this post was submitted on 22 Nov 2023
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Science Memes

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[–] Kidplayer_666@lemm.ee 116 points 11 months ago (5 children)

All of humanities technological advancements can be summed up in ever more complex ways to boil water

[–] FederatedSaint@lemmy.world 21 points 11 months ago (2 children)

That's why photovoltaics need much more R&D. They are the only true advancement in electricity production since the inception of broadly adopted electrification.

[–] Kidplayer_666@lemm.ee 32 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Exactly why we should ditch them. We shall not break tradition. Praise be the turbine

[–] Restaldt@lemm.ee 13 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] GBU_28@lemm.ee 5 points 11 months ago

Anoint me in condensate

[–] Opafi@feddit.de 9 points 11 months ago

It doesn't rotate to generate electricity? Must be blasphemy.

[–] snugglesthefalse@sh.itjust.works 8 points 11 months ago

Blessed be the holy turbine, we seek guidance in its rotation. Long may it spin and bring forth a bounteous current.

[–] vithigar@lemmy.ca 6 points 11 months ago

Also fuel cells.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 16 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Hey we burn things just for heat too.

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 23 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago (2 children)

We heat homes, smelt ore, many industrial things.

[–] CJOtheReal@ani.social 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

We heat homes by heating water and putting the hot water through pipes into wall mounted iron tanks so that the water cools down again...

[–] BandoCalrissian@lemm.ee 7 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Not everyone uses radiators. My system is a forced air furnace.

[–] scifu@lemm.ee 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

We heat water molecules in air.

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[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago (3 children)
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I think to be more general it boils down to just oxidate stuff.

/pun intended

[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Boil shit, burn shit, and blow shit up. Humans in a nut shell.

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[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 3 points 11 months ago

Most of the biggest advances in technology is just about moving liquids. Rocket science is really just large scale HVAC.

[–] zepheriths@lemmy.world 41 points 11 months ago

Oh boy just wait till you hear how fossil fuels work

[–] PhlubbaDubba@lemm.ee 38 points 11 months ago

That's just steam power with extra steps!

I've got bad news for ya bruv

[–] TonyToniToneOfficial@lemmy.ml 32 points 11 months ago (5 children)

Wait till you find out how nuclear fusion makes electricity

[–] SkybreakerEngineer@lemmy.world 26 points 11 months ago (2 children)

You mean, how it will in 20 years?

[–] TonyToniToneOfficial@lemmy.ml 17 points 11 months ago

Perpetually so

[–] Tb0n3@sh.itjust.works 10 points 11 months ago

It's like Musk time. In 20 years it'll only be 20 years away.

[–] GaMEChld@lemmy.world 16 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Helion's approach is actually different. They are attempting to capture energy directly through induction. I hope it pans out for them, seems like a really interesting approach.

[–] peopleproblems@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] GaMEChld@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

Here's a video I saw a few months back you might find interesting:

https://youtu.be/_bDXXWQxK38?si=7XooWphajO6OlRB5

[–] NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

We can do it now, just haven't found a way to scale it and make it economical yet.

[–] TonyToniToneOfficial@lemmy.ml 7 points 11 months ago

ITER is doing a great job on that front

[–] Zaphod@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 11 months ago

There's actually two (at least that I know of) ways for fusion to generate electricity, this is a newer one https://youtu.be/uRaQLZaaHWo?si=DTwV26inm1pyrYn8

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[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago (5 children)

Our entire society* has been based on burning things. Then we progressed to... burning atoms.

(*Exceptions I can think of is solar, wind, hydro.)

[–] JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Then we're leaching off the sun burning atoms.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)
[–] joyjoy@lemm.ee 10 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Solar farms did start out as using the sun to boil water. Basically mirrors redirecting light to a central point to super-heat a pipe flowing with water.

[–] burgersc12@sh.itjust.works 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Theres actually been a major increase in solar thermal power stations in the last few years

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[–] FederatedSaint@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Wind and hydro still have to spin a turbine. Solar is the one true stand out advancement in electricity production since we started using electricity.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

They spin it directly though, not via steam.

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[–] dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 11 months ago

ACKSHUALLY you're not burning atoms in a nuclear reaction. You're creating a chain reaction of neutrons colliding with Uranium isotopes. No combustion.

[–] Zellith@kbin.social 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

To be fair, the atoms were going to burn anyhow. We just clumped them together to make better use of them.

[–] RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

They can't all be photonic inversion.

[–] CJOtheReal@ani.social 2 points 11 months ago

I like RTGs way more

[–] Draconic_NEO@mander.xyz 2 points 11 months ago

Well Rotating a rotor on a generator is the most convenient way to make electricity with parts that last a long amount of time. Also doesn't help that we use AC power while other sources like photovoltaic produce DC power which needs to be converted to be used.

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