Lifeboat Foundation

Circa 1978

Summary. The energetics of the gravitationally powered dynamo have been studied with the aid of a compressible-earth model which allows for the growth of the solid inner core. The basic premise of this study is that as the Earth gradually cooled over geological time the solid inner core continually accreted dense material which crystallized from an outer core composed of a molten binary alloy. This process requires a continual rearrangement of matter which generates the fluid motions needed to sustain the dynamo. These motions maintain the outer core in a well-mixed state, in apparent contradiction to Higgins & Kennedy’s hypothesis that the outer core is stably stratified. The vigour of these motions is dependent primarily upon the composition of the solid inner core, but is surprisingly independent of the density of the light constituent in the core. If the solid core is composed entirely of heavy metal, then as much as 3.7 × 10¹² W may be transferred from the core to the mantle as a result of cooling and gravitational settling. This is roughly equal to estimates of the amount of heat conducted down the adiabat in the core, but it is argued that there is no direct relation between the amount of heat conducted down the adiabat and the amount transferred to the mantle if the convection is driven non-thermally. The gravitational energy released per unit mass of the solid inner core is remarkably constant and may be as much as 2 × 10⁶J/kg, roughly five times the value of the latent heat of iron. These values are reduced if the solid inner core contains some light constituents. It was found that the efficiency of the gravitationally powered dynamo may exceed 50 per cent, a much higher figure than is possible for either the thermally or precessionally driven dynamo. Also, the amount of gravitational energy available to drive the dynamo in the future is many times that expended so far. The size of the magnetic field sustained by gravitational settling was related to the density jump at the inner—outer core boundary and the field strength was estimated to lie between 390 and 685 G, strongly suggesting that the dynamo is of the nearly-axisymmetric type developed by Braginsky.

Starlink has launched a new product meant specifically for RV dwellers and those who can’t wait to get connected to the satellite internet service. While applying for a regular Starlink dish and service will put customers in a waitlist until 2023, Starlink for RVs is immediately available and will ship out to buyers right now. The downside? Network resources are always de-prioritized for it, and the service costs $135, which is $25 more than a regular Starlink connection.

In other words, the RV option costs just as much as a regular Starlink connection with the Portability feature introduced back in March that allows customers to use the service while they’re away from home. A regular connection requires one to have a home service first, though, and that may not be possible for some people. Another difference is that the product for RVs gives customers the ability to pause and un-pause service, so they can control when their billing starts and ends.

Since the network is de-prioritized for the RV service, though, users’ connection might be slow and intermittent in congested areas and during peak hours. “Stated speeds and uninterrupted use of the service are not guaranteed,” the company wrote in its Help page, clearly making sure interested customers understand that it’s prioritizing at-home users. One important thing to note for those looking into the RV option is that they can’t use Starlink while in motion at this time. SpaceX chief Elon Musk also added on Twitter that the dish is too big for cars, though that didn’t stop at least one user from bolting it onto their vehicle’s hood.

Citi says metaverse economy could be worth $13 trillion by 2030.

Circa 2020

Imagine never having to charge your devices again.

For the first time TU Graz’s Institute of Theoretical Computer Science and Intel Labs demonstrated experimentally that a large neural network can process sequences such as sentences while consuming four to sixteen times less energy while running on neuromorphic hardware than non-neuromorphic hardware. The new research based on Intel Labs’ Loihi neuromorphic research chip that draws on insights from neuroscience to create chips that function similar to those in the biological brain.

The research was funded by The Human Brain Project (HBP), one of the largest research projects in the world with more than 500 scientists and engineers across Europe studying the human brain. The results of the research are published in Nature Machine Intelligence (“Memory for AI Applications in Spike-based Neuromorphic Hardware”).

The close-up shows an Intel Nahuku board, each of which contains eight to 32 Intel Loihi neuromorphic research chips. (Image: Tim Herman, Intel Corporation)

Read more about World’s most powerful rocket SLS to return to launchpad for wet dress rehearsal, says NASA on Devdiscourse.

The dust-covered probe will focus on collecting data during its final months on Mars.

Elon Musk said on Monday that he’s testing out SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet on his private jet.

“I am testing Starlink on the plane. Some polishing needed, but it’s working quite well,” Musk tweeted. He also wrote in the Twitter post that he works while traveling on the jet.

His tweet was part of a Twitter thread about SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell defending Musk, following sexual misconduct claims involving a flight attendant working on the billionaire’s plane, which Insider first reported on Thursday.

Noted fund manager and Ark Invest founder Cathie Wood on Saturday suggested that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) will likely give a strong lift to economic growth.

The fund manager is of the view that a breakthrough in AGI will lead to the acceleration of GDP within the next six to 12 years. The analyst estimates that GDP growth will increase from the 3–5% year-over-year rate currently to 30–50% per year. New DNA will win,’ she added.