Month: November 2023

Leave a comment Posted on Passion Blogs (Fall Semester)

Radioisotope Energy Systems: Nuclear Energy at the Bottom of the Ocean

Concept art of an underwater radioisotope energy system

Nuclear power has been linked to maritime exploration almost since its origin as a viable energy source. Today, the company Zeno Power looks to revisit the underwater applications of nuclear energy in a novel way to promote exploration and defense of maritime territory.  

The DEPTHS (Distributed Energy Provided Throughout the Seas) program, sponsored by the Department of Defense, aims to demonstrate a distributed power grid that can be deployed on the sea floor, using a radioisotope energy system.  

Unlike a typical nuclear reactor, which produces energy by actively inducing a nuclear fission reaction in fissile elements like uranium, a radioisotope harnesses the passive heat given off through radioactive decay of artificial radioisotopes, such as plutonium or strontium. This means that, although the total power output of one of these generators is much lower than that of a reactor, a radioisotope thermal generator requires no operator and little maintenance and will be able to produce a constant power output for many years.  

In fact, these characteristics of radioisotope energy systems make them well-suited for use in extraterrestrial exploration, and these types of systems have been used in NASA probes and rovers. Zeno Power will also be pursuing the development of a system for use in satellites.  

Moreover, these characteristics also make a radioisotope energy system perfect for deployment underwater. If the DEPTHS program succeeds, it will allow companies and governments to develop nodes for energy generation and distribution at the bottom of the ocean. This could help power sensory systems to monitor and survey the depths of the ocean and could pave the way for autonomous undersea vehicles, which would be able to dock and charge at radioisotope energy nodes.  

Whether used to explore the depths of our planet, or the heights of space, the development of radioisotope energy systems will help humanity reach new frontiers. 

 

Sources and further readings: 

Zeno wins $7.5M contract for underwater radioactive power system (geekwire.com) 

Zeno demonstrates radioisotope heat source for off-grid power (geekwire.com) 

Leave a comment Posted on RLC Blogs (Fall Semester)

RCL Blog 9: Group Memo

Part 1:

Day 1:  

  • Went over roles: 
  • Oscar – scribe 
  • Surya – Goalkeeper 
  • Shawn – Park ranger 
  • Brainstormed Potential Topics: 
  • Banned books
  • Texas/Florida textbooks
  • Affirmative Action 
  • Civil Rights, particularly the one case where a bakery refused to bake a cake for a gay marriage 
  • Gun control
  • Minimum wage 
  • Felon voting 
  • Picked our topic: 
  • Banned books (with respect to education) – what is acceptable for children to learn at what age, how does different information affect development, consequences of removing certain information.  

Day 2: 

  • Found sources: 
  • Created a general outline:  
  • Those who wish to ban books cite often: Sexual Content, Offensive Language, Lack of Literary Merit,  
  • Half of the most contested books for 2016 cited reasons related to LGBTQ+ content 
  • 8/10 cited sexual explicitness 
  • 1/10 cited the fact that Bill Cosby was the author 
  • Florida and revised textbooks, textbooks were rejected because of “political indoctrination,” under Ron DeSantis 
  • One such revised topic was activities. Such as the activity to ask parents about kneeling during the national anthem and how ti represented the US 
  • Is every book considered an important part of the “intellectual freedom search”? (1:30) 
  • Against: Many frequently challenged books help people get a better idea of the world and their place in it. 
  • Keeping books with inappropriate content out of libraries protects kids, but doesn’t stop people from reading those books or prevent authors from writing them. 
  • At what age should people have access to all information? (1:00) 
  • The above source states “article V of the Library Bill of Rights states, “A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.” 
  • The access to this information is a first amendment right according to the opinion of the American Library Association 
  • Anyone should have at least access to all information 
  • Yes: Chris Rufo 
  • No:  Yascha Mounk 
  • How does censorship affect the education and perspectives of children (45s) 
  • What legal precedent is there for banning books in the US (2:00) 
  • Island Trees School District v. Pico, students found that school was going to ban books and sued. 
  • Outcome of previously mentioned case was that librarians cannot ban a book just because they dislike it, but can ban it if it is inappropriate for the children.  
  • Recently, Florida approved a law that states only books approved by certified media specialists can be included in a library, mainly to focus on excluding sexually explicit material.  
  • Conclusion, wrap up and evaluate the similarities and differences between burning books and censorship (45s) 

Day 3:  

  • Completed research and reviewed the sources we found 
  • Began to write the script, wrote the intro together. 
  • Split up tasks for writing remainder of the script as homework.  
  • Oscar – Censorship effect and legal precedent 
  • Surya – History 
  • Shawn – Should kids have access / what age 
  • Plan to write conclusion and determine visuals in class on Wednesday 

Day 4:  

  • Wrote the remainder of the script 
  • Planned to add visuals and audio to storyboard on Friday

Day 5:  

  • Completed storyboard 
  • Plan to split up the rest of the work based on the sections of the script we wrote 

 

Part 2: Our group will be discussing the controversy of banned books in the US school system. First, we will examine the history of banned books, and common reasons for banning books in the past. Then, we will look at different perspectives on book banning: That books in schools must be educational and it is the school board’s responsibility and authority to choose which books remain in schools, or that all books should get to be represented to expose children to diverse perspectives. Then we will look at the legal precedent set in place for book banning, Island Trees School District v. Pico.  

Some framing questions that we will examine will be: “Why do people want books to be (not) banned” “What kinds of people are on each sides?”, “What are the books that people currently want to ban?”, “What is the effect of censoring books for children?”, and “What is the legal precedent surrounding banning books in the US?” 

Our media choices will be mostly relevant to the content that we are discussing. We will use stock footage to generate interest from the viewer, and we will use specific photographs from the events we discuss to emphasize certain points and provide clarity. We will use a variety of tempos and tones of music, in order to audibly break up the video into smaller segments.