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| Sources Of Power |
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Posted by: Camer the Dragon - 28th April 2019, 10:07 AM - Forum: Discussion Hall
- Replies (11)
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Eternal is gonna be much more reliable than me or this post xd
Some sources of power are cleaner than others, and with global warming on the rise where we get our power from becomes more of an issue that needs to be addressed.
Renewables:
Pro: - Less/No CO2 and other gases that cause global warming
Con:- Current infrastructure is not based upon this. it would take a lot of money and effort to switch and make sure people aren't cut-off during the transition.
Wind:Â Wind power can be harnessed using wind turbines either on land or out at sea.
Pros:- Wind will be something that is around as long as the earth is.
- Cheap source of renewable energy.
Cons:- Can be noisy. so must be placed a certain distance from homes or where people will be a lot of the time.
- Wind is unreliable, it can stop/start suddenly.
Solar:  Solar power is gathered from sunlight by panels.
Pros:- Can be put in many places, e.g. on roofs of houses which would've had nothing on before.
- Silent.
- The sun will keep going for billions of years.
Cons:- A cloud can stop you getting power. (Not reliable).
- The time of year heavily affects power gain. (less in winter, where you might want more power)
- Expensive.
Geothermal:Â Â Geothermal power is gained from the heat of the earth.
Pros:- Reliable.
- Generates a lot of electricity per unit spent, as running costs are very low.
Cons:- High start-up cost.
- Has to be placed in a location which will allow for it.
Hydro:Â Wave power is generated by big dams in the sea, using the moon's pull on the Earth to generate power.
Pros:- Reliable cycle. The moon's gravitation pull provides a set timing for when waves go up or down.
- Efficient, a lot of power from the waves is turned into electricity
Cons:- Really hard to place, you need a really specific place to put one of these.
- If you don't plan it well, it could cause rivers to dry up downstream or flooding upstream, disrupting people's lives.
Non-Renewables:
Nuclear: Nuclear power uses radioactive decay to generate a lot of power
Pros:- Lasts a long time, although not renewable it lasts a while.
- Current infrastructure uses nuclear and we have a lot of data on it and its effectiveness in real situations.
Cons:- Has to be maintained VERY WELL. If this goes wrong, nuclear meltdown is extremely bad.
- Removal of waste must be done properly and securely, or radioactive material may end up getting where it shouldn't.
Coal: Coal power has been used for centuries as a main source.
Pros:- Existing Infrastructure.
- Cheap.
Cons:- Extremely Dirty for the environment, loads of emissions.
- Acid Rain and other unpleasant things.
I may have missed some out and if you think any of the points are wrong say in a post and I will see if I need to change it.
I think that renewable power is definitely the way to go as we need to really focus on lowering our emissions, nuclear can help with the transition as it's less bad than the other non-renewables but must be maintained well.
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| Self-Driving Cars |
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Posted by: Camer the Dragon - 28th April 2019, 9:09 AM - Forum: Discussion Hall
- Replies (2)
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- What are your opinions on self-driving cars, any pros and cons?
- How fast do you think they should/would be implemented if at all?
- What do you as the risks involved and how do you think they should they be managed?
- Moral/Ethical Dilemmas?
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- I think we should have self-driving cars as machines don't make human errors, get drunk, etc. and so they'll be safer and prevent injuries and deaths especially when a lot of the cars on the road are self-driving.
- They should be tested well first however, but governments should allow more of this testing and encourage it. The self-driving cars shouldn't be rushed out ASAP without proper tests or analysis of the two points below.
- Risks involved include the fact that since the car would be automated, there needs to be checks against malicious code and manual overrides for different scenarios such as opening the doors (so someone can't trap you in with a virus).
- The toughest part in all of this imo is the moral/ethical dilemmas, that would have to be heavily analysed and be as fair as possible. I'm not good at this kinda stuff so I can't really have a good/strong opinion on this one.
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