Can we at all read the article and agree enough to agree that these are radio-isotope thermocouples, not light/heavy water reactors? Incidentally, has anyone bothered to pay for a copy of the journal and read up? The BBC has not provided things like gravimetric energy density or output voltage. So what is this, a button battery that has a half-life of 30 years, and has a glow-in-the-dark feature? Or something like: "I can't find my car keys! Oh wait, I'll just use my Geiger counter." The scie

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/278826 I think what happened here was that the BBC found the Digital Journal article, got famously sloppy, and reprinted a dumbed down version. I think the Slashdot community needs to do what it can for the astronomy groups in Ireland (North or otherwise). There's been more debate over whether a skit from decades ago was about an Irishman or a Scotsman than discussion of the actual article. Granted, neither article has anything more than several people reporting seeing an explosion in the night sky (apparently while watching Jupiter), but is there any follow-up?

Well, yes there is: http://www.mail-archive.com/meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com/msg77530.html So, a meteorite, or if you read the BBC papers, a "space rock." Let's at least pretend we care about the news, not being our usual, fitful selves.

I thought the guy paid $10 (assuming USD here, sorry), so isn't that 1000 wii points?

Game FAQs. Finally, my kid can leave me alone while I'm working, and not ask me to hit 1up.com or somesuch so he can find out how to get that last missile pack for Metroid 3. Thanks, good tip there. Not that he can't do it with the *old* internet channel...

And to take this line a step further: electrically conductive and useful for fiber optics, perhaps? Talk about signal density.

I would go so far as to say that the power requirements to bombard the surface like that make it incredibly useless to an engineer. It seems to me, culturally, that the physicists of the world are busy creating the obtuse and no engineers are busy chasing what they have done with applications. I wonder if this technology could be made to construct an invisible jet plane, such as what Wonder Woman flew. So the question I have is (to a chemical / mechanical engineer ) is any of this particle research useful, or is it just fun to read? Superconductors do not seem to be making a dent in my utility bills.

So... you're saying that plankton joined some sort of suicide cult?

So, lame question, but if I'm libertarian in my views, but I don't like drugs, think they rot the brain, lead to a life of crime or teen pregnancy, am I still a libertarian? I mean, can I personally be against several things that are currently illegal? What about a law against adultery, as there is none? I need some schooling here.

Remember all the crackpots in Brewster's Millions? I think Bill is searching for a way to spend his billions frivolously, by changing the temperature of the earth's atmosphere. He may also hate Al Gore's insinuation that humans were responsible (not sun spots) for any measurable (note the NASA disclaimer about their forecast) human impact on the earth's climate, enough to actually do it in the first place.

Bill Gates needs to be stopped. I can just see the sky, covered with white letters... Global Blue Screen of Death.

And the union laborers would love to bid on all the construction costs. I wonder what a carbon nanotube welder would get paid per hour. Much less an aluminum welder.

You're right. All that hydrogen, we're back to the whole 'smores topic again. Plus, don't most balloons leak? I can see the sign in front of the base of this thing: No smoking within 50 miles of the building.

Well, there's one keyboard I'd never want to touch. Crumbs, chocolate, and sticky white goo everywhere. Say, doesn't helium liquify at some temperature? Aren't the winds absolutely insane at different atmospheric strata? This whole idea smacks of a fan of Christo's art installments. Art project, not science. And if it was made of marshmallows, I hope someone eventually would light it on fire and makes that cool, purple-blue flame.

On top of that, won't this whole idea fail if lanced by a micro-meteorite? At least the space elevator fantasy had self-repairing capability. I can just imagine the NASA classifieds: wanted, balloon envelope repairman. Must not be afraid of heights, any heights. Significant mobility required, as well as excellent dexterity in a space suit. Additional work responsibilities include balloon sculpting for parties and special events, stunt work, and wearing large costumes.

Excuse me, but the cost of nuclear power, even with the annualized construction, operation, mining, and supply management averages at or slightly less than coal (not clean coal). Here's a lovely article to add to the mix: Nuclear Cost Per Kilowatt Hour

That sounds like a Democrat president, alright: use fees, tariffs, fines, and the courts to prevent profitable businesses from succeeding, as suited to the minority agenda amalgam which is the Democrat party.

If his "I'll help our auto companies re-tool" sentence blew by anyone, that would be the auto-industry buy-out, which, surprisingly, they used to get people to buy cars with 0% interest rates. No R&D money that I saw. I still say there's a non-Socialist way to bring about innovation, but we've elected Socialists, so the innovation will not happen in the USA for sure.