Author: Simon

EMC2 has just been awarded (a solicitation actually but sure to go through) a contract for a WB-8 and WB-8.1 device under the America recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. I reported on the prospects for this in mid April in my post Polywell Gets In On The Act. Here is some of the text…

It seems that the Senate is finally holding the line on spending. There will be no money for a GITMO shutdown. WASHINGTON (AP) – In a major rebuke to President Barack Obama, the Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to block the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the United States and denied the administration the millions…

Keith O. Rattie gave a speech at the 22nd Annual UVU Symposium on Environmental Ethics at Utah Valley University about America’s energy future under cap and trade. The long term goal with cap and trade is “80 by 50” – an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. Let’s do the easy math on what…

The lovely lady in the picture is Louisa Lockhart, from the UK. What I find most attractive about her, and there is a lot to like, is her million watt smile. Since I found her, we have been in a rather animated Facebook conversation. She is just 19 and working on a degree in Marine…

Watts Up With That is having a discussion of a Times Online review of the new Honda Insight. The Times review is a hoot. Much has been written about the Insight, Honda’s new low-priced hybrid. We’ve been told how much carbon dioxide it produces, how its dashboard encourages frugal driving by glowing green when you’re…

I think it might be a good idea to look at how a wind generator’s output varies with speed. Wind power varies with the cube of wind speed. That is basic physics. No way around it that we know of. So let us look at some wind turbines. Typical are turbines that start generating power…

I believe this will not end well for Pelosi. H/T Pajamas Media which has an excellent discussion of the likely outcome. Short version: Pelosi under the bus. Cross Posted at Power and Control

You think green energy crates jobs? Guess again. A power producer typically gets paid for the power it generates. In Texas, some wind energy generators are paying to have someone take power off their hands. Because of intense competition, the way wind tax credits work, the location of the wind farms and the fact that…

Tom Ligon is an engineer who worked with Dr. Robert Bussard on Polywell Fusion. Tom explains the technology and his work with Dr. Bussard. There are seven videos in the series. You can watch the rest of them here: Tom Ligon Interview 2 Tom Ligon Interview 3 Tom Ligon Interview 4 Tom Ligon Interview 5…

In a comment on my post Green Energy Kills Jobs stressdoc had this to say about his experience with wind power. I am a mechanical engineer and quite knowledgeable about wind power and the reliability problems. They are many! Wind power has a longer history in the EU, but the experience has been similar. Wind…

Durango, Colorado is having economic difficulties. And what are they giving up to be able to pay for city workers? Green energy. For two years, the city of Durango, Colo., bought electricity for all its government buildings from wind farms. The City Council ended that program this year, reverting to electricity derived from coal-burning plants…

Politicians use words the same way squids use ink. To cover their tracks. Cross Posted at Power and Control

That is right. According to a Zogby Poll half of all Americans want pot legalized. A majority of Americans, in a poll released Wednesday, say it “makes sense to tax and regulate” marijuana. The Zogby poll, commissioned by the conservative-leaning O’Leary Report, surveyed 3,937 voters and found 52 percent in favor of legalization. Only 37…

You heard that right. And it is not tinfoil hat stuff. It is from reputable scientists. It makes intuitive sense that if superconductors can carry currents with zero resistance, then superconducting light emitting diodes might do their stuff with equally amazing efficiency. But superconducting LEDs are not only bright, they are brighter than anyone can…

Rick Nebel, the head of EMC2 Fusion (Polywell), has a few words to say in the comments at Next Big Future about the progress he is making in understanding The Polywell Fusion Reactor and its chances for power production. rnebel I believe we will know the answer for the Polywell in ~ 1.5-2 years. I…

Eric at Classical Values says that what people want to read is weird and sensational stuff. A little humor never hurt either. My take is that if it includes sex and home improvement it ought to work even better. Popular Science meets the National Enquirer. So today I’m doing a short (very short) review of…

The singing in the video is one of the best versions I could find on YouTube. I did like the dancing in this version better though. The version in the above video is very good. It doesn’t hold a candle to the version of Brush Up Your Shakespeare that was done by a traveling company…

As you can see from the above graph the heat stored in the ocean does not match global warming predictions. Normally this would mean the death of a theory or at minimum some serious adjustments of it. But you know what we are dealing with is not real science. It is climate change science. Albert…

I was reading the reviews at Amazon and came across one about the book The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels, and the Business of AIDS by Elizabeth Pisani that I found rather interesting. Pisani has no patience for distraction, a major one being that AIDS is a gender / development / poverty issue. Pisani shows…

This will have a lot of ramifications if Wickard vs. Filburn is overturned. Justice Thomas in his dissent in Raich took the stance that Wickard was wrongly decided. So there is one Justice on board. The States only need four more. Here is my favorite part of Thomas’ Raich dissent. Monson and Raich neither buy…