Comments on: Tilting at windmills http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/26/tilting-at-windmills/ I am an astronomer, writer, and skeptic. I likes reality the way it is, and I aims to keep it that way. My real name is Phil Plait, and I run the Bad Astronomy blog. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:57:22 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Barton Paul Levenson http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/26/tilting-at-windmills/comment-page-3/#comment-72756 Barton Paul Levenson Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:57:16 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/26/tilting-at-windmills/#comment-72756 QD posts: [[<i>And the reason X-Rays have not made people comfortable with radiation is that they drop this big, heavy lead shield on you before most X-Rays. That has quite a psychological effect. It did for me as a kid with dental X-Rays. Fortunately, I got older and read these things called science books…</i>]] Well, tell the nurse to leave the lead shield off you the next few times. Your superior knowledge of radiation should protect your gonads from the 20 millirems per shot of a medical X-ray. QD posts:

[[And the reason X-Rays have not made people comfortable with radiation is that they drop this big, heavy lead shield on you before most X-Rays. That has quite a psychological effect. It did for me as a kid with dental X-Rays. Fortunately, I got older and read these things called science books…]]

Well, tell the nurse to leave the lead shield off you the next few times. Your superior knowledge of radiation should protect your gonads from the 20 millirems per shot of a medical X-ray.

]]> By: Quiet_Desperation http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/26/tilting-at-windmills/comment-page-3/#comment-72755 Quiet_Desperation Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:07:00 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/26/tilting-at-windmills/#comment-72755 And the reason X-Rays have not made people comfortable with radiation is that they drop this big, heavy lead shield on you before most X-Rays. That has quite a psychological effect. It did for me as a kid with dental X-Rays. Fortunately, I got older and read these things called science books... And the reason X-Rays have not made people comfortable with radiation is that they drop this big, heavy lead shield on you before most X-Rays. That has quite a psychological effect. It did for me as a kid with dental X-Rays. Fortunately, I got older and read these things called science books…

]]> By: Quiet_Desperation http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/26/tilting-at-windmills/comment-page-3/#comment-72754 Quiet_Desperation Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:03:59 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/26/tilting-at-windmills/#comment-72754 <i>On the other hand, terrorists can’t get material for a nuclear bomb out of a wind farm.</i> Well, I'm sorry, Barton, but I can't live my life wondering how terrorists can misuse anything and everything I do. That way lies madness, mind killing fear and Republicanism. Besides, as others already said, power plants are not a great place to get bomb materials anyway, so it's moot. On the other hand, terrorists can’t get material for a nuclear bomb out of a wind farm.

Well, I’m sorry, Barton, but I can’t live my life wondering how terrorists can misuse anything and everything I do. That way lies madness, mind killing fear and Republicanism.

Besides, as others already said, power plants are not a great place to get bomb materials anyway, so it’s moot.

]]> By: Lars Bruchmann http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/26/tilting-at-windmills/comment-page-3/#comment-72753 Lars Bruchmann Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:38:57 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/26/tilting-at-windmills/#comment-72753 The problem was more with older turbines, which rotated faster than the newer ones. Birds do indeed see the newer ones and avoid them. yes, cats' predation is not a good thing, mine don't go out much. And they've never brought me a "present". As a pilot and aviation safety student- I can tell you that having a blade seperate is very bad. Aircraft engines will vibrate themselves right off their mounts, and fall off. Sometimes they get tangled on their fuel line and drag under the wing, very bad. That video was awesome!! The problem was more with older turbines, which rotated faster than the newer ones. Birds do indeed see the newer ones and avoid them. yes, cats’ predation is not a good thing, mine don’t go out much. And they’ve never brought me a “present”. As a pilot and aviation safety student- I can tell you that having a blade seperate is very bad. Aircraft engines will vibrate themselves right off their mounts, and fall off. Sometimes they get tangled on their fuel line and drag under the wing, very bad. That video was awesome!!

]]> By: Regner Trampedach http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/26/tilting-at-windmills/comment-page-3/#comment-72752 Regner Trampedach Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:02:09 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/26/tilting-at-windmills/#comment-72752 There is so much misinformation around about windmills - it hurts... The windmill in the video was either old or defect - Windmills in general put the brakes on and feather the blades. I would suspect it to be staged actually - an old windmill that was going to be replaced anyway?... I don't think Denmark has 20% of it's electricity coming from wind if it is unviable to send it to the grid! And what about the US-wide power- grid - you can't be loosing all the power at those distances or the grid wouldn't be there. Larger windmills (too large for single households) are more efficient and can work at much lower windspeeds. In Denmark groups of private people for windmill guilts to share a larger windmill. A modern windmill can produce 80 times more energy in it's lifetime than will be spend on producing, maintaining and removing the windmill. Birds have brains and eyes - they can see windmills! Duh! Some birds have been killed by windmill placed in gullies (work like windtunnels) - the birds turn a corner, and WHAM! there's a windmill. I don't think those are considered optimal locations any more. Offshore windmills are no problems for birds or fish either, and serve as homes for crustaceans. Windmills can be put up tomorrow - they are immediately deployable, and can do something about the climate NOW. Cheers, Regner There is so much misinformation around about windmills – it hurts…
The windmill in the video was either old or defect – Windmills in general
put the brakes on and feather the blades. I would suspect it to be staged
actually – an old windmill that was going to be replaced anyway?…
I don’t think Denmark has 20% of it’s electricity coming from wind
if it is unviable to send it to the grid! And what about the US-wide power-
grid – you can’t be loosing all the power at those distances or the grid
wouldn’t be there.
Larger windmills (too large for single households) are more efficient and
can work at much lower windspeeds. In Denmark groups of private people
for windmill guilts to share a larger windmill.
A modern windmill can produce 80 times more energy in it’s lifetime
than will be spend on producing, maintaining and removing the windmill.
Birds have brains and eyes – they can see windmills! Duh!
Some birds have been killed by windmill placed in gullies (work like
windtunnels) – the birds turn a corner, and WHAM! there’s a windmill.
I don’t think those are considered optimal locations any more.
Offshore windmills are no problems for birds or fish either, and serve
as homes for crustaceans.
Windmills can be put up tomorrow – they are immediately deployable,
and can do something about the climate NOW.
Cheers, Regner

]]> By: Ron http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/26/tilting-at-windmills/comment-page-2/#comment-72751 Ron Thu, 28 Feb 2008 04:42:03 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/26/tilting-at-windmills/#comment-72751 Opps, Texas has just shown why large scale reliance on wind farms, even for very modest percentage of the power grid, has it's problems... "Loss of wind causes Texas power grid emergency" http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2749522920080228?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews&rpc=22&sp=true I doubt that wind will ever be more than a niche solution because on the vast majority of places the wind is just to fickle to rely on. Not being anti wind but just be practical here and yes I know they have the advantage of not irradiating everyone. Opps, Texas has just shown why large scale reliance on wind farms, even for very modest percentage of the power grid, has it’s problems…

“Loss of wind causes Texas power grid emergency”

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2749522920080228?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews&rpc=22&sp=true

I doubt that wind will ever be more than a niche solution because on the vast majority of places the wind is just to fickle to rely on.
Not being anti wind but just be practical here and yes I know they have the advantage of not irradiating everyone.

]]> By: HoustonPhysicist http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/26/tilting-at-windmills/comment-page-2/#comment-72750 HoustonPhysicist Thu, 28 Feb 2008 04:08:36 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/02/26/tilting-at-windmills/#comment-72750 I heard a good joke about the windfarms in the Texas Panhandle. A visitor stopped in a small town and asked what all the big fans were. The local told him that they were for summertime when it gets real hot. That ought to end this string of posts! I heard a good joke about the windfarms in the Texas Panhandle. A visitor stopped in a small town and asked what all the big fans were. The local told him that they were for summertime when it gets real hot.

That ought to end this string of posts!

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