14 Matching Annotations
  1. Jul 2021
    1. The plasma magnet, as a space drive, has much better thrust to weight ratio than even the new X-3 Hall Effect ion engine currently in development. This ratio remains high when the power supply from solar array is added. Of more importance is that the plasma magnet is theoretically propellantless, providing thrust as long as the solar wind is flowing past the craft and power is supplied.

      This is a great article. It explains the concepts of the plasma magnet drive in layman's terms and includes some additional speculative benefits of a working drive in different space-based contexts.

    1. The key element of the type of drive contemplated here is that if the interplanetary or interstellar medium is dense enough to provide meaningful drag using plasma techniques, then it can be a source of power as well as drag.

      This theoretical drive system uses an energy "sail" to catch the solar wind particles which are magnetically repulsed. The solar wind pushes the vehicle.

    1. There is no official definitive answer for whether a use can be considered fair, as every case must be judged on its own merits, but there are some types of use generally allowed under fair use, including criticism and commentary, parody, journalism, education, and research.

      I think it's good that there's no cut and dried definition of fair use. It allows the law to be flexible and adapt to the changing circumstances of media consumption.

    2. Stacey M. Lantagne expands on this in Famous on the Internet: The Spectrum of Internet Memes and the Legal Challenge of Evolving Methods of Communication (2017), in which she identifies use ranging from “static,” a relatively straightforward reproduction of an image, to “mutating,” in which the role of the internet is directly responsible for the meme’s alteration from the original to the point that “[m]utating memes, because of their unique characteristics, are more like ideas,” thus unprotected under copyright.

      Are memes the visual version of audio sampling?

    1. Seemingly innocent cases, like that of “Plane Bae,” are small warning signs on the road to our even more networked future. We are all watching each other, mining each other’s lives for “content” that we give for free to large corporations who then monetize it.

      If everyone is watching everyone else, can there be any real privacy while in public?

    2. Respondents to the original thread, in thrall to the “love story” and eager to thwart Blair’s half-hearted attempts at anonymizing the pair, soon found and shared the woman’s Instagram. Holden embraced the choice that had been made for him; his companion clearly hasn’t.

      And that's the danger. People are willing to trample on your privacy rights because they believe they have a right to continue this "story."

    1. A staple of science fiction, real ion drives generate charged particles (ionisation), accelerate them using electric fields and then fire them from a thruster. The propellant is a gas such as xenon, a fairly heavy element that can be easily electrically charged.

      A summary of how ion drives work

    1. In a nuclear thermal electric rocket, a small nuclear reactor heats up liquid hydrogen. The gaseous form of the element expands and shoots out of the thruster.

      How a nuclear thermal electric rocket works

    1. That's because, according to the FBI Agents Association, "domestic terrorism" itself is not a federal crime.

      That's a major oversight. Remember the Oklahoma City bombing back in the 90's? McVeigh was charged with using a weapon of mass destruction among other state and federal offenses. But not domestic terrorism.

    1. Because you know you’re DYING to share it and you can’t wait much longer

      You know, I don't really feel a need to share news articles I read with other people. I will repeat things I've read in conversation if the topic comes up but that's about it.

  2. Jun 2021
    1. The Hopi do not worship these kachinas but rather treat them as friends or partners who are interested in Hopi welfare.

      How the Hopi see kachina

    2. Kachinas are believed to possess powers over nature, especially the weather, but higher gods limit the extent of their powers.

      More kachina descriptions.

    1. these spirits, or personifications of things in the natural world, may represent anything from rain to crops, to various animals, stars, beloved ancestors, and even other Indian tribes.

      basic definition of kachina