China Achieves Another Breakthrough In Nuclear Fusion

Posted: 11/28/2018

China’s Preeminence In Science

I have little doubt that Chinese scientists could succeed in the very near future to harness nuclear fusion as a new and abundant energy source for humanity. China and its over 1 billion people will need a lot more energy than today as it becomes a fully advanced and developed economy. India will most likely catch up ...

A Tokamak Again

“The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (East) in Hefei has reached a temperature of 100 million degrees C for the first time” (Source 2; emphasis added). This temperature or higher is believed necessary for stable nuclear fusion.

Previously:

1. “... setting the world record by sustaining 101.2 seconds of steady-state H-mode operation of the EAST in 2017” (Source 4) [Impressive]
2. “Around the globe, they are trying to master nuclear fusion - in the United States, Japan, Korea, Brazil and European Union - but none can hold it steady for as long as the team in Anhui. Right now that's 100 seconds and it gets longer every year. Here they're already talking about goals which are 10 times as long, at temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius” (Source 5)

“China independently designed and constructed the East in 2006. The facility is 11m (36 ft) tall, with a diameter of 8m and a weight of 400 tons. The country is the first in the world to design and develop such equipment on its own.” (Source 2) [I believe, the USSR was the first to design and develop a Tokamak based reactor]

“The reactor is an improvement over China's first superconducting tokamak device, dubbed HT-7, built by the Institute of Plasma Physics in partnership with Russia in the early 1990s.” (Source 3)

I am wondering why the Chinese chose again a Tokamak torus design. It is one of the oldest designs for such reactors (invented in the USSR in the 1950s). Is this really the best design possible? How did the Chinese tweak the design?

ITER To Begin Experiments In 2025

I believe, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), proposed in 1987, has taken way too long to be planned and to be built. China is also among its seven funding and managing countries. I am glad China decided to build their own thermonuclear fusion energy facility in the meantime. The Chinese EAST was proposed in 1997 and started experiments in 2006.

It would be an irony, if the ITER is already severely outdated by the time it comes online thanks to the Chinese.

The Long Rocky History Of Nuclear Fusion

Nuclear fusion has for decades been overhyped and overpromised. That said, perhaps this time we are finally near or on the cusp of making this abundant energy resource available to humanity.

Private Investment

I did not have the time to investigate this topic, but if my memory serves me well, than there are a number of private companies investing in nuclear fusion reactors.

Sources:

1. China's 'artificial sun' achieves major breakthrough (perhaps not the most reliable source)
2. China’s ‘artificial sun’ achieves major breakthrough
3. Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak
4. China's 'artificial sun' operates at temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius
5. Will China beat the world to nuclear fusion and clean energy? (older source from April 2018)

Oncolytic Viruses

Posted: 11/25/2018

It almost sounds too good to be true that there are viruses (natural, engineered, or synthetic) that specialize on killing cancer cells without harming healthy cells. This virus possibly also kills surrounding cells (e.g. cancer-associated cells; immunosuppressive cells), if these surrounding cells prevent cancer treatment. And that is not all: The Enadenotucirev virus (formerly ColoAd1) is also reported to be a broad-spectrum treatment; “... it may give the body's natural immune response a boost along the way …” (Source 1)

“Oncolytic viruses hold great promise for the effective treatment of cancer because of their unique cell-killing mechanisms, tumor-selective replication, amplification of the initial therapy dose through replication in vivo, and potential to provoke an anticancer immune response” (Source 3)

Motto: Cancer is history!

Sources:

1. Scientists engineer a virus to take out cancer cells and their accomplices
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enadenotucirev
3. Phase 1 study of intravenous administration of the chimeric adenovirus enadenotucirev in patients undergoing primary tumor resection
4. An Oncolytic Virus Expressing a T-cell Engager Simultaneously Targets Cancer and Immunosuppressive Stromal Cells

Why Did Arizona U.S. Senate Candidate McSally Loose So Spectacularly

Posted: 11/22/2018

First, I have to admit that I did not have the time to follow the election campaign of Ms. McSally or of her contender very closely.

What seems clear so is that her much touted credentials as the first female combat U.S. Air Force pilot and that she was one of the highest-ranking female pilots in the history of the Air Force did not suffice.

In one of her last campaign commercials on radio immediately before the November 2018 Midterm, she was advertising her determination to do something about pre-existing conditions in health care. Yawn! What?

It appears that McSally fundamentally failed to come out as a staunch and credible fiscal conservative who will do everything in her power to cut the runaway federal spending (annual federal deficits for years are to the tune of $1 trillion) and to reduce dramatically the every growing record high and unsustainable federal government debt (almost $16 trillion).

Global Warming Revisited

Posted: 11/19/2018

The Global Hoax Of Our Time

Global Warming (a.k.a. Climate Change) is a hoax (I have blogged about it plenty of times here)! It is the superstition of our times. Many career politicians have exploited the fears of citizens. Many involved scientists were not much better than medieval alchemists!

Human Ingenuity & Freedom

There are at least several solutions of abundant energy and cleaner air on the horizon:

1. Large scale artificial photosynthesis is probably achievable within 10-20 years
2. Nuclear fusion may also become available within the next 20-30 years
3. Hydrogen power based energy production is becoming reality probably within 10-20 years
4. Recent research into superconductivity is finally very promising
5. Why don’t we clean air like water? It’s not impossible!
6. World population is shrinking much faster than we are constantly fooled to believe. More free markets in Africa and elsewhere would surely go a long way ...

Dismiss The Fools

Thus, there is absolutely no need for all these narrow minded, ill conceived, fundamentalist, fanatic demands  for so called renewable energy; abolishment of fossil fuels etc. Many Global Warming/Climate Change advocates are quite irrational and unconvincing!

Battle Of The Sexes

Posted: 11/19/2018

Clarion Call

Men better wake up! Women are trying to take over! For as long as there are still too distinguishable sexes among humans, men ought to be more proactive and alert.

Power Hungry Women

Feminism has become a clever strategy to win power over men by declaring men as the worse of the two sexes. A significant and growing number of power hungry and/or fanatic women are pushing the agenda.

The original female struggle for equality has gone far beyond!

Gentle Nature Of Males

Too many men have accepted the steady indoctrination that women are the oppressed of the two sexes and men are to be blamed. Men are still way too chivalrous, too forgiving, and too generous to such women by giving in to their demands.

Remember: Women are no angels nor saints!