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Comment Re:Creeping-in Islamist country (Score 1) 42

by Quantum gravity (#66028214) Attached to: Indonesia To Ban Social Media For Children Under 16
Other countries that are considering are, besides Australia, are Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and mentioned in the article Spain, France and the UK.

As I understand it, and I am not a psychiatrist, is that social media triggers the release of dopamine, which makes people feel good, but excessive use is addictive and leads to lack of concentration and sleeping problems.

Comment Re: Root Cause. (Score 1) 87

Erik the Red was a Norwegian. In the 13th century (12xx), Greenland became an official part of Norway. And in 1380, Norway and Denmark entered into a union that allowed Denmark to be ruled directly from Copenhagen. The union was the Kalmar Union, consisting of Denmark, Sweden (including Finland), Norway and its colonies of Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Orkney and the Shetland Islands.

Vikings lived in Greenland until around 14xx, and the reason for the declining population is debated by historians, but is likely due to several factors, such as falling temperatures that made travel difficult. The remaining Vikings left Greenland possibly for Island or Norway, but could have lived there until 1480.

And later in the 17th century, Europeans tried again, when Denmark declared Greenland a Danish colony in 1721.

Comment Re:Root Cause. (Score 1) 87

The Norse Viking Erik Thorgilsson, called Erik the Red probably due to a red beard, settled Greenland in the 970s.
His son was Leif Erikson who became the first Norseman to explore the land of Vinland, i.e. coastal North America, way before Christopher Columbus.
A statue of him was erected in Chicago in 1901.

Comment Re:Devil you know? (Score 1) 60

by Quantum gravity (#65949322) Attached to: Solar and Wind Overtake Fossil Fuels in the EU
This discussion is no longer serious on your part, so I'll stop after this. For the sake of potential readers, if there are any, I'll answer a few points, though.

REE are used in modern wind power. They make electricity production more compact and efficient, and reduce maintenance.

There are two types of wind turbine generators, the older geared wind turbine that requires a gearbox to get the speed up to 1000 rpm, and then the modern direct-drive wind turbine, with a simpler design and strong REE magnets, and no gearbox. Note also that replacing a gearbox is difficult, expensive, and often has to be done in a remote location.

For dysprosium, take a look at several ScienceDirect articles (free access to full-text scientific and medical publications) such as:

The increasing use of wind power technology and its potential for future electricity generation has stimulated a number of studies evaluating the technology in terms of capacity factor, installation and maintenance costs, environmental impact, and the availability of resources, primarily neodymium (Nd) and dysprosium (Dy) required for direct-drive wind turbines

- https://www.sciencedirect.com/...

Regarding rare earth elements, neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium, are the ones that are required at a higher level (Huber and Steininger, 2022) as neodymium and praseodymium are used to improve the resistance of wind turbines, while dysprosium increases their resistance to demagnetization.

- https://www.sciencedirect.com/...

Comment Re:Devil you know? (Score 1) 60

by Quantum gravity (#65948424) Attached to: Solar and Wind Overtake Fossil Fuels in the EU
Mass? How about a ton or more? As for the elements, it is mainly neodymium which is magnetic, praseodymium which is used in combination with neodymium to improve magnetic performance, and dysprosium which helps maintain magnetization when heated. The other elements also have their uses, such as yttrium which increases the strength of the material.

Wind turbine blades only rotate at around 8-16 rpm. This is far too slow to generate electricity, hence the gearbox. But a gearbox usually only lasts 7-10 years.

With stronger magnets, thanks to REE, you can remove the gearbox and use a direct drive wind turbine. ABB is a major manufacturer of components for wind power. For information on their gearless direct drive concept, see https://new.abb.com/motors-gen...

Comment Re:Devil you know? (Score 1) 60

by Quantum gravity (#65946246) Attached to: Solar and Wind Overtake Fossil Fuels in the EU
RREs are used in wind turbine generators to make them more compact and increase efficiency, and since you then don't need a gearbox, it reduces maintenance requirements. A considerable amount of REEs are used in wind turbines, and the ones used are Neodymium, Dysprosium, Praseodymium, Terbium, Europium, Yttrium and Samarium.

Comment Re:Devil you know? (Score 1) 60

by Quantum gravity (#65945136) Attached to: Solar and Wind Overtake Fossil Fuels in the EU
Ok, modern and effective wind power generators requires rare earths elements.

China dominates REE production, accounting for about 69% of global mining and 85% of refining. The Bayan Obo mine in Inner Mongolia is the world’s largest REE deposit, supplying elements like neodymium and dysprosium used in high-tech industries.

- (October 14, 2024) https://businesscraft.se/busin...

Comment Re:Why the surprise? (Score 1) 182

Sure. But keep in mind that China's numbers are a source of pride, manipulation for economic reasons, and politics where the government wants to show that the two-child policy from 2016 worked, and have many inconsistencies in the data.

If you are interested please read https://galaxy.ai/youtube-summ...

Comment Re:DUH! Won't work (Score 1) 156

Generally speaking, it is true that countries with high knife deaths have strong gun laws, simply because the attackers have to use knives. However, the countries with high murder rates are usually those with many firearms.

And the number of knife deaths in the UK in 2019 was 0.01 per 100,000, which is less than the 0.15 for guns, resulting in a UK that is ranked in 197th place for knife deaths, which is even lower than for guns. But the US is also doing better for knives than it is for guns, at 132nd place with just 0.06 per 100,000.

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