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Submission + - When and why black holes burp (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Bruce66423
Bruce66423 writes: 'Scientists have solved the mystery of when black holes “burp” – when the astronomical bodies launch jets after feeding on stars, blasting material enormous distances in space.

'Scientists know from rare observations of stars being torn apart by black holes – a process that involves a stretching effect known as “spaghettification” – that “only about half of the star that gets too close to the back hole will end up eventually being swallowed by that black hole”, Goodwin said.

'The other material is launched back into space in powerful jets and outflows, sometimes so large they “can influence the entire evolution of a galaxy”, she said. “You can think of it as a black hole burp.”'

Comment The hidden subsidies to the nuclear industry (Score 5, Insightful) 123

Fission power is being sold to the public as the solution to the baseline power supply problem. The real costs are not being addressed however; the unknown costs include the waste problem, but also the clean up of the sites of closed stations. There's also an explicit insurance policy offered by governments against a Chernobyl type event; the private owners of such a station would not be expected to pay the full cost of such an event.

Sadly once an industry gets its claws into the economy to the extent that nukes have, it generates enormous political power which the rest of us are unable to face down. Compare and contrast the automobile industry...

Comment But is it any use? (Score 1) 28

by Bruce66423 (#66336102) Attached to: Scientists Create a New Form of Ice At 2,357 Degrees Celsius

I was going to ask whether this sort of research is worth funding, and then read the post about protons being a super mobile sea in which the Oxygen is a stable lattice. That's just the sort of crazy discovery that leads to breakthrough in the long term.

Now all we've got to do is explain the hexagon and decagon on Saturn. Over exposure to '2001' at a young age makes it hard to avoid jumping to a certain conclusion...

Submission + - US legislators complain about secretive British court and Apple encryption (theguardian.com) 1

Submitted by Bruce66423
Bruce66423 writes: 'A bipartisan pair of American politicians is telling Britain’s most secretive court to stop hiding its handling of Apple’s legal fight against a government demand to break into its customers’ encrypted data, warning that Whitehall’s taste for secrecy is “needlessly” straining relations between the two allies.

'The letter, shared with the Guardian ahead of being sent to the investigatory powers tribunal (IPT) on Friday, is signed by the Democratic senator Ron Wyden of Oregon and the Republican congressman Warren Davidson of Ohio.

'The row dates back to January 2025, when the Home Office served Apple with a technical capability notice under the Investigatory Powers Act, which requires companies to assist law enforcement in providing evidence. The UK government demanded that Apple provide a mechanism to access encrypted iCloud backups worldwide, a call the company met by withdrawing its Advanced Data Protection encryption feature from UK users the following month. Apple’s challenge to that order at the IPT was later thrown out after the Home Office withdrew the original notice and issued a narrower one targeting only British users’ data.'

Comment Beware Nigerian billionaires' children (Score 1) 206

by Bruce66423 (#66331550) Attached to: Star Trek Turns 60

The fact that most of the Left seems to end up giving such kids a bonus over the children of a low paid White worker reveals the problem absolutely. Add in the fact that Harvard discriminated against Asian kids because otherwise they'd be massively over represented, and the absurdity / scandal becomes obvious. There is a good case for giving kids who receive free school meals a few extra points on SATS, but that should probably be the absolute limit to what the system should allow.

Comment Yes but is it genocide? (Score 0, Flamebait) 61

by Bruce66423 (#66325662) Attached to: How US Campaigns Are Already Using AI to Try to Sway Voters

Yes, it's fashionable to believe that what happened in Gaza was genocide. Given the state of Mosul recently and Berlin in 1945 when they were cleared of well prepared resisters, let alone what's happening in Sudan, it's a dubious claim. If the chatbot is offering an alternative perspective to people who've merely adopted the term without good reason, then it's spreading the truth...

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