Recent content by Steve Brown

In the special case where the wire is a superconductor having zero resistance, the voltage across the source is clamped to zero, and it becomes a current source. Internal resistance of the source will cause its temperature to rise, which could cause it to self destruct, burn out, or explode.

...in the theoretical sense. In the practical sense, no wire has zero resistance, and if the wire is the limiting resistance in the circuit, it will likely get hot enough to melt and open the circuit, at which point current falls to zero. That is how a fuse works.

In drawing #4, unless you specify resistance of wire and internal resistance of voltage source, both are assumed to be zero. That gives infinite current for any voltage greater than zero.

A simple intuitive answer is that mass has inertia because acceleration imparts kinetic energy to a mass, and it takes work, which is force times distance, to do that. The SI unit of work is the joule, the result of a force of one Newton moving a mass a distance of one meter along the applied...

You wrote that in response to the following statement of facts: "On the other hand, a LFTR continuously processes the core salt to remove fission products, while leaving the fissile material in the core salt, where it can react to provide energy. There is no spent fuel assembly to dispose of...

The mass of fission products created is about the same, but it is many times smaller than the total mass of spent fuel rods. About 98% of the mass of a spent fuel rod is unreacted fissile material. On the other hand, a LFTR continuously processes the core salt to remove fission products, while...

Now it is straying off topic to debate the relative merits of light water reactors versus molten salt reactors. For that reason, I'll post my reply to your above post in the LFTR thread.

My previous post is not really off topic, as it addresses the proposed method of disposing of spent fuel rods in such a way that they cannot be recovered. My point is that such disposal is not a good idea, because spent fuel rods contain recoverable fissile material which can be used in a type...

The high-pressure water-cooled, solid fuel uranium/plutonium reactor is very inefficient in the utilization of fuel, as it fissions only 2% to 3% of the fissile material before the fuel rods have become so degraded by heat and radiation that they have to be replaced. These spent fuel rods...

I am inclined to agree that the two universes would proceed along different paths of development. That is certainly what I would prefer to be the case. When Einstein insisted "God does not play dice!", I wonder if he understood that implied superdeterminism, and how he would have reacted to the...

Of course by "good driver" I mean one who manages to avoid getting into accidents. Besides an intuitive grasp of physics, I think being a safe driver also entails prudent risk management. For example, I slow down while driving through busy intersections, because the probability of a collision...

You would bet against the two universes being the same, or different? Or is your answer a superposition of two states?

It is certainly your prerogative to disagree, but simply because an activity is performed unconsciously does mean it entails no intuitive understanding of physics. We must learn to ride a bicycle, because it involves steering to balance the pull of gravity against centrifugal force, and...

It amazes me that some drivers seem to defy laws of physics concerning inertia, friction, and energy. While it isn't necessary to have a degree in physics to be a good driver, it certainly takes an intuitive understanding of physics. The materialist view, that the world is absolutely real, has...

For me, the philosophical implication of quantum non-locality is that the universe is a single, unified hyperparticle. This conclusion follows from the observation that two remotely separated particles can be in intimate and immediate communication with each other. Hence, they must be two...