Comments on: Prometheus Pinioned

By: Carlton

Carlton — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:34:56 +0000

A good point, Chuck, but I do think that environmentalists have done quite a lot to *practically* kill off nuclear fission in America. We get relatively little power from fission, few (none?) new plants are being built and the ones we have are aging without the intent of being replaced.

Obviously, this is a predictable outcome of statism, subsidizing the old standards against the pursuit of progress. It’s marriage with so-called “environmentalism” certainly doesn’t help.

It’s absurd that we get roughly 70% of our energy from coal, when nuclear fission would be so much cheaper, safer and cleaner! France, of all places, not a bastion of technology in any right, produces nearly all it’s electricity from nuclear fission, at times having enough to export and sell to surrounding countries!

By: Harold

Harold — Sat, 30 May 2009 18:40:29 +0000

Some have claimed that the Sun is powered by electric currents flowing through the universe. Needless to say, it's been met with intense criticism. *shrug*

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 30 May 2009 17:16:24 +0000

On a lighter note, this reminds me of a joke I once heard.

A typical human male is puttering around his yard one day when an alien spaceship lands and aliens disembark to speak to him. They hand him a device that they say will “eliminate poverty and hunger, cure all disease, and bestow a lifespan of millennia upon all humankind,” once humans figure out how to use it. The aliens then fly away. What does the man do?

(A) Give the device to the President of the United States so that it can be turned over to top NASA scientists and its workings learned;

(B) Sell the device on the open market to the highest bidder; or

By: Chuck

Chuck — Sat, 30 May 2009 15:42:09 +0000

Jeff, I have no idea what you’re talking about, but you are missing my point, anyway. My point is that whenever some Prometheus does invent some epoch making new technology, especially an energy source, our present, environmentalist culture is perfectly capable of rejecting it. Becuae our current culture is anti-man.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 30 May 2009 15:33:07 +0000

I don’t believe any of these projects will succeed. They are based on a flawed hypothesis, that the sun is powered by nuclear fusion. The sun is powered by electricity concentrated on it, a giant arc welder if you like analogies. That electricity, by the way, surrounds the earth and is free for the taking. That’s where our research dollars, if they’re going to be spent by the government, should be spent.

By: realistTheorist

realistTheorist — Sat, 30 May 2009 12:57:03 +0000

If someone does discover something Promethean, it is a pretty good guess that it will be tied up for decades of environmental reports in the U.S., while folks in China and India copy the idea and implement it first.

By: John McVey

John McVey — Sat, 30 May 2009 04:05:32 +0000

From what I can recall, the Navy’s work with Bussard’s IEC “polywell” designs have a much better likelihood of achieving viability, and at a price tag that is three whole orders of magnitude lower. So long as government money is being tossed around it’s shameful that so much is being thrown at these gigantic projects but bugger all being set aside for smaller reactors – especially since the Navy has an objectively legitimate reason for their funding of small-scale power projects. Still, perhaps it is better that the project keep a low profile until after success is achieved, lest the greenies bring it to a halt.

JJM