paying for all of this? The same government that just told you they can't afford for you to go into a nursing home. And you will get rid of a useless politician while you are at it. And now, because you are a prisoner, you don't have to pay any more income taxes!
Is this a great country or what? Now that I've solved your senior financial plan, enjoy the rest of your week.

Unique

 

Ascension

 

Our Anniversary

This is my second marriage and today is our anniversary...  Not sure if we should celebrate 25 years or 30 years.  We have been together for 30 years but only married for 25 of those 30 years.  We were both divorce after 23 years in our first marriages and decided to get to know each other for 5 years before we got married again, just to make sure it was the right direction for both of us.  

I cannot honestly say that those 5 years made any difference or not...  we still have similarities and we still have differences...  and, now that we are retired, we spend our days differently...  coming together in the mornings briefly and coming together in the evening briefly to share whatever it is that we want to share.

We go on vacations together, not separately and we go out for dinner and breakfast once a week.  However, my wife goes to lunch sometimes with her friends and we both attend our doctor's apppointments separately unless there is a need for both of us to be there.  We were both together when I had follow-ups with my orthopedic surgeon when 5 disks of my lower back were fused.  Two ears are better than one.

On the days that I have chemo and IVIG infusions, I always go by myself...  there is just no reason for her to be there, sitting with me for 3 hours, when my premeds typically put me to sleep for half the time.

We both retired in 2015 when I was 67 and she was 62 and for the first 5 years, we went on week long vacations every other month.  After 5 years, we had enough of traveling, airports, customs, playing the tourist, and trying to figure out where we need to go and how to get there since we did not speak the language.  Not everyone in Europe speaks English.  Living out of a suitcase was also a pain...  and, we saw just about everything that we wanted to see.

At 75 and 70, we have slowed down a lot and are only into 2 vacations a year and those vacations will be Myrtle Beach, SC...  once in May and again in September, both times are before and after the main season.  We stay in an ocean front condo for 7 nights and spend most of the day under an umbrella.

Back home in East TN, we have an above ground pool, a huge deck surrounding the pool that has a 12 X 12 foot pentagon Gazebo, a hot tub, a grill and deck furniture where we spend most of our time during the warm days of spring, summer, and fall.  IF it gets too humid, I stay inside.

Our community is basically retired folks so it is very quiet and very safe.  We walk around the community for exercise.  We are a mile from a Walmart Super Center where we get our groceries and there is a gas station a half mile away.  We are 8 miles from the interestate and 30 miles where are the restaurants are...  although, many of the restaurants are building about 10 miles from the house, so we will soon not need to drive to Knoxville for dinner.

The Great Smoky Mountains (and Gatlinburg) are less than an hour away and the NASCAR racetrack in Bristol is also about an hour away.  Dollywood is before we get to Gatlinburg.  Nashville is about 3-4 hours away and Chattanooga is about 3 hours away.

In the 20 years that we have owned our home, it has more than doubled in value.  Our house sits on an acre of land and you can park 3 cars side by side between our neighbors on either side...  so we have plenty room to stretch out.

At my age, I proabably only have 20 more years at the most to live with my wife and she with me.  Fortunately, we get along and enjoy each other's company.   While we are not wealthy, we have enough to live like we want and we both enjoy the way we live.

Figures of Speech

Paraprosdokians are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected and is frequently humorous. (and True)!

(Winston Churchill loved them).
1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.
2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you... but, it's still on my list.
3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.
6. War does not determine who is right, only who is left.
7. Knowledge, is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
8. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
9. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
10. In filling out an application, where it says, "In case of an emergency, notify... I answered "a doctor."
11. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still. . think they are sexy.
12. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive again.
13. I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure.
14. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.
15. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian, any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
16. You're never too old to learn something stupid.
17. I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

They Know

 

Wealthy

 

Understanding our Universe

A new study amplifies the Hubble tension, a discrepancy in cosmic expansion rate measurements, by providing the most accurate calibration of Cepheid stars for distance measurements. This discrepancy calls into question fundamental concepts in physics and has implications for understanding dark energy, the time-space continuum, and gravity.

When it comes to measuring how fast the Universe is expanding, the result depends on which side of the Universe you start from. An EPFL study has calibrated the best cosmic yardsticks to unprecedented accuracy, shedding new light on the Hubble tension.

The Hubble tension, a discrepancy in the cosmic expansion rate (H0) between early Universe and late Universe measurement methods, has puzzled astrophysicists and cosmologists.

 A study by the Stellar Standard Candles and Distances research group at EPFL’s Institute of Physics has achieved the most accurate calibration of Cepheid stars for distance measurements, amplifying the Hubble tension. The discrepancy calls into question the basic concepts of physics and has implications for the nature of dark energy, the time-space continuum, and gravity.


The Universe is expanding – but how fast exactly? The answer appears to depend on whether you estimate the cosmic expansion rate – referred to as the Hubble’s constant, or H0 – based on the echo of the Big Bang (the cosmic microwave background, or CMB) or you measure H0 directly based on today’s stars and galaxies. This problem, known as the Hubble tension, has puzzled astrophysicists and cosmologists around the world.


A study carried out by the Stellar Standard Candles and Distances research group, lead by Richard Anderson at EPFL’s Institute of Physics, adds a new piece to the puzzle. 

Their research, published today (April 4) in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, achieved the most accurate calibration of Cepheid stars – a type of variable star whose luminosity fluctuates over a defined period – for distance measurements to date based on data collected by the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Gaia mission. This new calibration further amplifies the Hubble tension.  READ MORE...

ChatGPT Tutorial

 

My Sweet Lord

 

Eating Out By Choice

Most people when they go out for dinner, they want some kind of steak and potato combination:  TBone, Sirloin, Ribeye, Strip...  and/or perhaps, some kind of pork like Ribs or Bar-B-Que...   but, for me, when I go out to dinner, I am first looking at Salmon or Cod or Flounder stuffed with crab meat or something having to do with Chicken...

My wife is typically looking for some kind of salad with chicken...  every once in a while she might get Fish 'n' Chips...  ot shrimp...  and seldom, she might order chicken and a potato.

Once a year, I might have a ribeye or sirloin steak but no more than once a year as I seriously try to avoid eating red meat.  When I eat steak, my favorite is Omaha Steaks...  maybe once or twice, I will also have a cheeseburger but it is still rare when that happens.

HOWEVER, Salmon is my favorite meal when I eat out, either with rice or a baked potato and always with broccoli.  Typically, I will get the largest ounce size available, then eat half at the restaurant and take the other half home for the next day...  so, regardless of the price, I get two meals...  that way the price does not bother me as much.  Salmon can range from $18 to $27/$28 dollars...  so, eating it for two meals makes it mentally afforable.

If the meal is reheated in an air-fryer is tastes better than in the oven or usining a microwave.

My wife and I typically go out for dinner at least once a week...  sometimes, this outing is done in the morning for breakfast or brunch.  If it is morning, then I am always ordering an everything omelette or as close as I can get to that...  and, depending upon where we got, that meal comes with breakfast potatoes and pancakes.  Again, half is eaten there and the other half taken home.

My wife usually orders eggs and bacon and sometimes that comes with pancakes as well.  She usually eats everything except for one pancake, so I get that one as well.

We go out to eat not because we are trying to get out of cooking...  we go out to eat because we enjoy the process of going out for a meal...  we don't look at it as a treat or a reward...  it is just something that we like to do...

Taco Bell has a bean burrito for $1.89 and SAMS sells an absolutely delicious hotdog and drink for $1.50.  SAMS has pizza as well but we have yet to try that.  Subway as decent foot longs that can be eaten for two meals.  And, of course there is always Wendy's Chili that is always well prepared.

Eating out can take a variety of forms and does not always have to be done at a nice restaurant.  However, I refuse to go to a restaurant where half the price goes to the atmosphere they think they provide...  Those ego trips can be enjoyed by the wealthy.

Driving with GPS

 

On This Easter Sunday

Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the New Testament of the Bible, the event is said to have occurred three days after Jesus was crucified by the Romans and died in roughly A.D. 30.

Death and resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith.  And, if you properly believe in all of that, when you die, you will be resuurected, like Jesus, into heaven.  It is this hope and our faith in this hope that forms the foundation of our faith...

HOWEVER, is it true?

Why has God and/or Jesus not appeared to us again for over 2,000 years?

And, why did HE appear to us 2,000 years ago?

What is God/Jesus waiting for to take place on the planet earth before they reappear again?  Or, was that appearance the one and only time?

IF God/Jesus loves us like we are told, why have they not shown that love for over 2,000 except in a few miracles that are targeted to a selective group of people and not to everybody?

Why are the people of AFRICA left out of all this religious beliefs except through a few missionaries that have gone there?

Why didn't God/Jesus visit them as they/he did in the middle east?

There are just too many questions for a person to have 100% faith.

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN...

I personally believe that there is or was some sort of creator that has coordnated and orchestrated the creation of the universe.

I don't know why this happened but it did and that is a fact that we can see and measure.

Is this creator our God/Jesus or simple an EXTRATERRESTRIAL?

For me, it makes more sense that our God is an extraterrestrial and the reason why we have not seen God/Jesus again is that it takes time to travel here.

It is said that if one travels at the speed of light that time STOPS...  Now, we know that we have the movement of time...  we can see it every day and we can see it in our aging.  So, is it time that is stopping God/Jesus from returning?  And, if they returned, would that mean that time stops?  OR, is it death that stops time?

We may not ever find out the answers to these questions so we may never know if there is really a God/Jesus, even though we are led to believe that there is one.

And, if we find out when we die...  what does like look like then?  Are we alive as a SPIRIT or do we get another body?  What would life be like as a SPIRIT?

Will we eat and drink and sleep?

Will we have sexual relationships?

Will we feel pain or love?

Right now there is a 50/50 chance that any of this will happen...  either it does or it does not...  those are the odds.

All in the Family

 

Findng the Right Balance

 Pickup Trucks and SUVs are a pain in the ass to drive behind in town and on the highway because you cannot see around them, nor can you see through them...  and while this latter point may not make much sense initially...  let me explain...  oftentimes, I look through the back windshield of the car in front of me and then through their front windshield if there are no obstructions inside the car like other passengers to see what might be in front of the car in front of me.  You can't do this with a pickup truck or an SUV because they ride so high.

The other driver that bothers me on the highway is the family on vacation who thinks they own the highway and the small compact cars that want to drive twice the speed limit to let you  know they are not just stupid but have big balls.  Neither of those attitudes will make much difference if they make a mistake.

Drivers these days are in such a hurry for some reason that driving on the interstate is more dangerous than it has ever been in the past.  One advantage that drivers may or may not realize is that vehicles are made much stronger and can withstand the impact of a crash much better than they could 20 years ago...  but very little is going to save you ass when you are driving 90mph.

When one drives faster than the posted speed limits on the interstate, one is putting forth more stress because it takes more attention in case something goes wrong.    In addition to the stress, this type of driving causes one's body to be more tense and that tension over time can cause physical problems as well.

However, all of this is actually subordinate to the driver who has no concept of DEPTH OF FIELD while driving.  I am constantly witnessing drivers that have to do a hard press of the brakes because they misjudged the distance between them and the car in front of them.  This type of misjudging is almost always fatal.

When I was 50 years old, I decided that driving fast no longer made any sense for a variety of reasons.  Not to mention the fact that the 55 mph gives you the best gas mileage.  However, 55 is a tad slow, slow so I try to simply drive the speed limit...  which seems to be the best all around approach to driving.  Not because its the law, because it is the best for you and your car.

If I need to, I get up early and leave early in case there is a slow down on the roads, so I will not be late and therefore have a reason to drive fast.

When I arrive somewhere, I arrive relaxed and with low blood pressure because I have eliminated most of my stress.  What I spend my time doing now, is watching out for all the assholes that don't know how to drive.

Classic Sunday Morning Newspaper Cartoons

 

You Will Never Have Good Ole Days

...2022...

$8 average cost for a pack of 20 cigarettes

$6 average cost for a 6 pack of beer

$2.80 average cost for a McDonald's cheeseburger

$4.67 average cost for a gallon of gasoline

$7.25 minimum wage

...1962...

$0.25 cost for a pack of 20 cigarettes ($0.30 from a machine)

$1.25 cost for a 6 pack of beer (any brand)

$0.15 cost for a hamburger $0.20 for a cheeseburger

$0.18 cost for a gallon of gasoline

$1.15 minimum wage (valued in current dollars is $7.25 which I find rather amusing)
 

Does anything catch your attention here?

$1.15 in 1962 had the same purchasing power as $7.25 had in 2022...  and yet look at the other costs between those years

SIXTY YEARS later, someone right out of high school who goes to work for $7.25/hour has the same purchasing power as I did right out of high school...

That shit just does not make sense...

In one 8 hour day, I would earn $9.20

• On that Friday, I could put 10 gallons of gasoline in my car for $1.80, leaving me $7.40
• I could buy 2 six packs of beer for $2.50, leaving me $4.90
• I could buy 2 packs of cigarettes out of a machine for $0.60, leaving me $4.30
• I could go to McDonalds and get 4 cheeseburgers for $0.80, leaving me $3.50
• I could get two small containers of french fries for $0.20, leaving me $3.30
• I could pick up my date, and got to the drive in theater for $1.00/person, leaving me $1.30
• I could give her two cheeseburgers and a container of french fries, give her a pack of cigarettes along with a 6 pack of beer and we could enjoy ourselves for several hours
• After the drive in movies ended, we could go to Waffle House for coffee and doughnuts for $0.30, leaving me $1.00

In 1962, all gasoline stations had condom machines in the bathrooms.  The regular condoms were $0.25 and the more exotic ones were $0.50...  depending on how many beers my date drank that night would determine how many condoms I needed to purchase.

The point is that I could all of that on just 8 hours of work.  And, the compensation of work back then had the same purchasing power that a worker in 2022 had making $7.25/hour...

What is wrong with this picture?

Prices have increased but not wages

The people who own the companies and sell things to the general public have been taking advantage of you for 60 years and you have no idea that they have been screwing you the whole time...

Talk about ignorance...

Is this lack of education?

Is this the lack of retention of education?

Is this just the fact that you don't want to know?

On Fire

 

Tesla Charging Speeds

Tesla’s new V4 Supercharger has started its initial rollout in Europe, and details are still continuing to spill out ahead of the first installations in the United States.

The V4 Supercharger is Tesla’s latest iteration of its industry-leading EV charging network, and with the recent introduction of non-Tesla vehicle charging in the U.S. to qualify for government incentives, the automaker is going forward with some monumental changes.

After the first piles were installed in the Netherlands in March, there were several distinct changes. We reported that the charging cables were now extended so that non-Tesla vehicles could charge with ease. This was a commonly reported problem in the U.S. as non-Tesla vehicles started to use the Superchargers.

Along with the longer cables, Tesla’s main focus was to increase charging speed so that people spent less time charging and more time on the roads. It was confirmed that the V4 Superchargers were capable of more power, but the vehicles’ architecture only allows for certain speeds. However, we are learning more information about what Tesla plans to do with these piles moving forward.

Thanks to Supercharger tracker MarcoRP, new details regarding the V4 Supercharger are available.

Tesla will make the CCS adapter built into the frame of the V4 Supercharger, which will allow non-Tesla vehicles to charge without an adapter. With the introduction of the Magic Dock, Tesla has made it possible for non-Tesla EVs to utilize the Supercharger network. With the V4 Supercharger, this will be standard.