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Latest post Wed, May 20 2009 6:15 PM by Usenet. 9 replies.
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nmstevens    914347 Fri, 15 May 09 11:49 PM

Anyway, what the future circa 1980 was like, by way of Gerry Anderson's live action series UFO:


I want to know why, since we can put a man on the moon, why we can't put a moon base on the moon operated by a whole bunch of really cute girls with purple wigs and silvery mini-skirts?
I mean, what's become of us?
NMS
Paulo Joe Jingy    914348 Fri, 15 May 09 11:55 PM

[nq:1]Anyway, what the future circa 1980 was like, by way of Gerry Anderson's live action series UFO: [youtube:rB1k02yh43A] I want ... by a whole bunch of really cute girls with purple wigs and silvery mini-skirts? I mean, what's become of us?[/nq]
And what's become of that "far out" music?
studio    914350 Sat, 16 May 09 12:58 AM

[nq:1]Anyway, what the future circa 1980 was like, by way of Gerry Anderson's live action series UFO: [youtube:rB1k02yh43A] I want ... by a whole bunch of really cute girls with purple wigs and silvery mini-skirts? I mean, what's become of us?[/nq]
As with most sci-fi, I find the the dates in which these things are supposed
to happen are overly optimistic.
I'm still optimistic that the silver mini skirts (and silver coveralls for men)
will be *the* fashion statement in the far future. I loved those purple wigs! Not sure what the purpose of them was though.
That whole matter to energy ratio thing is holding us up. But as soon as humans are able to produce more than enough energy...the
silver skirts will begin to matter.
You would think it would be the other way around. (?)
Now for the "too much information" part:
Nuclear Fusion through lasers using dense deuterium.

A few years ago, if someone would have told a scientist that humans will end up producing materials that are more dense than the core of the Sun, they wouldn't have believed it. Still, this is true now. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg are working on creating ultra-dense deuterium (more commonly known as heavy hydrogen) that will be a hundred thousand times more heavier than water is. The scientists hope that the new material will set the basis for a new form of nuclear energy production, one that is not as damaging to the environment as existing ones, and also more sustainable.

“One important justification for our research is that ultra-dense deuterium may be a very efficient fuel in laser-driven nuclear fusion. It is possible to achieve nuclear fusion between deuterium nuclei using high-power lasers, releasing vast amounts of energy. If we can produce large quantities of ultra-dense deuterium, the fusion process may become the energy source of the future. And it may become available much earlier than we have thought possible,” UG Department of Chemistry Professor Leif Holmlid, who has been the leader of the new research, shares.
Thus far, only microscopic amounts of the new stuff have been created in the Swedish laboratory. Experts say that a cube of the ultra-dense deuterium, with a side length of just ten centimeters, weighs approximately 130 tonnes. In addition, the hydrogen atoms inside the compound are connected to each other in a much tighter manner than they usually bond in. This artificially created type of connection is very difficult to master, and that is why German researchers are currently trying to create more of the new type of deuterium. Once an efficient production method is devised, the path to creating new power plants will be opened.
“Further, we believe that we can design the deuterium fusion such that it produces only helium and hydrogen as its products, both of which are completely non-hazardous. It will not be necessary to deal with the highly radioactive tritium that is planned for use in other types of future fusion reactors, and this means that laser-driven nuclear fusion as we envisage it will be both more sustainable and less damaging to the environment than other methods that are being developed,” the expert concludes, as quoted by ScienceDaily.
nmstevens    914381 Sat, 16 May 09 02:58 AM

"Anyway, what the future circa 1980 was like, by way ... wigs and silvery mini-skirts? I mean, what's become of us?"

"As with most sci-fi, I find the the dates in which these things are supposed to happen are overly optimistic. ... and less damaging to the environment than other methods that are being developed,” the expert concludes, as quoted by ScienceDaily."

I have a feeling that it's going to be awhile before they're going to be able to make one of those deuterium/laser fusion reactors small and light enough to be able to slap it inside a space ship.

And meanwhile, they're talking about making laser fusion more efficient, as if to suggest that they've managed to produce sustainable break-even fusion power using lasers, efficient, pulluting, or otherwise.
They haven't. They haven't gotten close to break-even, so far as I know, with any version of any fusion reactor, never mind creating a system that puts out more power than they put into it.

So never mind damaging the environment (not that I'm advocating that) it'd just be nice after thirty years of being "ten to fifteen years away" from success to actually achieve success, instead of still being ten to fifteen years away from success.
NMS
Alan Brooks    914392 Sat, 16 May 09 03:31 AM

"Researchers at the University of Gothenburg are working on creating ultra-dense deuterium (more commonly known as heavy hydrogen) that will be a hundred thousand times more heavier than water is."

They're calling it Kirstieallium.
Alan Brooks

A with an Underwood
Just remove all
the Jennycraigium...
MWSM FAQ: http://www.panix.com/~mwsm/faq.html
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Brian Christgau    914457 Sat, 16 May 09 03:31 PM

[nq:1]Anyway, what the future circa 1980 was like, by way of Gerry Anderson's live action series UFO:

Oh my...
I don't think I've seen that particular show since I was knee-high to a fire hyrdrant. Alas, I was born a few years too late to grow up with Anderson's "Supermarionation" shows like THUNDERBIRDS and CAPTAIN SCARLET, but my big brother, who is six years my senior, did. He was absolutely obsessed with those shows, owned all the toys, etc.. which explains why he got TEAM AMERICA a lot better than I did. I mean don't get me wrong: I thought it was a riot, but my brother had to turn it off before he died of a heart attack. He was literally rolling on the floor, tears streaming down his cheeks, laughing so hard he couldn't breathe.
"I want to know why, since we can put a man on the moon, why we can't put a moon base on the moon operated by a whole bunch of really cute girls with purple wigs and silvery mini-skirts? I mean, what's become of us?"

We got more interested in finding new and better ways of killing each other rather than getting every hot chick in mini-skirts and go-go boots.
Cheers,
B
STJensen    914940 Mon, 18 May 09 05:44 PM

"I want to know why, since we can put a man on the moon, why we can't put a moon base on the moon operated by a whole bunch of really cute girls with purple wigs and silvery mini-skirts? I mean, what's become of us?"

One of the things I did like about the new Star Trek movie is the return of hot women in micro-dress uniforms. :-)
But even more bizarre than "UFO" has to be "Space: 1999". Our moon zooming at faster than light speeds through the universe AND slowing down so things can be explored AND then speeding back up. *LOL* And you know it is only a matter of time before Hollywood does a remake movie about it. Hopefully, it will be done as a parody of the worst of science fiction.
Scott
Elroy Willis    915012 Tue, 19 May 09 12:18 AM

[nq:1]Anyway, what the future circa 1980 was like, by way of Gerry Anderson's live action series UFO: [youtube:rB1k02yh43A] I want ... by a whole bunch of really cute girls with purple wigs and silvery mini-skirts? I mean, what's become of us?[/nq]
Remember this one?
nmstevens    915059 Tue, 19 May 09 06:40 AM

"Anyway, what the future circa 1980 was like, by way ... wigs and silvery mini-skirts? I mean, what's become of us?"

[nq:1]Remember this one?

I even remember this one Tony Randall takes his family (including a "rock and roll" Richard Dreyfuss" into a house beneath the sea in "Hello Down There":

NMS
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