Superconductivity Up To 200 Degrees Celsius

Posted: 8/31/2019

“The newly predicted superconductor, a compound of hydrogen, magnesium and lithium, ... must be squeezed to extremely high pressure, nearly 2.5 million times the pressure of Earth’s atmosphere” (S1; emphasis added)

Here is the abbreviated abstract of the research paper (S2; emphasis added):

“The recent theory-orientated discovery of record high-temperature superconductivity (Tc∼250K) in sodalite like clathrate LaH10 is an important advance toward room-temperature superconductors. Here, we identify an alternative clathrate structure in ternary Li2MgH16 with a remarkably high estimated Tc of ∼473K at 250 GPa, which may allow us to obtain room-temperature or even higher-temperature superconductivity. ... The extra electrons introduced break up the H2 molecules, increasing the amount of atomic hydrogen … which is necessary for stabilizing the clathrate structure or other high-Tc structures. Our results provide a viable strategy for tuning the superconductivity of hydrogen-rich hydrides by donating electrons to hydrides via metal doping. ...”

But keep in mind, this appears to be so far only a theoretically calculated, simulated kind of superconductor. Can a superconductor like this (hydrogen rich compound; high pressure; electron doping) ever be mass produced.

Sources (S):

1. A predicted superconductor might work at a record-breaking 200° Celsius The hydrogen-rich material would still need to be squeezed to extremely high pressures (8/30/19)
2. Route to a Superconducting Phase above Room Temperature in Electron-Doped Hydride Compounds under High Pressure (8/26/19)

So LGBTQ Is A Cult, A Tribe, Or A Sect?

Posted: 8/29/2019

Nature News came out today saying there is no evidence for a gentic basis of human sexuality and speficially, there is no gay gene. What does that mean if confirmed?

“The largest study to date on the genetic basis of sexuality has revealed five spots on the human genome that are linked to same-sex sexual behaviour — but none of the markers are reliable enough to predict someone’s sexuality.

The findings, which are published on 29 August in Science and based on the genomes of nearly 500,000 people, shore up the results of earlier, smaller studies and confirm the suspicions of many scientists: while sexual preferences have a genetic component, no single gene has a large effect on sexual behaviours.” (S1; emphasis added)

I have for some time argued that LGBTQ is like a fashionable fad for young people! The LGBTQ tribe/sect/cult promotes a colorful, alternative, hip, glamorous, vanity lifestyle in opposition or contrary to older generations.

Sources (S):

1. No ‘gay gene’: Massive study homes in on genetic basis of human sexuality Nearly half a million genomes reveal five DNA markers associated with sexual behaviour — but none with the power to predict the sexuality of an individual. (8/29/19)

Boris Johnson - The Right Man At The Right Time

Posted: 8/29/2019

Or as they say cometh the hour cometh the man! In times of crisis or turmoil, the British people finally choose a man or woman who has what it takes! The rather appalling Brexit political spectacle of the past two years will now most likely come to an end! The UK can do so much better without the EU!

With the brilliant stroke to prorogue the British Parliament for a month (as early as 9/9 through 10/14) until close to the Brexit deadline, the new Prime Minister of the UK, Boris Johnson, left little doubt about his commitment to exit the EU. Kudos to the Queen!

Now all eyes will be on the special relationship between the UK and the U.S. If Trump and Johnson get along, they could do great things together much like Reagan, Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II! I would not count the Churchill and Roosevelt relationship as special, it was more of a necessity. President Roosevelt (the most socialist U.S. president of all times) was too terrible a U.S. president!

It will be fascinating to watch what Boris Johnson will do about Northern Ireland and Scotland. 

Sources (S):

1.  Cometh the hour, cometh the man
2. About UK Parliament, Prorogation
3. Special Relationship

The Diversity & Inclusion Propaganda Fermilab

Posted: 8/27/2019 

President Trump needs to stop this propaganda coming out of leading federal research facilities!  In this case it is Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FermiLab). This propaganda is spread by none other than “Copyright 2019 Symmetry Magazine A joint Fermilab/SLAC publication/U.S. Department of Energy | Office of Science”. There still is a lot of swamp to drain in Washington DC!

I have previously blogged about the “The LGBTQ Livermore National Laboratory”.

Now, the world famous Fermilab features “Channeling Shuri as a physicist at Wakandacon

08/27/19 By Bailey Bedford/Fermilab scientist Jessica Esquivel donned a superhero costume to celebrate diversity in STEM, nerdiness and science at Wakandacon in Chicago.”

I don’t think I have to go any deeper into this article, you get the idea! This is again diversity & inclusion propaganda disseminated by top federal research institutions! Appalling! Propaganda trumps science!

Wakandacon hardly qualifies as a science convention! Wakandacon’s “Pillars” reads “In creating Wakandacon we imagined a place free and unshackled from the ravages of racism; of exploitation; of discrimination; of emotional, physical, and sexual violence.”.

I don’t think that any federal employee needs to be featured attending such a conference. This is private, personal business of this employee!

Sources (S):

1. https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/channeling-shuri-as-a-physicist-at-wakandacon (8/27/19)
2. Pillars of Wakandacon

MIT Technology Propaganda Magazine

Posted: 8/27/2019

I have blogged here several times about the increasingly shoddy and full of propaganda MIT Technology Review. It is truly appalling! Just checked, the MIT TR is still owned by MIT (see here). 

The propaganda of MIT TR is engaged in horrible scaremongering & demagoguery dressed up as science! The selected piece below has been debunked by none other than NASA (see S2).

The following Download, MIT Technology Review’s daily newsletter arrived into my email inbox (emphasis added):

We aren’t terrified enough about losing the Amazon

Scientists aren’t sure if there’s a tipping point, or how close we are to it – but it would be “absolutely catastrophic” if we cross it, reports James Temple.

The context: With fires raging in the Brazilian Amazon, media reports have resurfaced a scary scenario where a certain level of deforestation will push the world’s largest rainforest to a tipping point where spiraling feedback effects convert much of the forest into savannah.

A scary prospect: In this scenario, rather than holding 17% of the world’s carbon trapped in vegetation on land, the Amazon would become a major source of it. Scientists can’t say exactly where the tipping point would be, but like other climate tipping points, which are unpredictable and essentially irreversible once reached, we should err on the side of caution. 

Are we nearing it? So far, at least 17% of the Amazon has already been lost. As little as 20% deforestation could begin to trigger the irreversible “savannafication” process. Read the full story here.

Sources (S):

1. We aren’t terrified enough about losing the Amazon (8/26/2019
2. NASA Earth Observatory: Fires in Brazil (8/22/19)

Very Competitive Indian Female Athletes

Posted: 8/27/2019 

If you think or believe Indian females do not have what it takes to win competitive sports events you are dead wrong. I do not know much about badminton, but I believe it is a very competitive and very intensive sport like tennis. Badminton is a Summer Olympic Games sport. 

Ms. Pusarla Venkata Sindhu just won the 2019 world championship of badminton (S1)

I have little doubt that this contortionist may very well win the gold medal in badminton at the 2020 Olympic Games!

By the way, “With earnings of $8.5 and 5.5 million respectively, Sindhu made the Forbes' list of Highest-Paid Female Athletes in 2018 and 2019” (S2).

Sources (S):

1. Proud of you girl: Sports fraternity lauds PV Sindhu for winning gold at BWF World Championships (8/26/19)
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._V._Sindhu
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_BWF_World_Championships

Reflexology Paired With Live Saxophone Music

Posted: 8/24/2019

Despite the decline of indoor shopping malls in the U.S., some new businesses offer services or combination of services you cannot yet buy online. 

Here is one example discovered recently in the Paradise Valley indoor shopping mall near, you guessed it, Paradise Valley, Arizona. The live saxophone music filled the air and the Green Spa is ready for your reflexology treatment ...

The KDE Monastery

Posted: 8/24/2019

If you think that monasteries in the Western world are kind of quaint and only exist on the periphery of Western societies, where few citizens aspire to become a monk, you might be in for a rude shock.

I have recently discovered a modern monastery, where young people flock to in droves. It is called the Linux based KDE international free software community (S1). E.g. the KDE Plasma Desktop is the default desktop environment on many Linux distributions.

Since I have been using one of KDE’s products very heavily on a daily basis, i.e. Okular (a PDF file viewer & annotator), I thought it would be a good idea to share bug/feature reports about this product with the KDE community.

In dealing with the KDE community, I found out that they care more about themselves and their well being than about the users of their products or the quality of their products. Some of the volunteers have a lazy, cloistered, cultish, arrogant prima donna like attitude and they respond like snowflakes. Volunteer outsiders (like me) trying to contribute are not treated very well unless they adhere to the rules of the monastery. When I addressed my concerns with the KDE community, an administrator quickly shunted me and disabled my account. 

I also tried to contact by email the German registered association behind the KDE community, i.e. the KDE e.V. a registered non-profit organization that represents the KDE Community in legal and financial matters, but they never bothered to respond.

Sources (S):

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDE
2. https://okular.kde.org/
3. https://ev.kde.org/

Most Powerful AI Chip Yet Released

Posted: 8/24/2019  Updated: 8/30/2019

Update Of 8/30/2019

The large size of this chip (215 mm on each side) could indicate a major paradigm shift in chip production! In the past, the major trend was to make chips more compact and dense on ever tinier scales.

However, “... Cerebras argues that the world’s semiconductor companies have spent decades developing ever tinier chips that can then be bundled together to create super-powerful processors. But hooking lots of small chips together creates latencies that slow down training of AI models—a huge industry bottleneck. In contrast, an extra giant chip could shift data between processing and memory incredibly fast and turbocharge AI applications” (source; emphasis added)

Original Post

Could this be a game changer we have been waiting on? AI & machine learning have a serious bottleneck (limiting factor) and that is the computing hardware itself. Better and more powerful chips are urgently needed. 

This is a giant of a WSE (Wafer Scale Engine) chip measuring 215 mm each side or 46,225 mm2 and featuring 1.2 Trillion transistors and 400,000 AI-optimized cores! “By comparison, the largest Graphics Processing Unit is 815 mm2 and has 21.1 Billion transistors.” (S2) This chip was just released by Cerebras Systems (not exactly one of the familiar names in the chip making industry, but this may change).

Sources (S):

1. Cerebras Systems unveils a record 1.2 trillion transistor chip for AI (8/19/19)
2. Cerebras Systems

Soldiers Without Pain Or Fear

Posted: 8/23/2019

“A new approach to pain eradication mimics [a] mutation and has been demonstrated in lab mice. Startup Navega Therapeutics plans to develop a CRISPR treatment to block severe pain caused by diabetes, cancer, or car accidents ... The first tests of CRISPR gene therapies on humans began only recently, and it’s a huge gamble. Removing people’s ability to feel pain comes with some big risks

Super soldiers: The studies are likely to be closely followed by the military. In 2017 Vladmit Putin said genetic engineering could create soldiers who feel no pain or fear, which could be “scarier than a nuclear bomb.

A rare case: A young Pakistani street performer [who walked on hot coal] died in 2006 after someone dared him to jump from a roof. ... He had a rare genetic disorder which meant he never felt pain. He had a mutation which disabled the SCN9A gene, which pays a key part in transmitting pain to the brain.

” (S1; emphasis added)

If you add to this robots or autonomous fighter planes and drones or the proliferation of nuclear or biological weapons, you have a major paradigm shift in military strategy and warfare.

The world will only be a safer place once all the belligerent authoritarian regimes or dictatorships of the world are defeated or replaced by human dignity and individual freedom respecting forms of government! Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom and peace on earth!

Sources (S):

1. The next trick for CRISPR is gene-editing pain away A family of street performers could walk on coals. Here’s how the secret of why they felt no pain could benefit others. (8/22/19)

Macron The Moron Vs Bolsonaro

Posted: 8/23/2019  Updated: 8/25/2019

Update Of 8/25/2019

My original blog post was more based on a strong hunch about the manufactured crisis regarding the fires in the Amazon tropical forest. Now, we have prove by NASA: “As of August 16, 2019, an analysis of NASA satellite data indicated that total fire activity across the Amazon basin this year has been close to the average in comparison to the past 15 years.” (S5; emphasis added)

Macron’s ludicrous claim that the Amazon tropical forest provides 20% of global oxygen is apparently on phony or fake information. Possibly, the figures is only about 6% (S4).

Now, why would Macron make such a foolish mistake? Was this meant to be a stupid attack on the current, so called right wing president of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro?

Original Post

Just yesterday, the French president/moron Macron uttered on Twitter: “Our house is burning. Literally. The Amazon rainforest - the lungs which produces 20% of our planet’s oxygen - is on fire. It is an international crisis. Members of the G7 Summit, let's discuss this emergency first order in two days!” (S1; emphasis added). The last three presidents of France since 2007 were largely inept clowns, i.e. Nicolas Sarkozy, Francois Hollande (I blogged about Hollande here, here), and now Emmanuel Macron. This is very concerning! I have previously blogged here about Macron the moron here, here, and here.

Other European countries (e.g. Finland, Ireland) have meanwhile threatened with boycotts of Brazil etc. When climate religion becomes fanaticism, there you have it! Sabotaging an important free trade agreement between Mercosur and the Eu over some Amazon fire.

Brazilian president Bolsonaro has justifiably dismissed such European interference in internal affairs of Brazil as colonialism! 

Smithsonian Magazine displayed following image in a recent Facebook posting of a map of South America purportedly showing the geographic extension of the fire:

However, this is most likely fake news as it is very unlikely that nearly half of South America is engulfed in flames as suggested on this image. From the article (S3) we learn, this image actually represents a “The latest fire [aerosol] forecast from the European Union's Copernicus satellite” (S3) 

All the news I have seen so far, give me the impression that the Amazon fire is very likely a manufactured crisis and blown way out of proportion! Allegedly, over 70,000 fires are burning. Did e.g. the EU offer any aid to extinguish the fire etc.?

Sources (S):

1. https://twitter.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1164617008962527232 (8/22/19)
2. WEGEN AMAZONAS-BRÄNDEN : Europa droht Bolsonaro mit Blockade
3. Three Things to Know About the Fires Blazing Across the Amazon Rainforest Experts say the majority of blazes were set by farmers hoping to clear land for agricultural endeavors  (8/22/19)
4. NASA, scientists crush climate change hysteria around Amazon fires — here's the truth (8/25/19)

NASA Earth Observatory: Fires in Brazil (8/22/19)