Science that makes you cringe

[Pingu]

...Eh? Surely *all* pianos are digital?

Player piano.

[Mr Larrington]

...Eh? Surely *all* pianos are digital?

Player piano.

So it goes.

[Pingu]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/14/scientists-build-traps-to-manage-uks-rising-number-of-chinese-mitten-crabs

the crustaceans, which can grow bigger than a 10-inch dinner plate

Why not just say 10 inches?

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

I guess it is more descriptive, I.e. they very flat.  Maybe they should be renamed Dinner Plate Crabs and then people would eat them?

[Cudzoziemiec]

You can imagine the process.
Journo: "the crustaceans, which grow to more than ten inches"
ED: People don't know how big ten inches is, be descriptive.
Journo: "the crustaceans, which grow as big as a dinner plate"
ED: What size dinner plate? Be accurate.

[Pickled Onion]

I think Cudz is spot on. They wanted to convey that they are flat and round (though there was a picture). 10" doesn't work, they could be long and thin. Or 10" from claw to tail. 10" diameter, not that either, they could be spherical.

Though I despair that The G thinks their readership needs things in inches.

[Pickled Onion]

This article, when it first came out had the sub-headline

First of 277 turbines goes into operation at site that will produce enough energy for 6m homes a year

And repeated the howler throughout the text. Thankfully it's been corrected now. What even is a "home per year"?

It's still there in this other article from September

Up to 5 gigawatts of offshore wind was eligible to compete, which could have powered nearly 8m homes a year.

I also like the idea of wind competing.

[Tim Hall]

This article, when it first came out had the sub-headline

First of 277 turbines goes into operation at site that will produce enough energy for 6m homes a year

And repeated the howler throughout the text. Thankfully it's been corrected now. What even is a "home per year"?

It's still there in this other article from September

Up to 5 gigawatts of offshore wind was eligible to compete, which could have powered nearly 8m homes a year.

I also like the idea of wind competing.

I don't like it when the wind competes with me as I cycle along. I much prefer the wind to be on my side (actually at my back is better).

[cygnet]

You can imagine the process.
Journo: "the crustaceans, which grow to more than ten inches"
ED: People don't know how big ten inches is, be descriptive.
Journo: "the crustaceans, which grow as big as a dinner plate"
ED: What size dinner plate? Be accurate.

Bigger than an Linton Travel Tavern dinner plate?

[mrcharly-YHT]

This article, when it first came out had the sub-headline

First of 277 turbines goes into operation at site that will produce enough energy for 6m homes a year

And repeated the howler throughout the text. Thankfully it's been corrected now. What even is a "home per year"?

It's still there in this other article from September

Up to 5 gigawatts of offshore wind was eligible to compete, which could have powered nearly 8m homes a year.

I also like the idea of wind competing.

I think that 'wind competing' is a jargon phrase for 'competing to supply', because at any one time the National Grid will 'call' for supply from multiple generators. Some generators will be spun down, because they aren't needed.

We really, really need to build more large scale energy storage. Couple more big hydro dams at least, or multiple small ones.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Battery technology. I am sure it has plenty to offer, just needs investment. 

[mrcharly-YHT]

Battery technology. I am sure it has plenty to offer, just needs investment.

When you compare battery storage with hydro dam storage, it doesn't stack up.

Batteries require a lot of resources to build. Even the iron or vanadium / air batteries.

Dams require water and a bit of concrete (yes, and suitable land, but that exists).

[Mr Larrington]

Dams also have significant environmental impact, and not just if you’re a fish.

[JonBuoy]

Battery technology. I am sure it has plenty to offer, just needs investment.

When you compare battery storage with hydro dam storage, it doesn't stack up.

This does stack up:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmrwdTGZxGk

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Battery technology. I am sure it has plenty to offer, just needs investment.

When you compare battery storage with hydro dam storage, it doesn't stack up.

Batteries require a lot of resources to build. Even the iron or vanadium / air batteries.

Dams require water and a bit of concrete (yes, and suitable land, but that exists).

What I meant was futuristic battery tech rather than SOTA stuff. Stuff beyond our weirdest dreams, like witch craft.

[Peter]

Battery technology. I am sure it has plenty to offer, just needs investment.

When you compare battery storage with hydro dam storage, it doesn't stack up.

This does stack up:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmrwdTGZxGk

I see what you did there Jon.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Battery technology. I am sure it has plenty to offer, just needs investment.

When you compare battery storage with hydro dam storage, it doesn't stack up.

This does stack up:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmrwdTGZxGk

Ha ha ha.

[Jaded]

Battery technology. I am sure it has plenty to offer, just needs investment.

When you compare battery storage with hydro dam storage, it doesn't stack up.

Batteries require a lot of resources to build. Even the iron or vanadium / air batteries.

Dams require water and a bit of concrete (yes, and suitable land, but that exists).

I thought that the rush for hydroelectric in the last century had used almost all the good locations?

[mrcharly-YHT]

Battery technology. I am sure it has plenty to offer, just needs investment.

When you compare battery storage with hydro dam storage, it doesn't stack up.

Batteries require a lot of resources to build. Even the iron or vanadium / air batteries.

Dams require water and a bit of concrete (yes, and suitable land, but that exists).

I thought that the rush for hydroelectric in the last century had used almost all the good locations?

Nope
You only need a 20m difference between low and high dam.
Plus they don't need to be mega dams.

The last century rush was for hydro generation.
That has different requirements from pump up storage.

[Polar Bear]

I would imagine that an awful lot of reservoirs would be suitable for conversion to energy storage.  The added bonus being that they are spread around the country so would be good generally for regionalised energy distribution.

[Polar Bear]

Further thought:  more electrify is required during the October to April period when we get on average more rain.  This would complement the solar generation which tends to be more efficient in the March to October months.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I would imagine that an awful lot of reservoirs would be suitable for conversion to energy storage.  The added bonus being that they are spread around the country so would be good generally for regionalised energy distribution.

But we also need more reservoirs for drinking water. Can one reservoir be used for both purposes? I don't see why not, but there might be a reason.

[T42]

Dear Guardian, fossils aren't artefacts.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/oct/22/callous-reckless-unethical-scientists-in-row-over-rare-fossils-flown-into-space

Caption under skull photo.

[Tim Hall]

Two belters today, among several, on a training course I was on:

1. Radio waves fall to the ground due to gravity.*

2. Overhead power lines carry DC electricity.


* ok, yes, black holes and other GBFO objects can exert a gravitational pull on electromagnetic radiation, but "fall to the ground"?

[Kim]

To be fair, overhead DC interconnectors are a thing, but it's one of those cases where the reduced losses from DC transmission have to outweigh the losses and additional complexity of converting to DC and back, so it only makes economic sense over the sort of distances you aren't going to encounter in BRITAIN.

BFO pylons supporting only a pair of conductors look surprisingly *wrong*: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HVDC_Crossover_North-Dakota.jpg
(Not least because as the current isn't alternating, there shouldn't be any electro-magneto-gravitational force pulling the cables to the ground, so why waste all that money on pylons?  )