The fuse goes in the plug, not the socket/outlet.

> I actually doubt most British circuits are GFI protected
They all are. All houses have a central ground-fault trip system.

> one of the legs IS earthed
It's the other one that gets you.

> If they get misused and a fire starts, it's the owner's fault.
You could say the same about guns.

>Both are available, just not mandated. If you don't have kids, why do you need the safety shutters?
That's not very imaginative. Come on - you have no kids now, but are there scenarios between now and 2200AD where kids might be at risk - not to mention careless adults?

> Ohm's law, I think. Warm? BFD - so does British wiring, just not as much.
Heating in UK power cords is imperceptible. You just never notice it. Perhaps below perception level. In North America I was appalled to find vacuum and iron leads getting warm, and plugs getting hot.

>" and the lights change brightness when I switch such appliances on and off."
> That's the house wiring, not the system wiring.
It is the system design. At 110/120V you have double the current compared to 240V, and so double the voltage loss in wiring due to resistance (and 4x the heating due to Ohm's law as you say, since heating is prop. to I*I/R). So fluctuations are much more noticeable in 110V systems.

>The British took the Nanny state route. I'm not shedding any tears.
Not really, just good/better engineering standards (for once).

North American wiring standards talk about avoiding sharp bends in wires to reduce fire hazards. Probably due to high currents required of 110V systems.

I'd love to know the real reason, if there is one, but I've always assumed that the US went for 110V because:

1. Choice of voltage affects copper losses, combated by having more copper to carry current, so in a country with ample copper resources, why not have lower voltage and more copper?

2. Most US homes have timber construction more at risk from electrical shorting. So why not use a lower voltage to lower shorting risks? Whereas most UK homes are brick construction (used to be anyway) and a little more tolerant in this respect.

TFA is completely jingoistic, sure. It's great to read if you're a Brit but the style would get up your nose if you were from just about anywhere else, but there is some truth that the UK system is better engineered - not just for safety, but for other reasons. Perhaps it is over-engineered. UK plugs really are huge, after all. UK police are generally good too. Hmm... I'm having trouble thinking of things after that. Oh yes - pay-as-you-go minutes that don't expire - that's good.

Atomic size is vital in understanding the spacial configuration of molecules and of course, protein folding. It is tied up with steric hindrence and steric effects - that the finite size of an atom affects how molecules form in space. Etc. But this isn't a criticism really, because you were not stating things absolutely - just in reaction to the article and other's comments. I think you are spot on. I hate the new charts in the article - what fuckwhit came up with them? Duh.

Well this gives me the idea to host a turd-massaging party - probably a lot more fun.

Don't people realise that the purpose of hair is to generate the electrical power for the brain. Start harvesting hair and it means the doom of the human race.

This is why older people sometime loose their mental health - because of a loss of hair and/or pigment, leading to a deficiency of electrical brain power. This is why people with bald or shaved heads don't seem quite right.

This is why we fall asleep at night - degradation of solar-generated brain power.

This is why we have retained hair on our heads - New Scientist are fools for not realising this

Fools - start harvesting hair at your peril!!

It is:

Every sperm is sacred.
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite irate.

GIRL:
Let the heathen spill theirs
On the dusty ground.
God shall make them pay for
Each sperm that can't be found.

CHILDREN:
Every sperm is wanted.
Every sperm is good.
Every sperm is needed
In your neighbourhood.
......
- Monty Python

Dear me, how pathetic. It's not the kids who are over-reacting, but the parents.

Please mod the parent funny; so say we all.

Yes, I was a big Psion fan. Had a series 3a, then bought a Series 3c just as they got out of the PDA business. Bastards. The Psions were superior to the then popular Palm machines. Another Betamax story. Psion continued with their EPOC operating system, licensing it to, at least, Nokia. So for a while Psion had their stuff was probably in big use everywhere. Don't know what happened to them since then, but assumed they were getting rich from the mobile phone market. Still bastards for abandoning me with my 3c.

Call that big? THIS is BIG