nukeman (u/nukeman) - Readit News

nukeman commented on Boom XB-1 First Supersonic Flight [video] youtube.com/watch?v=-qisI... · Posted by u/rayhaanj

throwaway2037 · 7 months ago

East Coast US to Japan supersonic? This is the stuff of fantasy. With the insanely high fuel burn and very small aeroplane body size, where are you going to put all the fuel for a trans-Pacific flight? NYC<->LON was already nearly the limit for the Concorde. As I understand, they had high priority when landing due to low fuel.

nukeman · 7 months ago

Interesting, I hadn’t realized the range was so short. I guess if they did trans-Pacific it would mostly be limited to Seattle to Tokyo, or routes with a stopover in Hawaii.

nukeman commented on Boom XB-1 First Supersonic Flight [video] youtube.com/watch?v=-qisI... · Posted by u/rayhaanj

throwaway2037 · 7 months ago

Is Boom aiming to be faster than the Concorde? I don't think so.

Their website says:

    > Overture will carry 64-80 passengers at Mach 1.7

Concorde flew NYC<->LON in 3.5 hours. I guess Boom will fly the route in about 4 hours. Also, regular commercial flights on NYC<->LON are currently 7 hours.

Also, using Google Flights, I priced LHR<->JFK on first class about T+1month for 7 days (Mon->Mon). It is about 5.3K USD round trip. I am surprised that it is so cheap. I guess that route is very competitive.

I don't understand the excitement on HN about Boom. The market is tiny. This is a terrible investment. What is the global demand for this aeroplane (if they ever build it)? Maybe... max 200. Look at the order book from the 1960s when the Concorde first flew. Less than 100 total orders. Are people forgetting about how incredibly loud is a sonic boom? It is unlikely that it will get rights to fly over land, just like the Concorde. Also, it is terrible for the environment. The Concorde burned fuel (passenger miles per liter) at roughly twice the rate of non-supersonic aeroplanes.

(Various edits.)

nukeman · 7 months ago

I think the real advantage would be for transpacific flights. San Francisco to Tokyo is currently about 11.5 hours, assuming a similar ratio (maybe slightly better due to flying supersonic for longer), Boom’s time would be around 6.5 to 7 hours. Savings would be more significant for East Coast flights, ATL-HND would go from 14.5 hours to under 8.5.

nukeman commented on Vulture shortage threatens Zoroastrian burial rites theguardian.com/world/art... · Posted by u/YeGoblynQueenne

the__alchemist · a year ago

I'm in South East, USA, vice the Indian subcontinent. Did something happen here within the last year? (Maybe the same thing?) I haven't seen vultures (Turkey vultures) in maybe 3/4 of a year. They are usually ubiquitous and highly visible due to large wingspan, staying airborne for long periods etc, using thermals from roads/concrete etc that make them common in human-populated areas.

nukeman · a year ago

Old World Vultures are not closely related to New World Vultures (which are closer to storks). The mechanism which kills vultures in India and Africa does not present the same issue in vultures native to North America.

nukeman commented on How the first fourth-generation nuclear power plant works news.cgtn.com/news/2024-0... · Posted by u/chris222

jansan · 2 years ago

> The Chernobyl accident led to fallout being deposited on German soil, A

That was long after the anti nuclear movement had gained full steam, not a reason for it. People in Poland or Bulgaria are not nearly that extreme in their thinking, even though they got a much bigger dose of the Charnobyl fallout.

nukeman · 2 years ago

But the severity of Chernobyl definitely fomented anti-nuclear sentiment much further than it had been. It “showed” that a major radiological release could happen in a civilian power plant (nonwithstanding that such designs weren’t used in Germany). Ultimately the formation of the sentiment was a process, of which Chernobyl is a core part.

nukeman commented on How the first fourth-generation nuclear power plant works news.cgtn.com/news/2024-0... · Posted by u/chris222

ikekkdcjkfke · 2 years ago

Would be really interesting to see where the anti-nuclear sentiment in germany formented from

nukeman · 2 years ago

1. Being on the front lines of the Cold War, in the event of a hot war, most nuclear weapons would be used in West Germany. (Yes, weapons aren’t power plants, but they can be hard to separate in popular discourse.)

2. Plans to build a nuclear power plant at Wyhl were opposed by locals, who occupied the site, and were forcefully removed by police. This was broadcast on television and helped galvanize the anti-nuclear movement.

3. The Chernobyl accident led to fallout being deposited on German soil, which furthered opposition, and in my view, was the killing blow.

nukeman commented on The new Paris métro forbes.com/sites/jennifer... · Posted by u/TheIronYuppie

easton · 2 years ago

I will say DC’s are pretty clean by US standards, although I might be biased living there. They have lots of cleaning staff.

nukeman · 2 years ago

DC has an advantage in newness and in materials selection (tiny tiles with lots of grout looks cool for 5 minutes), as well as having relatively fewer station layouts.

t. former NoVa resident

nukeman commented on Nitrogen electroreduction with almost 100% current-to-ammonia efficiency (2022) nature.com/articles/s4158... · Posted by u/gorpovitch

nick222226 · 2 years ago

How about radon, is that fissible?

nukeman · 2 years ago

No, it gives off alpha particles and gamma rays. Hypothetically, you could build a device to harvest that energy (along the lines of an RTG), but the energy density and conversion efficiency would be laughable, given the 3.8 day half-life and gaseous state.

nukeman commented on Detroit wants to be the first big American city to tax land value economist.com/united-stat... · Posted by u/lxm

ab_goat · 2 years ago

Commented on other reply first... please see there.

nukeman · 2 years ago

Thanks!

nukeman commented on Detroit wants to be the first big American city to tax land value economist.com/united-stat... · Posted by u/lxm

simonsarris · 2 years ago

> Bridges are even more financially burdensome. Recently, we replaced a culvert that was so small I could easily jump over it, and yet it set us back $700,000.

Why? Why didn't you all agree to go down to Home Depot and load up on one big short metal pipe and some cement if that's the case? How was 700K spent?

nukeman · 2 years ago

Likely due to:

- Environmental regulations requiring NEPA analysis or categorical exclusion

- State laws on who can perform road construction

- Construction codes for roadways and bridges

- Miscellaneous overhead for other areas (e.g., Human Resources, accounting, etc)

nukeman commented on Detroit wants to be the first big American city to tax land value economist.com/united-stat... · Posted by u/lxm

ab_goat · 2 years ago

I've been thinking about local taxes a lot recently (I've been a locally elected selectman for a tiny town in MA) and realized that the automobile ruined the way we value land, which ultimate ruined the way that municipalities are able to control costs and spend their taxes to add value.

I'd write more, but only if someone responds to this.

nukeman · 2 years ago

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts, this jibes with mine on the subject to an extent.