Oooooh, get her!

Tim

Talk, talk, talk

I do action

Very different

It’s irrelevant that the issue may have been discussed if nothing has been done and the abuse goes on

That was my point

You just stick in blogosphere

I’ll get on with the real world, OK?

Richard

OK, let\’s have a look at this real world stuff then shall we?

I think we all agree that we\’d rather like there to be non-fossil fuel consuming methods of having transit, travel and energy generation, no? That fuel cells are at least an interesting possibility as a method of providing such, even if we\’re not entirely certain that they\’ll work as yet? That we should indeed be thinking about subsidising research in the area?

As it happens, one of the tiny baby steps to more efficient solid oxide fuels cells was in part funded by me. This one. The advantage the experiment proved was that by this mixture of rare earths used to stabilise the zirconia you can do two things: 1) cycle them on and off without their cracking, thus making them much more suitable for such things as cars rather than the prevous assumpton that they\’d only be good for power generaton and the like where they would stay on all the time and 2) that you could run such fuel cells at a lower temperature (as much as 200 oC less in some cases) making the entire manufacturing and assembly process vastly cheaper (you can use stainless steel for the structure for example, not much more expensive nickel). Oh, and at the same time making the fuel cell more efficient at turning fuel into electricty (it\’s the ionic conductivity you see).

I agree, I didn\’t pay for the scientists, the labs, the machinery, but the materials used came directly out of my paycheque. No, not a tax write off for a company, not an R&D credit, not something I blagged off a supplier, I paid for it.

Is that real world enough?

Or perhaps, this time as a company and for profit, you\’d prefer the work that\’s been done in supplying novel materials for friction stir welding? Or again novel materials which led to this patent, the 10 year research program it triggered threatening to make each and every airplane 2% lighter, thus saving really rather a lot of fuel and emissions? Or even the one I cannot link to which would make it possible to weld rather than rivet aircraft fuselages, saving another 10% of their weight and thus fuel on each and every trip? Or memory shape alloys for jet engines which will help to overcome the noise/efficiency trade off at take off and landing?

I don\’t claim to be doing all of these things, no, but I am indeed supplying the researchers with the materials they desire to do them.

I\’m even paying my own money again (tens of thousands in this instance) in researching new methods of extraction of the weird and wonderful metals necessary. So that if production does start then these materials can continue to be made: and we\’re even paying those tens of thousands so that we can extract what we want from the waste stream of another industrial process. Cleaning up the environment, reducing fossil fuel use and simply making life better for all.

Are these real world enough?

Or perhaps you\’d like to look at this picture?

50% of the light that you can see in that picture comes from my produce. From materials that I have sourced, purified and supplied as the manufacturers required.

Is that real world enough Richard?

Tell you what Mr. Murphy, you come back to me when the evidence of your activities on this planet is one of the defining images that one can make out of this planet from space.

Then we\’ll have a chat about the \”real world\” shall we?