EdEarl

The sweet spot is, according to economists, a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $36,000 / yr. I'm afraid US politicians will continue to be gridlocked, and ignore these experts, unless they are afraid unhappy voters will vote them out of office.

Tesla worked with both high voltage and high current, which is dangerous. If you keep the current very low, the danger from sock is mitigated. Keeping the total power low minimizes danger from EMR, for example x-rays. Everyone is exposed to radiation every day, about 630 milirem, which is about 0.0063 watts/kilogram. Thus, to keep your exposure to EMR down you want to limit the power of any experiment to a fraction of a watt. Although, not all EMR has the same effect. Microwave radiation is less dangerous than higher frequency radiation, such as x-rays. And, longer radio waves are even less dangerous. Some waves, for example, visible light do not penetrate deeply, but can burn your skin.

Your post wanders so much I'm not sure what you mean or if you are trying to make a point or ask a question. I shall respond to the first two sentences, the ones I made bold. Neurologists have begun to understand how the brain is made, how it is structured and interconnected. And, they are finding more and more about what variations in brain morphology cause various pathologies and what nominal structures and organizations result in normal functioning. This knowledge indicates that merely having a powerful computer is not sufficient for intelligence. The brain is composed of many processing units, neurons, groups of neurons, and groups of groups of neurons working in parallel with the just the right organization and structure. Various mistakes make people suffer from a myriad of things, including ticks, compulsions, depression, paranoia, and schizophrenia. To build an intelligent computer will probably require years of tweaking it to eliminate a myriad of bugs that cause conditions similar to ones that people suffer from, as well as conditions we have not seen. On the other hand, faster computers and narrow AI programs, efforts similar to making a computer drive a car, will no doubt be of great benefit to people. And, I believe there is a spectrum of capability between AI and AGI. In other words, there may be AI programs significantly more complex that one required to drive a car that is less complex than an intelligent, self replicating robot.

Most hum was removed when filaments and cathodes were made separate elements in tubes. IIRC electrons hitting the anode cause noise, especially when amplifying low level signals. I know that some guitar players prefer tube amplifiers because of the sound, but they tend to use distortion for special effects.

Is what really feasible in the long run? Being spared the pains of substance abuse? Learning from our mistakes? Making positive choices? Only two choices instead of many? What do you mean?

Your speculation does not match with what we see in telescopes, microscopes, and particle colliders. It is, however, similar to an idea I've heard proposed before, that the universe is a simulation in some godlike creature's computer. I think people here will argue against your idea, mostly.

Apology accepted, and I believe that goes for more than just myself. The important thing is that one learns, which means going from some level of ignorance to a lesser level ignorance...we are all ignorant of many things; it is not a personal attack merely a fact of life. When one learns an apology is not really required; it is a good day for teachers and students. And, it is one purpose of this forum. We share in the celebration of your learning and others. Thanks for sharing.

This find may secure the lives of many people despite global warming melting glaciers. It is unfortunate the water is concentrated on continental shelves off Australia, China, North America and South Africa, rather than being more dispersed. There are many questions regarding its use, including technical, legal, and economic. For example, will pumping from these aquifers cause sea water to foul the fresh water, are the resources in international waters, and how much will it cost to move that water to places like Europe that are far from the sources.

We do not consider that an arm does not evolve because it can use a hammer, neither do we consider that the brain evolve because it can use a computer. But, it is true that people do quicker, more accurate calculations using a computer than they can do without a computer. Recent research has shown that memories in offspring may be impacted by parental experiences. If this research is shown to be valid, it suggests that life skills may be passed on to ones progeny. However, such causation is not proved and may only be valid visceral experiences. .

Even if the US built enough solar arrays, wind farms, and nuclear plants to eliminate coal for electricity production and converted to electric cars in the next 40 years, I am concerned it is too late to avoid catastrophic climate change. Although China has a more aggressive renewable energy program than the US, it is nevertheless building coal fired power plants at an alarming rate. Moreover, recent CO2 emissions by the US are reported to be reducing slightly; while it is not really great news, it is better than it could have been. And, China is now reported to be emitting more CO2 than the US. http://nation.time.com/2013/10/22/efficiency-natural-gas-keep-pushing-u-s-carbon-emissions-down/ http://www.pbl.nl/en/dossiers/Climatechange/moreinfo/Chinanowno1inCO2emissionsUSAinsecondposition

I hope you are right. There is a difference, however, doomsday predictions are about the end of the world, which science predicts will not occur for some 4-5 billion years. Doomsday theorists merely speculate about things without scientific study. The predicted climate change is not a world ending event, only one that may be severe enough to destroy civilization. The end of civilizations have occurred many times, some of the more recent ones are the USSR, feudal Japan, Rome, ancient Greece, Anasazi, Mayan, Aztec, ancient Egyptian, and Rapa Nui.

Perhaps Harry Potter can switch permanent magnets on/off at will. However, lacking magic, we must live within the confines of physics, in which permanent magnets can be switched only by using large amounts of energy.

I think there is a high probability of a chaotic period in the not too distant future, when humanity will be very stressed because of global warming and many will die. If a technological society survives that period or not is uncertain. The Fermi Paradox asks, "Why have we not discovered an alien civilization?" One answer is that technological civilizations destroy themselves (or a cosmic catastrophe) before they achieve space travel and replicator robots. At the moment we cannot say we will not destroy ourselves before replicators, and the Fermi Paradox seems to say it is likely technological society will not survive long enough. I hope otherwise, but our gluttony for oil, coal, gold, booze, crack, smack, and weapons of mass destruction are bad omens. If we survive this chaotic period or if it does not occur, distribution of robotic helpers seems assured.

Your characterization of "the coming warm spell," makes it sound like buying a bigger air conditioner will fix everything. The projections are that the world's rivers will not flow in summer because the glaciers that feed them throughout warmer months will disappear, and that much more land will turn into deserts. If those projections come true, the world's food supply is in danger and billions of people will starve. How do we plan for that?

Yes, the Michigan Tech slow web page is the same story. I found a page with a table of contents and an incomplete book. Perhaps technical details are pending. http://store.elsevier.com/coArticle.jsp?pageid=18200010&utm_source=Joshua+Pearce&utm_medium=marketing&utm_campaign=Open-Source+Lab+Free+Access

I found a link to mtu.edu news release on the 3D printer, but have not been able to access the server, yet. It appears to be overloaded, rather than down.

It sounds dubious, but DARPA may buy one.

There are many infinities in whole numbers. There are an infinite number of whole numbers, an infinite number of odd numbers, an infinite number of even numbers, an infinite number of whole numbers divisible by 3, many prime numbers, and an infinite number of numbers divided by each prime number. There may be an infinite number of infinite whole number sequences, but IDK if it is proven. Thus, there is no reason we should not consider an infinite number of Universes, each expanding towards infinity.

Lightmeow, welcome to SFN. I'm not sure what to make of "soldering broom sticks together" to make a dune buggy. Discussions on this forum are generally serious, scientific discussions and debunking of those who have bogus ideas. Broomsticks are usually wooden and cannot be soldered. Moreover, solder is not very rugged, especially in an environment with motor vibrations. Perhaps your native language is not English. Your idea of a dune buggy sounds buggy.

Each country may have different rules. You might get a passport wallet for extra pages. http://www.amazon.com/Travelon-Boarding-Passport-Holder-Closure/dp/B0041E5RVI/ref=sr_1_2?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1385929414&sr=1-2

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/news/20130708/listeria-outbreak-prompts-cheese-recall and other events

Previously I didn't mention yeast, yogurt, mushrooms, cheese, and buttermilk, which are also the product of microorganisms, and there are others, I think, for example whatever is responsible for tofu. Some people also eat a few species of algae.

Spirulina is already farmed for human consumption.

According to this page, the energy in a tornado is 3 x 1012 J = 833 megawatt-hour. One megawatt-hour supplies power to 200 homes for an hour. A tornado can overpower any technology we have today. The best we can do is hide in shelters.

Electron tubes generally have more noise and distortion than transistors. What purpose is there for electron tubes without filaments?