Recovery.Gov Project Tracker

[ScottL]

Are VC's more interested in social media than science and technology?

"Centers of innovation require investors funding smart people working on interesting things - and they invest in those they believe will make their funds the most money. And for Silicon Valley the investor flight to social media marks the beginning of the end of the era of venture capital-backed big ideas in science and technology."

http://steveblank.com/2012/05/21/why-fa ... con-valley

My personal view is that we'll se a reverse trend to that story soon. Social media peaked in 2010-11 and has been in the decline here in the U.S. over the last year. My backing statistic to my opinoin is the continued decline in U.S. subscribers to facebook from 2011 (starting in May of 11).

[Robthebob]

so... a bit back on topic, hopefully i wont get burnt at the stakes.

Where does it say in the J&A that the panel in the J&A is a recent one, and not one all the way back then when emc2 first got their contract?

[mvanwink5]

"The experimental results to date were consistent with the underlying theoretical framework of the Polywell fusion concept and, in the opinion of the committee, merited continuation and expansion."

It is in section 5 of the J&A, hope that helps somewhat.

Best regards

[Robthebob]

"The experimental results to date were consistent with the underlying theoretical framework of the Polywell fusion concept and, in the opinion of the committee, merited continuation and expansion."

It is in section 5 of the J&A, hope that helps somewhat.

Best regards

wow, just read it again, thank you very much, this is extremely good news. It's pretty much them saying, "wait for the good news."

Oh yeah, to get back on the topic we were on when we got off topic. Inventions... well, it depends on various things, such as how well the information is spread at the time of invention or discovery, how much is the invention or discovery used afterwards, did the invention or discovery get forgotten by the pages of history and sands of time?

I'm Chinese, so I know I'm biased. But there are historical recordings, which when you read them, it's almost like mythical recordings, the date was so ancient, anyways, there have been recordings of robotic birds that can fly off and come back in a day, recordings of seismographs (well it's more like a earthquake detection machine, the recording describe like a ball in a dragon's head, when the ball drops and whatnot, you would know a earthquake happened, back then, scientists apparently cared about art and wanted to make things look pretty, recordings, dont know if it's greatly exaggerated or not), etc in the 5k Chinese history.

Also, apparently the Chinese figured out a lot of astronomy stuff, a lot of algebra stuff, a lot of engineering stuff, but all of that was lost in the sands of time, the pages of history.

So what we mean by invented or discovered? We really mean who invented or discovered the basis of what we used today, not really (well we try, but come on, it's pointless) who invented or discovered whatever object or information first.

For all we know some aliens far far far away already figured all this math, all this engineering, all this science long long long ago. Maybe the inventor of television is actually some alien a billion years ago in the Andromeda galaxy.

So who invented the basis for our modern TV? Farnsworth, plain and simple. Now if someone got ideas from someone else, or whatever, or someone stole someone else's idea, that's different.

But I mean it's like this:
-Basis of modern?
-well recorded?
-did it get forgotten?

PS: seriously tho, the Chinese invented printing press and paper.

[polywellfan]

"The experimental results to date were consistent with the underlying theoretical framework of the Polywell fusion concept and, in the opinion of the committee, merited continuation and expansion."

It is in section 5 of the J&A, hope that helps somewhat.

Best regards

wow, just read it again, thank you very much, this is extremely good news. It's pretty much them saying, "wait for the good news."

That was irony, wasn't it?

[Tom Ligon]

Other inventions forgotten, rediscovered:

The battery (and/or electroplating)
Concrete

The battery could be the root of alchemy, the idea that ancients could turn base metals to gold, but the technology was probably a deep secret and died with the family that knew it. Who knows what could have developed had the invention been public and allowed to flourish?

Concrete was a major industry in Roman times. It was largely reinvented in the 1800s. Slaked limestone and gypsum were still used but concrete was lost during the fall of the Roman Empire. When the engine of the civilization faltered, the knowledge died. There's a lesson it that for those who think our knowledge will automatically survive a fall of our culture.

The Polywell derives from a 1924 vacuum tube design that would have languished were it not for an insight by Farnsworth. Utilization of an invention is the difference between a footnote and an industry.

[ladajo]

Don't forget the game changing idea of "waterproof concrete". Another Roman thing that was lost for quite a while. As I recall it was an accidental development that significantly changed things.

[ladajo]

Back on topic.

I truly remain surprised that folks have not keyed more on the key statement that has been pointed too several times from the current J&A.

results to date were consistent with the underlying theoretical framework of the Polywell fusion concept

It really does say a lot.

[rcain]

Back on topic.

I truly remain surprised that folks have not keyed more on the key statement that has been pointed too several times from the current J&A.

results to date were consistent with the underlying theoretical framework of the Polywell fusion concept

It really does say a lot.

.. though not a lot we hadn't already surmised.

comforting though.

god i hate the wait.

[MSimon]

and expansion.


and expansion.


and expansion.


and expansion.

[choff]

Yes, in the opinion of the committee, warranted continuation and expansion. If the Iranian polywell has 34 magnets that we can assume a be of a minimum practical size, that means a large radius machine. Probably a top secret race to develop a breakeven fusion reactor going on since WB7 confirmed theory.

[DeltaV]

Given the simplicity of Polywell fabrication (in contrast, perhaps, with the underlying theory) and the openess that was at one time characteristic of Polywell research, I have no doubt that there are several labs around the world already winding coils into toroidal metal casings and assembling them into polyhedra. The cat has left the bag.

[Betruger]

But will it hunt?

[Feebleminded]

Yes, in the opinion of the committee, warranted continuation and expansion. If the Iranian polywell has 34 magnets that we can assume a be of a minimum practical size, that means a large radius machine. Probably a top secret race to develop a breakeven fusion reactor going on since WB7 confirmed theory.

Yet the IAEA seems blind to the potential of a Polywell or any IEC device to be installed practically anywhere in Iran for enrichment purposes. They keep looking for trigger testing and centrifuge facilities. Even in a current publication they seem completely blind to the potential of fusion neutron flux generators.

"Our analysis suggests that clandestine production of weapons materials using fusion research facilities can be considered a highly implausible scenario."
http://iopscience.iop.org/0029-5515/52/4/043004

[choff]

Given the Chapter 6 information being published, how effective is the news blackout anymore, unless there's a much bigger top secret project under way. It might have taken a lot longer to get to the moon if there wasn't a race with the Soviets. Think of how much faster we could get to working fusion reactors with competition.