Geeko friendly's List: Man-made

• in Minnesota, real silence can be found in a room. In fact, the anechoic chamber found at Orfield Laboratories Inc. is the Quietest Place on Earth, as awarded by the Guinness Book of World Records.
• the anechoic chamber found at Orfield Laboratories Inc. is the Quietest Place on Earth, as awarded by the Guinness Book of World Records.
• How does one achieve The Quietest Place on Earth? Start with a room within a room, within a room: the Orfield Labs six sided anechoic chamber is a small room floating in a pit on I-beams that are on top of springs. A five sided chamber of identical construction surrounds it on the edge of the pit. Both chambers are made of double wall steel-insulation-steel. The anechoic chamber was manufactured by Eckel, the largest anechoic chamber builder in the country.
  
  Both steel chambers are held within a larger room that was built with solid one foot thick concrete walls and ceiling panels. The smaller room is filled with 3.3 feet thick fiberglass acoustic wedges. This approach led to the anechoic chamber found at Orfield Labs being measured by engineers on January 21st of 2004 at negative 9.4 dB (with A-weighting), thus earning it the title of Quietest Place on Earth. By comparison, the low threshold for human hearing is considered to be 0 dB.

  • how they achieved it
• After a few moments in the anechoic chamber, you'll begin to feel a touch jumpy. Hearing your heart beat, your blood pulse, the sound of your own ear buzzing and your body functioning like you've never heard before has a tendency to be a bit unnerving. And in complete silence, you lose all sense of space and surroundings. The absence of reflected sound and reverberation makes "feeling out" the room impossible.
• If someone can last 45 minutes in there by themselves with the lights off, then they get a case of beer. If I remember correctly no one has been able to make it past a half-hour yet.

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• She creates art from rolls of tape, pieces of pencil, Styrofoam cups, paper plates, napkins.
• September, she received a phone call from the John D. and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation. She was informed that she had been made a Fellow of the Foundation and that she will receive a $500,000 MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant. It is a no-strings-attached support of her work over five years. She was selected as one of 25 recipients in 2008. Others include a physician, an astrophysicist, a violinist, a computer scientist and representatives of many other endeavours who were selected for their creativity, originality and potential to make important contributions in the future.

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• fresh, potable water from an unlimited source: the air.”
• the WaterMill is a small, relatively simple home appliance that draws moisture from the outside air and condenses it into fresh potable water.
• 3.2 gallons of drinking water a day under ideal conditions - enough for a family of six.
• the WaterMill operates “at a cost of approximately 11 cents per gallon (three cents per liter), the average operating cost of 35 cents a day is a fraction of that of bottled water, which averages around $4.00 per day for the same amount of water.” Not bad!

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• Smatramo, da mora gradnja potekati po načelih zasebnega kapitalskega vlaganja, brez pokrivanja investicijskih in poslovnih tveganj s strani države in s pokrivanjem vseh zunanjih stroškov s strani investitorja. Velik problem bo pokrivanje dodatnih sistemskih rezervnih zmogljivosti, ki jih bo povzročilo obratovanje gradnja enote z najmanj 1000 MW, kar je potrebno všteti v stroške investicije.
• Vsekakor bo NEK2 s 1000 MW ali več moči presegal potrebe Slovenije, če upoštevamo druge predvidene projekte, med katerimi izstopa TEŠ6 (600MW).
• Zavajajoče so ocene, da bodo nizki stroški proizvodnje v NEK2 tudi zagotovili nizke cene električne energije za porabnike električne energije v Sloveniji. Cene električne energije se v razmerah prostega trga za električno energijo oblikujejo glede na cene na sosednjih trgih in niso neposredno odvisne od stroškov, ki jih imajo proizvajalci električne energije.

  • !
• Gradnja bo zahtevala visoka vlaganja, v prvem obdobju obratovanja pa bo treba vračati kredite. V najboljšem primeru  lahko pričakujemo pozitivni učinek na ceno električne energije šele proti koncu drugega desetletja od začetka gradnje (okoli leta 2030.
• Razmere na trgu z električno energijo se lahko do leta 2017, ko naj bi bila NEK2 zgrajena lahko drastično spremenijo. Potrebno se je zavedati, da izgradnja jedrskih elektrarn traja najdlje med vsemi elektrarnami poleg tega pa se roki izgradnje JE kar praviloma  podaljšujejo
• Glede odvisnosti Slovenije od sosednjih trgov pa moramo ločiti razpravo o dveh vprašanjih: rezervnih zmogljivostih za proizvodnjo električne energije in uvozu električne energije. V Sloveniji manjka rezervnih zmogljivosti za električno energijo in to že danes – za kar jedrske elektrarne niso najboljša niti najbolj hitra opcija. Obseg uvoza električne energije bo možno zadržati v sprejemljivem obsegu s posodobitvami proizvodnje na obstoječih lokacijah, izgradnjo hidroelektrarn, učinkovito rabe energije in razpršeno proizvodnjo energije.
• Z gradnjo jedrske elektrarne ne moremo rešiti problema naraščanja potrebnih rezerv moči v slovenskem elektroenergetskem sistemu, zlasti ne primanjkljaja v naslednjih desetih letih.

  • !
• Predpogoj za izgradnjo NEK2 je predhodno rešeno vprašanje skladiščenja nizko in srednje radioaktivnih odpadkov v Sloveniji in, vsaj okvirno, tudi strategija ravnanja z visoko radioaktivnimi odpadki (možne rešitve, stroški).

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• The internet is not just changing the way people live but altering the way our brains work with a neuroscientist arguing that this is an evolutionary change which will put the tech-savvy at the top of the new social order.
• Internet searching and text messaging has made brains more adept at filtering information and making snap decisions.
• internet addicts whose only friends are virtual and has sparked a dramatic rise in Attention Deficit Disorder diagnose
• “There is also the big problem of neglecting human contact skills and losing the ability to read emotional expressions and body language,” he said.

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• 14,000 new cars on the roads each day, 52,000 miles of roadways under construction, 70% of electricity generated from coal, a new coal-fired electric plant coming online nearly every week; 75% of China’s urban residents breathe polluted air which kills 750,000 people annually; 20% of water used in in urban China lost to leaky pipes.
• Cities such as Shanghai and Tianjin have sunk six feet over the past decade and a half as precious underground water reserves are drawn down, causing skyscrapers to tilt and encouraging coastal flooding.  

  Yet tilting skyscrapers are the least of the cities' concerns. In Beijing, factories, buildings and underground pipelines have all been destroyed by the plundering of underground aquifers and the resultant land subsidence.
• China -- which is roughly the same size as the United States -- is almost one-quarter desert, and the desert is advancing at more than 1,300 square miles,
• Entire villages in China's north have been lost, submerged in sand by the encroaching desert.
• desertification affects 400 million Chinese

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• the costs of electricity from a new nuclear plant is about 14 cents/kWh, while electricity from a new wind farm only costs about 7 cents/kWh
• the costs of electricity from a new nuclear plant is about 14 cents/kWh, while electricity from a new wind farm only costs about 7 cents/kWh. And this doesn’t include the costs of disposing of nuclear waste, insuring nuclear plants and decommissioning the plants.

• Seven of Britain's largest music download sites have got together to promote a new "MP3 compatible" logo. 

  It aims to raise the profile of the open MP3 music format and show people what they can do with their downloads.
• Seven of Britain's largest music download sites have got together to promote a new "MP3 compatible" logo.
• It is hoped the MP3-compatible logo will form the blueprint of an international standard and ERA is also seeking support from manufacturers of MP3-compatible digital music players. <!-- E BO -->

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• This prototype was developed by Behrokh Khoshnevis of the University of Southern California.
• A computer-controlled crane or gantry will build houses efficiently without any manual labor. It will use a quick-setting concrete-like material and will build up structures in a layer-by-layer fashion. This system will be adept at erecting walls of almost any shape and specification and can finish a full-fledged house in a matter of a day without any breaks. In addition to the savings on labor costs, the machine is believed to be eco-friendly in contrast to the standard home construction method, which churns up to seven tons of waste and fumes.

• This cell is extremely promising because it is made of low-cost materials and does not need elaborate apparatus to manufacture. In bulk it should be significantly less expensive than older solid-state cell designs. It can be engineered into flexible sheets and is mechanically robust, requiring no protection from minor events like hail or tree strikes. Although its conversion efficiency is less than the best thin-film cells, its price/performance ratio (kWh/M2/annum) should be high enough to allow them to compete with fossil fuel electrical generation (grid parity).
• By far the biggest problem with the conventional approach is cost; solar cells require a relatively thick layer of silicon in order to have reasonable photon capture rates, and silicon is an expensive commodity.
• There have been a number of different approaches to reduce this cost over the last decade, notably the thin-film approaches, but to date they have seen limited application due to a variety of practical problems. Another line of research has been to dramatically improve efficiency through the multi-junction approach, although these cells are very high cost and suitable only for large commercial deployments. In general terms the types of cells suitable for rooftop deployment have not changed significantly in efficiency, although costs have dropped somewhat due to increased supply.
• As a result of both of these features —low losses and lack of recombination— DSSc's work even in low-light conditions. DSSc's are therefore able to work under cloudy skies and non-direct sunlight, whereas traditional designs would suffer a "cutout" at some lower limit of illumination, when charge carrier mobility is low and recombination becomes a major issue. The cutoff is so low they are even being proposed for indoor use, collecting energy for small devices from the lights in the house.
• A practical advantage, one DSSc's share with most thin-film technologies, is that the cell's mechanical robustness indirectly leads to higher efficiencies in higher temperatures. In any semiconductor, increasing temperature will promote some electrons into the conduction band "mechanically". The fragility of traditional silicon cells requires them to be protected from the elements, typically by encasing them in a glass box similar to a greenhouse, with a metal backing for strength. Such systems suffer noticeable decreases in efficiency as the cells heat up internally. DSSc's are normally built with only a thin layer of conductive plastic on the front layer, allowing them to radiate away heat much easier, and therefore operate at lower internal temperatures.
• The major disadvantage to the DSSc design is the use of the liquid electrolyte, which has temperature stability problems. At low temperatures the electrolyte can freeze, ending power production and potentially leading to physical damage. Higher temperatures cause the liquid to expand, making sealing the panels a serious problem. Another major drawback is the electrolyte solution, which contains volatile organic solvents and must be carefully sealed. This, along with the fact that the solvents permeate plastics, has precluded large-scale outdoor application and integration into flexible structure.^[13]
• Another problem with the current cell design is limited electron mobility at lower energies. This makes the DCCs inefficient at collecting energy from the red end of the spectrum. There are a number of efforts to improve this, typically using thin wiring to provide a second low-resistance route for these electrons.

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• Drywall is the number three producer of greenhouse gasses among building materials, trailing just behind cement and steel. Its production generates 200 million tons of carbon dioxide gas, a host of gypsum mines, and immense amounts of energy are required to fire the 500 degree kilns in which it is produced
• EcoRock. This innovative material requires no gypsum, no ovens to produce, is made from 85 percent industrial by-products and is fully recyclable!

  • Ecorock
• For the most part, drywall has not changed much since it was invented in 1917.
• EcoRock, a ground-breaking new interior wall covering made from a mixture of fly ash, slag, kiln dust and fillers. It is composed of 85 percent industrial by-products, is fully recyclable, and to top it all off, it is not susceptible to mold or termites like traditional drywall.
• Serious Materials chemists have devised a process that mixes these materials with water to form a paste which is then poured out into sheets. The process requires just 20 percent of the energy of traditional kiln firing, and does not rely upon ovens.

  • how it's made

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• The Smart Grid industry. The move to a smart grid is inevitable and experts estimate that the current $42 billion market for smart grid technologies, from software to hardware, from energy generation to energy storage, will grow to $65 billion by 2013.

• "Foam-Flush" toilets look and function much like conventional toilets. Using a mixture of biocompatible soap and water, the foam-flush toilet moves waste through a conventional 4" pipe to the composting tank below. The foam mixture cleans the toilet bowl with every flush but uses only about 3 oz. of water, making it fully compatible with the composting process. Since the foam flush is using water to carry the waste, it is possible to have it offset from the compost system at up to 45 degrees, making the design much like it would be for a conventional toilet system.

• Urine is rich in nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, the three main ingredients in artificial fertilizer. Feces contains these nutrients, too, in smaller doses, and the methane it produces can be harnessed as biogas, a green energy source."
• Annually, each of us produces about 13 gallons of feces and 130 gallons of urine, which is instantly diluted into the 4,000 gallons we use to flush it. This large quantity of contaminated liquid further mixes with "greywater," the water from the laundry, shower, and sink, tripling or quadrupling the amount of water that must be treated as sewage in energy-intensive plants. In effect, the system takes a relatively small amount of pathogenic material - primarily the feces - and taints enormous amounts of water with it.
• obstacles to widespread implementation of unorthodox toilets. Space limitations make compost toilets infeasible in most urban areas. Vacuum toilets require a different plumbing system. And there may be psychological barriers to changing habits in the bathroom

  • !
• But we have to start looking at these habits and changes in our plumbing systems. Ten years ago nobody handled their garbage;

• The problem with retrofitting existing waste treatment plants is the complete reorganization they would need to do this effectively.

    

  Diluting wastes with flush water so they will flow through pipes adds a great deal of cost and effort to clean all that water up again.

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• That is why I am intrigued by the new Envirolet VF vacuum flush system. An electric pump is connected to a Dometic vacuum toilet, mascerates the waste and toilet paper, and sends it to the composter, which can be in a closet next door, out of sight, out of mind, out of smell. The bathroom experience is unchanged from the current pattern.

  • how it works
• Someone still has to go and add sawdust and peat moss once a day, and there still is a bit of liquid that has to be dealt with, but with proper gray water management a house or an apartment does not have to be connected to the big pipe any longer. Once the process of adding the material is automated it will be almost carefree. If the closet had acess to the exterior or a corridor in multiple unit buildings it could be maintained by an outside service and the homeowner would never know.
• It also uses a lot more electricity than a flush unit like the Centrex to run that vacuum pump and mascerator, but compared to the resources used in building the systems and dealing with waste now, it is probably a net saving on energy. If you have a basement or a two storey home, a straight gravity system is probably more appropriate.

• Composting toilets are NEVER going to make it into the main stream market. Debating it is silly. If you take a no maintenance toiled and make it so people have to empty it... it isn't going to fly in today's world of convenience.

    

  I stand by my long time position that building codes should REQUIRE all buildings - both residential and commercial to have separate black and grey water piping systems. The incremental cost of construction would be very minimal, the home owners or office workers wouldn't know any different and the grey water could then easily be recaptured for irrigation. Simple, easy, no fuss. It would work. It would be adopted - by the masses!

    

  Houses with slab foundations CANNOT be retrofitted for greywater catchment without digging up foundations. Change the building codes, address the issue in a fashion that will be adoptable.

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• The foul water from vacuum toilets and urinals is collected under vacuum and transported for biological treatment. During treatment biogas is produced having a large methane content together with other biodegradable residues. The biogas can be refined and used as an energy source whilst the biodegradable residues can be mixed with other green waste to produce compost. This can be used as a soil conditioner in either horticulture or agriculture closing the recycling loop.

• For cities, the most effective single step to raise water productivity is to adopt a comprehensive water treatment/recycling system, reusing the same water continuously. With this system, only a small percentage of water is lost to evaporation each time it cycles through. Given the technologies that are available today, it is quite possible to recycle urban water supplies comprehensively, largely removing cities as a claimant on scarce water resources.

• World cement usage in 2008 is 2.8 billion tons and is forecast to be 3.5 billion tons in 2012 China is using 1.3 billion tons in 2008 about 45% of the world total.
  
  The cement usage is mainly driven by the fact that China is adding a one to one and half Los Angeles worth of city every year.
  
  1.5%- 2% population migration from rural areas to small and large cities.
  20 million to 30 million people into cities.