• abbadon420@sh.itjust.works
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    4 hours ago

    It is well known that “dyson spheres” are pure science fiction without realistic economics or any feasible implementation possibility. The reason is because there is not enough water to boil all that energy into usable electricity.

  • Aniki@feddit.org
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    2 hours ago

    we’ve had this discussion so many times, let’s have it one more time, shall we?

    electricity is the most valuable form of energy. every time you want to convert energy A into energy B, you almost always do it via electricity energy as an intermediary step.

    for example, if you want to convert the potential energy of water into light energy, you go: water potential energy -> turbine rotary energy -> electric energy -> light.

    so, the question is, how can electric energy be converted from/to other types of energy? important types:

    • electrochemical (direct reduction, batteries, galvanic cell)
    • electromechanical (motor, generator)
    • photoelectric (solar panel, LED)

    there are some others that i’m still thinking about how to categorize (peltier effect / seebeck effect).

    these are represented by major 4 integrated circuit types:

    • capacitor / supercapacitor represents battery
    • coil represents motor / generator (electromagnetic coupling)
    • diode represents photoelectrics
    • transistor for switching

    the first 2 are “linear” (described by linear theory). the last 2 are semiconductor materials.

      • SpongyAneurysm@feddit.org
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        3 hours ago

        And here I was hoping that we could boil the HELL out of water.

        No large scale holy water production in sight still?

        • urushitan 漆たん@kakera.kintsugi.moe
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          2 hours ago

          Is there a quantifiable limit to how much water a priest can bless at once to make it holy? Is that rank based once priests level up? And, if during COVID livestreaming a mass was just as good as attending, couldn’t you put an ipad above every source of potable water before it gets sent to customers and have the priest bless it once a day for a consistent flow of holy water? Could this be used to combat the terrorists putting things in water to make the frogs gay?

          brb emailing this to RFK

          • Dharma Curious (he/him)@slrpnk.net
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            1 hour ago

            Iirc, there’s a church (I think in Italy, but I may be completely wrong, and I’m far too lazy to Google it right now), where the priest blessed the pipe that carries the water, and the church has a spigot outside for adherents to come to and get holy water whenever they want it.