{ "export": { "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/3452", "note": "Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright in each message remains with the person who wrote it. Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact.", "addresses": "obscured as 'user at host'" }, "archive": "urth", "thread": { "id": 3452, "subject": "Chem power", "messages": 8, "voices": 6, "first": "2002-09-08T21:37:51+00:00", "last": "2002-09-09T17:43:24+00:00" }, "messages": [ { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Roy C. Lackey", "address": "rclackey at stic.net" }, "date": "2002-09-08T21:37:51+00:00", "subject": "(urth) Chem power", "in_reply_to": null, "reply_link": null, "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "Dan'l wrote:\nNoooo ... their power source is clearly nucyulehr. Isotopes\neverywhere when a chem blows. That won't work." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Correct:\n\n \"Five chains away, the blade of the azoth wrecked a fusion generator,\nand the soldier whose heart it had been died.\" (LS3, 9)\n\nBut, but . . . that's just another good reason to shoot those fool engineers\nwho designed them! If chems were subject to exploding and raining\nradioactive material all around when they died, then they were a hazard to\nevery bio around them, including their fellow human troopers. Dumb. But\nthen, Typhon didn't care about people, did he?\n\n-Roy" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Bratt Ian", "address": "ian.bratt at colorado.edu" }, "date": "2002-09-09T03:15:53+00:00", "subject": "Re: (urth) Chem power", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "On Sun, 8 Sep 2002, Roy C. Lackey wrote:\n \"Five chains away, the blade of the azoth wrecked a fusion generator,\nand the soldier whose heart it had been died.\" (LS3, 9)\n\nBut, but . . . that's just another good reason to shoot those fool engineers\nwho designed them! If chems were subject to exploding and raining\nradioactive material all around when they died, then they were a hazard to\nevery bio around them, including their fellow human troopers. Dumb. But\nthen, Typhon didn't care about people, did he?\n\n-Roy" }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "A quick technical point: Roy, you seem to be confusing fission and\nfusion. Fission, what powers modern power plants, is the process of\nmassive nuclei breaking apart and releasing energy. Radioactivity is a\nnatural byproduct of this process. Fusion, however, is the process of\nlighter nuclei fusing together to make a more massive nuclei. Large\namounts of energy are released during fusion, but with significantly less\nradioactive emissions (on order of 10^9 less than fission).\n\nhttp://wwwofe.er.doe.gov/More_HTML/Comparison_w_fission.GIF\n\nUnfortunately for society, commercially available fusion generators are\nstill science fiction. I don't think those \"fool engineers\" would\nappreciate you being so trigger happy :)\n\nCheers,\nIan" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Andy Robertson", "address": "andywrobertson at clara.co.uk" }, "date": "2002-09-09T04:38:26+00:00", "subject": "Re: (urth) Chem power", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "But:: Fusion would create a neutron flux which would turn many of the\nordinary elements the generator was composed of into radioactive isotopes.\nParticularly if the generator had been running for hundreds of years.\n\nAnother reason why I doubt Hyacinth was a chem or a chem with a bio shell -\nthe radiation would be bad for living flesh acually in contact with the\nchem, though it is short range and would not hurt people in the same room\n(much).\n\n hartshorn\n\n\n\n----- Original Message ----- eutron flux" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "From: \"Bratt Ian\" \nTo: \"urth\" \nSent: Monday, September 09, 2002 4:15 AM\nSubject: Re: (urth) Chem power\n\nOn Sun, 8 Sep 2002, Roy C. Lackey wrote:" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 2, "text": " \"Five chains away, the blade of the azoth wrecked a fusion\ngenerator,\nand the soldier whose heart it had been died.\" (LS3, 9)\n\nBut, but . . . that's just another good reason to shoot those fool\nengineers\nwho designed them! If chems were subject to exploding and raining\nradioactive material all around when they died, then they were a hazard\nto\nevery bio around them, including their fellow human troopers. Dumb. But\nthen, Typhon didn't care about people, did he?\n\n-Roy" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "A quick technical point: Roy, you seem to be confusing fission and\nfusion. Fission, what powers modern power plants, is the process of\nmassive nuclei breaking apart and releasing energy. Radioactivity is a\nnatural byproduct of this process. Fusion, however, is the process of\nlighter nuclei fusing together to make a more massive nuclei. Large\namounts of energy are released during fusion, but with significantly less\nradioactive emissions (on order of 10^9 less than fission).\n\nhttp://wwwofe.er.doe.gov/More_HTML/Comparison_w_fission.GIF\n\nUnfortunately for society, commercially available fusion generators are\nstill science fiction. I don't think those \"fool engineers\" would\nappreciate you being so trigger happy :)\n\nCheers,\nIan\n\n\n\n--" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Dan'l Danehy-Oakes", "address": "ddanehy at siebel.com" }, "date": "2002-09-09T16:00:35+00:00", "subject": "RE: (urth) Chem power", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "But:: Fusion would create a neutron flux which would turn many of the\nordinary elements the generator was composed of into \nradioactive isotopes." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Not if you reverse the polarity on the neutrino flow.\n\nYours for better technobabble," } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Michael Straight", "address": "straight at email.unc.edu" }, "date": "2002-09-09T16:16:50+00:00", "subject": "RE: (urth) Chem power", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 2, "text": "On Mon, 9 Sep 2002, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote:\nBut:: Fusion would create a neutron flux which would turn many of the\nordinary elements the generator was composed of into\nradioactive isotopes." }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "Not if you reverse the polarity on the neutrino flow." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Yes, exactly. If we can assume the chem-makers have figured out how to\nput a fusion generator in a robot, we can probably assume they figured out\nhow to solve the radioactivity problem too unless someone finds some\ntextual evidence that they are radioactive (Aha! The true source of\nSilk's mutant powers! He was raised by radioactive robots!)\n\n-Rostrum" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "matthew.malthouse", "address": "matthew.malthouse at guardian.co.uk" }, "date": "2002-09-09T16:11:11+00:00", "subject": "RE: (urth) Chem power", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 2, "text": "On 09/09/2002 17:00:35 Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote:\nBut:: Fusion would create a neutron flux which would turn many of the\nordinary elements the generator was composed of into\nradioactive isotopes." }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "Not if you reverse the polarity on the neutrino flow." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Only possible if your sonic screwdriver has the special attachment\n\n\nMatthew" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Andy Robertson", "address": "andywrobertson at clara.co.uk" }, "date": "2002-09-09T13:58:13+00:00", "subject": "Re: (urth) Chem power", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Yes, even then. You cannae break the laws of physics, captain, etc etc.\n\n hartshorn\n\n\n----- Original Message ----- " }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 2, "text": "From: \"Dan'l Danehy-Oakes\" \nTo: \nSent: Monday, September 09, 2002 5:00 PM\nSubject: RE: (urth) Chem power\nBut:: Fusion would create a neutron flux which would turn many of the\nordinary elements the generator was composed of into \nradioactive isotopes." }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "Not if you reverse the polarity on the neutrino flow.\n\nYours for better technobabble,\n\n--Blattid\n\n\n-- " } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Roy C. Lackey", "address": "rclackey at stic.net" }, "date": "2002-09-09T17:43:24+00:00", "subject": "Re: (urth) Chem power", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Ian writes:" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "A quick technical point: Roy, you seem to be confusing fission and\nfusion. Fission, what powers modern power plants, is the process of\nmassive nuclei breaking apart and releasing energy. Radioactivity is a\nnatural byproduct of this process. Fusion, however, is the process of\nlighter nuclei fusing together to make a more massive nuclei. Large\namounts of energy are released during fusion, but with significantly less\nradioactive emissions (on order of 10^9 less than fission)." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Yes, and that's all very well when the fusion chamber remains intact; but\nwhen it is breached? When the plasma hits the fan, so to speak, what then?\nWhy was Dr. Crane, when he and Silk were pulled from the lake, concerned to\nsay:\n\n\"But we've gotten a thorough washing, and that's good. Lots of isotopes\nreleased when a chem blows.\" (LS2, 13)\n\nI hadn't supposed that when chems exploded it was comparable, in any way, to\na present-day nuclear device exploding; had it been, Crane and Silk would\nhave died in the room where and when Lemur did, and isotopes would never\nhave been an issue.\n\n-Roy" } ] } ] }