Weird News Compilation

[Astronuc]

I'm putting this here because of "Hundreds of pneumatic pistons are then used to compress the plasma until the atoms fuse, generating massive amounts of heat."

If I had a hammer . . . . .

 

[Twigg]

I'm putting this here because of "Hundreds of pneumatic pistons are then used to compress the plasma until the atoms fuse, generating massive amounts of heat."

Thanks for sharing this astronuc, this really made my day!

When I try to visualize what the reactor would look like, I can't help but think of a v8 engine with "plasma injectors" instead of fuel injectors. I know the compression ratios wouldn't even compare, but I can't help imagine it that way.

Also, I know the mass defect is huge and the math will work out, but I think it's ironic and hilarious they're using compressed air to compress a piston to generate heat to drive a (presumably) vapor power cycle. If you didn't have the fusion, it would be like the silliest perpetual motion proposal you'd ever seen!

 

[Keith_McClary]

video about the technique

Apr 22, 2014

 

[mfb]

The upper video is from June 2021.

 

[Astronuc]

Vanished hikers/campers in the Wonnangatta Valley
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/04/world/asia/wonnangatta-valley-disappearances.html

 

[berkeman]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/05/tech...-space-hero-reality-television-scn/index.html​

(CNN) The hottest new reality show isn't set in a house, on an obstacle course, or on the Jersey Shore. Television producers are betting on a new location: the International Space Station.

Two reality television shows are in the works that would offer a first for viewers by taking them inside the ISS, as a member of the public will be awarded a multi-million dollar experience to space as the grand prize on both. The Discovery Channel is considering "Who Wants to Be an Astronaut" while a competitor, "Space Hero," is hoping to land somewhere else.

The "Who Wants to Be An Astronaut" premise is simple and relies on traditional reality television tropes. Here on Earth, contestants will vie for an all-expenses-paid trip to live on the ISS for eight days. The as-yet unknown "variety of extreme challenges" are designed to determine which competitors have what it takes to be a real astronaut, and passage to space will be provided by Houston-based space broker Axiom Space. While NASA hasn't confirmed that Axiom Space will even be able to secure a seat on a commercial rocket, Discovery is confident in its plans. The media company has even enlisted former astronaut Mike Massimino's consulting services.

 

[kyphysics]

That actually sounds like a blockbuster show.

 

[mfb]

This list says Game of Thrones had a budget of $15 million per episode for the final season.
Sending a game show winner to the ISS for a week is about $50 million (via Axiom->SpaceX). Certainly in the budget if they can make a series of successful shows out of it.

 

[Keith_McClary]

That actually sounds like a blockbuster show.

Unless the winner is subject to space sickness:
As with sea sickness and car sickness, space motion sickness symptoms can vary from mild nausea and disorientation to vomiting and intense discomfort; headaches and nausea are often reported in varying degrees.

 

[nsaspook]

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/new...-six-zeroes-from-currency-central-bank/story/

Venezuela will slash six zeroes off its inflation-battered currency the bolivar to make it easier to use, the central bank said Thursday.

 

[Rive]

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/new...-six-zeroes-from-currency-central-bank/story/

View attachment 287161

We also had a coin with worth less than it's material.
It was quite a hot sell, apparently. When it finally got revoked only some 10-20% of the produced amount was recovered.

 

[mfb]

1 and 2 cent ($/€), 1 Yen and similar coins could get retired, too. Some Euro countries do that already.
Switzerland got rid of its 1 centime coins in 2007.

 

[Rive]

I have a feeling that some countries are keeping those around to force people into using cards instead.
Even beggars tends to give you a cold look if you try to deposit the piled up clatter to them.

 

[berkeman]

Unless the winner is subject to space sickness:
As with sea sickness and car sickness, space motion sickness symptoms can vary from mild nausea and disorientation to vomiting and intense discomfort; headaches and nausea are often reported in varying degrees.

Yeah, good point. Come to think of it, one of the episodes of the reality show will likely be a flight on the Vomit Comet for the contestants...

from your link:

 

[berkeman]

Um, wait. Is there something going on that I should know about?

https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2021/08/06/space-force-defense-sciutto-pkg-nr-vpx.cnn

 

[mfb]

What a weird propaganda video.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Um, wait. Is there something going on that I should know about?

View attachment 287187
https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2021/08/06/space-force-defense-sciutto-pkg-nr-vpx.cnn

Same old game, different battleground.

What a weird propaganda video.

Propaganda? By whom?

 

[berkeman]

What a weird propaganda video.

Yeah, it looks like they are trying to justify their existence as a new, separate military force. I think all of these pieces existed before, so hopefully we had these capabilities before. But I don't know if there is some advantage to combining those forces into a single, separate military force.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Yeah, it looks like they are trying to justify their existence as a new, separate military force. I think all of these pieces existed before, so hopefully we had these capabilities before. But I don't know if there is some advantage to combining those forces into a single, separate military force.

Sure there is. This way you get to say SPACE FORCE!

Presumably it makes sense for the same reason the other branches are separate from each other.

 

[Keith_McClary]

 

[berkeman]

Sure there is. This way you get to say SPACE FORCE!

SPACE FORCE!

https://www.highlandernews.org/82601/spaceballs-the-replay/

 

[nsaspook]

https://www.avclub.com/a-sumo-statues-big-butt-is-scaring-horses-at-the-olympi-1847429368

 

[Astronuc]

About 27,000 pounds of Degree women's spray deodorant exploded in Northeastern Oklahoma after a semi-truck caught fire on Friday.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-war-zone-that-smelled-lovely-explosion-of-womens-deodorant-rocks-truck-stop/ar-AAN5roC

"It looks like Roman candles going off," Oakley told the outlet. "And you're walking through everything, it looks like a war zone. Especially at 5 o'clock in the morning."

Fox 23 reporter Scott Martin shared various photos from the scene. In one tweet, he shared a video of the fire in progress and described the aerosol cans as "popping off like fireworks."

 

[Tom.G]

Baseball as a contact sport?

https://www.newser.com/story/309613/ball-girl-takes-down-rogue-fan-at-dodger-stadium.html

 

[mfb]

at Dodger Stadium

He didn't dodge that well, apparently.

 

[kyphysics]

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/09/amc...as-payment-for-movie-tickets-by-year-end.html

AMC says it will accept bitcoin as payment for movie tickets by year-end

PUBLISHED MON, AUG 9 20216:34 PM EDTUPDATED TUE, AUG 10 202110:01 AM EDT
CEO Adam Aron said during an earnings call Monday that the movie theater chain will have the IT systems in place to take the cryptocurrency as payment by the end of 2021.

 

[mfb]

The tiny (~8 km) Saturn moon Skathi has become one of the 50 most viewed articles on the English Wikipedia, averaging 60,000 views per day. Why? No one knows. It's speculated that some app uses the page as check if it can connect to Wikipedia.

 

[fresh_42]

The tiny (~8 km) Saturn moon Skathi has become one of the 50 most viewed articles on the English Wikipedia, averaging 60,000 views per day. Why? No one knows. It's speculated that some app uses the page as check if it can connect to Wikipedia.

The end is near! They are already among us.

 

[Astronuc]

Driver Plunges Cadillac Into Sinkhole After Ignoring Cones and Barriers​

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/driver-plunges-cadillac-into-sinkhole-after-ignoring-cones-and-barriers/ar-AANeiQM

 

[fresh_42]

Driver Plunges Cadillac Into Sinkhole After Ignoring Cones and Barriers​

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/driver-plunges-cadillac-into-sinkhole-after-ignoring-cones-and-barriers/ar-AANeiQM