| Topic: |
Science > Physics |
| User: |
"Gregory L. Hansen" |
| Date: |
14 Jan 2005 11:18:09 AM |
| Object: |
Seating at the collquium. |
I saw the cold fusion seminar at NIST. Sorry, the Low Energy Nuclear
Reactions seminar, as it is apparantly now commonly called. And I saw the
same seating pattern I've seen at any similar event. That is, the edges
fill in first. And there were actually people sitting on the steps or
standing in the back despite the sea of open seats in the middle. I
never have a problem finding a seat because I don't mind stepping on toes
to get there. They knew what could happen if they sit at the edge.
What's up with that?
--
"Outside the camp you shall have a place set aside to be used as a
latrine. You shall keep a trowel in your equipment and with it, when you
go outside to ease nature, you shall first dig a hole and afterward cover
up your excrement." -- Deuteronomy 23:13-14
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Seating at the collquium. |
14 Jan 2005 05:30:22 PM |
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In article <cs8ush$2oo$1@rainier.uits.indiana.edu>, (Gregory L. Hansen) writes:
I saw the cold fusion seminar at NIST. Sorry, the Low Energy Nuclear
Reactions seminar, as it is apparantly now commonly called. And I saw the
same seating pattern I've seen at any similar event. That is, the edges
fill in first. And there were actually people sitting on the steps or
standing in the back despite the sea of open seats in the middle. I
never have a problem finding a seat because I don't mind stepping on toes
to get there. They knew what could happen if they sit at the edge.
What's up with that?
Securing an escape path.
Mati Meron | "When you argue with a fool,
meron@cars.uchicago.edu | chances are he is doing just the same"
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| User: "Gregory L. Hansen" |
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| Title: Re: Seating at the collquium. |
14 Jan 2005 07:08:21 PM |
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In article <iCYFd.33$45.14823@news.uchicago.edu>,
<mmeron@cars3.uchicago.edu> wrote:
In article <cs8ush$2oo$1@rainier.uits.indiana.edu>,
glhansen@steel.ucs.indiana.edu (Gregory L. Hansen) writes:
I saw the cold fusion seminar at NIST. Sorry, the Low Energy Nuclear
Reactions seminar, as it is apparantly now commonly called. And I saw the
same seating pattern I've seen at any similar event. That is, the edges
fill in first. And there were actually people sitting on the steps or
standing in the back despite the sea of open seats in the middle. I
never have a problem finding a seat because I don't mind stepping on toes
to get there. They knew what could happen if they sit at the edge.
What's up with that?
Securing an escape path.
Ah, well, there's been a few folks that have had to sniff my butt when I
found my seat, and sniff it again when I escaped. That's their hard luck.
Not that I'm really a rude guy. Normally I'm kind of quiet and polite.
But I see people standing in the back or sitting on the steps apparantly
because they don't want to squeeze past people who've taken the edge.
Words have difficulty encompassing the silliness of that situation.
--
"When the fool walks through the street, in his lack of understanding he
calls everything foolish." -- Ecclesiastes 10:3, New American Bible
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Seating at the collquium. |
14 Jan 2005 07:30:25 PM |
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In article <cs9qe5$dvn$2@rainier.uits.indiana.edu>, (Gregory L. Hansen) writes:
In article <iCYFd.33$45.14823@news.uchicago.edu>,
<mmeron@cars3.uchicago.edu> wrote:
In article <cs8ush$2oo$1@rainier.uits.indiana.edu>,
(Gregory L. Hansen) writes:
I saw the cold fusion seminar at NIST. Sorry, the Low Energy Nuclear
Reactions seminar, as it is apparantly now commonly called. And I saw the
same seating pattern I've seen at any similar event. That is, the edges
fill in first. And there were actually people sitting on the steps or
standing in the back despite the sea of open seats in the middle. I
never have a problem finding a seat because I don't mind stepping on toes
to get there. They knew what could happen if they sit at the edge.
What's up with that?
Securing an escape path.
Ah, well, there's been a few folks that have had to sniff my butt when I
found my seat, and sniff it again when I escaped. That's their hard luck.
Oh, well, they'll live.
Not that I'm really a rude guy. Normally I'm kind of quiet and polite.
But I see people standing in the back or sitting on the steps apparantly
because they don't want to squeeze past people who've taken the edge.
Words have difficulty encompassing the silliness of that situation.
Silly or not, that's extremely common.
Mati Meron | "When you argue with a fool,
meron@cars.uchicago.edu | chances are he is doing just the same"
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| User: "Ken S. Tucker" |
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| Title: Re: Seating at the collquium. |
14 Jan 2005 07:34:57 PM |
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OT, but Gregory, I for one would be interested in your opinion
of the content of the seminar.
Ken
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| User: "Gregory L. Hansen" |
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| Title: Re: Seating at the collquium. |
14 Jan 2005 08:01:01 PM |
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In article <1105752897.598245.260180@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
Ken S. Tucker <dynamics@vianet.on.ca> wrote:
OT, but Gregory, I for one would be interested in your opinion
of the content of the seminar.
Ken
The speaker in a certain way seemed to attack on the defensive. For
instance, he emphasized that cold fusion conferences look just like
scientific conferences, with researchers giving talks on apparatus and
results, and so on. He had to put up with some of the expected questions
including a comparison to polywater, which he pointed out (rightly, IMHO)
had been explained and put to rest. [Polywater results were due to
contamination of the water-- an explanation for the effect was found and
it wasn't polymerization of water.] He made some comparison with other
ideas that took some time to go from conception to practice; I remember
lasers conceived in 1915 and produced around 1960 as an example.
Physicists had dismissed cold fusion (or Low Energy Nuclear Reactions as
it's apparantly now commonly called) based on branching ratios of d-d
fusion, and neutron and gamma production. But he pointed out that it's
in a different context; cold fusion occurs in a lattice, not in a vacuum
between isolated particles. There's no good theory to explain it, but
there's around 15 theories that are either wrong or inadequate. He
showed some data that seemed to indicate too much energy to have been
made by chemical action, and energy production that varied in provacative
ways versus adjustable parameters like electrode current. When asked
about it, he reassured the audience that cold fusion researchers had
thought of things like annealing of defects in the electrodes as a source
of heat, studied it, and eliminated that as an explanation. He also
discussed a review panel (NSF? I forget) that examined the literature and
decided that whatever is happening, it's worthy of further investigation.
He sees the comments of the reviewers as a valuable guide to further
research, and wants $10 million to fund a program that will repeat old
experiments and do new ones. Which compares with $100 million for hot
fusion. The US currently comes in at about number 4 worldwide in cold
fusion research, after Italy and two other countries.
--
"Don't try to teach a pig how to sing. You'll waste your time and annoy
the pig."
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| User: "Ken S. Tucker" |
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| Title: Re: Seating at the collquium. |
14 Jan 2005 08:25:00 PM |
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Thanks Gregory.
I'm a bit scared of cold fusion, but fascinated by it's potential.
This may sound kooky, but I wonder if a deutrium (or tritium)
charged bar of berylium (or something better), could create
a thermonuclear event if a large current (megaAmp) from a
capacitor was used as an intiator.
I hope not, the strategic repurcussions would be enormous,
I sure hope that's impossible, but I worry about that.
OTOH, in a perfectly sane world, I might someday run down
to the Ponn's Fusion store and buy a battery to power my
house and hydrogen auto for a year, pardon my Jetsonian
optimism.
Incidentally I posted about Tokamaks in the fusion NG.
Thanks again...
Ken
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| User: "Creighton Hogg" |
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| Title: Re: Seating at the collquium. |
14 Jan 2005 11:43:30 AM |
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On Fri, 14 Jan 2005, Gregory L. Hansen wrote:
I saw the cold fusion seminar at NIST. Sorry, the Low Energy Nuclear
Reactions seminar, as it is apparantly now commonly called. And I saw the
same seating pattern I've seen at any similar event. That is, the edges
fill in first. And there were actually people sitting on the steps or
standing in the back despite the sea of open seats in the middle. I
never have a problem finding a seat because I don't mind stepping on toes
to get there. They knew what could happen if they sit at the edge.
What's up with that?
I believe it's so that, if bored, they can easily fake a cellphone call
and leave as fast as possible.
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| User: "Jon Bell" |
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| Title: Re: Seating at the collquium. |
14 Jan 2005 04:32:31 PM |
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In article <Pine.LNX.4.44.0501141142410.32345-100000@dill.hep.wisc.edu>,
Creighton Hogg <wchogg@hep.wisc.edu> wrote:
On Fri, 14 Jan 2005, Gregory L. Hansen wrote:
[...] That is, the edges
fill in first. And there were actually people sitting on the steps or
standing in the back despite the sea of open seats in the middle.
I believe it's so that, if bored, they can easily fake a cellphone call
and leave as fast as possible.
The physics colloquium room at the U. of South Carolina has rows of seats
extending up to the wall on either side, with a single aisle down the
middle. That way you can't leave without it being very noticeable.
Maybe that's precisely why they arrange things that way. :-)
--
Jon Bell <jtbellm4h@presby.edu> Presbyterian College
Dept. of Physics and Computer Science Clinton, South Carolina USA
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| User: "Ken S. Tucker" |
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| Title: Re: Seating at the collquium. |
14 Jan 2005 05:18:25 PM |
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Ha, First in, First Out, or they like watching
butts going by.
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Seating at the collquium. |
14 Jan 2005 05:43:23 PM |
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In article <cs9h9u$avc$1@jtbell.presby.edu>, (Jon Bell) writes:
In article <Pine.LNX.4.44.0501141142410.32345-100000@dill.hep.wisc.edu>,
Creighton Hogg <wchogg@hep.wisc.edu> wrote:
On Fri, 14 Jan 2005, Gregory L. Hansen wrote:
[...] That is, the edges
fill in first. And there were actually people sitting on the steps or
standing in the back despite the sea of open seats in the middle.
I believe it's so that, if bored, they can easily fake a cellphone call
and leave as fast as possible.
The physics colloquium room at the U. of South Carolina has rows of seats
extending up to the wall on either side, with a single aisle down the
middle. That way you can't leave without it being very noticeable.
Maybe that's precisely why they arrange things that way. :-)
For sure:-))
Mati Meron | "When you argue with a fool,
meron@cars.uchicago.edu | chances are he is doing just the same"
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