Hardcore Engineering Journal Calls Out Trump’s Horseshit — A Guest Op-Ed
In the latest guest op-ed from Bette member David M, he references how an engineering journal went rogue by publishing the truth about Trump’s lies regarding Ukrainian mineral deal
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Guest Op-Ed — Hardcore Engineering Journal Calls Out Trump’s Horseshit
By David M
It is a bizarre, but absolutely confirmed, fact that all the elements of the periodic table ‘heavier’ than Hydrogen, Helium and a tiny bit of Lithium, were created in the catastrophic deaths of large stars when they supernova.
The process by which light elements get converted into heavier ones during these exceedingly violent events is far from simple. But since it is terribly important for understanding how humanity exists, it has been extensively studied by physicists — who have dubbed it nucleogenesis.
This process has certain key features — some of which may be counterintuitive — like the fact that the Earth itself, having condensed from matter created in supernovae is distinctly radioactive. The Earth, whom we rely on for our very existence, is constantly bombarding us with harmful radiation which is the direct byproduct of late stage ongoing nucleogenesis.
For subtle reasons involving the relative stability of various nuclear configurations and their competing radioactive decay pathways certain particularly stable elements tend to pile up: Hydrogen, Carbon, Oxygen, Silicon, Calcium, Nickel -- and in particular -- Iron. Nucleogensis loves to make Iron.
The Earth’s core is composed mostly of this plentiful element, along with a shot of Nickel, and a tiny amount of much lighter Silicon in the crust.
It should come as no surprise that our own bodies are made largely of these common elements — Carbon for our cells and Oxygen for our water — containing only a smattering of much rarer trace contributions.
But life would not be possible without contributions from the myriad of much rarer elements that make for such interesting chemistry. Copper and Cobalt appear in only trace amounts in our bodies, but play an absolutely crucial role in our biosynthetic pathways where they act as catalytic centers for certain crucial enzymes. Our bodies require only a few atoms of these elements, but cannot exist without those.
Strangely the same goes for semiconductors — the basis of modern electronics — which are mostly composed of relatively common Silicon, but rely crucially on some elements nature almost forgot to make at all, like Gallium.
There is a particular class of elements that have come to prominence in electronics in recent decades known by their ancient alchemic classification as ‘rare earth elements.’ These are simultaneously fantastically important as the basis of our modern age, and exceedingly rare. The best known of these elements is the famous Neodynium that is responsible for the strength of modern permanent magnets. (Older readers will recall that the permanent magnets of our youth, which were Iron based, were paltry in comparison.)
The mining of rare earth elements is particularly difficult, not solely because of the huge quantities of ore that have to be processed to extract minuscule amounts of these scarce materials, but even more so because of the very long lead times it takes to develop these mines. It takes 10 years or so before these mines begin to produce anything at all.
The mining of rare earth elements is a frequent topic in magazines such as IEEE’s Spectrum, for obvious reasons.
What is very rare to see discussed there are the political implications of our vigorous need for these elements.
In his recent article in Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Spectrum entitled *Rare Earths Reality Check: Ukraine Doesn't Have Minable Deposits*, Glenn Zorpette, calls out the Trump administration for lying.
The article is thorny and technical, but the central thesis seems to be that Donald Trump’s claim that the motivations for the invasion of Greenland and mineral rights agreement with Ukraine are both preposterous.
Engineering journals are notorious for avoiding political subjects like the plague, but in very clear language Zorpette calls the deal “unmoored from the realities of the mining industry” — and questions the real motivation.
We are left wondering what has compelled Zorpette to depart from the tradition of neutrality and point out this (albeit glaring) inconsistency in the regime’s messaging.—David M for Bette Dangerous
Steam shovel, California, 1919, courtesy Wikipedia
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