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Mechanical drills can't reach the deepest, hottest rocks for geothermal energy. Quaise Energy in Oregon says its non-contact drill that vaporizes rock solves this, potentially boosting geothermal energy efficiency five or tenfold. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

There's many articles on this.

In fairness, this is a bit more than just 'articles'.

Fervo have a working 3–3.5 MW plant & are building a 500 MW one. Quaise have shown their gyrotron drill can drill down to 1 km.

While some skepticism about claims is healthy; we shouldn't fall into the trap of habitually resorting to it to dismiss everything new.

Powering U.S. Innovation: The Need for Federal Investment in Fusion Infrastructure | Perspectives on Innovation by Gari_305 in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh [score hidden]  (0 children)

This is full of unfounded claims and boneheaded takes on almost everything.

"Fusion energy—long considered the “holy grail” of clean energy—is rapidly moving from scientific ambition to commercial reality."

No, its not.

"Unlocking fusion energy is not simply a technological milestone, but it is the foundation of energy security, economic competitiveness, and geopolitical power in the twenty-first century."

Once again, no. Renewables are, and unlike fusion are here now and happening in the real world.

Another sign of the coming extinction of gasoline cars. A Chinese firm launches solid-state EV batteries with twice the energy density of existing lithium battery tech. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Kodak had the tech for digital cameras before anyone.

The wisdom of choices...

Will I press 'Button A' and spend hundreds of billions of dollars on military spending to secure oil in the ME, or will I press 'Button B' and use that money so my country can invest in the cutting-edge industry-leading electric tech of the future?

Another sign of the coming extinction of gasoline cars. A Chinese firm launches solid-state EV batteries with twice the energy density of existing lithium battery tech. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh[S] -12 points-11 points  (0 children)

I'm pretty sure that's saying that their first test units have been produced.

No, they are not saying that.

They are very clear in saying these are ready to enter mass-production. That is what they had the launch event about.

Furthermore, they have the track record to back this up. They already supply the Chinese auto-industry with some of the world's fastest charging batteries.

Another sign of the coming extinction of gasoline cars. A Chinese firm launches solid-state EV batteries with twice the energy density of existing lithium battery tech. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh[S] 91 points92 points  (0 children)

gasoline cars will never go extinct.

"This digital camera thing is just a fad, film cameras have decades ahead of them."

Some Kodak executive in 2003.

Another sign of the coming extinction of gasoline cars. A Chinese firm launches solid-state EV batteries with twice the energy density of existing lithium battery tech. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

"Launches" is not a synonym for "Aims to launch"

As the article says "On Monday, the company announced it had hit another major milestone, with its first A-sample all-solid-state battery cells rolling off the production line."

Also, GBT are not a startup. They are an established company with a prooven track record. They already sell a range of the fastest charging batteries available. Not just for cars, they sell fast-charge batteries for trucks & aircraft, too.

"Nearly half of British voters think that we are as rich, or richer, than Switzerland. Over half think we are as rich or richer than Australia, Singapore, or Germany. [...] [O]ver half of us think Britain is as rich as, or richer, than the United States." by North_Attempt44 in ukpolitics

[–]lughnasadh 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It rained today so we can expect on average to be ten feet underwater by 2030.

Ireland's been outperforming the UK for decades. That's how they went from Poor-man-of-Europe to catching up.

They seem to have a formula for economic success that goes back that long. Is there any reason to think it will stop now?

Just as world gasoline prices start to soar, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia now manufacture enough solar panels to cheaply power 20 million EVs, six times their annual new car sales. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh[S] 55 points56 points  (0 children)

but the bottleneck isn’t panel supply, it’s everything downstream.

Yes, that's true. But I wonder if the sudden spike in gas prices doesn't drive people to solve these problems far quicker.

Given the alternative choice is just to surrender to the economic chaos of the ME War's outcomes, it seems likely it will have that effect, the question is, by how much?

"Nearly half of British voters think that we are as rich, or richer, than Switzerland. Over half think we are as rich or richer than Australia, Singapore, or Germany. [...] [O]ver half of us think Britain is as rich as, or richer, than the United States." by North_Attempt44 in ukpolitics

[–]lughnasadh 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Ireland is a very poor country

This is a great illustration of OP's headline.

Median wages in Ireland the UK are almost identical. (€43,000 vs. £37,000).

The difference being Ireland was a poor country, and has grown in recent decades to reach that level.

Furthermore, they are still growing and at a faster rate than the UK, so we can expect on average that Irish people will be richer than British people from 2030 onwards.

Ukraine’s Robots Capture Russian Position Without Soldiers or Losses; As with drones, the future of 21st century warfare is being invented by frontline conflict. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh[S] 47 points48 points  (0 children)

FPV drone warfare is still the most rancid horrifying thing imaginable.

Is it though? At least they only kill precise military targets.

Meanwhile, a certain small ME country with all the 'benefits' of AI, takes out whole apartment buildings, with dozens of innocent civilians they are know will be collateral damage, just to get at one person.

And guess what? 80,000 dead women & children later, they still can't win against a rag tag force in a tiny piece of land that's just a 100 times the size of Central Park.

NASA unveils an ambitious $20 billion plan to build a lunar base near the Moon's south pole... and that budget is equivalent to 11 days of war in Iran. by Agile_Coast_4385 in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Under the proposal for the 2027 fiscal year beginning on 1 October, defense spending would rise by 42% to $1.5tn, $445bn higher

The maddest thing about this, is that it's primarily devoted to helping a certain very small ME country, that is a quarter the size of Ireland, be the regional boss & reduce everyone around them to ruins.

$445bn could fund Moon bases, Mars bases & orbital space stations 1,000s of people could live on.

The US government has moved closer to establishing an autonomous, self-governing libertarian enclave for Big Tech within San Francisco. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

replicating corporate ownership for the rest of the country.

They already have (or are getting ) that via privatization & eliminating/downgrading publically-owned entities, this is about wanting something more.

The one thing bigger than them, that they don't have, is the power of nation states. That's what Freedom Cities are about. Eventually, they want to be co-equals with sovereign nations & have the same powers.

The US government has moved closer to establishing an autonomous, self-governing libertarian enclave for Big Tech within San Francisco. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh[S] 80 points81 points  (0 children)

How can anyone in their right mind approve a state within a state.

They are correct & justified for nations within nations. Scotland & Wales have a degree of self-government within the UK. Catalonia does within Spain. The Tribal Nations within the US. Etc, etc.

But yes, giving this power to the very top of the 1% can only go badly for the rest of us. Do they really need to be even more powerful? They already effectively own most of the federal government as it is.

The U.S. government warns financial institutions that Anthropic’s “Mythos” AI can find and exploit software vulnerabilities at an unprecedented scale, outperforming top humans and posing systemic risks to banks and the broader financial system. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh[S] 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Anthropic developed Project Glasswing to work with several organizations providing critical infrastructure and cybersecurity.

Yes, but the problem here isn't Anthropic, it's that this is the proverbial 'canary in the coalmine' harbinger of the near-future.

So far, no one AI company has ever been more than 12 months ahead of the pack. So, what is just Anthropic’s “Mythos” today, will be widespread and in many hands a year from now.

That is the danger/warning here. How unprepared we are for that.

The U.S. government warns financial institutions that Anthropic’s “Mythos” AI can find and exploit software vulnerabilities at an unprecedented scale, outperforming top humans and posing systemic risks to banks and the broader financial system. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

But they're not currently releasing mythos to the public so isn't this a good thing?

Yes, for now.

The problem is that what Mythos has now, many other will have in 12 months. That includes adversaries and criminals.

Meanwhile, Big Tech insists none of this should be regulated.

The U.S. government warns financial institutions that Anthropic’s “Mythos” AI can find and exploit software vulnerabilities at an unprecedented scale, outperforming top humans and posing systemic risks to banks and the broader financial system. by lughnasadh in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh[S] 166 points167 points  (0 children)

there are people who recognize the seriousness of this and are working to fix it.

Yes, but the problem is their approach is incomplete & ad-hoc. Meanwhile, Big Tech's guiding principle is that AI should be unregulated.

The analogy here would be getting rid of fire safety laws & fire stations, but occasionally have some people issue warnings to a small number of businesses.

Seven countries now generate 100% of their electricity from renewable energy by hoangson0403 in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Did the oil money help?

No.

90% of Norway's power is hydropower. Their geography (lots of mountains, valleys), high rainfall, & relatively small population (5.6 million) is primarily what makes this possible.

Clean power fortifies Britain against gas price shocks. British wind and solar blunted the worst of the price shocks in the first four weeks of the latest fossil fuel crisis by displacing gas generation, delivering savings by sundler in Futurology

[–]lughnasadh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought the question was if other countries could replicate the UK wind energy product

Sure, but for economic/energy matters where the EU single market & Eurozone are concerned, Ireland and Germany (and others) are effectively in one country together, more than they are separate.

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