Photosynthesis

The answer to the power debate is of course to find an efficient way to use the energy from the sun. Nature already does this with photosynthesis. Finding a way to emulate or use photosynthesis will provide an everlasting source of cheap energy, which would be handy. Tod usually leads the way with atomkraft type theory, sorting out atoms and molecules for atomic power etc, surely someone from Tod can solve the mysteries of photosynthesis, but hasn't quite got round to it yet. It's just a matter of thinking it through. Will those who have been thinking about harnessing the power of photosynthesis please post your ideas here, and we can work out how to do it between us. I know, it's just another job to think about, but, the fate of the human race is depending on it, so, you have it to do.

I solved this a few years ago but seem to have mislaid my original notes. Now had did it go---mix a dozen dandelions in a quart of water, or was it a pint, oh where are those notes!

Was it you that used to sell bottled sunlight on the indoor market? Do try to remember the recipe.

maybe dandelion and burdock

That takes care of the drinks. As this video explains http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYbMPwmwx88&feature=related Enzyme soup is on the menu. That just leaves the main course to decide on.

Caramel In reply to Fimbulwinter: "Was it you that used to sell bottled sunlight on the indoor market?"

Would buy many bottles of that. I remember a (Rupert?) story about bottled sunlight (it fell into the bottles one drip after another), and another about Dandelion Wine.

These-days I only have time to oil and repair death-watch beetles.

Probably Tigerlily's dad distilling sunshine. Here we see him at work on another project.

Yes, “Distilling Sunshine” was the phrase used. Little drops of shining golden-yellow liquid dripping into school-milk-like bottles (before Labour’s Mr Edward [“Ted”] Short abolished most school milk). “The golden apples of the Sun,….”

But (very) seriously, if Fimbulwinter doesn’t find his notes on photosynthesis we are in big trouble. And this has been “official” for about 2 months now – not that you’d notice it. Talking about burying bad news, it was done with the skill of a master magician last December, just a few days before Christmas, when people were thinking of other things.
The ridiculously named and mad “Department of Energy and Climate Change” (DECC) issued a press statement, which, so far as I know, was ignored (as it was intended to be) by the BBC and the rest of the popular retail junk “news” industry.

The DECC statement said (and I quote):
“We face significant risks to security of electricity supply in the medium term …… and increased levels of intermittent and less flexible capacity [they mean windmills] which could lead to multiple voltage reductions ….and potentially more serious consequences, for example, power cuts affecting millions of homes, creating significant costs to the economy and highly volatile prices in wholesale markets which would be likely to impact on consumer bills.”

And when does the DECC think this is likely to start happening? Well they tell you in their statement: “in the second half of this decade” . That means starting in about 3 years time.

Some people have been trying to tell the population about this inevitable consequence of the energy policy followed by the last government and this one for about 8 to 10 years. The looming disaster is totally man-made and the result of the utterly frightening ignorance of policy makers.

caramel wrote:

That's a bit depressing, so lets all tie springs
to our feet and jump about for a bit.

I suppose Rupert's and his friends' idea of using helical springs to get about pre-dates Zebedee's (of The Magic Roundabout) similar decision by some years.

What's white and has checked trousers on?

Rupert the fridge.

http://www.spaceweather.com/images2012/07mar12/x5_b.jpg

The solar flare seen above is expected to reach Todmorden by teatime.

caramel : "The solar flare seen above is expected to reach Todmorden by teatime."

I hope everything went all right at teatime and that your tea was not spoilt in any way.

This flare, no doubt, is yet another manifestation of global warming.

There have been American "landers" on the surface of Mars since 1976 (when 2 arrived: "the Vikings").
These and the subsequent vehicles (there's a new one now on its way) have all included apparatus to measure temperature at martian ground level.
And guess what? Yes, you're right: they have shown rising temperature exactly (not approximately, but exactly) in line with those on the Earth.
This obviously proves that global warming has also spread to Mars!

Warming has also taken place on Pluto, Triton and Jupiter - probably everywhere else too, but it's not possible to measure it at this time.
Everywhere in the Solar System it seems that there's global warming. Teatimes will be disrupted everywhere.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast09feb_1/

http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2005/11/01/mars-warming-nasa-scientists-report

Google; "mars warming at same rate as earth"

Going back to the recent Solar flare.
The two images below show a gamma ray picture of our galaxy from the orbiting "Fermi" gamma ray telescope on the 6th and 7th March (flare was on the 7th). The Sun's event can be clearly seen.



We all had a dose of Gamma rays of several "bananas".

All food is radioactive, but bananas are particularly so because they contain radioactive potassium-40.
In the case of the Three Mile Island incident, about which a lot of silly fuss was made, the milk produced in the locality became a bit radioactive (radio-iodine). A 12 Fluid Ounce glass of milk contained radioactivity equal to 1/75th of that in a normal, natural banana, (that is you would get 75 times MORE radioactivity in eating just one ordinary, normal natural banana).

The Solar flare gave us all quite a few bananas. All perfectly safe of course - just as bananas are perfectly safe.
Don't stop eating bananas - they are totally safe and very good for you !!

PS: enjoy your Solar maximum next year (2013)