Comments on: Welcome to the Futurama http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/ The weblog of Brighton-based writer Justin McKeating Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:49:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: llaurén http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/comment-page-1/#comment-27045 llaurén Wed, 14 Feb 2007 14:07:50 +0000 http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/#comment-27045 Umm, i may be completely off the track here, but assuming the Earth is a reasonably closed system, if you create an ice cube, you are generating a similar amount of heat in the process. So you'd have to make the ice cube somewhere where it really doesn't matter that you're creating heat. I mean, your fridge is only cold on the inside because it's warm on the outside. But i guess a physic's person could do a more elaborate explanation. Umm, i may be completely off the track here, but assuming the Earth is a reasonably closed system, if you create an ice cube, you are generating a similar amount of heat in the process. So you’d have to make the ice cube somewhere where it really doesn’t matter that you’re creating heat. I mean, your fridge is only cold on the inside because it’s warm on the outside. But i guess a physic’s person could do a more elaborate explanation.

]]> By: Colin Campbell http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/comment-page-1/#comment-25989 Colin Campbell Tue, 30 Jan 2007 13:57:51 +0000 http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/#comment-25989 I was thinking about ice cubes tonight. The Australian Government is finally waking up to the fact that one of their Crown Jewels (not the Royal Family), the Great Barrier Reef could be wiped out as a tourist destination with the bleaching of the corals due to the warming of the oceans. A proposal for a huge sun shade was considered and it got me thinking about ice cubes to cool the coral. Not going to work but interesting all the same I was thinking about ice cubes tonight. The Australian Government is finally waking up to the fact that one of their Crown Jewels (not the Royal Family), the Great Barrier Reef could be wiped out as a tourist destination with the bleaching of the corals due to the warming of the oceans. A proposal for a huge sun shade was considered and it got me thinking about ice cubes to cool the coral. Not going to work but interesting all the same

]]> By: Niels http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/comment-page-1/#comment-25949 Niels Mon, 29 Jan 2007 13:15:28 +0000 http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/#comment-25949 The ice cube thing won't work, as health and safety exec will tie themselves in knots over the risk assessment for a freezer that big. imagine how many kids could get trapped in that one... Still, there must be a profitable technological solution to this, there always is. That's how we got to this point in the first place. Er.... The ice cube thing won’t work, as health and safety exec will tie themselves in knots over the risk assessment for a freezer that big. imagine how many kids could get trapped in that one…

Still, there must be a profitable technological solution to this, there always is. That’s how we got to this point in the first place.

Er….

]]> By: Mr Eugenides http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/comment-page-1/#comment-25902 Mr Eugenides Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:56:56 +0000 http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/#comment-25902 I await an explanation of why the ice cube thing would not work. I await an explanation of why the ice cube thing would not work.

]]> By: Rick B http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/comment-page-1/#comment-25901 Rick B Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:00:41 +0000 http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/#comment-25901 While this and other schemes may be needed to survive they all give the impression of-if we can do this then we don't need to stop polluting everything in sight- nevermind cancer rates, asthma, birth defects etc. As Mr. Bender Bending Rodriguez might say, "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass!" While this and other schemes may be needed to survive they all give the impression of-if we can do this then we don’t need to stop polluting everything in sight- nevermind cancer rates, asthma, birth defects etc.
As Mr. Bender Bending Rodriguez might say, “Bite My Shiny Metal Ass!”

]]> By: james higham http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/comment-page-1/#comment-25872 james higham Sun, 28 Jan 2007 12:11:15 +0000 http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/#comment-25872 Justin, your testimonial is coming up later. You're No.5 and I have 10 to do. Justin, your testimonial is coming up later. You’re No.5 and I have 10 to do.

]]> By: AMX http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/comment-page-1/#comment-25871 AMX Sun, 28 Jan 2007 11:55:51 +0000 http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/#comment-25871 Don't know about anybody else but it reminds me of the cockup at the start of The Matrix novels. Don’t know about anybody else but it reminds me of the cockup at the start of The Matrix novels.

]]> By: Chris http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/comment-page-1/#comment-25869 Chris Sun, 28 Jan 2007 09:07:34 +0000 http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/#comment-25869 Is there anything wrong with Gregory Benford's idea - <a href="http://www.edge.org/q2006/q06_11.html" rel="nofollow">about halfway down this page</a><a> - of hiding a lot of carbon from the cycle?</a> Is there anything wrong with Gregory Benford’s idea – about halfway down this page – of hiding a lot of carbon from the cycle?

]]> By: Neil http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/comment-page-1/#comment-25853 Neil Sat, 27 Jan 2007 22:19:39 +0000 http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/#comment-25853 2mm thick? My gods, that's far too thick for the job needed. I think a foil reflector of 20μm thickness is more plausible - which means you would only need 2.5 years of Al production rather than 250. Still like 68.9 million tonnes though. Cost of lifting to orbit looks a bit dubious as well - a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenit_rocket" rel="nofollow">Zenit</a> is quoted as having a max cost of $1667/lb to LEO. Call it $4m per tonne. (If we're building so many of them we might hope for some economies of scale though...) So it's still going to cost $275 trillion - about 20 years worth of the USA's GDP. Still not terribly practical. And the rocket can only carry 13 tonnes which means we need 5 million launches - adding rather a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere and completely negating the point of the mirror in the first place. Now if we're talking about pie-in-the-sky technologies in the first place, I'd start by building a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator" rel="nofollow">space elevator</a> first, which would drastically reduce your lift costs. 2mm thick? My gods, that’s far too thick for the job needed. I think a foil reflector of 20μm thickness is more plausible – which means you would only need 2.5 years of Al production rather than 250. Still like 68.9 million tonnes though. Cost of lifting to orbit looks a bit dubious as well – a Zenit is quoted as having a max cost of $1667/lb to LEO. Call it $4m per tonne. (If we’re building so many of them we might hope for some economies of scale though…)

So it’s still going to cost $275 trillion – about 20 years worth of the USA’s GDP. Still not terribly practical. And the rocket can only carry 13 tonnes which means we need 5 million launches – adding rather a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere and completely negating the point of the mirror in the first place.

Now if we’re talking about pie-in-the-sky technologies in the first place, I’d start by building a space elevator first, which would drastically reduce your lift costs.

]]> By: Sunny http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/comment-page-1/#comment-25841 Sunny Sat, 27 Jan 2007 18:43:04 +0000 http://www.chickyog.net/2007/01/27/welcome-to-the-futurama/#comment-25841 Nice one Justin... and good point there Nigel. Nice one Justin… and good point there Nigel.

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