Seven Golden Stars with Coat of Arms
This Seven Golden Stars flag includes the Southern Cross and Federation Star from the Australian national flag. (The Federation Star is also known as the Commonwealth Star as it symbolises our federal system of government with the States, territories and the Commonwealth). The supporters for the Coat of Arms are a kangaroo and an emu. This flag design with the Coat of Arms would be suitable as a state flag and there is another civil version of the flag design. In the top corner of the flag is a disc to represent the sun. The flag colours are green and gold. These are all Aussie symbols. The sun is an appropriate symbol for such a dry continent as Australia.
The flag was designed by Robert Vose and it is registered with IP Australia. Robert is a proud Australian who supports our liberal democratic traditions and who respects our history. All the elements of the flag are well known Australian symbols.
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Posted in Uncategorized.
Tagged with Arms, Aussie, Australia, Australian, Australian Flags, Coat, Commonwealth, Commonwealth Star, design, Federation Star, flag, IP Australia, robert, Robert Vose, Southern Cross, Stars, Symbols, The Federation Star, This Seven Golden Stars.
By Robert Vose
– 11 February, 2010
Today is the 23rd of May in the year 2010 and I have decided to end the posting of new material to this blog, Becrux.
I hope you found some of the ideas expressed here to be of interest…
Should there be a need in the future to blog and comment on an issue of public importance, such as, for example, a proposed republic for Australia, then I will start up another blog for that purpose… or even start up a wiki for the new Egalitarian Republic model :
7gs.com/wiki
…
I wish you well,
Robert Vose
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Posted in Australian Republic.
Tagged with Australian Republic.
By Robert Vose
– 23 May, 2010
Proposals for change
A typical proposal for an Australian republic provides for the Queen and Governor-General to be replaced by a president. There is much debate on the appointment or election process that would be used and what role such an office would have.
From its foundation until the 1999 referendum, the Australian Republican Movement (ARM) supported the bi-partisan appointment model, which would result in a President elected by the Parliament of Australia, with the powers currently held by the Queen and the Governor-General. It is argued that the requirement of a two-thirds majority in a vote of both houses of parliament would result in a bi-partisan appointment, preventing a party politician from becoming president. [21]
An alternative minimalist approach to change provides for the replacement of the Queen alone and retaining the Governor-General. The most notable model of this type is the McGarvie Model, while Copernican Models replace the Queen with a directly-elected figurehead.[22] These Copernican Models allow for regular and periodic elections for the office of head of state, while limiting the reserve powers to the appointed Governor-General only. A popularly elected head of state would have the same powers as the Queen but he or she could not dismiss the Prime Minister. If this were to happen, it would be a first, as all other former Commonwealth Realms have created presidencies upon becoming republics.
Some republicans propose an executive presidency, a semi-presidential system or other constitutional reforms, such as citizen-initiated referenda. Alternatively it has been proposed to abolish the roles of the Governor-General and the monarchy and have their functions exercised by other constitutional officers such as the Speaker. [23]
Australians for Constitutional Monarchy and the Australian Monarchist League, who reject republicanism, argue that no model is better than the present system and argue that the risk and difficulty of changing the constitution is best demonstrated by inability of republicans to back a definitive design.
via Republicanism in Australia – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Posted in Australian Republic.
Tagged with Australian Republic.
By Robert Vose
– 15 May, 2010
What Is the Smart Grid?
Updating the aging electricity grid may save money, energy and greenhouse gas emissions…
via What Is the Smart Grid?: In-Depth Reports – Scientific American
Posted in Climate Change, Renewable energy.
Tagged with Climate Change, Renewable energy.
By Robert Vose
– 14 May, 2010
Today is the fifth anniversary for the Pharoz and Becrux blogs…
Posted in Uncategorized.
By Robert Vose
– 24 April, 2010
…A new poll of Australians’ attitudes toward the federal system shows there is a clear and growing mood for change in the way the nation is governed.
In particular, there is an increasing number of people who would [ALLEGEDLY - ED] like to see state governments replaced with regional bodies, or removed altogether.
The Australian Constitutional Values survey polled over 1,000 people in May 2008, and again in March of this year.
It shows around three-quarters of people questioned want to see a change in the next 20 years.
Griffith University Professor AJ Brown says the results show support has grown for removing the state level of government.
“When asked about what levels of government, and how many governments they thought Australia should have in 20 years, 66 per cent of respondents in 2008 indicated a system different from today,” Professor Brown said.
“In March 2010, that figure has increased to 75 per cent of respondents.
“Significant proportion of people still question whether in fact we couldn’t have a system which involved more regional government or some sort of alternative for better dealing with the geography and the diversity of the country…”
There is a message in the research for Mr Rudd, as he tries to convince state governments to sign up to his health reform plan…
Professor Brown says while institutions like the COAG Reform Council are a good first step on the path to reforming federalism, it is vital for Australian governments to invest in a bigger process for managing change…
via Dissatisfaction with federalism grows – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).
There seems to be something of a concerted campaign to remove the States from the Australian political system. The recent inquiry into the funding for referendums seems to be part of this campaign. It seems that the active and influential people pushing for an Australian republic are also in with this hidden agenda of removing the states.
Removing the states from the Australian federation would be an action to consolidate power in the Executive. It would turn the Executive – primarily the Prime Minister and the Cabinet – into a body that could almost completely dominate the politics within Australia. They have the power to appoint judges to the High Court. Judges in Australia are not elected and there is no public examination of candidates as there is in the United States.
The Executive have the power to appoint the senior heads of government apartments. They would also have the power to make or brake media organisations in the way that they introduce legislation for new media platforms over time. They would also be able to direct the security apparatus in any way they choose. We already have some extreme anti-terrorism laws in place and the government is intent on introducing a nationwide internet censorship regime. Australia is one of the few industrialised nations that does not have a Bill of Rights.
In Australia, and in the Westminster systems in general, there is scant separtation between the Executive and the Legistlative. The Prime Minister is the person who commands the confidence of the Lower House in Parliament (the Prime Minister leads the party with the majority of seats) and the Prime Minister is also the head of Government. Parliamentary processes, such as parliamentary committees, can be managed by limiting terms for inquiry. The opposition parties and independents in the Senate might be able to give the Government a headache if the Government does not have an outright majority there, but…
One of the most important concepts in our system of Government is that there be adequate checks and balances to the exercise of power. The states are a vitally important aspect of our system of government because they do provide a check to the Federal Executive and they can provide a balance to ill-considered “solutions” that the Executive might conjure up to address problems. Usually in the argy-bargy of roughly balanced politics, workable and more reasonable ways through problems can arise and be implemented. If, however, the executive has almost limitless power to do what it wills, the results will most likely be disastrous. A small number of people with a lot of power and with no real check on their power can act in impulsive ways. There have been plenty of examples of the kind of corruption that that kind of politics can engender, and we don’t want to see anything like that in Australia.
Posted in Australian Republic, Media, Politics.
Tagged with Australian Republic, Media, Politics.
By Robert Vose
– 11 April, 2010
I am opposed to nuclear power. There are many problems with the nuclear fuel cycle and the problem of how to deal with the wastes has still not been dealt with. I think there are many alternatives that could be put together as a system that could deliver a sustainable energy supply. The emerging smart grid with energy storage will completely transform the nature of energy systems. By the time any proposed new nuclear power stations are built and commissioned they will already be redundant, if the projects are completed.
In the United States there have been problems with their proposed national repository in Yucca Mountain. Over the last decade or so the nuclear industry has been lobbying and marketing itself as a solution to greenhouse gas emitting forms of energy generation. I think this is extremely cynical and dishonest. As stated before, the emerging smart grid with energy storage will completely transform energy systems so that a major proportion of energy can be generated from intermittent renewable sources while the energy being delivered would be of a higher quality and consistency than it has been with our current energy systems. Whenever there is a major storm or extreme weather condition, we can expect the electrical network to go down. With a smart grid and energy storage, it would be possible to maintain a supply of electricity to consumers even while the lines from major generation sources are down.
The nuclear fuel has many problems that are clear to just about everyone. The best way of avoiding the problems that nuclear energy and the nuclear fuel cycle create is to limit the use of nuclear energy and prevent the building of new nuclear power stations.
There have in the past been some proposed solutions for the problem of storing nuclear wastes. One proposal was to store most of the world’s nuclear wastes in the Australian outback. I think this is utterly unethical. This is not a NIMBY response to the issue. The reason why I think a repository in Australia is utterly unethical is because by being able to ship wastes to Australia, it would free up the nuclear industry to go hell for leather and expand the nuclear fuel cycle and build a large number of new nuclear power plants. This would be a disaster, no matter what regulatory conditions are set in place. It would guarantee the proliferation of nuclear weapons and increase the dangers of nuclear terrorism, rather than reducing the risks. There will be unintended worldwide consequences if there were to be a nuclear waste repository built in Australia.
That is without considering the problems that such a nuclear waste repository will leave as a toxic legacy for future Australian generations. We don’t want to see Australia being used as the toxic trash can or toilet for the rest of the world.
There is a simple slogan that I remember seeing in an old Australian movie of the 1970s or 80s, that I can’t recall the name of. Apparently the term is well known: “If you don’t eat you don’t shit, and if you don’t shit you die.” The nuclear industry see it as imperative that they can set up a nuclear waste repository somewhere in the world so that their industry can prosper. Australia has been touted as a possible location for such a waste repository. The purpose of such a repository would not be to reduce the stockpile of nuclear wastes and to make the world a safer place, it would be rather to set up a windfall for the nuclear industry when they build many more nuclear power stations and see a boom in all parts of the nuclear fuel cycle. Building a repository will have an effect opposite and contrary to what would have been proffered as the main rhetorical reasons for setting up such a nuclear waste repository in the first place. It would be utterly unethical to support such a nuclear waste repository.
In Australia, the mass media has almost completely ignored to mention development of the smart grid, the reality of large-scale grid-connected energy storage and the impact these new energy systems will have on the feasibility of large-scale renewable energy. The thinking with regards to energy systems seems to have been stuck in a 1970′s mentality. There has been no real debate in the Australian media about alternative energy systems and the nuclear industry here has a strong voice through the media (and I suspect they have been digging deep into their pockets as well). Both Fairfax and News Ltd support nuclear power.
If we want to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism and make the world a safer place we need to slow down and eventually stop the production of fissile material and high level radioactive wastes. The imperative is to prevent the construction of new nuclear power stations anywhere in the world. It is imperative to close uranium mines and wind down the nuclear fuel cycle. A repository for the world’s nuclear wastes – at this moment in history – will not work towards these aims. Perhaps in time there will be safer ways to render radioactive and fissile materials into harmless components. Until then we can audit, monitor and safely and securely manage the existing stockpile of radiological materials.
Posted in Climate Change, Politics.
Tagged with Apparently, Australia, Australian, building, Climate Change, Energy, NIMBY, Nuclear, Politics, problems, repository, United States, wastes, Whenever, Yucca Mountain.
By Robert Vose
– 8 April, 2010
The Easter Bilby is a local Australian alternative to the more globally known Easter Bunny.
In Australia, the fecundity of introduced rabbits made them a major environmental pest, and feral rabbits are still a problem. There have been moves in recent years to popularise the endangered native bilby as an alternative to the Easter Bunny through the promotion of chocolate Easter Bilbies. The campaign has had some success, with Easter Bilbies now a common sight in Australia around Easter, but the traditional Easter Bunny remains more popular…
via Easter Bilby – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
An Easter Bilby plush toy (from Haigh’s Chocolates):
Easter Bilby plush toy
Posted in Uncategorized.
Tagged with An Easter Bilby, Australia, Australian, bilby, bunny, Chocolates, Easter, Easter Bilbies, Easter Bilby, Easter Bunny, Haigh, In Australia, rabbits, The Easter Bilby, Wikipedia.
By Robert Vose
– 4 April, 2010
This idea follows on from the idea of creating a magnetic shield around a spacecraft to deflect (most of the) cosmic radiation that may be incident on the spacecraft. For a small spacecraft, the magnetic fields around the craft would serve to disperse cosmic rays that might otherwise impact the spacecraft. For a large space station, hundreds of electromagnet satellites could be used to deflect cosmic rays into paths that would no longer hit that space station.
There is another approach that could be used when large volumes of space are systematically being cleared of cosmic radiation, or at least the cosmic radiation with energies that can be suitably deflected. Instead of using satellites to disperse cosmic rays, you could instead try to use the fleets of electromagnet satellites around a space station to direct or funnel some of the cosmic rays into particular channels. The channels of cosmic rays could be differentiated to contain protons or alpha particles with energies that fall within certain limited bands. It might even be possible to remove energy from some high energy cosmic ray channels, much like a moderator does in a fission nuclear reactor. The satellites that would focus cosmic rays of specific energies for the generation of energy would be spread out over a very large distance, possibly thousands, 10k’s or 100k’s kilometers apart, and they would probably focus cosmic rays originating from a very narrow area.
With a steady stream of high energy protons from one of these cosmic ray channels, it may be possible to build a fusion reactor where those protons are converted into alpha particles (helium nuclei), in a similar process as what happens in the sun. It might be feasible to build fusion power stations in space that could use modified and controlled cosmic radiation as the basic fuel. These fusion power stations could also be located very close to where their energy output would be needed, like, for example, in a large space station that the fleet of electromagnet satellites are shielding.
Cosmic rays could be made to collide in a fusion reactor and the energies used in a fusion reactor could be calculated for the particular reaction. You might also be able to manufacture specific elements by having cosmic rays of specific energies hitting large target atoms, as long as the reaction doesn’t also create other dangerous radiation. For electromagnetic radiation in space, such as gamma rays, some other form of shielding would be required.
A fleet of electromagnet satellites that could deflect and manipulate cosmic rays in space could then serve a double purpose. They could protect the people in space from (some forms of) harmful radiation in space and they could help secure a stable source of fusion energy in places that may be quite a long distance from the sun. Ninety percent of cosmic rays consist of a hydrogen nuclei moving at high energy. Using filtered and moderated cosmic rays as a fuel source for a fusion reactor might be feasible and safe in space. This kind of technology might take some time to design and build, but it is definitely a feasible idea.
If cosmic rays of an appropriate energy could be focused in a fusion reactor in space, and if the satellites that supply those cosmic rays could have their relative positions maintained over time, you might be able to maintain a constant and reliable supply of energy from the fusion reactor. The fusion reaction from colliding high energy protons in a specially designed reactor is of the same kind as the fusion reaction that powers the sun. A space station that could source its power from cosmic rays would have something like a micro version of the sun as its local power source.
In some ways you could think of an arrangement of a large number of electromagnet satellites as a lens for cosmic rays (designed to focus a narrow range with specific energies). The electromagnets that make up a ‘clock’ around a spacecraft would be similar to negative lenses and the electromagnet satellites for a fusion reactor in space would be similar to positive lens as a system. Cosmic rays are not EM waves, but you might still be able to see if there are some circumstances where their behaviour and manipulation could be described as being similar to what could be done with optics for EM waves.
The electromagnetic fields around the earth protects life on earth from most cosmic radiation. Having a strong electromagnetic field around a spacecraft has been proposed as a way to deflect most of the cosmic radiation that might have hit a spacecraft. There would need to be some systematic research into the possibilities for manipulating cosmic rays and the possible uses for cosmic rays in space, if any.
This idea could be a game changer…
How awesome would it be to propose a completely new kind of fuel that could realistically power our civilisation in the new few centuries. Perhaps some science fiction writers have proposed it before, or perhaps it has been formally considered in the last few decades as one of many options for generating energy in space. I haven’t heard about it before though. But there’s nothing new under the sun, as the saying goes…
If we could channel Cosmic Rays and use them as a fuel for a space-based fusion reactor then the name ‘Cosmic Rays’ could be considered to be utterly appropriate.
Posted in Space.
Tagged with cosmic, cosmic rays, energies, fusion, Instead, Ninety, rays, Space, space station, using.
By Robert Vose
– 2 April, 2010
Zodiacal light
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zodiacal light is a faint, roughly triangular, whitish glow seen in the night sky which appears to extend up from the vicinity of the sun along the ecliptic or zodiac. Caused by sunlight scattered by space dust, it is so faint that either moonlight or light pollution renders it invisible. The zodiacal light decreases in intensity with distance from the Sun…
via Zodiacal light – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Posted in Media, Politics, Space.
Tagged with Caused, encyclopedia, faint, From Wikipedia, light, Media, Politics, Space, Sun, Wikipedia, Zodiacal.
By Robert Vose
– 24 March, 2010
Vela (constellation)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vela is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the sails of a ship…
False Cross
The False Cross is an asterism formed of the stars Delta Velorum and Kappa Velorum and Iota Carinae and Epsilon Carinae. It is so called because it is sometimes mistaken for the Southern Cross, causing errors in astronavigation…
via Vela (constellation) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
From the Wikipedia page on the Southern Cross, the False Cross can be distinguished from the Southern Cross in the following way:
Crux is sometimes confused with the nearby False Cross by stargazers. Crux is somewhat kite-shaped, and it has a fifth star (Epsilon Crucis). The False Cross is diamond-shaped, somewhat dimmer on average, does not have a fifth star and lacks the two prominent “Pointer Stars.”
via Crux – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
How would a flag that were mistakenly thought to be based on the Southern Cross but that was actually derived from the False Cross asterism possibly look like? What kind of meanings would such a flag hold?
A number of alternative flag designs for Australia are designed using the Eureka flag as a template. “Eureka!”, ironically, is an exclamation with the meaning of “I found it!” Well, obviously not! Pity the captains who mistook the False Cross for the Southern Cross.
Consideration about the shape of the Southern Cross in the sky could be used to narrow the number of realistic alternative designs for an Australian flag that include the True Southern Cross.
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Posted in Space.
Tagged with Australian Flags, cross, Crux, Delta Velorum, Epsilon Carinae, Epsilon Crucis, false, False Cross, From Wikipedia, Iota Carinae, Kappa Velorum, Latin, Pointer Stars, southern, Southern Cross, Space, The False Cross, Vela, Wikipedia.
By Robert Vose
– 23 March, 2010
Conroy’s internet censorship agenda slammed by tech giants
ASHER MOSES – theage.com.au
March 23, 2010 – 4:38PM
Australia’s biggest technology companies, communications academics and many lobby groups have delivered a withering critique of the government’s plans to censor the internet.
The government today published most of the 174 submissions it received relating to improving the transparency and accountability measures of its internet filtering policy.
Legislation to force ISPs to implement the policy is expected to be introduced within weeks. The filters will block a blacklist of “refused classification” websites for all Australians on a mandatory basis…
via Conroy’s internet censorship agenda slammed by tech giants – theage.com.au
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Posted in Media, Politics.
Tagged with ASHER MOSES, Australia, Australians, Conroy, giants, internet, ISPs, Legislation, March, Media, PM, policy, Politics, theage.com.au.
By Robert Vose
– 23 March, 2010
Storing megawatts: Liquid-metal batteries and electricity
By David Biello
Making aluminum requires a lot of electricity. That’s because the metal bonds tightly to oxygen and it takes a lot of energy to break that bond. In essence, the process of making aluminum is a giant battery with the silvery metal being reduced to purity at the cathode while oxygen bonds with the carbon anode to make, you guessed it, CO2. It takes roughly 15 kilowatt-hours of electricity to make just one kilogram of aluminum via electrolysis.
But what if instead of making aluminum, one used the process to store electricity?
“What’s a big current sink? Aluminum smelters,” explained Luis Ortiz, research director for materials scientist Donald Sadoway at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), at last week’s ARPA-E summit. “Maybe the aluminum industry is sitting on the answer [to large-scale electricity storage] all along…”
View a video from Scientific American
…And that could mean big things for storing electricity, as well as generating it from renewable but intermittent resources such as sunshine and wind. As Secretary of Energy Steven Chu told ScientificAmerican.com, “without energy storage, you can’t have a renewable electricity grid where perhaps 30, 40, 50 percent plus is coming from renewables…”
via Observations: Storing megawatts: Liquid-metal batteries and electricity.
Posted in Renewable energy.
Tagged with Aluminum, ARPA-E, As Secretary, By David Biello, CO, Donald Sadoway, electricity, Energy Steven Chu, giant, Liquid-metal, Luis Ortiz, making, Massachusetts Institute, Maybe, Observations, Renewable energy, Scientific American, ScientificAmerican, Storing, Technology M I T, view.
By Robert Vose
– 13 March, 2010
You couldn’t think of a more stark comparison between the old twentieth century energy systems – dominated as they were by coal, gas, petroleum and uranium – and the emerging solar-sourced smart grid energy systems. Energy storage will become an integrated aspect of the smart grid, so we don’t have to mention that renewable energy will eventually be stored for when it will be needed.
Coal, petroleum, uranium – all dug from pits in the ground or from underground caverns and dragged up to the surface light. The dark fuels being sulfurous and bubbling carbon dioxide into the atmosphere upon combustion. Global warming and the greenhouse gas emissions from these fuels are threatening over the next few centuries to revert our planet’s atmosphere to one that was once more suitable for dinosaurs – those giant cold-blooded reptiles with monster teeth. Parts of our oceans and seas are becoming dead zones. The political regimes that prosper from oil are not generally renown for their liberal attitudes nor for respecting human rights.To use biblical language, the fossil fuels are turning our earth into a hell and turning our cultures into a devil’s playground.
By contrast, we could aim to start to build a renewable energy infrastructure that will eventually source most of its energy directly from the sun. In time, most of the energy that we need could be channeled from space-based solar power stations. A base, or underground city, on the moon would be part of this. It is for our generation to set the foundation stones for heaven, if we want to and if we have the will…
Posted in Space.
Tagged with Coal, Energy, fuels, Global, parts, Space, turning.
By Robert Vose
– 6 March, 2010
India Announces Coal Tax To Fund Renewable Energy Projects: Scientific American
By: Mridul Chadha
In a landmark announcement the Indian Finance Minister, in his annual Budget speech, put forward the proposal of setting of National Clean Energy Fund which would be constituted through tax levied on coal usage in the country. The quantum of tax would be INR 50 per ton of coal used, which would generate an annual revenue of around $600 million.
The announcement is extremely important and a major step in India’s endeavor to promote renewable energy infrastructure. India is heavily dependent on coal for power generation with 75% of the power generated coming from coal-fired power plants…
via India Announces Coal Tax To Fund Renewable Energy Projects: Scientific American.
Posted in Climate Change, Renewable energy.
Tagged with announces, Budget, Climate Change, Coal, Energy, India, India Announces Coal Tax To Fund Renewable Energy Projects, Indian Finance Minister, INR, Mridul Chadha, National Clean Energy Fund, Renewable energy, Scientific American, Tax.
By Robert Vose
– 5 March, 2010
One thing that might make a cluster of robotic satellites an essential component of an inhabited space vehicle system would be an ability for a series of satellites to create magnetic fields that could deflect cosmic radiation so that the combined cluster of satellites creates safe zones where relatively few cosmic rays pass through. An inhabited space vehicle could reside in one of these safe shielded zones and the cluster of satellites could move with the spacecraft to keep the people inside shielded as it goes on its journey. Such a cluster of satellites that would create strong magnetic fields in space would need to be managed in real time and the systems would have to be completely automated and computerised. The resultant sizes, shapes and strengths of the magnetic fields around an inhabited spacecraft would vary depending on the number of robotic satellites that were available to it. At the moment I would think that many ideas about shielding spacecraft from cosmic rays might focus on what could could done from the surface of and carried in the spacecraft itself. You could envision a system of robotic satellites that could build safe spaces through creating coordinated magnetic fields. If energy were plentiful from solar collector satellites and satellites could be moved around through remotely applied energy, then you could have hundreds of shielding satellites around any spacecraft and possibly even hundreds of kilometers from the vehicle itself. Initially these systems might have shielding satellite clusters that are pretty close to the spacecraft itself. The idea is to mimic in some small scale way the magnetic field that protects life on earth.
A large number of magnetic fields placed in space around a spacecraft would have those satellite created magnetic fields placed such that charged particles moving through space – cosmic radiation – that would have impacted that spacecraft are deflected to just miss the spacecraft. It would be a very complex problem because the modeling software would have to predict the varieties of cosmic rays that would normally hit the spacecraft and then plan to have magnetic fields set up to deflect radiation coming from every direction, and with varying energies. The magnetic shield built with the shielding satellites would not need to be continuous, but every direction in the sphere around a spacecraft would need to be covered. With fewer satellites, the satellites would need to be closer to the spacecraft and the magnetic fields would need to be stronger. With a large number of satellites the magnetic fields could be weaker and they could be placed further from the spacecraft.
28 March 2010
For the short term, before fleets of robotic service satellites for spacecraft are technically viable, a possible alternative might be to extend electromagnets into locations around a spacecraft while it is not being accelerated by rockets so as to set up a series of carefully designed magnetic fields that would deflect most of the cosmic radiation away from the spacecraft. The electromagnets could be held in place through multilinked robotic arms as in this previous post. The electromagnets might have to be held a few hundred meters away from the craft. The magnetic shield would be quite fragile and the spacecraft would have to drift while the shield is in place. You might be able to design it so that the spacecraft could rotate or reorient its attitude in a limited way while a tethered magnetic shield is in place. The relative weightlessness of space and the absence of an atmosphere mean that the rods that make up the multilinked robot arms could be very thin, strong and light wires. Small gyroscopes at the nodes between these long rods, and which could have their axis of rotation forcefully changed mechanically, could be used to maneuver the electromagnets into place. It might be an idea to add some elasticity into the long electromagnetic ‘tendrils’ (for want of a better word) so that if they do suffer a strike from a micrometeorite or space junk, the tendril could return to its proper location quickly and without much more energy being expended. Perhaps a good image to show of what I mean by this design for an electromagnetic shield around a small spacecraft would be the “clock” of a dandelion. It doesn’t quite look like a traditional spacecraft but if it could protect the people inside from radiation, it would be worth it. You could design it so that the thin wires could be packed tightly together as an outer layer of the spacecraft before the electromagnetic shield is deployed and opened up while the spacecraft is in space.
The force on a cosmic ray traveling through a magnetic field that would deflect that cosmic ray so that it wouldn’t hit a spacecraft is called the Lorentz force.
Dandelion 'Clock'
A dandelion ‘clock’ seems to be a suitable image for a framework for holding electromagnets in place around a small spacecraft. Once the spacecraft will need to reenter the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘clock’ will need to be shed. It would have to be about as easy to remove the ‘clock’ around a spacecraft prior to reentry as it is for the wind to distribute the seeds of a dandelion ‘clock’. The thin wires that make up the electromagnet shield around a spacecraft should then burn up as they enter the atmosphere. It would be too difficult to retract the ‘clock’ and design it as reusable – but perhaps that is still a possibility to try out.
Posted in Space.
Tagged with fields, Initially, magnetic, satellites, shielded, Space, spacecraft.
By Robert Vose
– 5 March, 2010
ELEANOR HALL: Two of Victoria’s biggest energy users have signed a deal that will guarantee the state’s reliance on brown coal fired electricity for decades.
The state’s largest exporter, Alcoa, has signed a deal with the Loy Yang Power Station, to supply electricity for its aluminium smelters until 2036.
The Victorian Government says it had nothing to do with the deal, but Green groups say they are not convinced and that it's insane to lock in such a polluting power supply now.
Kellie Lazzaro reports…
MARK WAKEHAM: I fear that this is a signal that they want to continue operating for another 25 years but it’s actually a bargaining chip in the broader play about compensation under an emissions trading scheme.
If they can present this contract as something that’s set in stone then Loy Yang’s future operations are affected when we do get serious about climate change. I wonder whether there’s going to be a very big ask on the taxpayer’s dollar in the form of compensation…
via The World Today – Victorian power deal locks in decades of brown coal use 02/03/2010.
Posted in Climate Change, Politics.
Tagged with Alcoa, Climate Change, compensation, deal, ELEANOR HALL Two, Green, Kellie Lazzaro, lock, Loy Yang, Loy Yang Power Station, MARK WAKEHAM I, operating, Politics, power, The Victorian Government, The World Today, Victoria, Victorian.
By Robert Vose
– 3 March, 2010
If a group of people in leadership positions claim to have received advice that only suggested a narrow range of policy options, how would the public judge whether an exhaustive and honest examination of options had been made? For many current politicians their main political skill is to stack branches and boards to their favour.They wouldn’t think twice about even bullying scientists in organisations such as the CSIRO.
An interesting point made by K-Rudd on Insiders today would have most likely have been missed by most people and seen to be just the way things are. He mentioned that people are free to pursue their career objectives and he supports that. In a political environment dominated by branch stackers everyone would KNOW that any questioning of authority is a career destroying move. It doesn’t matter what principle you stand by or whether a criticism has truth to it or whether the outcome of raising some concern is to the benefit of the whole community. It doesn’t matter in the least. If a person wants to have a continuing career they have to go along with what ever bulldust that is trickling down from those on high. Anyone who doesn’t go along with such a regime is removed from it quickly. Such a political culture is decidedly authoritarian.
Australians used to be proud of an egalitarian ethos. No longer it seems …
Posted in Politics.
Tagged with Australians, Career, CSIRO, doesn, Insiders, K-Rudd, People, policy, Politics, whether.
By Robert Vose
– 28 February, 2010
How embattled PM played ‘jihad’ card
JONATHAN PEARLMAN – The Age
February 24, 2010
KEVIN Rudd toughened his terrorism blueprint to highlight the threat from jihadist and home-grown terror despite resistance from officials within his department and the Attorney-General’s Department who were concerned the language was inflammatory and counter-productive…
Continuing the government’s national security theme yesterday, Mr McClelland, Immigration Minister Chris Evans and Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor announced plans to extend ASIO’s mandate beyond the prevention of espionage and terrorism. The changes will allow ASIO to investigate foreign intelligence it was previously stopped from pursuing to help crack people-smuggling syndicates…
”This is quite a significant change,” said David McKnight, who has written extensively about ASIO. ”It highlights a trend that’s pushing ASIO into the investigation of crimes rather than national security. The tendency is for ASIO to operate more like a police force.”
The government will also expand ASIO’s ability to tap phones and intercept communications…
via How embattled PM played ‘jihad’ card. – theage.com.au
A police force acts very differently to an intelligence agency, and they view and judge information differently. A police force expects its evidence to be tested in public and in the courts. Not so for an intelligence agency where much of the evidence in a case could be hearsay, malicious rumour or just plain delusion (remember Curveball and the intelligence that was quoted for starting off George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq).
I expect that we may hear a platitude from the PM along the lines of: “Now don’t you worry about that”. And we would have heard something like that coming from Queensland before…
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Posted in Politics.
Tagged with ''It, 'This, ASIO, Attorney-General, Continuing, Curveball, David McKnight, Department, Evidence, February, George W Bush, Home Affairs Minister Brendan O 'Connor, intelligence, Iraq, JONATHAN PEARLMAN, Kevin Rudd, Mr McClelland Immigration Minister Chris Evans, PM, Police, Politics, Queensland, The Age.
By Robert Vose
– 24 February, 2010
Law to take on internet racism
JOSH GORDON
The Sunday Age – February 21, 2010
LAWS to tackle racism on the internet are set to be beefed up.
Authorities warn they are often powerless to act against online content, which is responsible for almost one in five racial vilification complaints.
Attorney-General Robert McClelland has ordered the Australian Human Rights Commission to conduct a sweeping review of “arrangements for dealing with racist material on the internet”.
“While freedom of expression is one of the most fundamental rights, this is not at the expense of the rights of people, while using the internet, to be treated with equality, dignity and respect,” Mr McClelland told The Sunday Age…
But civil libertarians are concerned the changes could have unintended consequences, creating a divide and hardening racist attitudes in the community.
Liberty Victoria president Michael Pearce said legislating to police racism on the internet was difficult and the government would be better off putting resources into community education and improving social cohesion.
via Law to take on internet racism -theage.com.au
It looks like the internet filtering proposal of Senator Conway is just a beginning for a sweeping censorship regime for Australia. How long would it be before the politicians argue that national internet filtering would have to be used to filter sites on the basis of national security or anything else that bothers politicians who can set the rules? Could we possibly see the blocking of internet sites that provide women with information about contraception if at some time in the future a politician with a peculiar religious bent becomes Prime Minister and inherits this internet filtering scheme? Only a few days ago the Dalai Lama made a public comment that state blocking of internet content in China was immoral.
Posted in Media, Politics.
Tagged with Attorney-General Robert McClelland, Australia, Australian Human Rights Commission, Authorities, China, Dalai Lama, February, filtering, internet, JOSH GORDON, law, laws, Liberty Victoria, Media, Michael Pearce, Mr McClelland, politicians, Politics, Prime Minister, racism, rights, Senator Conway, The Sunday Age.
By Robert Vose
– 21 February, 2010
