EdEarl

I am trying to understand how to determine the formula of a parabola from constructing a cone and an intersecting plane. I have found this reference, which labels the conic section in figures 8, 9, and 10. It uses the letters A-F, but they are points not constants. Thus, these figures apparently do not help to explain the following formula: I have looked elsewhere on the internet, and can find nothing to explain how to obtain the values of A-F based on the cone & plane dimensions & rotation. Does anyone know of a reference that derives this formula from the geometry? TYVM.

Sometime between now and our colonizing the Universe, I'd expect the AGI Singularity event to occur, which will have unknowable effects on humanity. Five people witnessed the first Wright Brother's flights in 1903, the first on December 14, 1903. None of them could have expected that 44 years later, on October 14, 1947, that man would fly fly faster than the speed of sound in a rocket plane, and that just 23 years later in 1970 Jumbo Jets would carry nearly 500 people across oceans in hours. The robots that result from the singularity may destroy us, pamper us, or ignore us. Since they can be built without the need for oxygen, they will be free to adventure into space, and they may claim the universe. Perhaps a race of AGI robots made by another civilization already controls the universe, and they will ignore us until we create the singularity and produce their own kind. They may be the reason we have not heard from another civilization.

I agree with Greg, Nvidia are my preferred video boards, mainly because they work well on Linux and I have experience with them. However, both Radeon and Nvidia are good choices. But, I have had poor luck making Radeon boards work on Linux.

From: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=628324110532598&set=a.465299380168406.106666.465298390168505&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

At some point, the Earth will complain enough to get everyone's attention.

Arc, I should have quoted the line I was quibbling over. NP, we have improved our posts and understanding of the process. You make a good point. I have no idea how much NOAA knows about undersea volcanos and how they contribute to ocean temperature. I know they used a cold war sonar sensor array, SOund SUrveillance System (SOSUS), to monitor the oceans, and others. They aren't ignorant of the processes, obviously. I have not heard news reports of exceptional undersea volcanic events, but that is not particularly surprising. Wikipedia says:

Your friend should read reviews such as this one and make up his own mind, considering the machine he owns or will buy. Some machines can have three graphics cards, and others only two or one. Be sure there is enough room in the PC for a big graphics card or two or three, and make sure there are enough connectors on the motherboard. Finally, make sure the power supply will support the additional graphics processors. Very fast graphics cards can be wasted on a computer with slower memory, be sure to have very fast DDR3 memory in the computer, and that the computer can use the fast memory. If you intend to upgrade over time, Radeon graphics processors are probably your best option, because it is possible to mix different models of CrossFireX boards; whereas Nvidia require all the same model boards. However, computer technology changes so fast, that upgrading over time is difficult to achieve, except over short time frames.

There are commercial 3D printers that make things from almost any material, e.g., here for metal. I think the patent that is about to expire is for Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) that can make things from many materials, including metal and ceramics. The open source world is working on a 3D printer using another technology that will print metal. These printers are additive; they add material to make parts. There are also 3D printers that cut material from stock, they include laser cutting machines and even conventional computer controlled milling machines. Almost anything that makes a 3D part can be called a 3D printer now, it is a marketing buzzword. The original printers (e.g., Gutenberg's press) were not computer controlled, why should a 3D printer be computer controlled. One can only guess what marketeers will say and what will make its way into our language. The important thing about 3D printing is not what they are called or the process they use; it is moving light manufacturing from an industrial complex into shopping malls and our homes. It is also the ability to print things with complex shapes that milling and molding cannot make or cannot economically make, The important thing about the open source movement is to empower individuals with the ability to make their own things rather than rely on businesses. Eventually, heavy manufacturing may similarly change. Perhaps one day, our home may contain intelligent 3D printers and assemblers that recycle materials from broken things and remake them, including home maintenance, all run on solar power. In one sense it is a utopian idea, but it is also what nature does to maintain an environment.

Exactly, the US needs to cut down resource use greatly. Spending resources, money and time driving one person in an full sized car for 30 minutes or more to work and again to home is not a good use of time, money or resources. That is part of what people consider middle class living, but IMO that is not living it is existing. Slick corporate ads have sold people on trying to achieve a life style that is not realistic for everyone in the world to achieve, and it is not necessary for happiness and health of people and a thriving environment. It is not just the US, for example, the Chinese need to stop using rhino horn for a worthless traditional medicine. Some African men who have HIV believe that if they have sex with a virgin they will be cured. People believe all kinds of nonsense, and those beliefs are sometimes destructive. People can make a difference in US and global energy use, but they do not believe it possible and are unwilling to car pool or buy a hybrid instead of an SUV. Most of all, they cannot agree to lobby their representatives and vote for green politicians; they would rather vote for moral purity, left or right, and the easy street for everyone. I fear the lack of action.

The Open Computing Project is a resource for computer room managers and administrators. It is a source of information for anyone who wishes to learn about computer room management, redundant servers, and related hardware.

I agree Arc. My post was a reaction to Which seems like you include the entire Earth mass compared to the Oceanic mass. I was only trying to clarify that only the surface of the Earth and soil to a fairly shallow depth is heated by light from the Sun, while the Earth's interior is heated by other sources. According to Wikipedia (I know not an authority) the mean surface temperature of the moon at the equator is supposed to be -53.15 C (-63.67 F); thus, perhaps some of the interior heat from the Earth may affect Surface temperature, but it would not account for seasonal and daily temperature variations. On the other hand, we know from climate studies that the greenhouse effect is increasing the Earth's temperature; thus, the Earth's surface is warmer than the moon because of its atmosphere. IDK the amount contributed from interior heat vs atmosphere.

From: SciTechDaily If it is so easy, why hasn't someone done it such that we would know about it. Sandberg thinks the reason is that intelligent life in the universe is very rare. Perhaps the chances of an Earth sized planet in the right orbit around a star, with a large moon to stabilize its rotation, is a very unlikely event, and it is required for an intelligent life form to develop technology. Most of the alternatives are poor outcomes for humanity.

Perhaps graphene super capacitors with a storage density of lead acid batteries can soon be manufactured economically. The charge time will be brief. However, the charger must be designed considering trade offs between using a high ampere, heavy cable versus a high, dangerous, voltage. Fortunately, the light weight of a super capacitor and electric motor can make lighter cars, and that will help lower ampere-hour storage requirement. In turn, that will make automobiles more fuel efficient, which is a win for the environment. In my opinion, the need for additional oil in the amount of one Saudi Arabia every seven years is nonsense. Costa Rica has a longer average life span than people in the US and a happier population, yet they use only 1/4 the resources that the US uses. We need to live happier with less, not destroy the environment with oil gluttony.

Except for geothermal, nuclear, and a few chemical sources of energy, AFAIK the other sources of energy are solar. Wind is air moved by solar energy. Dams store water that is evaporated by the Sun and falls as rain to be used to generate electricity. Oil, gas and coal are the remains of plants that absorbed solar energy to make plants that the Earth processed into oil; perhaps some of the energy in oil, gas and coal can be attributed to geothermal. Etc. I suppose you are referring to solar PV and solar thermal uses of solar power. The trend is toward greater use of solar PV. Unfortunately, solar thermal for heating water and buildings is underutilized and often forgotten; although, it is the simplest and least expensive method of heating water and buildings.

I cannot ever remember a person sweeping a street, unless you consider the person driving the street sweeper. And, our trash is now picked up by robot arms and dumped into a truck. Not too long ago, each garbage truck had three people on it, the driver and two to empty cans and pick up things on the ground. I think robots are already changing our lives, after all anyone can buy a robot vacuum cleaner. The Japanese are building robots to care for the aging population. Self driving vehicles are real, and vehicles that parallel park themselves are commercially available. Robots will continue to change our lives as we approach 2030. I think robots will be made of plastics, including soft plastics, for home use to reduce the possibility of injuring people. And, recent advances in making circuits in and on plastic that can be molded will be used in home robots, a technology that promises to distribute computing power throughout the robot and provide touch sensitive surfaces similar to the human sense of touch. Recent advances in cybernetics will give paraplegic and quadraplegic people mobility, with control and sensation integrated into their brain. In addition, the visual analog of the cochlear implant will give some blind people sight. Experiments with these things have already been successful or partly successful. The open source 3D printer market will probably morph into open source manufacturing, and include processes to mold and assemble things, in addition to additive and subtractive 3D printing (i.e., depositing material and removing material). Expiration of the Selective Laser Sintering patents will not immediately affect the open source 3D printing market, because it is technically difficult and dangerous (high energy lasers and dust like metal particles).

Only the surface of the Earth's land mass is affected by Solar radiation, the interior temperature of the Earth is determined by processes in the core. Ground temperature as a function of season, location and depth is given here. The geothermal gradient is explained here.

I just watched a documentary about the moon, again. It explained how the moon stabilizes the rotation of the Earth about its axis, and that without the moon, Earth's axis would sometimes rotate 90 degrees; thus, scorching raising pole temperatures to equatorial level while freezing some equatorial latitudes. I suppose any life that formed in such conditions would have to survive wide swings in temperature, from arctic to temperate. I'm not sure how that would affect evolution other than making life forms able to survive such temperature swings. AFAIK there could be primates able to hibernate or be frozen for long periods and revive, an adaptation that might be useful for long trips in space.

SMath Studio is similar to Matlab, and SMath is free. Although, if you intend to use such a tool very much and can afford it, Matlab has more features.

Maybe when it is possible to synthesize life. Before that, you will be able to buy a robot.

There are additional ways to save energy. Energy use in the USA is divided as shown in the following diagram, from Wikipedia. However, the 41% that generates Electric Power is distributed and used by Transportation, Industrial, Residential & Commercial sectors. This pattern is shown in the following line of a chart from Wikipedia: USA Industry: 24.0% Transport: 0.2% Commercial/Public: 35.0% Residential: 36.2% By combining the two we get the following useages: Industry = 24.0%*41% + 20% = 29.8% Transportation = 00.2%*41% + 28% = 28.0% Commercial & Residential= 71.2%*41% + 11/% = 40.2% 98.0% Other 2% Transportation is less than 1/3 of total energy use. Therefore, we should also focus on making our homes, businesses, and industry more energy efficient. The commercial and residential sector can save lots of energy by making buildings more energy efficient. As Earthship Homes, comfortable homes can be made off-grid; unfortunately, building codes prevent Earthship homes from being built in many places, and often discourage off-grid homes of any type construction. Much can be done to increase our energy efficiency without suffering any. We do need to motivate city planners and politicians to change building codes, among other things. Finally, many people do not live close enough to work to ride a bike. However, the Elio will provide comfortable transportation at 84 mpg, air conditioning, and safety, for a sale price that is supposed to be $6,800. .

I just read this report about a robot with good hand-eye coordination, which says that for AI vision to work requires it to touch (i.e., experiment) with things it sees. Previously, AI vision has had difficulty interpreting things it sees. For example, the car that won the DARPA Grand Challenge used multiple sensors. This AI driver hardly compares with a human, in 2005 it completed the 11.78 km (7.32 mi) course in 6:54 hours. In the 2007 Urban Challenge the course involved a 96 km (60 mi) urban area course, won by Carnegie Mellon University in 4:10:20 hours. Their vehicle was equipped with more than a dozen lasers, cameras and radars to view the world. These examples of AI technology indicate the state of the art and the speed it is advancing.

One can read about, talk about, and think about a thing without ever truly understanding it; then, when one experiences something they understand what it is. For example, what is Chartreuse? 1. an aromatic liqueur, usually yellow or green, made by the Carthusian monks at Grenoble, France, and, at one time, at Tarragona, Spain.

That is a flaw in the presentation, a misstatement. We clearly did not create all the world's deserts. But, I think we have contributed to making some deserts. However, he makes a compelling argument that his land use methods have helped some desertified areas recover. Clearly, deserts that get too little rainfall cannot be helped by his methods.

YW, many Ted Talks are worth the time to watch.

I think it is time to act, we have been thinking about global warming long enough.