Even relatively honest but left-wing BBC sometimes publishes rubbish

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46219656

On Friday, November 16, 2018 at 6:28:19 AM UTC, RichA wrote:
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46219656

When people grow older and become more confident, the notions of left and right social politics start to fade, at least for those who don't rely on social groups, political affiliations, social status and so on. The Brits have created a situation based on so much wishful thinking that presently there is only chaos where extremists have a lot in common which drowns out more balanced views.

All societies go through these situations now and again but are resolved when the pseudo-intellectual convictions that escape from the academic realm into the the social/political realm are put back in their box. The march of folly is well known but few have the courage to deal with the excesses of academic convictions projected into a political format -

� A lopsided education has helped to encourage that illusion. Man must realize that a fundamental law of necessity reigns throughout the whole realm of Nature and that his existence is subject to the law of eternal struggle and strife. He will then feel that there cannot be a separate law for mankind in a world in which planets and suns follow their orbits, where moons and planets trace their destined paths, where the strong are always the masters of the weak and where those subject to such laws must obey them or be destroyed.� Hitler

On Thu, 15 Nov 2018 22:28:17 -0800 (PST), RichA
wrote:

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46219656

What's "rubbish" about it? It's a legitimate news story about
something that some businesses are claiming they can do. That's what
good reporting looks like.

Chris L Peterson wrote in
:

On Thu, 15 Nov 2018 22:28:17 -0800 (PST), RichA
wrote:

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46219656

What's "rubbish" about it? It's a legitimate news story about
something that some businesses are claiming they can do. That's
what good reporting looks like.

"We're just five years away from harnessing almost unlimited power
from "miniature suns", some start-ups say"

The same as they've been saying for 50+ years.

No doubt it will be used to power the self-piloting flying cars that
run on desktop Linux, justl ike everything else.

--
Terry Austin

Vacation photos from Iceland:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/QaXQkB

"Terry Austin: like the polio vaccine, only with more asshole."
-- David Bilek

Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.

On 16/11/2018 15:28, Jibini Kula Tumbili Kujisalimisha wrote:
Chris L Peterson wrote in
:

On Thu, 15 Nov 2018 22:28:17 -0800 (PST), RichA
wrote:

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46219656

What's "rubbish" about it? It's a legitimate news story about
something that some businesses are claiming they can do. That's
what good reporting looks like.

"We're just five years away from harnessing almost unlimited power
from "miniature suns", some start-ups say"

XXX say is standard journalise for "we don't believe it either" but
these folk were daft enough to say it on the record. It is a bit like
"The jury were told" as a way round strict UK contempt of court rules...

The same as they've been saying for 50+ years.

Not quite - they have been saying we are just a mere 50 years from
having fusion power and electricity too cheap to meter for more than 50
years. They have always been hopelessly optimistic about how easy it
would be to tame thermonuclear fusion. Even the best kit so far barely
makes break even on a good day and getting the energy out in a form
where it can be used to generate electricity remains a challenge.

No doubt it will be used to power the self-piloting flying cars that
run on desktop Linux, justl ike everything else.

Android for droids - please.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

The Troll RichA:
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46219656

Chris L Peterson:
What's "rubbish" about it? It's a legitimate news story about
something that some businesses are claiming they can do. That's what
good reporting looks like.

Right. But that's not the big take-away from that story. The big news
is that fusion power is just five years away! I'm pushing 75 pretty
hard, and it's been between 5 and 25 years away for at least 70 of my
75 years. That's because we're stuck in some sort of Star-Trek tachyon
loop, an ellipse, perhaps, in which time is highly elastic and every
time we approach controlled fusion, gravity slingshots us away from it,
only to have our elastic tachyon loop snap us back every 5 to 25 years.
It's a miracle our necks have not all snapped from whiplash. I further
believe that my thinking on this matter is Nobel-worthy (Physics). And
if I can figure out why our necks haven't snapped you can add
Physiology and Medicine to that.

--
I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that
you will say in your entire life.

usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm

On Fri, 16 Nov 2018 12:30:37 -0500, Davoud wrote:

The Troll RichA:
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46219656

Chris L Peterson:
What's "rubbish" about it? It's a legitimate news story about
something that some businesses are claiming they can do. That's what
good reporting looks like.

Right. But that's not the big take-away from that story. The big news
is that fusion power is just five years away! I'm pushing 75 pretty
hard, and it's been between 5 and 25 years away for at least 70 of my
75 years. That's because we're stuck in some sort of Star-Trek tachyon
loop, an ellipse, perhaps, in which time is highly elastic and every
time we approach controlled fusion, gravity slingshots us away from it,
only to have our elastic tachyon loop snap us back every 5 to 25 years.
It's a miracle our necks have not all snapped from whiplash. I further
believe that my thinking on this matter is Nobel-worthy (Physics). And
if I can figure out why our necks haven't snapped you can add
Physiology and Medicine to that.

I'm not holding my breath... or investing in those companies. But the
story is good (and emphasizes, more than once, that such claims are
nothing new and have not panned out in the past).

On Friday, 16 November 2018 09:57:39 UTC-5, Chris L Peterson wrote:
On Thu, 15 Nov 2018 22:28:17 -0800 (PST), RichA
wrote:

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46219656

What's "rubbish" about it? It's a legitimate news story about
something that some businesses are claiming they can do. That's what
good reporting looks like.

Parroting, with no criticality. Lets say they find out that much smaller designs (which is what the article dealt with) made sustained fusion possible. They shut down the NIF and ITER, billions wasted. Now how, given the difficulty of just confining the plasma, are they going to siphon off power from it? Will it consist in just wicking away heat to convert to electricity, as they do now with fission reactors? Fusion is still inevitably 50-100 years in the future, best case. Worst case, it never happens. Reality; fission reactors are here and perfected. The fuel they use, the cost is one the least costly components of the plant, unlike with oil, gas. There is no upside to replacing huge, efficient fission plants with some kind of speculative fusion power.

On Fri, 16 Nov 2018 18:21:19 -0800 (PST), RichA
wrote:

On Friday, 16 November 2018 09:57:39 UTC-5, Chris L Peterson wrote:
On Thu, 15 Nov 2018 22:28:17 -0800 (PST), RichA
wrote:

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46219656

What's "rubbish" about it? It's a legitimate news story about
something that some businesses are claiming they can do. That's what
good reporting looks like.

Parroting, with no criticality. Lets say they find out that much smaller designs (which is what the article dealt with) made sustained fusion possible. They shut down the NIF and ITER, billions wasted. Now how, given the difficulty of just confining the plasma, are they going to siphon off power from it? Will it consist in just wicking away heat to convert to electricity, as they do now with fission reactors? Fusion is still inevitably 50-100 years in the future, best case. Worst case, it never happens. Reality; fission reactors are here and perfected. The fuel they use, the cost is one the least costly components of the plant, unlike with oil, gas. There is no upside to replacing huge, efficient fission plants with some kind of speculative fusion power.

It's just a news story about a business. Not about fusion. In the
business section, not the science section.

On Saturday, 17 November 2018 09:17:50 UTC-5, Chris L Peterson wrote:
On Fri, 16 Nov 2018 18:21:19 -0800 (PST), RichA
wrote:

On Friday, 16 November 2018 09:57:39 UTC-5, Chris L Peterson wrote:
On Thu, 15 Nov 2018 22:28:17 -0800 (PST), RichA
wrote:

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46219656

What's "rubbish" about it? It's a legitimate news story about
something that some businesses are claiming they can do. That's what
good reporting looks like.

Parroting, with no criticality. Lets say they find out that much smaller designs (which is what the article dealt with) made sustained fusion possible. They shut down the NIF and ITER, billions wasted. Now how, given the difficulty of just confining the plasma, are they going to siphon off power from it? Will it consist in just wicking away heat to convert to electricity, as they do now with fission reactors? Fusion is still inevitably 50-100 years in the future, best case. Worst case, it never happens. Reality; fission reactors are here and perfected. The fuel they use, the cost is one the least costly components of the plant, unlike with oil, gas. There is no upside to replacing huge, efficient fission plants with some kind of speculative fusion power.

It's just a news story about a business. Not about fusion. In the
business section, not the science section.

First paragraph:

"We're just five years away from harnessing almost unlimited power from "miniature suns", some start-ups say: nuclear fusion reactors that could provide abundant, cheap and clean energy."