2710: Hydropower Breakthrough - Revision history

Lettherebedarklight: /* Explanation */ +

2026-01-17T10:39:42Z

‎Explanation: +

172.68.54.210 at 07:44, 30 January 2025

2025-01-30T07:44:36Z

172.68.205.75: /* Explanation */ added link

2024-07-15T11:00:53Z

‎Explanation: added link

141.101.99.19: /* Explanation */ Correcting (though two so close together looks too much, to me).

2024-04-24T18:50:35Z

‎Explanation: Correcting (though two so close together looks too much, to me).

172.69.6.208: /* Explanation */ more citation needed

2024-04-24T18:25:44Z

‎Explanation: more citation needed

Jkshapiro: /* Explanation */ It's the dam itself that has Q > 1

2023-10-22T03:16:52Z

‎Explanation: It's the dam itself that has Q > 1

172.71.146.34: Let's be honest; this comic is likely referencing the announcement. More than 'possible', given the timing.

2023-03-21T05:17:18Z

Let's be honest; this comic is likely referencing the announcement. More than 'possible', given the timing.

162.158.90.39: /* Explanation */ semantics

2023-02-19T22:08:49Z

‎Explanation: semantics

Xurkitree10: /* Explanation */

2023-01-10T21:01:57Z

‎Explanation

172.70.82.181: /* Explanation */ Clarify that Q is volumetric, not mass, flow rate

2022-12-17T19:06:09Z

‎Explanation: Clarify that Q is volumetric, not mass, flow rate

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 However, Beret Guy's clarification, that the meaning of this is that the dam is producing more water than was fed into it, suggests that he is interpreting the letter Q in a manner similar to its use in {{w|fusion power}}, where it represents the ratio of output power to input power. Typically fusion reactors require more power than they generate, but on the day after this comic was released, the US National Ignition Facility [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/11/fusion-nuclear-energy-breakthrough/ announced] the first Q > 1 fusion reaction. However, hydroelectric dams work quite differently from fusion reactors,{{Citation needed}} and (despite [[2571: Hydraulic Analogy|frequent comparisons]]) water is different from electricity.{{Citation needed}}
-If a dam were indeed producing more water than came into it from the reservoir and other sources, especially on a consistent basis (and not just because of water that had been stored somehow inside the dam) it would have to be doing so by chemical reaction. Anything else would be a violation of the law of conservation of mass. For example, the dam might be catalyzing hydrogen gas to burn with oxygen in the air. Such a reaction would be dangerous to the dam. A reaction might even consume the material of the dam itself.
+If a dam were indeed producing more water than came into it from the reservoir and other sources, especially on a consistent basis (and not just because of water that had been stored somehow inside the dam) it would have to be doing so by chemical reaction. Anything else would be a violation of the law of conservation of mass (although considering [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|who is presenting]], a violation of the laws of physics is entirely possible). For example, the dam might be catalyzing hydrogen gas to burn with oxygen in the air. Such a reaction would be dangerous to the dam. A reaction might even consume the material of the dam itself.
 It appears that one of the audience members is oblivious to this fact, joining in Beret Guy's celebration, while another audience member is more effectively applying their critical thinking skills.

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 However, Beret Guy's clarification, that the meaning of this is that the dam is producing more water than was fed into it, suggests that he is interpreting the letter Q in a manner similar to its use in {{w|fusion power}}, where it represents the ratio of output power to input power. Typically fusion reactors require more power than they generate, but on the day after this comic was released, the US National Ignition Facility [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/11/fusion-nuclear-energy-breakthrough/ announced] the first Q > 1 fusion reaction. However, hydroelectric dams work quite differently from fusion reactors,{{Citation needed}} and (despite [[2571: Hydraulic Analogy|frequent comparisons]]) water is different from electricity.{{Citation needed}}
-If a dam were indeed producing more water than came into it from the reservoir and other sources, especially on a consistent basis (and not just because of water that had been stored somehow inside the dam) it would be a violation of the law of conservation of mass. It appears that one of the audience members is oblivious to this fact, joining in Beret Guy's celebration, while another audience member is more effectively applying their critical thinking skills.
+If a dam were indeed producing more water than came into it from the reservoir and other sources, especially on a consistent basis (and not just because of water that had been stored somehow inside the dam) it would have to be doing so by chemical reaction. Anything else would be a violation of the law of conservation of mass. For example, the dam might be catalyzing hydrogen gas to burn with oxygen in the air. Such a reaction would be dangerous to the dam. A reaction might even consume the material of the dam itself.
 Alternatively, it is possible that Beret Guy is suggesting that the amount of water coming out of the dam is greater than the amount travelling into it via the {{w|penstock}}. If so, this indicates that water is finding other paths through the dam (a literal "breakthrough"), which is a very dangerous situation and would also be a cause for concern, not celebration.
-The title text further confuses the issue by equating the hydroelectric dam with a {{w|heavy water reactor}}, which is a type of nuclear fission (not fusion) reactor that uses deuterium oxide, or "heavy water", as a moderator. A hydroelectric dam is powered by the weight of water, but it is not a reactor.
+The title text further confuses the issue by equating the hydroelectric dam with a {{w|heavy water reactor}}, which is a type of nuclear fission (not fusion) reactor that uses deuterium oxide, or "heavy water", as a moderator. A hydroelectric dam is powered by the weight of water, but it is not supposed to be a reactor.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 In fluid dynamics, the letter Q represents the {{w|volumetric flow rate}}, or volume of fluid per unit time, e.g. m³/s. Depending on the units chosen, it would not be at all surprising for this number to be greater than 1 for a hydroelectric dam.
-However, Beret Guy's clarification, that the meaning of this is that the dam is producing more water than was fed into it, suggests that he is interpreting the letter Q in a manner similar to its use in {{w|fusion power}}, where it represents the ratio of output power to input power. Typically fusion reactors require more power than they generate, but on the day after this comic was released, the US National Ignition Facility [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/11/fusion-nuclear-energy-breakthrough/ announced] the first Q > 1 fusion reaction. However, hydroelectric dams work quite differently from fusion reactors,{{Citation needed}} and (despite frequent comparisons) water is different from electricity.{{Citation needed}}
+However, Beret Guy's clarification, that the meaning of this is that the dam is producing more water than was fed into it, suggests that he is interpreting the letter Q in a manner similar to its use in {{w|fusion power}}, where it represents the ratio of output power to input power. Typically fusion reactors require more power than they generate, but on the day after this comic was released, the US National Ignition Facility [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/11/fusion-nuclear-energy-breakthrough/ announced] the first Q > 1 fusion reaction. However, hydroelectric dams work quite differently from fusion reactors,{{Citation needed}} and (despite [[2571: Hydraulic Analogy|frequent comparisons]]) water is different from electricity.{{Citation needed}}
 If a dam were indeed producing more water than came into it from the reservoir and other sources, especially on a consistent basis (and not just because of water that had been stored somehow inside the dam) it would be a violation of the law of conservation of mass. It appears that one of the audience members is oblivious to this fact, joining in Beret Guy's celebration, while another audience member is more effectively applying their critical thinking skills.

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 In fluid dynamics, the letter Q represents the {{w|volumetric flow rate}}, or volume of fluid per unit time, e.g. m³/s. Depending on the units chosen, it would not be at all surprising for this number to be greater than 1 for a hydroelectric dam.
-However, Beret Guy's clarification, that the meaning of this is that the dam is producing more water than was fed into it, suggests that he is interpreting the letter Q in a manner similar to its use in {{w|fusion power}}, where it represents the ratio of output power to input power. Typically fusion reactors require more power than they generate, but on the day after this comic was released, the US National Ignition Facility [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/11/fusion-nuclear-energy-breakthrough/ announced] the first Q > 1 fusion reaction. However, hydroelectric dams work quite differently from fusion reactors {{citation needed}}, and (despite frequent comparisons) water is different from electricity {{citation needed}}.
+However, Beret Guy's clarification, that the meaning of this is that the dam is producing more water than was fed into it, suggests that he is interpreting the letter Q in a manner similar to its use in {{w|fusion power}}, where it represents the ratio of output power to input power. Typically fusion reactors require more power than they generate, but on the day after this comic was released, the US National Ignition Facility [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/11/fusion-nuclear-energy-breakthrough/ announced] the first Q > 1 fusion reaction. However, hydroelectric dams work quite differently from fusion reactors,{{Citation needed}} and (despite frequent comparisons) water is different from electricity.{{Citation needed}}
 If a dam were indeed producing more water than came into it from the reservoir and other sources, especially on a consistent basis (and not just because of water that had been stored somehow inside the dam) it would be a violation of the law of conservation of mass. It appears that one of the audience members is oblivious to this fact, joining in Beret Guy's celebration, while another audience member is more effectively applying their critical thinking skills.

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 In fluid dynamics, the letter Q represents the {{w|volumetric flow rate}}, or volume of fluid per unit time, e.g. m³/s. Depending on the units chosen, it would not be at all surprising for this number to be greater than 1 for a hydroelectric dam.
-However, Beret Guy's clarification, that the meaning of this is that the dam is producing more water than was fed into it, suggests that he is interpreting the letter Q in a manner similar to its use in {{w|fusion power}}, where it represents the ratio of output power to input power. Typically fusion reactors require more power than they generate, but on the day after this comic was released, the US National Ignition Facility [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/11/fusion-nuclear-energy-breakthrough/ announced] the first Q > 1 fusion reaction. However, hydroelectric dams work quite differently from fusion reactors, and (despite frequent comparisons) water is different from electricity {{citation needed}}.
+However, Beret Guy's clarification, that the meaning of this is that the dam is producing more water than was fed into it, suggests that he is interpreting the letter Q in a manner similar to its use in {{w|fusion power}}, where it represents the ratio of output power to input power. Typically fusion reactors require more power than they generate, but on the day after this comic was released, the US National Ignition Facility [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/11/fusion-nuclear-energy-breakthrough/ announced] the first Q > 1 fusion reaction. However, hydroelectric dams work quite differently from fusion reactors {{citation needed}}, and (despite frequent comparisons) water is different from electricity {{citation needed}}.
 If a dam were indeed producing more water than came into it from the reservoir and other sources, especially on a consistent basis (and not just because of water that had been stored somehow inside the dam) it would be a violation of the law of conservation of mass. It appears that one of the audience members is oblivious to this fact, joining in Beret Guy's celebration, while another audience member is more effectively applying their critical thinking skills.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Explanation==
-In this comic, [[Beret Guy]] announces that their {{w|hydroelectric dam}} has reached "Q > 1" supposedly meaning that it is producing more water than is flowing into it. If this includes rain falling into the dam, this would violate the physical law of conservation of mass. (If it is interpreted more literally to include only surface water flow, then it would be possible if rainfall exceeded evaporation.)  Over the lifetime of a dam, the volume of water that passes through the outflow gates will be less than the total volume of water precipitated in the catchment area due to evaporation, seepage, and other losses. To produce more water, matter would have to be created. If only a short time period is considered, a dam can naturally release more water than is fed into it, especially during dry seasons or after a dam break. The title "breakthrough" could refer to this, but it would not be a cause for celebration. While one audience member celebrates, another expresses concern.
+In this comic, [[Beret Guy]] announces that a {{w|hydroelectric dam}} has reached "Q > 1". This has two possible meanings, and the humour comes from their juxtaposition.
-The comic parodies {{w|fusion reactor}}s, a type of electrical generator that can use deuterium and tritium as inputs to produce helium and a large amount of power. However, maintaining a fusion reaction has historically been difficult, and fusion reactors often require more external power than they generate. In recent years, advances in fusion technology have increased the energy output of fusion reactors to more than the input. This comic is most likely a reference to the [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/11/fusion-nuclear-energy-breakthrough/ announcement of the first Q > 1 fusion reaction at the US National Ignition Facility], which was scheduled for the day after the comic was released. The symbol Q is used to refer to the {{w|fusion energy gain factor}}, the ratio of power generated by a fusion reactor to the energy used to maintain it. An energy source is only useful if it produces more power than it uses{{citation needed}}, so Q > 1 means the reactor is generating net energy. Q can also represent the volumetric flow rate of water through a hydroelectric dam, and in this case, a Q > 1 would not have significant meaning.
+In fluid dynamics, the letter Q represents the {{w|volumetric flow rate}}, or volume of fluid per unit time, e.g. m³/s. Depending on the units chosen, it would not be at all surprising for this number to be greater than 1 for a hydroelectric dam.
-The title text further confuses the issue by introducing nuclear fission and equating the hydroelectric dam with a {{w|heavy water reactor}}, which is a type of nuclear fission reactor that uses deuterium oxide as a moderator. This is also a play on words, as the weight of water is used to move turbines that drive generators at a hydroelectric dam.
+However, Beret Guy's clarification, that the meaning of this is that the dam is producing more water than was fed into it, suggests that he is interpreting the letter Q in a manner similar to its use in {{w|fusion power}}, where it represents the ratio of output power to input power. Typically fusion reactors require more power than they generate, but on the day after this comic was released, the US National Ignition Facility [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/11/fusion-nuclear-energy-breakthrough/ announced] the first Q > 1 fusion reaction. However, hydroelectric dams work quite differently from fusion reactors, and (despite frequent comparisons) water is different from electricity {{citation needed}}.
 ==Transcript==

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:01, 10 January 2023
Line 10:		Line 10:

	==Explanation==		==Explanation==
−	~~{{incomplete\|Created by a WATER POWERED FUSION REACTOR. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}~~
−
	In this comic, [[Beret Guy]] announces that their {{w\|hydroelectric dam}} has reached "Q > 1" supposedly meaning that it is producing more water than is flowing into it. In reality, this would violate the physical law of conservation of mass. Over the lifetime of a dam, the volume of water that passes through the outflow gates will be less than the total volume of water precipitated in the catchment area due to evaporation, seepage, and other losses. To produce more water, matter would have to be created. If only a short time period is considered, a dam can naturally release more water than is fed into it, especially during dry seasons or after a dam break. The title "breakthrough" could refer to this, but it would not be a cause for celebration. While one audience member celebrates, another expresses concern.		In this comic, [[Beret Guy]] announces that their {{w\|hydroelectric dam}} has reached "Q > 1" supposedly meaning that it is producing more water than is flowing into it. In reality, this would violate the physical law of conservation of mass. Over the lifetime of a dam, the volume of water that passes through the outflow gates will be less than the total volume of water precipitated in the catchment area due to evaporation, seepage, and other losses. To produce more water, matter would have to be created. If only a short time period is considered, a dam can naturally release more water than is fed into it, especially during dry seasons or after a dam break. The title "breakthrough" could refer to this, but it would not be a cause for celebration. While one audience member celebrates, another expresses concern.

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 In this comic, [[Beret Guy]] announces that their {{w|hydroelectric dam}} has reached "Q > 1" supposedly meaning that it is producing more water than is flowing into it. In reality, this would violate the physical law of conservation of mass. Over the lifetime of a dam, the volume of water that passes through the outflow gates will be less than the total volume of water precipitated in the catchment area due to evaporation, seepage, and other losses. To produce more water, matter would have to be created. If only a short time period is considered, a dam can naturally release more water than is fed into it, especially during dry seasons or after a dam break. The title "breakthrough" could refer to this, but it would not be a cause for celebration. While one audience member celebrates, another expresses concern.
-The comic parodies {{w|fusion reactor}}s, a type of electrical generator that can use deuterium and tritium as inputs to produce helium and a large amount of power. However, maintaining a fusion reaction has historically been difficult, and fusion reactors often require more external power than they generate. In recent years, advances in fusion technology have increased the energy output of fusion reactors to more than the input. It is possible that this comic is a reference to the [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/11/fusion-nuclear-energy-breakthrough/ announcement of the first Q > 1 fusion reaction at the US National Ignition Facility], which was scheduled for the day after the comic was released. The symbol Q is used to refer to the {{w|fusion energy gain factor}}, the ratio of power generated by a fusion reactor to the energy used to maintain it. An energy source is only useful if it produces more power than it uses{{citation needed}}, so Q > 1 means the reactor is generating net energy. Q can also represent the flow rate of water through a hydroelectric dam, and in this case, a Q > 1 would not have significant meaning.
+The comic parodies {{w|fusion reactor}}s, a type of electrical generator that can use deuterium and tritium as inputs to produce helium and a large amount of power. However, maintaining a fusion reaction has historically been difficult, and fusion reactors often require more external power than they generate. In recent years, advances in fusion technology have increased the energy output of fusion reactors to more than the input. It is possible that this comic is a reference to the [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/11/fusion-nuclear-energy-breakthrough/ announcement of the first Q > 1 fusion reaction at the US National Ignition Facility], which was scheduled for the day after the comic was released. The symbol Q is used to refer to the {{w|fusion energy gain factor}}, the ratio of power generated by a fusion reactor to the energy used to maintain it. An energy source is only useful if it produces more power than it uses{{citation needed}}, so Q > 1 means the reactor is generating net energy. Q can also represent the volumetric flow rate of water through a hydroelectric dam, and in this case, a Q > 1 would not have significant meaning.
 The title text further confuses the issue by introducing nuclear fission and equating the hydroelectric dam with a {{w|heavy water reactor}}, which is a type of nuclear fission reactor that uses deuterium oxide as a moderator. This is also a play on words, as the weight of water is used to move turbines that drive generators at a hydroelectric dam.