verzali's recent activity

  1. Comment on A six-planet system in perfect synchrony has been found in the Milky Way in ~space

    verzali
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    From reading the paper, they actually worked out the possible patterns and then discovered the planets by following those predictions. Which I think it pretty neat.

    From reading the paper, they actually worked out the possible patterns and then discovered the planets by following those predictions. Which I think it pretty neat.

    1 vote

  3. Comment on Rare look into revenue and costs of SpaceX in ~space

    verzali
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    1.3bn on R&D must be mostly going towards Starship, that matches other estimates I've seen of how much SpaceX is spending on it. Starlink is interesting, a lot of people seem to think SpaceX need...

    1.3bn on R&D must be mostly going towards Starship, that matches other estimates I've seen of how much SpaceX is spending on it.

    Starlink is interesting, a lot of people seem to think SpaceX need to spend a lot to put it in place, but those costs won't actually end. They'll need to replace the satellites every five years or so, which means it really requires a continuous investment. I do wonder if that will limit the profits SpaceX will be able to reap from it.

    7 votes

  4. Comment on US scientists repeat fusion ignition breakthrough for 2nd time in ~science

    verzali
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    I'm slightly confused by this comment. Fusion is already weaponised - the thermonuclear bomb is a fusion bomb. Of course, if we get fusion reactors to work (and can make them small) they'll end up...

    I'm slightly confused by this comment. Fusion is already weaponised - the thermonuclear bomb is a fusion bomb. Of course, if we get fusion reactors to work (and can make them small) they'll end up powering military ships and submarines, but I'd expect a lot more peaceful applications from a working fusion reactor.

  6. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    verzali
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    The Trees by Percival Everett. It started out well, but I'm halfway through now and it doesn't seem to be holding together. I suspect its meant more for an American audience as well; as a...

    The Trees by Percival Everett. It started out well, but I'm halfway through now and it doesn't seem to be holding together. I suspect its meant more for an American audience as well; as a foreigner I think I am missing a lot of the cultural references the book is supposed to be satirising. At this point I don't have much hope for a satisfying ending but maybe it'll surprise me.

    I finished Swann's Way recently. I didn't enjoy it, which is somewhat hard to admit since it is supposed to be a classic of western fiction. As a piece of art I could admire it, but as a story I found it desperately hard to read.

    2 votes

  7. Comment on Astronomer here! AMA! in ~space

    verzali
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    How much creedence do you put in the idea that the rings are formed from a moon that shattered? I've seen comments where people say there's a lot of evidence pointing to a catastrophe in Saturn's...

    How much creedence do you put in the idea that the rings are formed from a moon that shattered? I've seen comments where people say there's a lot of evidence pointing to a catastrophe in Saturn's system but I don't know enough to know if its true or not.

    1 vote

  8. Comment on What lies beyond: Exploring interstellar space in ~space

    verzali
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    Is it more politicised? It wasn't really my intention. Sorry.

    Is it more politicised? It wasn't really my intention. Sorry.

    2 votes

  9. Comment on Timeline of the far future in ~science

    verzali
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    Its one of those things where the numbers are so big they stop having a real meaning. If I understand the physics of it (which I probably don't), time itself doesn't have much meaning so far in...

    Its one of those things where the numbers are so big they stop having a real meaning. If I understand the physics of it (which I probably don't), time itself doesn't have much meaning so far in the future, at least not as we would recognise. Weird things happen to the arrow of time when entropy reaches a peak.

    3 votes

  11. Comment on r/StarTrek and r/DaystromInstitute have set up their own Lemmy instance at StarTrek.website in ~tech

    verzali
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    How is Lemmy doing? I checked it out a while ago but it didn't have much activity. Has that changed in the last few days? I suppose more importantly, will it last...

    How is Lemmy doing? I checked it out a while ago but it didn't have much activity. Has that changed in the last few days? I suppose more importantly, will it last...

    1 vote

  12. Comment on I am a cosmologist, AMA in ~science

    verzali
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    I've seen the MOND people claim they predicted the big, early galaxies. Do you think there's any merit in what they say, and could it force a rethink of the dark matter models (well, beyond the...

    I've seen the MOND people claim they predicted the big, early galaxies. Do you think there's any merit in what they say, and could it force a rethink of the dark matter models (well, beyond the changes to Lambda-CDM that will be needed, I guess)?

    2 votes

  13. Comment on Confused, uncool, and nowhere to scroll: The internet has become hostile for millennials like me in ~tech

    verzali
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    I think Reddit has always been like that with inside jokes leaking out of (popular) subreddits. I do think a lot of it is bots karma farming, however, and that is undoubtedly getting worse over time.

    I think Reddit has always been like that with inside jokes leaking out of (popular) subreddits. I do think a lot of it is bots karma farming, however, and that is undoubtedly getting worse over time.

    3 votes