#kerr-mcgee

[ageofshadows666]

Today marks the 49th anniversary of the death of Karen Silkwood, a union activist who was murdered because of her attempt to bring attention to the negligence and misconduct of the Kerr-McGee Cimmaron Fuel Fabrication Site.

She had participated in a union strike, and was appointed to the union’s bargaining committee. Her job was to investigate health and safety issues. She discovered that workers were being contaminated with plutonium, materials were being improperly stored, and found many respiratory equipment to be faulty. Concerned about workplace negligence, Silkwood testified to the US Atomic Energy Commission.

Afterwards, she found that her body had been contaminated by almost 400 times the legal limit for plutonium contamination. Over the next 3 days, the amount of contamination within her body increased drastically, and her home was found severely contaminated as well.

On November 13, 1974, Silkwood was on her way to Oklahoma City to meet with Steve Wodka, an official of her union’s office. She had a binder and a packet of documents with her. Later that evening her body was found in her car, which had gone off the road and struck a culvert, resulting in a head-on collision that killed her. Strangely, there was a large dent in the back bumper of her car. To add to that, all the documents she had with her in her car were gone.

Police concluded that Silkwood had fallen asleep at the wheel and drifted off the road. However, the fact that there was a large dent on her back bumper and that all the documents she possessed were gone suggests that she was followed and that her car was rammed from behind by another vehicle, forcing her off the road. Skid marks from her car were on the road, implying that Silkwood tried to get back on the road after being rammed from behind. Silkwood’s family confirmed that her car was new and had no prior insurance claims and that the dent in the back of her car was not present before the crash. The crash was entirely a front-ended collision, which did not explain the dent in the back, as there was no damage to either side of the car. Additionally, a microscopic examination of her car showed a paint chip that could only have been caused by being rammed by another vehicle. According to her family, Silkwood had received several threatening phone calls prior to her death.

As for the plutonium contamination, Silkwood’s father and children sued Kerr-McGee. Kerr-McGee claimed that Silkwood had contaminated herself on purpose to paint the company in a negative light. The plant Silkwood worked at was investigated, and it was discovered that 44-66 pounds of plutonium had been “misplaced” at the plant, which was most likely the plutonium that was used to contaminate Silkwood, along with her home. Kerr-McGee settled out of court for $3.75 million dollars and refused to admit any liability for the contamination. In 1975, Kerr-McGee’s nuclear fuel plants were closed.

Silkwood was a kind, honest person who raised awareness about health issues as she tried to help make workplaces safer and expose the wrongdoings of her employers. Unfortunately, this is something that often happens to people like her. Silkwood is someone who modern-day folks would call a “whistleblower”, someone who attempts to inform authorities and/or the public about the illicit/illegal actions of a corporation or authority.

People are willing to do anything to cover up their crimes and avoid responsibility. They will stalk, harass, and intimidate individuals into staying quiet. And when that doesn’t work, they’ll go after the whistleblower and try to kill them in a final attempt to keep their misdeeds a secret.

Silkwood had received several threatening messages before her death, but still chose to go public with the information regarding the negligence of Kerr-McGee. She knew that speaking the truth would put her life in danger but shoved aside her fear for the sake of the greater good. We need more brave people like her in this world.

It’s clear that Karen Silkwood was murdered. Someone at Kerr-McGee contaminated her and her home with a dangerous amount of plutonium, and proceeded to threaten her. After she refused to back down, they ran her car off the road and stole the evidence she was in possession of. Police never investigated the possibility of foul play, simply saying that Silkwood had lost control of her car and crashed, ignoring the dent on the back of her car and the stolen documents. Police assisted in the cover-up of her death. Justice will never be served for Silkwood.

This is a sad reality that still happens today. Authority figures and wealthy companies exploit and abuse the people below them, and threaten to harm or kill them or the people they care about to stop the truth from coming to light. This is an awful world of corruption where the people of power use that power to manipulate and control the citizens.

America, land of the free? Bullshit.

[iamdangerace]

The Saints & Sinners and Dead Vandals 7" (1977), by Johnny & the Self Abusers--the early, punk incarnation of the Scottish band who would later call themselves Simple Minds.

[verifiablebot]

when i get my garage i want a mobile oil pegasus sign to hang up. when i was a teeny baby one of my great-uncles worked for mobile and he wore a pegasus pin on his coat to church and i was OBSESSED with it. i think i just liked pegasi. but i still hold a huge amount of nostalgia for that old logo and it'd be fun i think to have one

[brusiocostante]

Simple Minds - Sweat In Bullet

[spilladabalia]

Simple Minds: Seeing out the Angel [12'' Extended Version 2023]

[thoughtportal]

Abandoned Uranium Mines: An "Overwhelming Problem" in the Navajo Nation

There's an old uranium mine on rancher Larry Gordy's grazing land near Cameron, Ariz. Like hundreds of other abandoned mines in the Navajo Nation, the United States' largest Indian reservation, it looks as if it might still be in use—tailings, or waste products of uranium processing, are still piled everywhere, and the land isn't fenced off. "It looks like Mars," said Marsha Monestersky, program director of Forgotten People, an advocacy organization for the western region of the vast Navajo Nation, which covers 27,000 square miles in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently embroiled in a massive effort to assess 520 open abandoned uranium mines all over the vast reservation. (Forgotten People says there are even more mines on Navajo land: about 1,300.) Earlier this month, the cleanup got a boost from a bankruptcy settlement with Oklahoma City-based chemical company Tronox Inc., which will give federal and Navajo Nation officials $14.5 million to address the reservation's uranium contamination.

During the Cold War, private companies such as Tronox's former parent company, Kerr-McGee Corp., operated uranium mines under U.S. government contracts, removing four million tons of ore that went into making nuclear weapons and fuel. When demand dried up with the end of the era, companies simply abandoned their mines as they were.

[citizenscreen]

Meryl Streep as Karen Silkwood, a technician at a plutonium plant operated by the Kerr-McGee Corporation. On November 13, 1974, 28-year-old Karen Silkwood was killed in a car accident near Crescent, Oklahoma, a week after complaining to the Atomic Energy Commission about unsafe conditions at the plant.

[diceriadelluntore]

Storia Di Musica #294 - Simple Minds, New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)

Se in un ipotetico cruciverba la definizione chiedesse: Famoso gruppo rock scozzese degli anni '80 (10 lettere) la risposta è una sola. Simple Minds. Tutto comincia a Glasgow quando tre ragazzi, Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill e Brian McGee fondano nel febbraio del 1977 un gruppo a tre, Johnny & The Self Abusers, nome in pieno stile punk. Pubblicano anche un singolo, Saints & Sinners / Dead Van Dals, ma l'insuccesso li porta a sciogliere il gruppo. Un anno più tardi ci riprovano, ma scelgono come nome Simple Minds, partendo da un verso di The Jean Genie di David Bowie, He's so simple-minded, he can't drive his module. Si uniscono le tastiere di Michael McNeil e il basso di Derek Forber, e firmano con la Zoom Records, una etichetta in orbita Arista. Suonano come gruppo di apertura a diverse band, come Siouxsie & The Banshees, gli Ultravox di Midge Ure, e pubblicano il primo disco, nel 1979, Life In A Day, dalla stupenda copertina. Vivono in maniera turbinosa il passaggio dalla scarna dimensione del punk all'arrivo imperioso dell'elettronica e della new wave. Nello stesso anno, desiderosi di fare grandi cose, pubblicano Real To Real Cacophony, un disco che vira con violenza verso l'elettronica, con atmosfere quasi spettrali e in vena di sperimentazione. Le vendite scarseggiano, e l'Arista concede un ultimo tentativo: Empires And Dance nel 1980 è un interessante incrocio tra Krafwerk e Joy Division, con canzoni che hanno un potere magnetico come Celebrate, ma nemmeno stavolta arrivano vendite, nonostante la critica apprezzi tantissimo il disco. Si dividono dalla Arista e firmano con la Virgin, ed iniziano con il botto: originariamente infatti pubblicano un doppio album, composto da due album separati, che la casa discografica prontamente vende separatamente, Sons & Fascination e Sister Feelings Call (1981), con Steve Hillage dei Gong in produzione, sono il primo tentativo organico di dare forma alle ritmica mai banali, alla chitarra ieratica di Burchill e a indirizzare meglio la appassionata e versatile voce di Kerr. Finalmente le vendite arrivano e gli album sfiorano la Top Ten degli album più venduti. Ma c'è il primo abbandono: McGee se ne va, e per un certo periodo c'è una rotazione di batteristi finchè, dopo un lungo tour, viene ingaggiato il batterista Mel Gaynor, formidabile, che subito viene mandato in studio per registrare del nuovo materiale.

Ciò che ne viene fuori, abbassata la tensione personale e ritrovato un approccio più spirituale alla composizione, parole di Jim Kerr, è il tanto atteso capolavoro. In regia c'è un giovanissimo Peter Walsh, che a 21 anni aveva lavorato con gli Heaven 17 e a 22 aiuta la band scozzese a produrre un disco che nelle atmosfere generali è sofisticato, etereo ma ricco di vibrazioni intense, suonato benissimo e che ha canzoni meravigliose al suo interno. Il titolo viene in mente alla Band durante un tour in Australia, nel 1981, in cui il promoter oceanico chiedeva se volevano già preparare un tour nel 1983 e 1984: New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84). Il primo singolo è Promised You a Miracle, con il meraviglioso lavoro del basso di McNeil e il riff accattivante di Burchill, con un inaspettato ritmo funk, e con questa canzone debuttano persino in Tv nella storica trasmissione della BBC Top Of The Pops. Il disco ha canzoni che sono diventate famosissime: Someone Somewhere In Summertime, dall'atmosfera sognante e la ritmica innovativa, Glittering Prize che divenne una hit anche per il fantasioso video girato in uan camera tutta dipinta d'oro, canzone che come poche tra l'altro racconta la new wave degli anni '80 nelle sue tastiere a tappeto e nel beat elettronico. Del tocco elettronico dei primi dischi rimane solo Big Sleep, in una mutazione che trova però un perfetto equilibrio in musicalità e diventerà una sorta di pietra di paragone per qualche anno. C'è persino uno strumentale, Somebody Up There Likes You, nella meravigliosa Hunter And The Hunted c'è persino la leggenda del jazz Herbie Hancock a suonare un assolo al sintetizzatore, e New Gold Dreams (81-82-83-84) con il suo andare a salire diventerà una hit e un inno da stadio, anticipando il suono elettronico dei Depeche Mode. Il successo di critica e vendite è altissimo, tanto che la band sfrutta l'onda e pubblica nello stesso anno Sparkle In The Rain. Chiama a produrre uno dei nomi del momento, Steve Lillywhite, che aveva prodotto gli XTC e i primi tre dischi degli U2, per un suono più leggero ma che ha un alone di ruvidezza.

Nel 1985, Once Upon A Time diviene uno dei pochi dischi di grande successo più criticato dai fan. Il tutto perchè la band decide di fare una cover di Keith Forsey, Don't You (Forget About Me), che diviene una hit mondiale come colonna sonora del film Breakfast Club (canzone in primo momento rifiutata da Brian Ferry) e ritenuta troppo "pop commerciale". In tutta risposta, la Band è una delle colonne del Live Aid, con piena sorpresa di chi li aveva conosciuti come avanguardia nel 1980. Rimane tuttavia uno zoccolo duro di appassionati, tanto che hanno un record invidiabile di ben 21 singoli in classifica fino al 1998, anno in cui dedicheranno un disco a Napoli, Neapolis. I Simple Minds hanno avuto un percorso musicale del tutto particolare, e il loro ricordo è minore rispetto ad altri gruppi del periodo anche per scelte personali che li allontanarono dal pubblico (dopo Once Upon A Time, si presero una pausa di 4 anni per far uscire Street Fighting Years, che contiene due grandi inni della loro antologia, The Belfast Child e Mandela Day). Ancora oggi suonano, pubblicano canzoni e fanno concerti, probabilmente con poche nuove cosa da proporre, ma con una sfilza di canzoni inni che molti ancora ricordano, declamati tra l'altro con il meraviglioso accento di Glasgow di Kerr, che chiama propriamente la sua band Simple Mains.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Expert explains evidence for planetary formation through gravitational instability

Exoplanets form in protoplanetary disks, a collection of space dust and gas orbiting a star. The leading theory of planetary formation, called core accretion, occurs when grains of dust in the disk collect and grow to form a planetary core, like a snowball rolling downhill. Once it has a strong enough gravitational pull, other material collapses around it to form the atmosphere.

A secondary theory of planetary formation is gravitational collapse. In this scenario, the disk itself becomes gravitationally unstable and collapses to form the planet, like snow being plowed into a pile. This process requires the disk to be massive, and until recently there were no known viable candidates to observe; previous research had detected the snow pile, but not what made it.

But in a new paper published today in Nature, MIT Kerr-McGee Career Development Professor Richard Teague and his colleagues report evidence that the movement of the gas surrounding the star AB Aurigae behaves as one would expect in a gravitationally unstable disk, matching numerical predictions.

Their finding is akin to detecting the snowplow that made the pile. This indicates that gravitational collapse is a viable method of planetary formation. Here, Teague, who studies the formation of planetary systems in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS), answers a few questions about the new work.

What made the AB Aurigae system a good candidate for observation?

There have been plenty of observations that have suggested some interesting dynamics going on in the system. Groups have seen spiral arms within the disk; people have found hot spots, which some groups have interpreted as a planet; others have explained it as some other instability. But it was really a disk and we knew there were lots of interesting motions going on. The data that we had previously was enough to see that it was interesting, but not really good enough to detail what was going on.

What is gravitational instability when it comes to protoplanetary disks?

Gravitational instabilities are where the gravity from the disk itself is strong enough to perturb motions within the disk. Usually, we assume that the gravitational potential is dominated by the central star, which is the case when the mass of the disk is less than 10% of the stellar mass (which is most of the time).

When the disk mass gets too large, gravitational potential will affect it in different ways and drive these very large spiral arms in the disk. These can have lots of different effects: They can trap the gas, they can heat it up, they can allow for angular momentum to be transported very rapidly within the disk.

If it's unstable, the disk can fragment and collapse directly to form a planet in an incredibly short period of time. Rather than the tens of thousands of years that it would take for a core accretion to happen, this would happen at a fraction of that time.

How does this discovery challenge conventional wisdom around planetary formation?

It shows that this alternative path of forming planets via direct collapse is a way that we can form planets. This is particularly important because we're finding more and more evidence of very large planets—say, Jupiter mass or larger—that are sitting very far away from their star.

Those sorts of planets are incredibly hard to form with core accretion, because you typically need them close to the star where things happen quickly. So to form something so massive, so far away from the star is a real challenge.

If we're able to show that there are sources that are massive enough that they're gravitationally unstable, this solves that problem. It's a way that perhaps newer systems can be formed, because they've always been a bit of a challenge to understand how they came about with core accretion.

IMAGE: Global spirals in the AB Aur disk. Credit: Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07877-0

[khushallgems]

Halite on Sylvite from the Kerr McGee Mine (NM, US), Copyright ©️ Iv.mineral.photography #flourite #flouritecrystal #flouritespecimen #flouritestone #flouritesock #minerals_wholesale #quartzcollecting #flouritetower #flouritepoint #khushall_minerals #flouritecrystals #flouritenecklace #flouritecollector #flouritering #flouritewand #flouriteforsale #flouritespecimens #khushallfineminerals #flouriteminerals khushallgems #flouritegemstones #flouriteusa #khushalljewellery #dubanigems #flouriteroughstone #flouritecubes #flouritebeads #flouritepandents #flouriteoctahedron #flouritemineralgem #khushallcrystal https://www.instagram.com/p/CpcREsyKL29/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[brian-in-finance]

Apple TV+

Irish Film, TV Nominations 2023: ‘The Banshees of Inisherin,’ ‘Bad Sisters’ Lead With Most Nods

“The Banshees of Inisherin,” starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, led the nominations for the Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs) as the full list of nominees was unveiled on Monday night local time, picking up 11 nods in the film category.

“Bad Sisters” – Sharon Horgan’s Apple TV+ mystery series – led the pack in the drama category with 12 noms.

Coming off the back of a stellar year for Irish film and television, the nominations include a number of familiar names and titles, including Paul Mescal, who has been nominated for best lead actor in a film for “Aftersun” and best supporting actor in a film for “God’s Creatures” while Farrell is also competing in both categories, both for his star turn in “Banshees” and his supporting role as Penguin in “The Batman.”

“Conversations with Friends” has also scored noms in multiple categories while Aoife McArdle is up for best drama director for Apple TV+ series “Severance.” Sinead O’Connor doc “Nothing Compares” is up for best feature documentary.

The IFTAs are set to take place at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre on May 7. They will be broadcast on local network RTÉ.

FILM CATEGORIES

Best Film

“Aisha”

“The Banshees of Inisherin”

“God’s Creatures”

“Lakelands”

“Róise & Frank”

“The Wonder”

Director – Film

“Aisha” – Frank Berry

“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Martin McDonagh

“It Is In Us All” – Antonia Campbell Hughes

“Joyride” – Emer Reynolds

“Let the Wrong One In” – Conor McMahon

“Róise & Frank” – Rachael Moriarty & Peter Murphy

Script – Film

“Aisha” – Frank Berry

“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Martin McDonagh

“God’s Creatures” – Shane Crowley

“Joyride” – Ailbhe Keogan

“Let the Wrong One In” – Conor McMahon

“Róise & Frank” – Rachael Moriarty, Peter Murphy

Lead Actor – Film

Colin Farrell – “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Daryl McCormack – “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”

Éanna Hardwicke – “Lakelands”

Liam Neeson – “Marlowe”

Ollie West – “The Sparrow”

Paul Mescal – “Aftersun”

Lead Actress – Film

Alisha Weir – “Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical”

Bríd Ní Neachtain – “Róise & Frank”

Danielle Galligan – “Lakelands”

Kelly Gough – “Tarrac”

Seána Kerslake – “Ballywalter”

Zara Devlin – “Ann”

Supporting Actor – Film

Andrew Scott – “Catherine Called Birdy”

Barry Keoghan – “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Brendan Gleeson – “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Colin Farrell – “The Batman”

Paul Mescal – “God’s Creatures”

Pierce Brosnan – “Black Adam”

Supporting Actress – Film

Aisling Franciosi – “God’s Creatures”

Eileen Walsh – “Ann”

Elaine Cassidy – “The Wonder”

Jessie Buckley – “Women Talking”

Kerry Condon – “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Kíla Lord Cassidy – “The Wonder”

DRAMA

Best Drama

“Bad Sisters”

“Conversations with Friends”

“Derry Girls: The Agreement (Extended Special)”

“Smother”

“The Dry”

“Vikings: Valhalla”

Director – Drama

“Bad Sisters” – Dearbhla Walsh

“Conversations with Friends” – Lenny Abrahamson

“Maxine” – Laura Way

“Severance” – Aoife McArdle

“Smother” – Dathaí Keane

“The Dry” – Paddy Breathnach

Script – Drama

“Bad Sisters” – Sharon Horgan

“Conversations with Friends” – Mark O’Halloran

“Derry Girls: The Agreement (Extended Special)” – Lisa McGee

“Smother” – Kate O’Riordan

“The Dry” – Nancy Harris

“Top Boy” – Ronan Bennett

Lead Actor – Drama

Aidan Turner – “The Suspect”

Conleth Hill – “Holding”

Jason O’Mara – “Smother”

Kerr Logan – “North Sea Connection”

Stephen Rea – “The English”

Vinnie McCabe – “The Noble Call”

Lead Actress – Drama

Alison Oliver – “Conversations with Friends”

Caitriona Balfe – “Outlander”

Dervla Kirwan – “Smother”

Roisin Gallagher – “The Dry”

Sharon Horgan – “Bad Sisters”

Siobhan McSweeney – “Holding”

Starz

Supporting Actor – Drama

Brian Gleeson – “Bad Sisters”

Ciarán Hinds – “The Dry”

Daryl McCormack – “Bad Sisters”

Michael Smiley – “Bad Sisters”

Moe Dunford – “The Dry”

Tommy Tiernan – “Conversations with Friends”

Supporting Actress – Drama

Anne-Marie Duff – “Bad Sisters”

Brenda Fricker – “Holding”

Eva Birthistle – “Bad Sisters”

Eve Hewson – “Bad Sisters”

Genevieve O’Reilly – “Andor”

Sarah Greene – “Bad Sisters”

OTHER AWARD CATEGORIES

Feature Documentary

“The Artist & The Wall of Death”

“The Ghost of Richard Harris”

“How To Tell A Secret”

“Million Dollar Pigeons”

“North Circular”

“Nothing Compares”

Live-Action Short Film

“An Irish Goodbye”

“Call Me Mommy”

“Don’t Go Where I Can’t Find You”

“Lamb”

“Wednesday’s Child”

“You’re Not Home”

Animated Short Film

“Candlelight”

“Dagda’s Harp”

“Red Rabbit”

“Soft Tissue”

CRAFT CATEGORIES

Cinematography

“Conversations with Friends” – Suzie Lavelle

“How To Tell A Secret” – Eleanor Bowman

“It Is In Us All” – Piers McGrail

“The Dry” – Cathal Watters

“Vikings: Valhalla” – Peter Robertson

Costume Design

“Aisha” – Kathy Strachan

“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh

“Disenchanted” – Joan Bergin

“Enola Holmes 2” – Consolata Boyle

“Vikings: Valhalla” – Susan O’Connor Cave

Production Design

“Aisha” – Tamara Conboy

“Bad Sisters” – Mark Geraghty

“Mr. Malcolm’s List” – Ray Ball

“Róise & Frank” – Padraig O’Neill

“Vikings: Valhalla” – Tom Conroy

Hair & Make-Up

“Aisha” – Dumebi Anozie, Liz Byrne

“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Orla Carroll, Lynn Johnston, Dan Martin

“Mr. Malcolm’s List” – Eileen Buggy, Sharon Doyle

“The Wonder” – Lorri Ann King, Morna Ferguson

“Vikings: Valhalla” – Joe Whelan, Tom McInerney

Sound

“Aisha”

“The Banshees of Inisherin”

“Conversations with Friends”

“The Sparrow”

“The Wonder”

Original Music

“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” – Stephen Rennicks

“Lakelands” – Daithí

“Nothing Compares” – Irene Buckley, Linda Buckley

“Róise & Frank” – Colm Mac Con Iomaire

“The Dry” – Sarah Lynch

Editing

“Aisha” – Colin Campbell

“Elvis” – Jonathan Redmond, Matt Villa

“Death on the Nile” – Úna Ní Dhonghaíle

“Nocebo” – Tony Cranstoun

“Nothing Compares” – Mick Mahon

VFX

“The Banshees of Inisherin”

“Marlowe”

“Stranger Things”

“The Woman King”

Best International Film

“Aftersun”

“All Quiet on the Western Front”

“Elvis”

“Tár”

“The Fabelmans”

“Top Gun: Maverick”

Best International Actor

Albrecht Schuch – “All Quiet On The Western Front”

Austin Butler – “Elvis”

Cosmo Jarvis – “It Is In Us All”

Felix Kammerer – “All Quiet On The Western Front”

Josh O’Connor – “Aisha”

Tom Cruise – “Top Gun: Maverick”

Best International Actress

Cate Blanchett – “Tár”

Emily Watson – “God’s Creatures”

Florence Pugh – “The Wonder”

Letitia Wright – “Aisha”

Michelle Williams – “The Fabelmans”

Viola Davis – “The Woman King”

Variety

Starz

Remember the ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️th IFTA nomination?

[historydailyfrancischappellblack]

28-year-old Karen Silkwood Died in a Car Crash Near Crescent, Oklahoma. November 13, 1974.

Image: Karen Silkwood (Public Domain) On this day in history, November 13, 1974, 28-year-old Karen Silkwood died in a car crash near Crescent, Oklahoma. Silkwood was employed as a technician at a plutonium plant run by the Kerr-McGee Corporation, and she condemned the plant’s health and safety procedures. The evening she perished, she was going to a conference with union representatives and a…

[forbiddenclarissaplanets]

Movie of the Day: Silkwood (1983)

This week’s movie of the day is Silkwood (1983), directed by Mike Nicholas and starring Cher, Meryl Streep, and Kurt Russell. Based on the true story of Karen Silkwood who was working at a nuclear facility in Kerr-McGee Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site in Oklahoma. The facility made plutonium pellets and Karen was part of the team making them. She also became the first woman on their union’s…

[christinamac1]

Karen Silkwood and Kerr-McGee: A Reinvestigation

Silkwood was an outspoken advocate of both maintaining union representation and taking precautions to protect the workers from plutonium contamination caused by the company’s poor handling practices. Van De Steeg’s analysis is definitive proof that Silkwood never spiked her samples. Kerr-McGee argued that she did it to embarrass the company……… Van De Steeg testified that after Bill Silkwood…

[joelgsolis]

Innovating Beneath the Surface: Unlocking the Secrets of Oil Well Drilling

The relentless pursuit of oil, a vital resource that powers industries and vehicles worldwide, has led to the development of complex and sophisticated oil drilling technologies. From the rudimentary tools used in ancient civilizations to the high-tech rigs of today, the journey of oil well drilling is a narrative of innovation, engineering brilliance, and an unyielding quest for improvement. This article explores the transformative technologies and methodologies that have redefined oil well drilling, revealing the secrets behind the industry's ability to tap into the earth's most elusive natural reservoirs.

Ancient Beginnings: The Early Art of Oil Extraction

The quest for oil dates back to ancient times when early civilizations used surface seepages for waterproofing, medicinal purposes, and illumination. In China, as early as 347 AD, workers used bamboo poles to extract oil, a primitive yet ingenious method of the time. These early endeavors laid the groundwork for the development of more sophisticated drilling techniques.

The Dawn of Modern Drilling: Edwin Drake's Revolutionary Well

The modern era of oil drilling began in 1859 when Edwin L. Drake drilled the first successful oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Utilizing a steam engine, Drake and his team managed to drill down to a depth of 69 feet, striking oil and setting the stage for the global oil rush. This groundbreaking event demonstrated the potential of drilling as a viable method for large-scale oil extraction and paved the way for rapid technological advancements.

The Rotary Revolution: A New Era in Drilling

The introduction of rotary drilling in the late 19th century marked a significant technological leap. The rotary drill, which uses a rotating drill bit to bore through the earth, allowed for deeper and faster drilling, making it possible to reach oil reservoirs that were previously inaccessible. This method became the foundation of modern oil exploration and is still widely used today with various enhancements.

Going Offshore: Conquering the Maritime Frontiers

As onshore oil wells began to deplete, the industry turned its sights to the oceans. In 1947, Kerr-McGee drilled the first offshore oil well out of sight of land in the Gulf of Mexico, opening up vast new territories for oil exploration. Offshore drilling presented unique challenges, such as deep-water operations and harsh environmental conditions, driving further innovations in drilling technology and platforms.

Hydraulic Fracturing and Horizontal Drilling: Game Changers

The late 20th century brought about two of the most significant advancements in oil drilling: hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves injecting high-pressure fluid into shale rocks to crack them and release oil and gas. When combined with horizontal drilling, which allows the drill to turn and extend horizontally, these technologies revolutionized the oil industry by making it possible to extract oil from previously unyieldable shale formations.

The Digital Oilfield: Harnessing Data for Enhanced Efficiency

Today, the integration of digital technologies into oil drilling operations is transforming the industry. The digital oilfield uses sensors, data analytics, and automation to optimize drilling processes, enhance safety, and minimize environmental impact. Real-time data monitoring allows for precise control over drilling operations, predictive maintenance, and better decision-making, leading to more efficient and cost-effective operations.

The Environmental Shift: Towards Cleaner Drilling Practices

As environmental concerns over fossil fuel extraction grow, the oil industry is under increasing pressure to develop cleaner and more sustainable drilling practices. Innovations such as reduced-flare technologies, advanced water recycling systems, and the use of non-toxic drilling fluids are making oil drilling less environmentally damaging. Additionally, efforts to improve the efficiency of oil wells help reduce the overall environmental footprint by extracting more oil with fewer wells.

Looking to the Future: The Next Frontier in Oil Drilling

The future of oil well drilling will likely involve a combination of further technological advancements and increased regulatory scrutiny. Innovations such as automated drilling robots, advanced seismic imaging techniques, and enhanced oil recovery methods using CO2 or microbes are on the horizon. Moreover, as the global energy landscape shifts towards renewable sources, the oil industry is exploring ways to integrate these technologies to reduce reliance on conventional oil reserves.

The secrets of oil well drilling have been progressively unlocked through centuries of innovation, driven by the dual demands of resource extraction and environmental stewardship. As the industry moves forward, it faces the challenge of adapting to the evolving energy needs of a changing world, promising a future where the secrets of the earth's depths continue to yield technological marvels.

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3 Questions: Evidence for planetary formation through gravitational instability

New Post has been published on https://sunalei.org/news/3-questions-evidence-for-planetary-formation-through-gravitational-instability/

3 Questions: Evidence for planetary formation through gravitational instability

Exoplanets form in protoplanetary disks, a collection of space dust and gas orbiting a star. The leading theory of planetary formation, called core accretion, occurs when grains of dust in the disk collect and grow to form a planetary core, like a snowball rolling downhill. Once it has a strong enough gravitational pull, other material collapses around it to form the atmosphere.

A secondary theory of planetary formation is gravitational collapse. In this scenario, the disk itself becomes gravitationally unstable and collapses to form the planet, like snow being plowed into a pile. This process requires the disk to be massive, and until recently there were no known viable candidates to observe; previous research had detected the snow pile, but not what made it.

But in a new paper published today in Nature, MIT Kerr-McGee Career Development Professor Richard Teague and his colleagues report evidence that the movement of the gas surrounding the star AB Aurigae behaves as one would expect in a gravitationally unstable disk, matching numerical predictions. Their finding is akin to detecting the snowplow that made the pile. This indicates that gravitational collapse is a viable method of planetary formation. Here, Teague, who studies the formation of planetary systems in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS), answers a few questions about the new work.

Q: What made the AB Aurigae system a good candidate for observation?

A: There have been plenty of observations that have suggested some interesting dynamics going on the system. Groups have seen spiral arms within the disk; people have found hot spots, which some groups have interpreted as a planet; others have explained as some other instability. But it was really a disk that we knew there was lots of interesting motions going on. The data that we had previously was enough to see that it was interesting, but not really good enough to detail what was going on.

Q: What is gravitational instability when it comes to protoplanetary disks?

A: Gravitational instabilities are where the gravity from the disk itself is strong enough to perturb motions within the disk. Usually, we assume that the gravitational potential is dominated by the central star, which is the case when the mass of the disk is less than 10 percent of the stellar mass (which is most of the time). When the disk mass gets too large, gravitational potential will affect it in different ways and drive these very large spiral arms in the disk. These can have lots of different effects: They can trap the gas, they can heat it up, they can allow for angular momentum to be transported very rapidly within the disk. If it’s unstable, the disk can fragment and collapse directly to form a planet in an incredibly short period of time. Rather than the tens of thousands of years that it would take for a core accretion to happen, this would happen at a fraction of that time.

Q: How does this discovery challenge conventional wisdom around planetary formation?

A: It shows that this alternative path of forming planets via direct collapse is a way that we can form planets. This is particularly important because we’re finding more and more evidence of very large planets — say, Jupiter mass or larger — that are sitting very far away from their star. Those sorts of planets are incredibly hard to form with core accretion, because you typically need them close to the star where things happen quickly. So to form something so massive, so far away from the star is a real challenge. If we’re able to show that there are sources that are massive enough that they’re gravitationally unstable, this solves that problem. It’s a way that perhaps newer systems can be formed, because they’ve always been a bit of a challenge to understand how they came about with core accretion.