The 370z Useless Thread II

[Lemers]

GM should know that there are a lot of un-unionized plants from overseas automakers in the south. That would have been better for them than leaving the country.

[Isamu]

Originally Posted by Lemers

Mass = weight
size = diameter

Doesnt always Correlate

For example Venus is 95% the diameter of earth while it is only 82% the mass

I know, i was just trying to

Originally Posted by ClemsonWill

I think we are good with that. The glaciers are melting so the ocean keeps rising.

actually, we may be heading into a mini ice age bro

[Isamu]

What may be the science story of the century is breaking this evening, as heavyweight US solar physicists announce that the Sun appears to be headed into a lengthy spell of low activity, which could mean that the Earth – far from facing a global warming problem – is actually headed into a mini Ice Age.



Length in sunspot umbras has been steadily declining for over a decade. The trend includes sunspots from Cycles 22, 23, and (the current cycle) 24. Credit: NSO/AAS

The announcement made on 14 June (18:00 UK time) comes from scientists at the US National Solar Observatory (NSO) and US Air Force Research Laboratory. Three different analyses of the Sun's recent behaviour all indicate that a period of unusually low solar activity may be about to begin.

The Sun normally follows an 11-year cycle of activity. The current cycle, Cycle 24, is now supposed to be ramping up towards maximum strength. Increased numbers of sunspots and other indications ought to be happening: but in fact results so far are most disappointing. Scientists at the NSO now suspect, based on data showing decades-long trends leading to this point, that Cycle 25 may not happen at all.

This could have major implications for the Earth's climate. According to a statement issued by the NSO, announcing the research:

An immediate question is whether this slowdown presages a second Maunder Minimum, a 70-year period with virtually no sunspots [which occurred] during 1645-1715.

As NASA notes:

Early records of sunspots indicate that the Sun went through a period of inactivity in the late 17th century. Very few sunspots were seen on the Sun from about 1645 to 1715. Although the observations were not as extensive as in later years, the Sun was in fact well observed during this time and this lack of sunspots is well documented. This period of solar inactivity also corresponds to a climatic period called the "Little Ice Age" when rivers that are normally ice-free froze and snow fields remained year-round at lower altitudes. There is evidence that the Sun has had similar periods of inactivity in the more distant past.

During the Maunder Minimum and for periods either side of it, many European rivers which are ice-free today – including the Thames – routinely froze over, allowing ice skating and even for armies to march across them in some cases.

"This is highly unusual and unexpected," says Dr Frank Hill of the NSO. "But the fact that three completely different views of the Sun point in the same direction is a powerful indicator that the sunspot cycle may be going into hibernation."

Hill's own research focuses on surface pulsations of the Sun and their relationship with sunspots, and his team has already used their methods to successfully predict the late onset of Cycle 24.

"We expected to see the start of the zonal flow for Cycle 25 by now," Hill explained, "but we see no sign of it. This indicates that the start of Cycle 25 may be delayed to 2021 or 2022, or may not happen at all."

Hill's results match those from physicists Matt Penn and William Livingston, who have gone over 13 years of sunspot data from the McMath-Pierce Telescope at Kitt Peak in Arizona. They have seen the strength of the magnetic fields which create sunspots declining steadily. According to the NSO:

Penn and Livingston observed that the average field strength declined about 50 gauss per year during Cycle 23 and now in Cycle 24. They also observed that spot temperatures have risen exactly as expected for such changes in the magnetic field. If the trend continues, the field strength will drop below the 1,500 gauss threshold and spots will largely disappear as the magnetic field is no longer strong enough to overcome convective forces on the solar surface.

In parallel with this comes research from the US Air Force's studies of the solar corona. Richard Altrock, in charge of this, has found a 40-year decline in the "rush to the poles" – the poleward surge of magnetic activity in the corona.

"Those wonderful, delicate coronal features are actually powerful, robust magnetic structures rooted in the interior of the Sun," Altrock says. "Changes we see in the corona reflect changes deep inside the Sun ...

"Cycle 24 started out late and slow and may not be strong enough to create a rush to the poles, indicating we'll see a very weak solar maximum in 2013, if at all. If the rush to the poles fails to complete, this creates a tremendous dilemma for the theorists ... No one knows what the Sun will do in that case."

According to the collective wisdom of the NSO, another Maunder Minimum may very well be on the cards.

"If we are right," summarises Hill, "this could be the last solar maximum we'll see for a few decades. That would affect everything from space exploration to Earth's climate."

The effects on space exploration would be benign, as fewer or no solar storms would make space a much less hostile environment for human beings. At the moment, anyone venturing beyond the Earth's protective magnetic field (the only people to have done so were the Apollo moon astronauts of the 1960s and '70s) runs a severe risk of dangerous or fatal radiation exposure during a solar storm.

Manned missions beyond low Earth orbit, a stated aspiration of the USA and other nations, might become significantly safer and cheaper to mount (cheaper as there would be no requirement for possibly very heavy shielding to protect astronauts, so reducing launch costs).

The big consequences of a major solar calm spell, however, would be climatic. The next few generations of humanity might not find themselves trying to cope with global warming but rather with a significant cooling. This could overturn decades of received wisdom on such things as CO2 emissions, and lead to radical shifts in government policy worldwide.

...

[SmoothZ]

Mini ice age? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!

[KaienZ34]

I like icecream.

[Lemers]

Al Gore will find a way to blame it on man

[Isamu]

Originally Posted by SmoothZ

Mini ice age? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!

now you fawkers will know the wrath of MINOT!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAAH

[FL 4Motion]

Originally Posted by frost

Yep, they didn't take the money, and they are doing the best financially.

By the way, I only caught it in passing, but I heard GM will opening a plant out of the states. Glad we could help you fund taking jobs out of the US, GM.

Originally Posted by shadoquad

lol, Goldman Sachs, who were bailed out, they just laid off thousands of workers and are replacing them with jobs overseas.

/\ thats ******* disgusting to me. (but not surprising, big corporations have no interest/give a sh!t about this country, regardless if they are an american company or not, it's all about the $$$).

Oh, and an ice age eh? I watched a science channel show about that the other day. Hmmm, good thing I'm in FL, at least in won't be TOO cold. (I hate cold weather).

[Isamu]

Originally Posted by FL 4Motion

/\ thats ******* disgusting to me. (but not surprising, big corporations have no interest/give a sh!t about this country, regardless if they are an american company or not, it's all about the $$$).

Oh, and an ice age eh? I watched a science channel show about that the other day. Hmmm, good thing I'm in FL, at least in won't be TOO cold. (I hate cold weather).

they should be forced to stay in the states

[FL 4Motion]

Originally Posted by Isamu

they should be forced to stay in the states

the sad thing is, there shouldn't need to be any legislation/taxes or other sort of motivation, you'd think an american grown company would, thru basic sense of honor, duty, and Patriotism, WANT to give back to this great country and try and do it's part ot make it and it's citizens more successful. Shameful isn't strong enough a word imo.

At what point is earning more $$$, on top of already large sums of money, justification enough to sh!t all over everyone and everything? Unbridled capitalism is just another word for greed.

Makes me sad sometimes to think that I sacrificed my health and a significant quality of life for this country and so many other "citizens" of this nation are so caught up in $$$ and selffishness they can't see beyond their own noses.

[Isamu]

Originally Posted by FL 4Motion

the sad thing is, there shouldn't need to be any legislation/taxes or other sort of motivation, you'd think an american grown company would, thru basic sense of honor, duty, and Patriotism, WANT to give back to this great country and try and do it's part ot make it and it's citizens more successful. Shameful isn't strong enough a word imo.

At what point is earning more $$$, on top of already large sums of money, justification enough to sh!t all over everyone and everything? Unbridled capitalism is just another word for greed.

Makes me sad sometimes to think that I sacrificed my health and a significant quality of life for this country and so many other "citizens" of this nation are so caught up in $$$ and selffishness they can't see beyond their own noses.

exactly!!

[Lemers]

Don't forget. This democratic country has a capitalistic economy. That means that a home grown company should do what it takes to make money. The other side to that is the the country shouldn't be bailing out companies because that stalls growth in the long run.

By bailing out GM we may have set back the evolution of the auto industry years or even generations by paying and awarding status quo.

[FL 4Motion]

Originally Posted by Lemers

Don't forget. This democratic country has a capitalistic economy. That means that a home grown company should do what it takes to make money. The other side to that is the the country shouldn't be bailing out companies because that stalls growth in the long run.

By bailing out GM we may have set back the evolution of the auto industry years or even generations by paying and awarding status quo.

/\ Agree 100%

I also think that our capitalist society is starting to show some serious cracks. We need something a bit better.

[FL 4Motion]

I feel the need to elaborate a bit before someone gets out the pitchforks and starts accusing me of being a godless communist.

Communism doesn't work. People are inherently selfish and lazy. therefore eliminating the motiviation to improve one's productivity by severely limiting one's ability to acquire material wealth, possessions etc is bad.

Socialism is severely flawed for much the same reasons as above.

Unbridled Capitalism is also severely flawed, it assumes and requires the ability to sustain unlimited growth to be successful. the population is encouraged and really in our economic model, required to continually consume more and more products to keep the economy rolling. I find it funny that the stock market reacts negatively when reports come out saying that folks are being more responsible now and saving more.

this planet also has a finite supply of resources which will/is starting to pose a problem as well.

I'm not sure of the solution honestly, but some happy medium of capitalism with some socialism mixed in is probably the best working model. Ie, I think SS and medicare are good programs (just run very very poorly).

Also, if you take unregulated capitalism (which is what we seem to be getting more and more of every year), to it's logical conclusion, you end up with an extremely wealthy elite, mega corporations, and a disenfranchised lower class with little chance of upward mobility and an all but extinct middle class.

[shadoquad]

doodoo smells gross.