CaptainPanic

I completely agree with SMF. And anyway, the fine combination of Google and Wikipedia will provide the answer in a matter of seconds. The keywords I used were [suicide rate country], and the 1st hit is the List of countries by suicide rate of Wikipedia. Does that answer the 1st question?

Absolutely not. But you might have noticed that this has already been placed in the speculations subforum... It's a topic which I believe is just not open for discussion. Not if you disagree with the official story. And even if we would discuss it - what's the point? You want to prove that the USA faked an attack, killed 3000 people, started a war, scared its population and deliberately reduced the freedom of its population? In the theoretical case that you succeed in proving that... What would happen next? Revolution? National shame? Sometimes it's better not to be sure if a lie is indeed a lie or not. Yes, despite being a scientist, I honestly believe this. I don't see a good outcome even if this thread were to succeed.

I think the article is very typical for a regular newspaper trying to do science. A regular journalist visits a scientist. Writes up a number of keywords. Never really understood what happened, but tries to make sense of it. I personally love this one: I agree - it would be so beneficial for us to have a billion gigatons of gold in vapor form in space at 1300 lightyears away. I'm getting my space suit - it's a new gold rush. Anyway, the story about 2 suns is also a little vague. A supernova could be very bright indeed... and depending on the position of the earth in its orbit around the sun, the supernova could be on the night side which means we have a very bright spot at night. It still would not be a 2nd sun. And the guess that this will happen in 2012. Typically for a science interview, the scientist could not disprove that this would happen in 2012, so the journalist just assumed that there is indeed a serious chance that it will happen.

And one of the most important things in presentations: You must know your topic inside out. And in the case of a paper, perhaps it's worth the effort to look up some of the references... or discuss it with someone else. You will get more background info, and therefore more confidence. Confidence is quite important.

I'd like you to either show a reference, or a very good example. As far as I can see, 8 years of Bush increased the national debt, started 2 debatable wars, severely reduced American popularity in Europe and most importantly restricted the liberties of the American population. But I have a feeling that you have a different view. I mean that she will divide the country into a left and a right (not the rich and poor). She fuels a hatred against everything that is left...

Ask yourself these questions: 1. What is my audience? (Are they people like batman (I mean: are they experts)? Or are they just laymen)? 2. Why should they listen to you? 3. Will they think that this is interesting? (You can choose to tell them something, or not). Typically, "methods" can be quite boring, but you must choose. 4. I think it's interesting for my audience - but will they understand it? And 5. Am I not using words and abbreviations that are too difficult? Remember that a presentation and a report are 2 very different things. In a report, someone can skip a chapter if they are not interested. But in a presentation, nobody can skip a part of it.

I think you're right. Sarah Palin will - at best - divide the USA completely. As you said, she is not one for compromises... but with a politician like her receiving a lot of attention, you should watch out for a widening political gap between her fans and her opponents. Her rhetoric cannot close that gap. Her political style actually aims to widen it. And simply for those reasons I think she is not suited to be president. A president should be the president of all the people, not just of a part of a country.

To make a long story short, click here, for help from wikipedia. There are other methods (here, again wikipedia) which do essentially the same.

Today, Dutch newspapers (link in Dutch) mention a case of a youth with a mental disorder (a whole bunch of mental disorders actually: ADHD, a form of autism, fear of bonding, very limited emotional skills, and a couple more). The doctors sort of gave up on the boy. The boy (age 17 now) has essentially been chained to a wall with less than 2 meters of space to move in - essentially little or no freedom of movement. The reason seems to be that the boy is completely unmanageable. He breaks stuff all the time (voices in his head that tell him to). He is so violent that the nurses are afraid. But he is no criminal. The reason probably is that he never got the chance to do real harm, although that is speculation. In this thread I'd like to talk about how far you can go with this. I do not need to know the ideal situation in utopia, where this kid would have a place to live. I need to know what is ethically acceptable in a society that is in recession, where all healthcare has to reduce spending. Our country, although very wealthy, has to deal with many people with disabilities, and we cannot provide perfect care for everyone. Spending more on cases like this means spending less on others. My whole country seems to disagree with me - and I am pushing this argument a little for the sake of the discussion - but I think that a boy who is inherently violent can be treated in 2 ways: drugs or lockup. This is not a boy who might do something wrong. Doctors seem to agree that it is practically guaranteed that the boy will be violent. I think that it is correct that we spend our money on treating people with perspective. It's very unfortunate, but I think it would be wrong to spend a small fortune to improve the situation of this boy. Am I a beast with poor ethics, or am I making a point and are other people driven by misplaced empathy? And where is the line?

Hope this doesn't sound rude, but why did you hit the "post" button, instead of canceling the thread?

Correct me if I overlook something very fundamental, but to me, this does not seem like a summary of the thread, actually. It started off as a discussion to improve steam engines by replacing water for something else. Then it got sidetracked by the ridiculous Kender engine, which is a scam, and then we went back to steam engines and why steam engines aren't used in the automotive industry. Fundamental thermodynamics (what is gas expansion) were never a part of the discussion (although they were important throughout the thread). Maybe you should write a new post, in a new thread, to discuss the thermodynamics of a change in pressure... or post something in engineering regarding a practical use of waste heat. But please don't start about that kender thing again, like you did earlier in the thread. It's just silly, as I have already explained more than a year ago. Also, in this thread other people - experts in physics and engineering - already told you that it just won't work.

[edit] I've deleted the whole post because I think it was gibberish. Sorry if this is inconvenient (especially to alpha2cen who replied very quickly after my post).

And what does the "science industry" make, according to you? I've heard of a knowledge economy, but that's not the same as a science industry.

Your sig says "Stop failing the Turing test!"... but I've seen cases where these spam bots (if they are spam bots) get a reply from a genuine human. They're listening to you. Are you not only a SFN mod, but also the spam bot overlord?

While this is obviously true, it does not address why is it necessary to shake your body, and make noise? Why not reduce stress silently?

timo, imatfaal, what do you mean by "research institutions"? Care to expand a bit? As far as I know, only universities and other educational institutions (bachelor schools) get a lower rate in the Netherlands... What's it like where you live (and can you tell me where that is)? Do you have a source for your statement? I recently discussed this with some friends (main topic was availability of information) but could find absolutely nothing relevant online regarding what enterprises or institutions pay for papers.

Recently, a new type of posts has appeared on our forum. People who sign up for the forum, and then write a post which contains nearly no information. I have seen enough to say that it's a trend (although I did no statistical analysis to prove that it's actually a trend). Typical posts are: By a member who has a total post count of 2: By a member who only wrote this, and never returned to our forum: What's the point of this? Are these spam posts in which the mods have just deleted a URL (if so, why not the whole post)? Am I missing the purpose of this spam? Or are these just Chinese / Indian kids of 10 years old who got an assignment from their English teacher to post an English sentence online? Any thoughts?

I've backpacked a good number of times in Europe, and here's what I found relevant for you. Note that this is not a guide. This is just how I personally do things: Planning Personally, I plan as little as possible. I like backpacking, and I like the freedom of not knowing what my plan is during my holidays. I keep an eye on my budget, and that's all the planning I do... I take it day by day. But not everybody likes that. I think it's a very personal decision whether you plan ahead or not. I have to say that I don't know many people who plan as little as me. I had lots of fun by not planning. I also know of people who would get completely stressed out because they have no reservations for a bed when it's already late afternoon. I am confident that I can find a place. If you don't have that confidence, then you might want to plan ahead a bit. In the back of my mind I know that if the worst happens, I have backup plans (I sometimes carry a tent and sleeping bag, or on other holidays I keep a little extra budget so that I can include more expensive hotels in my searches). Language Although it's polite to know a few words in the local language, you can get by using English in all of Europe. Even countries where the locals are notoriously bad at English, like Spain and Italy, you will manage (sorry to all Spanish and Italians). Young people are often better than old people at speaking English. I wouldn't worry about it. It's certainly not worth the trouble to learn a new language. I don't know how many you speak already, but it takes a long time to speak a language. Where to go Books like the Lonely Planet are great for planning ahead. You might use that just to get a number of ideas. You can also use it to make a complete day-to-day schedule. Again, it's a personal decision which should depend on your personality and the company you're in (if you're traveling alone, which I can also recommend, that's easier). Where to stay It's definitely worth planning your first night abroad. After traveling a long way, it's just nice to take it easy. It's weird how sitting in a plane (doing nothing) can make you tired. After that, it depends if you have your entire trip planned, you might as well make reservations for beds. Personally, I like hostels. They're a good place to meet fellow travelers. I find that the official hostelling-international hostels are often of good quality, but very boring. Independent hostels might have a bar and a place to chill out (both are good for meeting fellow travelers). In the end, my experience is that the best way to find nice hostels is to talk to fellow backpackers. There are often people who just came from the place where you want to go to. And they probably just stayed in a hostel. Always ask them what it was like, and then decide if you'd like to go there too. Receptionists in many hostels will gladly make a call and a reservation 1 day ahead for you. Or can you do that online... as many hostels can be booked online now. If you plan to either go camping or use hotels or Bed & breakfasts, I am not much use for advice. How to get around Although I am not sure where you want to go, I'll just assume Europe. In general, Europe has a decent train system. The best website for planning a train trip (to find schedules) is the German one (Deutsche Bahn). It works for all trains in all of Europe, and as far as I know it's flawless. Where to get tickets depends. It's different in most countries. In some countries it makes a big difference if you buy train tickets in advance. The UK, and all high speed trains in France, Belgium Netherlands and Germany are expensive if you buy a ticket on the day itself. In this case, the freedom of not planning costs money! In the UK, coaches (=bus) is an alternative, and tickets aren't so expensive. In the rest of Europe, I wouldn't recommend buses for most trips, although Eurolines is a bus company that would compare to the greyhounds of the USA and Canada. It's damned slow and uncomfortable, but you get to your destination for little money. What to bring I often bring a lot of stuff. Some people like to travel light... I travel "heavy". Lots of practical clothes so I don't have to wash too often. I bring basic camping gear (tent, thin mattress, sleeping bag, but nothing for cooking) in case I get stuck in the middle of nowhere. I have 24 hrs food and water with me, again in case the worst happens. I have clothing against rain (jacket, but no umbrella). I have maps. I have a good book. I have some rope, some needle and thread, flashlight, pens and markers... basically some practical stuff that is not too heavy. Safety As far as I know, most towns in Europe are safe (including the ones for example in former Yugoslavia)... but the more stupid you behave, the higher the risks. You can get robbed in every town, in every country. But making sure that you don't have too many valuables helps. If you have expensive things, don't show them off too much as pickpockets keep an eye on tourists, especially the dumb ones. Get a good insurance. Wear your passport, bankcard and other really important things close to you (not in the backpack). Have a little wallet for small purchases. Stress For me, holiday is stress-free. But as I said, it's important that you know yourself in this matter. If you like security, and if you feel insecure, then you'd better plan. Stress should be avoided, not simply accepted... so you must do what you like. I don't really know how you can figure this out other than trying. Basically, you're going to new countries where you know nearly nothing. Just accept that, and enjoy it. Stuff doesn't always go as you want, or as you expect. If you accept that as a fact of life and you're just curious about how it does work, then you'll already take a big step in avoiding stress. If you're interested in a country, and in its people, then you'll do just fine. This was one of the best questions on this forum in a long time. I love writing about holidays cheers, CP

Your calculation is quite right... except that I don't know where you got the number 55 for the temperature difference. 80 - 20 = 60 And that would bring the power to 46 kW. Good luck with the water heater... and with the floods (I hope they're not related)?

First of all, welcome to the forum. Funny that both you and sureshkrish are new members, both with just 1 post, and you're both very keen on PLC. Let me summarize this thread so far... because I think we don't have anything to discuss. Claim #1: more things are getting automated in India. I agree that worldwide, more things are automated now... and India, no doubt, is undergoing the same process. Does anyone disagree with this statement? Claim #2: PLC training (PLC = programmable logic controller, in other words: a computer that operates a machine) is important. And indeed, I think that almost everyone will agree that, if you want to automate something using modern technology, that you will soon end up programming a computer to do the work for you. Claim #3: the automation did not start in India. It is indeed commonly believed that the industrial revolution started in the United Kingdom Mods - I believe that I have answered almost all there ever was in this thread (which was obviously opened as a spam thread to post two links which you disabled immediately). Can we either close or delete the thread now?

Indeed... and thus we can return to the question of the OP: assuming that we can fit 5 m2 of solar panel on our 10 meter long yacht, what do we choose to store the equivalent of 30 minutes of sailing at 7.5 hp? You'd need to store about 10 MJ of energy, or about 3 kWh (that's 30 minutes at 7.5 hp). We can do that with hydrogen (and oxygen, but we'll just release that into the air), or with a battery pack. Battery Using technology from the Tesla Roadster electric car (wikipedia info), we can see that a battery pack can store 53 kWh. So, our battery needs to be 6% of the car's system, and would have a weight of 26 kilograms. A battery system furthermore is a relatively easy system with a number of wires, a generator (which may simply be the electric engine) and the battery pack. Hydrogen Assuming 100% efficient combustion (which isn't realistic), and using the Lower Heating Value (wikipedia info) we would need 82 grams of Hydrogen. In gas form, at atmospheric pressure and room temperature, that is almost exactly 1 m3 of gas. Therefore, compression is probably needed. And that means that you have a gas tank with compressed hydrogen and a combustion engine. This could well be more complicated, certainly more explosive (more dangerous), and less efficient than the battery pack.

Fair point. It can be used to run a motor for just a little while. Let's see how far we can get... A quick Google search tells me that 10 meter sailboats have engines of minimum 10 hp (or 7.5 kW). On a bright sunny summer's day, you can get 1 kW/m2 of power from the sun. A solar panel can get you 15% efficiency... so about 150 W/m2. Therefore, to run continuously on solar power, the meter sailboat needs 50 m2 of solar panels. If it is to run only 10% of the time on solar power, it still needs 5 m2 of solar panels... which is the absolute max. on such a small boat. Perhaps that's an indication why it's not used. Surface area is not in plentiful supply... and the sails are often blocking the sun anyway.

I think you really have to specify what field you're interested in. The complete business that revolves around "Science and Technology" is... well, it's pretty much the entire world. The types of companies are very different. Taking a look for example within the field of chemical engineering. The big chemical industry (petrochemical) are mostly multi-billion international companies. But it's possible to start a single person consultancy company too. "Science" is just a way to approach problems - the scientific way - but there is no such thing as the "Science industry".

How would you know what Osama bin Laden thinks, when there is almost no news about him, and even the CIA and the US Army cannot find him? Imho, this is exactly the problem with the world at the moment (and has always been the problem): We seem to know exactly what the other people think, and what they want, and nobody considers that highly unlikely. These people live on the other side of the world, and have different cultures and languages. Everything we know about them is at best second hand information.

You assume that a hydrogen and oxygen storage is lighter than a battery pack. That assumption is not necessarily true. Also, on a boat, the weight is not much of a problem. If you have a typical sailboat (I am not an expert, I just googled some for their weight), you will find that a 10 meter boat can easily be 3-4 tons. The addition of a battery pack is relatively harmless then. Also, boats often just go in a straight line, so "handling" and "acceleration" which are typical problems with heavy cars are no problem at all. Finally, boats often actually have added weight at the keel, for stability. The manufacturers deliberately use extra heavy materials... Sailboats can get so much more power from their sails than from solar panels that I guess they don't bother to use solar panels for propulsion... However, there are plenty of sailboats which use solar panels for other systems (like the lights and power in the cabin).