In Today’s News…

Looking for rather portly mice.

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And rule out Jeremy Clarkson

He’s had a health scare recently hasn’t he?

Yes he had a heart op a couple of weeks ago

Crikey, didn’t realise he’d had an op.

That’s because we don’t read the SUN LOL

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Not strictly today’s news but looks like a monster from 70s Dr Who:

Southend dad's Yorkshire pudding Halloween costume goes viral - BBC News.

Think he’s starting to eat his way out of the costume.

He said he had to give all the things he liked eating, and that included cheese.

I was once told I was only allowed a matchbox sized piece of cheese a month.

Not so bad then!

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I thought this was intriguing

Iceland’s new volcanic era: How geothermal drilling could help power the world

Will it beat fusion to the punch or just another flash in the pan? I always get my hopes up for these stories about the next miracle in clean cheap energy and then they vanish without a trace. The cynic in me says it is less that they failed to live up to the promise and more that they did live up to the promise and vested interests killed it. I wonder if the same will happen here too.

Iceland it in a unique position, and already exploits geothermal energy extensively. What they are discussing in the article is going one stage further, instead of just drilling down into the hot rock beneath them, by drilling right down into the molten magma which is the ultimate source of this heat.
There are obviously technical challenges in drilling through what is essentially molten metal, and risks associated with building a large industrial plant in the most geologically unstable places on Earth. I bet they would struggle to find an insurance broker.

Still, it’s an interesting idea. If they can pull it off I could see that a few massive turbines and a subsea electricity cable to Europe might work.

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No surprise that a computer generated image generated from know/assumed data will be found to be inaccurate as more data is gathered.

All a bit of a waste of time and money really.

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@ChrisSU Yes I had read the article in detail. I think what excites them is they now have a better way locating these magma pockets around the globe to make it a main source of power rather than a few countries with similar geology. I bet we never hear about it again. But I always live in hope.

@Fatcat Indeed, an image made of a composite of something like 12 other images to create an “average”. What could go wrong?

Of course the other way of looking at it (pun not intended is), “stating an amazingly blurry image may not be accurate is like saying water is wet. Everyone with eyes can see it’s not accurate. By definition a blurry image is not accurate!”

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Apparently changes in the image where noticed after the event horizon telescopes underwent firmware updates.

Most people are happy with the new image, a few, not so happy. :grin:

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I see what you did there :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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I think the challenges here are building a plant in a location that could destroy it, and dealing with the heat while drilling and installing underground equipment.
The oil and gas industry routinely drills to greater depths that are required to reach magma in Iceland, but they will be up against temperatures that rately exceed 200°C as opposed to 1000°C for molten magma.
Extracting oil and gas in remote locations is technically feasible, it just requires a viable business case to make it happen, and I don’t see why geothermal would be any different.

A penny off a pint, hurrah!!! :wink: