Jason Etheridge @jasonetheridge@qoto.org

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@trinsec I hadn't put together the utter flatness of the Netherlands and how that would make pumped hydro impossible. :)

Regarding modular nuclear reactors, the primary reason they're a good idea is that nuclear plants have previously been bespoke, making regulatory approval a nightmare (has to be done fresh every time). With a modular, smaller design, you get the tick of approval from regulators, and then you mass produce them.

I'm guessing that biofuels will eventually be producible at scale, which are carbon neutral and will work in current internal combustion engines. Electric cars are great, but until we get a different battery technology, producing enough batteries given the raw materials required is going to be a problem. Not to discount hydrogen, but as Sabine pointed out, there are some real limitations.

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@trinsec That's an application I'd certainly never heard of. It's a real shame she didn't cover that usage, and I'd likewise very much like to know her opinion as to its practicality.

Is your country's hydrogen pipes a done deal being constructed now, or is it more of a concept? I'm surprised that power via high voltage power lines is that lossy; we transport power in Australia over vast distances using power lines. Maybe a colder climate makes it less viable. Then again, I don't know how efficient it is, though I thought the whole point of high voltage (and zero current) was that effectively no power/heat was lost.

Storing excess power locally as hydrogen does seem like an obvious application once its pointed out; you'd need a very, very large storage area (given ~32 kWh per litre, you'd need to store a LOT to make it viable). That seems to be the only downside: the sheer volume. You could probably store more at higher pressure, though the higher the pressure, the more the engineering problem of the containing vessel.

In Australia, we're focusing on pumped hydro as a way of storing excess power, where they're not using batteries. Which works fine, as long as you've got a nice, big dam handy.

Nuclear does seem to be the obvious solution, though it has its downsides. Depends how serious we are about really combatting climate change, I guess!

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@chidgey l reckon you're right. Tempus has fugit, that's for sure. I can see the allure of becoming a cranky old man. To be held off if possible!

@chidgey It certainly stopped happening for me once I had kids!

Great video from
Sabine Hossenfelder (a German theoretical physicist)
about the practicality of hydrogen fuel cells. Spoiler: wildly impractical. I'd be investing in something else, like producing biofuels.

Hydrogen Will Not Save Us. Here's Why. https://youtu.be/Zklo4Z1SqkE

In the fantasy novel The Magic of Recluse, L. E. Modesitt, Jr makes heavy use of onomatopoeia. I've never come across this before. I'm now wondering if this is a novelty in his writing, or if it's part of his style.

Not bad, just kinda weird.

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