Saturday, November 12, 2011

A Cold Fusion Plant Is Being Tested

From time to time we take a look at new, hopeful forms of energy solutions that may become viable.

For a concrete in-the-now example see A Methanol Economy Way Out Of Here, or for a futuristic example see Nanoengines For Spacecraft?

Across the pond in Europe, specifically Italy, a test is taking place on a new energy system based on what some are calling "cold fusion" while others call it an "E-Cat (Energy Catalyzer) device".

The test is described as:

For the next few days, PES will be scanning the net to bring you the latest and most up-to-date information about the important October 28 test of the 1 megawatt E-Cat (Energy Catalyzer) device, taking place in Italy. PESN's founder, Sterling D. Allan, will be in attendance at the private event. Keep checking this page for the latest news and updates!

(Pure Energy Systems). Others describe it as a scam, or just another event in the relentless pursuit of magic energy:

I’m going to go out on a limb here with a prediction. The energy world will look exactly the same the day after October 28th, 2011, as it did yesterday. Why? On October 28th we’re expecting a public demonstration of a “revolutionary” new energy device in Bologna, Italy. The magic technology? Another too-cheap-to-meter construct called the “e-cat” machine invented and promoted by Italian Andrea Rossi. Cold fusion … again, but with an updated label; Low-Energy Nuclear Reaction. Will it change the world? No. Will it work? Doubt it.

(Forbes). The Forbes author then goes on to say purchase oil stock and keep focused, steady as she goes, on the status quo.

Thus, it is unlikely that the oil wars are going to be replaced with an era of peace any time soon.

Evidently the test did well enough to satisfy the customer:
"Q&A just finished; reading of results; 470 kW maintained continuously during self-sustain; customer satisfied; sale made; more later."
(Twitter). Will check up on this to try to verify it in the days ahead.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

On The Definition of Sanity

This post deals with the definition of the sanity of nations and civilizations.

There are similarities to the definition of the sanity of individuals, however, to implicate the notion of the sanity of national government as well as the sanity of civilization, we must rise above the limitations of current definitions which tend to be designed to apply exclusively to individual persons.

It would seem to be axiomatic, as well as compelling, to say that a sane nation or a sane civilization is one without dementia at that level, that is, sanity is simply the substantial absence of dementia at a particular, applicable level.

But, in our doublespeak world, words of this nature have been torn asunder to the point that they typically have only a localized meaning within a local context.

In other words, a comprehensive definition takes a comprehensive scope, and in the real universe, it requires a cosmic scope.

The tenets of Ecocosmology offer a good foundation for a comprehensive, cosmic (meaning widest in scope) definition of sanity:

The four tenets are:
1) The stars like our Sun at the center of all solar systems will support life forms for an amount of time, but will then destroy life on the planets near them at an unknown time during each solar system's developmental life cycle.
a) For stars that are late K thru M, such as red dwarfs, this applies to the deadly outbursts that come short of physical destruction of the planets orbiting close to that type star.

2) That final catastrophic event (destruction of life on inner planets), and all events leading up to it, comprise "The Test". This test is composed of all the preliminary and final evolutionary requirements for the life forms on all planets near central stars. The Test works as a wall, moat, or barrier, to divide those species who may continue to live in the physical universe from those who may not.

3) To pass The Test, intelligent life forms which inhabit any planet will be required to:
a) first learn to live and work together within, and in accord with, their planet's ecosystem, and to substantially coexist with all the other species on that planet, overcoming any toxins of power that are contrary to that social harmony;

b) develop technology that produces space vehicles able to substantially meet or exceed the speed of light;

c) find another solar system with a habitable planet which contains a central star still having enough time left in its stellar life cycle for them to colonize a habitable planet in that solar system; since it is unknown whether the toxins of power are to be found on all planets as they are on Earth, the possibility of that should be taken into consideration when selecting any new planet or moon as a home world; since red dwarfs are the most stable & most abundant stars, they should be favored over Sun-like stars;

d) colonize that habitable planet, and then improve their ecocosmological skills;

e) then repeat the entire process ad infinitum;

f) or, experience a morph into another species free from that type of solar/planetary cosmic dependence.

4) The seeds of intelligence (genetic and memetic clues) required to successfully perform The Test are distributed into all species, races, religions, sciences, creeds, and genders; thus all individuals should be respected as carriers of some quanta of the seed of intelligence required to pass The Test, lest a fundamental quantum of necessary intelligence be lost.

(The Tenets of Ecocosmology). Avoiding the death of humanity is sanity, perpetuating the human species and its earthly realm is sanity, which is to say that anything to the contrary equates to the definition of insanity.

There you have it.

So we can take a look at our nation, our civilization, and do a sanity test by asking how we are doing on each point: a) are national educational systems teaching that all life on this planet is doomed if we stay here and fail to migrate out into the cosmos (or morph), b) are we dedicating the mental and physical resources of civilization toward that end, c) are we demanding and practicing world peace and cooperation toward that end, and d) as we do so are we feverishly taking care of all species on this planet?

This is the line between sanity and insanity, so you decide how your nation and our civilization is doing on the cosmic IQ and the cosmic sanity test: