Comment 100066 (Score 1) 342
Big company, big number.
Still a shitkicker though
Submission + - NASA's Plutonium Supply Dwindling, ESA to Help (discovery.com)
astroengine writes: NASA's stockpile of the plutonium isotope Pu-238 is at a critical level, causing concern that there won't be enough fuel for future deep space missions. Pellets of Pu-238 are used inside radioisotope thermoelectric generators (or RTGs) to generate electricity for space probes traveling beyond the orbit of Mars — solar energy is too weak for solar arrays at these distances. Blocked by a contract dispute with Russia to supply Pu-238 and the U.S. Department of Energy that has not been granted funds to produce more of the isotope, NASA lacks enough of the radioisotope to fuel the future joint NASA-ESA mission to Europa. However, the head of the European Space Agency (ESA) has announced that they have plans to commence a new nuclear energy program to alleviate the situation.
Comment Alberta Blocked? (Score 1) 185
I figured it was because 403 is forbidden...
Comment Re:Language Problems (Score 1) 572
Thats not true. Corporations are perfectly capable of being both wasteful and immoral.
--Sorry. Nobody seemed to be obeying your 93rd rule.
HP Creates First Hybrid Memristor Chip 155
An anonymous reader writes "HP researchers have built the first functioning hybrid memristor-transistor chip. Lead researcher Stanley Williams and his team built the very first memristor — the '4th fundamental element' of integrated circuits after resistors, capacitors and inductors — back in April. Memristors can remember their resistance, leading to novel electronic capabilities. The new FPGA circuit uses memristors to perform tasks normally carried out by (many more) transistors and is therefore smaller, more power efficient and cheaper to make, HP says. Memristors could also turn out to be a more compact, faster alternative to flash memory."
Comment NSW RFS still uses pagers (Score 1) 584
I'm a volunteer firefighter for the NSW rural fire service. We still use pagers for fire calls and general information.
The comment about batteries is absolutely true. I usually don't have to replace my pager batteries more than every 3 months. And that is not because I recharge them.
Also the coverage is great. I frequently get pages where no phone has reception.
And it allows me to adapt to ignoring my phone over night. The pager is loud and annoying, and as was said previously, it keeps going until I acknowledge the page. With a phone, at best the person trying to contact you needs to keep ringing until you answer.
As for where to get them... Motorola make the one I use. Wouldn't know where to buy them though.
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