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[bloop_bleep]

That doesn'tmatter!

Am I missing a subtle joke here?

[smjjames]

The depths of internet lunacy never cease to amaze me.

Found a guy that thinks that should a fusion reactor fail, rather than instantly cool to near room temperature, it would trigger an explosion that would destroy half the Earth and irradiate the other half to destruction. Someone linked an article from a nuclear physicist, and he accused them of just seeking funding. So far as I can tell, they aren't a troll, they're actually that insane.

A sufficient amount of antimatter could do that.

You understand that fusion reactors don't actually produce antimatter, right?

Yes I do know they don't actually produce antimatter. I was just commenting that a sufficient amount of antimatter could destroy half the Earth and probably irradiate the rest. Even if it doesn't irradiate the rest, it'll still be uninhabitable while gravity makes it into a sphere again.

[overseer05-15]

That doesn'tmatter!

Am I missing a subtle joke here?

It's nomatter if you missed it, it was foolish.

[Draignean]

The depths of internet lunacy never cease to amaze me.

Found a guy that thinks that should a fusion reactor fail, rather than instantly cool to near room temperature, it would trigger an explosion that would destroy half the Earth and irradiate the other half to destruction. Someone linked an article from a nuclear physicist, and he accused them of just seeking funding. So far as I can tell, they aren't a troll, they're actually that insane.

I mean, depending on the kind of failure, I can see being in the immediate vicinity of fusion reactor to be fantastically fatal. This just seems like someone mixing up fusion bombs with fusion reactors and getting their math off by an order of magnitude.

Nothing like the folks claiming to have discovered unified field theory

[JoshuaFH]

The depths of internet lunacy never cease to amaze me.

Found a guy that thinks that should a fusion reactor fail, rather than instantly cool to near room temperature, it would trigger an explosion that would destroy half the Earth and irradiate the other half to destruction. Someone linked an article from a nuclear physicist, and he accused them of just seeking funding. So far as I can tell, they aren't a troll, they're actually that insane.

I mean, depending on the kind of failure, I can see being in the immediate vicinity of fusion reactor to be fantastically fatal. This just seems like someone mixing up fusion bombs with fusion reactors and getting their math off by an order of magnitude.

Nothing like the folks claiming to have discovered unified field theory

The blatantly incorrect hyperbole kinda reminds me of this video, about setting off a nuke in the Marianas Trench:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7eb1DHZ9GQ

I mean, I'm not sure how big the resulting explosion would be, or what it would look like from the surface, but I'm sure it wouldn't... uh... destroy the world? Though I am genuinely curious as to what would actually happen.

[smjjames]

I think they got their math off by several orders of magnitude, and fusion reactors and fusion bombs work on completely different principles anyway.

[Egan_BW]

Though I am genuinely curious as to what would actually happen.

You drop your bomb in, wait for it to reach the bottom, and hit the detonator. Then nothing happens because the pressure has crushed your bomb into uselessness. Then I guess you'd have some radioactive stuff in the ocean, which could easily cause some problems.

[smjjames]

Though I am genuinely curious as to what would actually happen.

You drop your bomb in, wait for it to reach the bottom, and hit the detonator. Then nothing happens because the pressure has crushed your bomb into uselessness. Then I guess you'd have some radioactive stuff in the ocean, which could easily cause some problems.

Not too hard to design a pressure vessel for it.

[Yoink]

You'd probably wake the Deep Ones.

[bloop_bleep]

Though I am genuinely curious as to what would actually happen.

what-if.xkcd.com/15

[redwallzyl]

Sometimes I really want to just go all revolution on all the awful people ruining my country with their greed. I'm normally quite a rational person but this god damn period in history is driving me crazy. I can see everything that is fucked and why and cant do a damn thing about it. I is infuriating. This is why this stupid shit cant last. It's all going to go down in flames if someone does not fix it.

[bloop_bleep]

Sometimes I really want to just go all revolution on all the awful people ruining my country with their greed. I'm normally quite a rational person but this god damn period in history is driving me crazy. I can see everything that is fucked and why and cant do a damn thing about it. I is infuriating. This is why this stupid shit cant last. It's all going to go down in flames if someone does not fix it.

It seemed to last just fine for the past few hundred years, and even that was with much laxer regulation. Nothing's gonna crash and burn, not yet.

[redwallzyl]

Sometimes I really want to just go all revolution on all the awful people ruining my country with their greed. I'm normally quite a rational person but this god damn period in history is driving me crazy. I can see everything that is fucked and why and cant do a damn thing about it. I is infuriating. This is why this stupid shit cant last. It's all going to go down in flames if someone does not fix it.

It seemed to last just fine for the past few hundred years, and even that was with much laxer regulation. Nothing's gonna crash and burn, not yet.

Except it has in several places for various reasons showing the vulnerability of our systems and the the problems have only accelerated. Things are coming to a head around the world and I would rather evolution then revolution.

[bloop_bleep]

Sometimes I really want to just go all revolution on all the awful people ruining my country with their greed. I'm normally quite a rational person but this god damn period in history is driving me crazy. I can see everything that is fucked and why and cant do a damn thing about it. I is infuriating. This is why this stupid shit cant last. It's all going to go down in flames if someone does not fix it.

It seemed to last just fine for the past few hundred years, and even that was with much laxer regulation. Nothing's gonna crash and burn, not yet.

Except it has in several places for various reasons showing the vulnerability of our systems and the the problems have only accelerated. Things are coming to a head around the world and I would rather evolution then revolution.

*sigh*

No, actually, the problems have not accelerated. Compared with a hundred years ago, we are infinitely better off. Modern medicine, new technology, more corporate regulation, higher wages, bigger economy, various social changes, etc. etc. etc. Yes, there are still problems. Yes, we have to fix them. But people in this thread regularly like to forget how much better lives they live than like 90% of the world population.

[redwallzyl]

Sometimes I really want to just go all revolution on all the awful people ruining my country with their greed. I'm normally quite a rational person but this god damn period in history is driving me crazy. I can see everything that is fucked and why and cant do a damn thing about it. I is infuriating. This is why this stupid shit cant last. It's all going to go down in flames if someone does not fix it.

It seemed to last just fine for the past few hundred years, and even that was with much laxer regulation. Nothing's gonna crash and burn, not yet.

Except it has in several places for various reasons showing the vulnerability of our systems and the the problems have only accelerated. Things are coming to a head around the world and I would rather evolution then revolution.

*sigh*

No, actually, the problems have not accelerated. Compared with a hundred years ago, we are infinitely better off. Modern medicine, new technology, more corporate regulation, higher wages, bigger economy, various social changes, etc. etc. etc. Yes, there are still problems. Yes, we have to fix them. But people in this thread regularly like to forget how much better lives they live than like 90% of the world population.

I am fully aware of the world spending many many hours studying it. And I know all about the history of which you speak. and I don't just know stuff in brief I know the god damn theory used in contemporary study. And it says things are fucked and growing more so in many areas. The narrative of progress is covering the deep and growing problems. And I don't think we are doing a good enough job fighting them around the world. And I'm an optimist about most things.

To be more clear. I'm currently in a state of cynicism and anger that is making me lean over the line between cautious optimism and cynicism with caveats about the future. It probably will pass.