Something Interesting Thread

Seattle Husker said:
I'm too laze to read what happens when the natural nuclear reaction occurs. A small explosion?
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At some point, with a high enough concentration of Uranium or other fissionable material, the reactor goes critical and sustains fission (on it’s own). It’s not an explosion. It just heats up as fission continues and stored energy is unlocked as the Uranium atoms split. Like commercial nuclear reactors.

I believe what they found in Gabon was melted material with a high concentration of Uranium and the daughters of split Uranium. Without rods to absorb some of the neutrons, and without coolant, the fuel would meltdown. That’s why at Fukushima, they were pulling out all the stops to get water in there (even salt water—knowing that one reactor was finished) to cover the core (where the fuel is).
 
Neutrons generated from the splitting of some of the U atoms do go out and split other U atoms. There’s not a separate neutron gun or neutron generator or anything like that. The rods absorb some of the neutrons and keep it under control. The water also helps.

Also, the level of concentration of Uranium/other fissionable material in atomic weaponry is quite a bit higher than the fuel in commercial reactor plants. If a nuclear power plant was sabotaged, and all the rods withdrawn, automatic scram triggers disabled, and all the water/coolant drained, the fuel would meltdown. You would have Chernobyl, not Hiroshima. There were explosions at Chernobyl and Fukushima, but that was probably the Hydrogen (and/or other flammable) that escaped the core and blew up once in the air and not in the water/core. That wasn’t so much the fuel blowing up. Chernobyl is by far the worst it’s ever gotten. 3 mile island was more political than an actual dangerous situation.
 
The theory of A bombs isn't that complex - I wrote a report on it in middle school science class. The main challenge is in getting the source material - either U 235 for the gun and bullet method, or the plutonium for the implosion method.
 
Horizons
A steel sculpture that looks like a windblown piece of paper on a hilltop.

Neil Dawson created the sculpture in 1994 for Gibbs Farm, an outdoor sculpture collection in New Zealand.

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2 minute video about Horizons and Gibbs Farm

 
The Salt Glaciers of Iran
wikipedia | natureknows.org

Million of years ago, the Persian Gulf was a much larger body of water than it is today, inundating large sections of the Arabian peninsula in the south and Iran in the west. As the water evaporated and the shores of the sea retreated, it left behind vast quantities of salt.

All of these incredible salt formations can be seen in the south, southwest, and central areas of Iran. The best examples are found in the Zagros mountains that run parallel to Iran’s coast on the Persian Gulf.

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When the US/Canada border was settled as the 49th parallel, Point Roberts, Washington, became an exclave. It is on a point of land that extends lust south of the 49th parallel, so it is part of the U.S. However, highway access to Point Roberts is available only by driving through Canada. Point Roberts is just south of Vancouver; on the US side, Point Roberts is accessible by water.
 
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HornHuskerDad said:
When the US/Canada border was settled as the 49th parallel, Point Roberts, Washington, became an exclave It is on a point of land that extends lust south of the 49th parallel, so it is part of the U.S. However, highway access to Point Roberts is available only by driving through Canada. Point Roberts is just south of Vancouver; on the US side, Point Roberts is accessible by water.
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There is some place similar to that in Minnesota that required going through Canada to access the US. Those people were screwed with the 'rona shutdowns because they literally could not leave their little hamlet since cross-border travel was prohibited...
 
The Screw-In Coffin

In 2009, mechanical engineer Donald Scruggs received a patent for a hermetically sealed coffin that can be screwed into the ground. David Friedman made a short documentary about Scruggs and his screw-in coffin

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The coffins can simply be installed vertically, with plaques or iconography on top, replacing tombstones.
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They can be installed along a pond in the cemetery, with their tops sticking up out of the water.

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They can be stacked horizontally on a hillside, or diagonally alongside a walkway for easy viewing.

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It could be screwed in manually, or use a machine
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Good idea if you have deep soil. In the hill country where you hit limestone less than an inch down? I don't see it working out too well.
 
Sangre Naranjada said:
Good idea if you have deep soil. In the hill country where you hit limestone less than an inch down? I don't see it working out too well.
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"Sir, unfortunately this cemetary is in rocky terrain so it's a bit more expensive to plant your wife here as opposed to east of I-35."
 
Dionysus said:
Kjeragbolten is a boulder on the mountain Kjerag in Forsand municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The rock itself is a 5-cubic-meter glacial deposit wedged in the mountain’s crevasse, suspended above a 984 meter (3,228 ft) deep abyss. (wikipedia)

You are probably thinking, hm, I too would like to stand on this precariously suspended rock.

See also: Five Memorable Times on the Kjeragbolten Rock in Norway

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I went out there once when I was working in Norway. Yep, folks walk on it, jump on it, even lay down on it. Crazy stuff! I just had a look, watched the dare devils, then left.
 
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