Magic Plutonium

This is the kind of device that really impresses me -  RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator).  They are used on deep space satellites to provide electrical power for decades, far from the sun were solar cells are useless.  They are amazing.  I was going to say cool, but as you can see the plutonium is self heating to the point that it is red hot.

I stole this picture and information from Kirk Sorensen.  You can access his entire Google Tech Talk here. I highly recommend it.  It is well worth reading.  I just wish that these RTGs were not so astronomically expensive.  I would love a battery that puts out hundreds of watts for decades on end.

This is plutonium-238.  It’s a radioactive material that has a half-life of 87 years*.  Every year about 1% of this plutonium decays and emits high-energy helium and a lot of heat.  Don’t confuse plutonium-238 with its more well-known sister isotope plutonium-239.  Plutonium-238 has no use in nuclear weapons.

Home Energy Use

I created this little graphic to address a subject that is important to me, and I believe, important to you too!  The graphs shows how much energy I have used for my home and family in the last year. (This graph doesn't include transportation energy use.)

My house uses natural gas for space heating, hot water, and drying clothes.  Electricity is used for everything else, including central air conditioning.  I have converted the decatherms of gas used to kilowatt hours (1 decatherm = 293.07 kwh) so I can compare the two.

I live in North America at a fairly high latitude (41° 30" N), so the heating season extends from mid-October until May.  The peak cooling season is July, August, and September.  This can be seen in the graph - gas usage is the light blue bars and electricity is the maroon colored bars.  The peak usage is in January, 8055 kwh.  This is also why solar and wind are a bit farcical as alternatives - the demand is the highest and the availability of wind and solar is the lowest.  We can go for weeks without seeing the sun on very cold and windless days.  These are the typical winter inversions in the mountain valleys of Utah.

My dream is to have a personal energy device that can provide this demand.  Will this dream every materialize?  I don't know, but that's no reason not to ask Santa for it.

There are a couple of technologies that might make this possible.  I will concentrate on the nuclear fission ones at the moment.

Edward Teller, Freeman Dyson and others conceived and designed a research reactor at General Atomics called TRIGA.  The purpose of the reactor was not to provide energy, but for research, radioanalysis and isotope production.  However, the reactor does produce 250 kw of thermal power.  Two hundred and fifty times 168 hours per week times 4 weeks per month equals one hundred sixty eight thousand kwh - more than enough for my energy needs even during peak demand in January.

There are a number of other small reactors designs that have been tried over the years - SLOWPOKE, Aqueous Homogeneous Reactor (LOPO HYPO, and SUPO) and Argus.  Atomic Energy of Canada Limited even designed a SLOWPOKE-3 for district heating, which produced between 2 and 10 MWth.  Now, that's what I'm talking about!  The SLOWPOKE reactor is even licensed for unattended operation for up to 18 hours.

Yes, there are many issues to address and many roadblocks - economics, proliferation, safety, etc., but like I said before, why can't I hope for a washing machine sized device that provides me with all the power I need?  Maybe it could even be a liquid fluoride thorium reactor that breeds fuel!

Think how disruptive this could be!

Carnitas

I found a new slow cooker recipe last week and I just had to try it.  It turned out great.  Four pounds of pork sirloin and the right spices and 10 hours later, the most delicious carnitas tacos I have ever had.  Of course, I had to add cheese, salsa casera, sour cream, lettuce, cilantro, refried beans and viola!  Here are some pictures of the feast.

The recipe came out of a published cookbook, so I don't feel I can copy it outright, but here are the spices called for: ground ancho chile pepper, ground coriander, oregano, shredded orange peel, garlic, salt, black pepper, onions, chicken broth, orange juice and honey.  Oh, and don't forget the fresh cilantro to top it all off.

Taylorcraft Project Update

My friend, John is still busy at work restoring his 1946 Taylorcraft.  He has replaced the broken spar on one wing and is just about ready to start covering it.  He has repaired the landing gear from the ground loop accident and then will start on the rest of the covering and then the engine, which is an O-200 Lycoming.

New spruce spars for one wing

The leading edge aluminum needs some help

The aileron is still in good shape

John anozided and epoxy coated the aluminum ribs that haven't had any corrosion protection since fabrication in 1946

Details of the welding repairs to the landing gear

More welding repairs

Vintage 1946 cockpit and panel

Some previous owner notched the spar to get this bracket to fit.  John will have to repair it.

This is the good wing awaiting covering

 

Picture of the streamline chromoly tubing used to repair the landing gear.  It was on sale for $15/foot down from $30!

Global Warming

 I couldn't help myself.  After seeing these photos from friends and colleagues who live in the South, I just couldn't help myself from writing a blog on anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming or AGW.  (BTW, I stole these photos from Facebook and e-mails sent to me.)

Here's my take on the whole sordid mess.  The folks who run a Federal debt of $14 trillion and the Post Office along with some Euro-worthies who think they can bail out Portugal, Greece, Spain, and Ireland also want you to believe that they can control what the climate will be like in 100 years if you just give them the rest of your money, your lifestyle and what's left of your discretionary freedoms.

When the actual weather stopped cooperating in about 2005, they started to fudge the numbers, CRU Hadley style. And they also engaged in some semantic bait and switch.  Global warming became global climate change, since the Sun went into a deep quiescent period and the temperatures on earth cooled dramatically.  Every extreme weather event any where on earth became proof of AGW aka global climate change.

Does the weather change? Yes.  Does the climate change?  Geologic records demonstrate unequivocally, Yes.  Are these things caused by humans? No.  Did humans cause the Maunder Minimum, the Little Ice Age, the Medieval Climatic Optimum, or this massive winter storm in the South?  The answer is No.

I just hope Al Gore got a least a foot of snow in Tennessee!

Acworth, Georgia, January 2011

Atlanta, Georgia, January 11, 2011

Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville, Alabama

My day off

Well today was my day off. I had a whole list of things I wanted to get accomplished. But yesterday I was checking my e-mail and I got one from the EAA. The e-mail happened to mention that a Mr. Bob Hoover not the Bob Hoover that flies the Rockwell Commander or P-51 Mustang, but the VW engine guru.

Anyway, Bob Hoover the VW engine guru passed away. The story had a link to Bob's blog. I started reading it last night and I didn't get to bed until very late. Then, I must have spent 4 or 5 hours reading it again today. Needless to say I didn't get my long list of chores done.

I just couldn't break away from this blog. His writing style was so clear and expressive and about converting VW engines for aircraft that I just couldn't help myself. How sad that I didn't discover this blog until after its author had passed away.

Back to Bob. I guess Bob has been converting VW engines for aircraft for probably 40 years and has come up with a list of impressive mods to make the engine safe and reliable for aircraft. I just wish I would've discovered him sooner. Luckily, he collaborated with Steve Bennett from Great Plains Aircraft so that his knowledge was not lost.

Bob blogged up a storm and shared his wisdom freely. Too bad he's gone now. I know he really will be missed.

Farnsworth Fusor

This a photograph of a Farnsworth Fusor that I took a few years ago at Utah State University. The machine was built by a high school student who later enrolled at Utah State. It is an actual working fusion machine. It also has a neutron detector to prove that it is fusing deuterium atoms.

I took my kids to go see it. They were probably bored, but I found it interesting. Of course, the only problem with the Farnsworth Fusor is that it can never reach breakeven. This means that it will never produce as much energy as it uses to create the fusion. However, it is a really cool machine and rather simple machine, especially compared with a Tokamak. The characteristic "bugle" caused by the plasma inside the machine can be seen in the video camera screen in the center of the photo.

The giant stack of CDs is part of the neutron detector. They reduce the velocity of the neutrons and allow them to be detected in the central pipe device. The other equipment is a vacuum pump and a high-voltage DC power supply.

I can't remember the name of the student who built this, but I would like to track him down and see what has become of the machine.