Remember four years ago when I wrote a blog about how space-based solar power is a terrible idea and won't work? Now, Engadget is reporting that China wants to do exactly what I was talking about in that post, which will still not be possible for the same reasons and because of science.
On January 5, 2011, I wrote the following: “Designer” is a dangerous term, because it usually means some crazy person with ridiculous ideas who then makes CAD drawings or actual mock-ups of his crazy ideas and yet, for some goddamn reason, I appear to be the only person to notice that said idea is crazy.... Continue Reading →
Ever been to the website Elite Daily? If you haven't, don't bother. Home of such journalistic masterpieces as "Zayn Malik Isn't Worried About Leaving One Direction Because His Fiance Is Hot As F*ck" and "Man Given 18 Months To Live Says Cannabis Oil Cured His Cancer," it's a long-running stream of feel-good drivel that's generally... Continue Reading →
A while ago, several news outlets of varying degrees of reputability reported on the intentions of a company called Liftport to build a space elevator, but not on the Earth where it'd be accessible by human beings. They want to build one on the moon. But first they have to figure out if it's possible.... Continue Reading →
There's a lot of science that's kind of boring if you don't understand it or its implications. I get that. But there's also a lot of stuff that's awesome in the world of science, despite being almost literally unbelievable when you first hear about it. This is one that I was perusing recently that, upon... Continue Reading →
First of all, the first sentence of this post's title is taken from Phil Plait's book of the same name, which is awesome. It looks like this. You should buy it and read it, and then make all the people you know do the same thing. It's a really good book and Phil is really... Continue Reading →
You've all heard of Richard Branson, right? He started Virgin Records from the crypt of a church when he was a teenager and now he's a multi-billionaire. He also owns Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Mobile, and 400 other companies. He also tried to set the speed record for sailing across the Atlantic in 1985 (and... Continue Reading →
Recently, I found yet another article with a title in the form of a question. Here's a hint for all you people that read things on the internet: if someone titles an article in the form of a question, it's not as interesting as the question would lead you to believe. Before you go checking... Continue Reading →
Picture the scene. Two scientists are sitting in a room together, excited about the finalization of plans to explore previously uncharted territory in the solar system. This mission will be unique, and will take just one more slice off of the massive chunk of ignorance that looms around us. But the scientists are troubled. They're... Continue Reading →
I'm sure most of you have heard that your star sign has changed. I'm equally sure that most of you don't know why it's changed, because the media made this sound like a magical astronomer conspiracy of doom, rather than something that no human being has anything to do with. They also made it sound like... Continue Reading →
So China, since they have tons of money (and all of our money too), has decided that they want to go to the moon. With people. In order to do that, they need to find a place to land on the moon, and rather than map it with super high-powered telescopes like we did, they... Continue Reading →
