Would adding pulverized granite to the fluidized combustion bed in a coal fired power plant convert the carbon dioxide to carbonate and bicarbonate, and convert the granite to silica?
This is the natural process the earth uses to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It's called the weathering of rocks. This mechanism might be the cause of the earth entering it's current ice age state. When the India tectonic plate crashed into the Asian tectonic plate about 35 million years ago the Himalayan mountains resulted. This exposed so much granite to the atmosphere that the amount of carbon dioxide in the air was dramatically reduced and the world entered the current ice age.
Coal fired power plants already incorporate rock into the fluidized combustion bed. They currently used pulverized limestone which removes sulfur from the waste gas. The use of pulverized granite will have some new problems to overcome. The conversion of granite (a silicate mineral) to silica will probably cause glass and slag formation and cleaning problems. But that's just a problem for the engineers to solve.
The entropy and Gibb's free energy calculations indicate that this should actually be both spontaneous and exothermic.
You heard it here first.
Bye for now, Doug
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
Religious 1: Heaven and Hell (created 1-1-10)
What if whether we are in heaven or hell depends upon our state of mind, on how we feel about ourselves. And the one justice in this system would be that after death we have total knowledge about how our actions affected other people. All the things we did and rationalized to ourselves as being okay or "not my problem" we realize how they hurt other people and we can't hide from this guilt and exist in torment over our own actions. The few people who look back at their lives and see only good things resulting from their actions exist in a state of the utmost satisfaction for a job well done.
Fitting this with the eastern beliefs in reincarnation, those people unsatisfied with their lives would chose reincarnation to avoid the self-loathing they cannot avoid in the hereafter.
I'm not starting a new religion, it's just a fun idea to kick around.
Bye for now, Doug
Fitting this with the eastern beliefs in reincarnation, those people unsatisfied with their lives would chose reincarnation to avoid the self-loathing they cannot avoid in the hereafter.
I'm not starting a new religion, it's just a fun idea to kick around.
Bye for now, Doug
Monday, December 7, 2009
Ideas: 2: Magnetic oxygen purification (created 12-7-09)
Diatomic oxygen has a single bond and two unpaired, unshared electrons. It isn't obvious to me why this should be, the two unpaired, unshared electrons should "pair and share", but they don't. I am told this is confirmed via their spectra.
I this is true, then
1) does that mean the two unpaired, unshared electrons are locked into the same spin as each other.
2) does that mean the oxygen molecule is magnetic
3) does that mean that oxygen molecule can be oriented in a strong magnetic field so that it won't effuse through holes too small for them to go through sideways. Nitrogen molecules do not have this unpaired, unshared electron phenomenon, so they would not orient in a magnetic field and they would effuse through the hole too small for them to go through sideways, because some of the molecules would randomly be oriented to go through longways.
Indeed, I have read that oxygen IS paramagnetic. Maybe this would work.
I this is true, then
1) does that mean the two unpaired, unshared electrons are locked into the same spin as each other.
2) does that mean the oxygen molecule is magnetic
3) does that mean that oxygen molecule can be oriented in a strong magnetic field so that it won't effuse through holes too small for them to go through sideways. Nitrogen molecules do not have this unpaired, unshared electron phenomenon, so they would not orient in a magnetic field and they would effuse through the hole too small for them to go through sideways, because some of the molecules would randomly be oriented to go through longways.
Indeed, I have read that oxygen IS paramagnetic. Maybe this would work.
Ideas: 1: The Idea Guy (created 12-7-09)
You know how there are stereotypic people in every organization. The whiny guy, the gossip guy, etc. An engineer (Bob Daus) I used to work with called me the Idea Guy. That's one of the biggest complements I've ever received. My brain is just wired that when I learn about something I ask 1) Why (does that happen), 2) How (does that happen) and 3) What if (we do ???). I have almost 40 years of ideas which I want to share. So this topic thread: "Ideas" will be devoted to presenting my new ideas and some of my old ideas.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Customer Service 2: Les Stumpf Ford Dealership, Appleton, WI (created 11-29-09)
I have had two, recent, personal experiences of excellent customer service at the Les Stumpf Ford Dealership in Appleton, Wisconsin.
I live about 25 miles north of Appleton. I only go to town once every week or two. I have a 1998 Windstar minivan with about 125,000 miles on it. I was driving in town when the breaks became very soft and squishy. And then smoke started to come out from under the car. I was only two blocks from the Stumpf Ford dealership so I pulled in, turned off the car and started looking under the hood. I was afraid of fire and I wanted to check it out as quickly as possible. A salesman came out to help me and when we were fairly certain the danger of fire was past he brought me to the service department. They immediately brought the car in on a rack and diagnosed the problem for me, a ruptured break line was squirting oil on the engine. I had commitments and errands to finish. They rented me a car (only about $30 for a day) and had the my car repaired that afternoon. I was happy and impressed.
About 3 months later I was heading toward Appleton to help my son move his girlfriend to a new apartment and noticed a burning smell. I stopped and checked everything and found the engine oil very low. I bought oil at a gas station and topped it off. I checked the oil filter and it was on tight so I started to worry that something was cracked to be loosing oil like that. I went straight to Les Stumpf Ford. Again, they immediately put it up on a rack and had a diagnosis for me in less than 10 minutes. The oil filter wasn't loose, but it did have a tiny hole in the bottom of it. They changed the oil and filter and had me on my way to meet my obligations in only 30 minutes and $18.95.
I can't say enough good things about them.
I live about 25 miles north of Appleton. I only go to town once every week or two. I have a 1998 Windstar minivan with about 125,000 miles on it. I was driving in town when the breaks became very soft and squishy. And then smoke started to come out from under the car. I was only two blocks from the Stumpf Ford dealership so I pulled in, turned off the car and started looking under the hood. I was afraid of fire and I wanted to check it out as quickly as possible. A salesman came out to help me and when we were fairly certain the danger of fire was past he brought me to the service department. They immediately brought the car in on a rack and diagnosed the problem for me, a ruptured break line was squirting oil on the engine. I had commitments and errands to finish. They rented me a car (only about $30 for a day) and had the my car repaired that afternoon. I was happy and impressed.
About 3 months later I was heading toward Appleton to help my son move his girlfriend to a new apartment and noticed a burning smell. I stopped and checked everything and found the engine oil very low. I bought oil at a gas station and topped it off. I checked the oil filter and it was on tight so I started to worry that something was cracked to be loosing oil like that. I went straight to Les Stumpf Ford. Again, they immediately put it up on a rack and had a diagnosis for me in less than 10 minutes. The oil filter wasn't loose, but it did have a tiny hole in the bottom of it. They changed the oil and filter and had me on my way to meet my obligations in only 30 minutes and $18.95.
I can't say enough good things about them.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Education 2: no limits to learning
"The more you understand, the more you can learn."
While I was recently a teacher, the mantra at the school was don't teach or test for facts, teach skills and understanding.
I'm not certain how to separate the two.
The summer of 1974, between high school and college, I was lucky enough to be tutored by a man on how to improve my study habits and techniques. It opened new worlds to me.
Lesson #1: The human mind thinks 10 times as fast as most people speak or most people read. (I suspect this is part of what allows trained individuals to speed read.)
Lesson #2: The 9/10th of the brain not involved in listening or reading doesn't like to sit quietly and wait for something interesting to come along. It entertains itself. This is called daydreaming.
Lesson #3: The 1/10th of the brain involved in listening or reading gets sidetracked by the daydream and leaves maybe 1/100th of the brain left to listen or read. That's too little for any learning to happen. This is how you can get to the end of a reading assignment and say to yourself, "I'm glad that's done. I wonder what I read."
Lesson #4: Involve the entire brain in the listening and reading. This is not done by shear force of will. Its done by moving past passive listening or passive reading and becoming an active listener or active reader. That means that you are doing much more than just listening. You are actively thinking about what is being said. You are thinking about how what you are learning fits with what you knew in the past. You are anticipating what might come next.
Specifically for science, you aren't just trying to memorize a science fact, (in magnets, opposites attract) you are filling it out by thinking about 1) how it happens 2) why it happens, 3) why it matters, and 4) examples.
A simple fact is like a bit of dandelion fluff, and is easily blown away in the wind. Each related thing you connect to it helps it become more substantial. When you can interconnect the filled out facts, you have built a substantial structure upon which you can build true understanding.
"The more you understand, the more you can learn."
While I was recently a teacher, the mantra at the school was don't teach or test for facts, teach skills and understanding.
I'm not certain how to separate the two.
The summer of 1974, between high school and college, I was lucky enough to be tutored by a man on how to improve my study habits and techniques. It opened new worlds to me.
Lesson #1: The human mind thinks 10 times as fast as most people speak or most people read. (I suspect this is part of what allows trained individuals to speed read.)
Lesson #2: The 9/10th of the brain not involved in listening or reading doesn't like to sit quietly and wait for something interesting to come along. It entertains itself. This is called daydreaming.
Lesson #3: The 1/10th of the brain involved in listening or reading gets sidetracked by the daydream and leaves maybe 1/100th of the brain left to listen or read. That's too little for any learning to happen. This is how you can get to the end of a reading assignment and say to yourself, "I'm glad that's done. I wonder what I read."
Lesson #4: Involve the entire brain in the listening and reading. This is not done by shear force of will. Its done by moving past passive listening or passive reading and becoming an active listener or active reader. That means that you are doing much more than just listening. You are actively thinking about what is being said. You are thinking about how what you are learning fits with what you knew in the past. You are anticipating what might come next.
Specifically for science, you aren't just trying to memorize a science fact, (in magnets, opposites attract) you are filling it out by thinking about 1) how it happens 2) why it happens, 3) why it matters, and 4) examples.
A simple fact is like a bit of dandelion fluff, and is easily blown away in the wind. Each related thing you connect to it helps it become more substantial. When you can interconnect the filled out facts, you have built a substantial structure upon which you can build true understanding.
"The more you understand, the more you can learn."
Thursday, November 12, 2009
technological equipment half-life 1: why it was too soon to attempt the international space station (created 11-12-09)
My house is 11 years old. We didn't cut corners when we built and choose quality appliances and materials. In the past year, both garbage disposals started leaking. The dishwasher discharge hose cracked and leaked. The copper plumbing is starting to spring leaks. The furnace needed a replacement combustion blower years ago.
I used to work for a major printing company. There was constant scheduled maintenance and repairs to the printing presses, and they still needed to be completely overhauled after 10 years.
One of my cars is 11 years old and the alternator died last weekend leaving us stranded on the side of the road 100 miles from home.
What does all this have to do with the International Space Station (ISS)? Plenty. The ISS is 10 years old and we haven't finished building it yet. Things like tubes and hoses and fans and pumps and many electronics have a half-life of 10 to 15 years. So the ISS is going to start needing major repairs and it isn't even completely built yet. Whoever was in charge should have insisted that the engineers come up with a plan that it could be built and doing whatever it is it is supposed to do in the first 2 years. And if the engineers didn't know how to do that, or the funding wasn't there to do it, then they should have waited.
Bye for now, Doug
I used to work for a major printing company. There was constant scheduled maintenance and repairs to the printing presses, and they still needed to be completely overhauled after 10 years.
One of my cars is 11 years old and the alternator died last weekend leaving us stranded on the side of the road 100 miles from home.
What does all this have to do with the International Space Station (ISS)? Plenty. The ISS is 10 years old and we haven't finished building it yet. Things like tubes and hoses and fans and pumps and many electronics have a half-life of 10 to 15 years. So the ISS is going to start needing major repairs and it isn't even completely built yet. Whoever was in charge should have insisted that the engineers come up with a plan that it could be built and doing whatever it is it is supposed to do in the first 2 years. And if the engineers didn't know how to do that, or the funding wasn't there to do it, then they should have waited.
Bye for now, Doug
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