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Comment Documentary (Score 1) 146

by mknewman (#62808347) Attached to: The Problem of Nuclear Waste Disposal - and How Finland Solved It
There was a doc a few years ago about this. https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F... What struck me was that even though this appears to be a successful project it is only a fraction of even Finland's nuclear storage problem. We would need hundreds of these world wide.

Submission + - Aricebo Observatory sustains major damage and is shut down (cnn.com) 2

Submitted by mknewman
mknewman writes: Around 2:45 a.m. Monday, a three-inch auxiliary cable that helped support a metal platform broke, according to a news release from the University of Central Florida. UCF manages the facility alongside Universidad Ana G. Méndez and Yang Enterprises, Inc.
When the cable broke, it created a 100-foot gash in the telescope's 1,000-foot-long reflector dish, according to UCF. It also damaged about six to eight panels along the observatory's Gregorian Dome, which is suspended over the reflector dish. The broken cable also twisted a platform used to access the Gregorian Dome, making damage assessment even more difficult.
United States

U.S. Hatches Plan To Build a Quantum Internet That Might Be 'Unhackable' (washingtonpost.com) 75

Posted by msmash from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.
U.S. officials and scientists unveiled a plan this week to pursue what they called one of the most important technological frontiers of the 21st century: building a quantum Internet. From a report: Speaking in Chicago, one of the main hubs of the work, they set goals for forging what they called a second Internet -- one that would function alongside the globe's existing networks, using the laws of quantum mechanics to share information more securely and to connect a new generation of computers and sensors. Quantum technology seeks to harness the distinct properties of atoms, photons and electrons to build more powerful computers and other tools for processing information. A quantum Internet relies on photons exhibiting a quantum state known as entanglement, which allows them to share information over long distances without having a physical connection.

David Awschalom, a professor at the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and senior scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, called the Internet project a pillar of the nation's quantum-research program. "It's the birth of a new technology. It's becoming a global competition. Every major country on earth has launched a quantum program ... because it is becoming clearer and clearer there will be big impacts," he said in an interview. The United States' top technology rival, China, is investing heavily in quantum technology, a field that could transform information processing and confer big economic and national security advantages to countries that dominate it. Europe is also hotly pursuing the research. The Energy Department and its 17 national labs will form the backbone of the project.

Comment My first TI (Score 1) 220

by mknewman (#59457096) Attached to: How Texas Instruments Monopolized Math Class
When I was taking Freshman Calculus at UT Austin in 1973 was a TI-2550. Used AA batteries at a furious rate. 4 functions plus percent and one memory. I got through it. Even had it go dead during a test. My daughter got a TI-94 when she was in about 7th grade. I liked it so much I went out and got myself one too. The biggest thing about these is that they are allowed in the SAT and ACT. Huge advantage for those that actually learn how to use them.

Comment Re:I've been saying this for years (Score 1) 353

by mknewman (#59430938) Attached to: Watchmen Creator Alan Moore: Modern Superhero Culture is Embarrassing
Look, I love sci-fi. I don't care what you watch. But having some basis in reality is 'nice'. The 'superpower' comics and movies are ridiculous to me. I see Ironman getting bounced off a building and I think 'hmm, severe brain concussion'. Most of the powers are such hokum that it's not worth my time to think about. Physics folks. I'm not crazy about fantasy for the same reason.

Comment Victor Appleton II (Score 4, Interesting) 173

by mknewman (#56506241) Attached to: A Well-Known Expert On Student Loans Is Not Real
I used to read the Tom Swift, Jr. series of novels as a kid, and was crushed to find out that "Victor Appleton was a house pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate and its successors, most famous for being associated with the Tom Swift series of books." https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F... This did not reduce my enjoyment of the books but did make it seem much more commercialized, as is this case, Drew Cloud may have provided some valuable information, but may have been slanted toward 'it's' ad clients.

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