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there may already be a name for the phenomena, but if not, I nominate "iron catastrophe" - when a star has used up most of the hydrogen, helium, etc. it more and more fuses heavier elements ... and each element gets used up faster than the one before.
>>> https://twitter.com/The_Petrichory/status/1327301711828975616
there may already be a name for the phenomena, but if not, I nominate "iron catastrophe" - when a star has used up most of the hydrogen, helium, etc. it more and more fuses heavier elements ... and each element gets used up faster than the one before.
>>> https://twitter.com/The_Petrichory/status/1327301711828975616
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The process goes exponential in time. Hydrogen lasts for billions of years, helium lasts for millions, etc.
By the time the silicon is being fused, that entire fuel cycle lasts for < 1 day.
The heat liberated by fusion lifts the outer layers of the star millions of miles
The process goes exponential in time. Hydrogen lasts for billions of years, helium lasts for millions, etc.
By the time the silicon is being fused, that entire fuel cycle lasts for < 1 day.
The heat liberated by fusion lifts the outer layers of the star millions of miles
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But then, in one last spasm, all of the silicon is fused to iron, and there's nothing left.
...and that stellar atmosphere, which may have been lifted as far as 1 AU (earth's orbit!) ... is suddenly held up by nothing.
...and it starts falling.
But then, in one last spasm, all of the silicon is fused to iron, and there's nothing left.
...and that stellar atmosphere, which may have been lifted as far as 1 AU (earth's orbit!) ... is suddenly held up by nothing.
...and it starts falling.
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Picture the energy liberated by a human jumping off of the World Trade Center.
Picture the energy liberated from a tank falling from an airplane without a parachute.
Picture the "colony drop" trope of a massive space station falling from LEO.
Picture the energy liberated by a human jumping off of the World Trade Center.
Picture the energy liberated from a tank falling from an airplane without a parachute.
Picture the "colony drop" trope of a massive space station falling from LEO.
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...now picture something like 1/3 of the mass of an entire star, on the order of magnitude of a million earth masses, falling ... from a height of 200 million miles ... accelerating all the way.
It doesn't end well.
That's the iron catastrophe.
...now picture something like 1/3 of the mass of an entire star, on the order of magnitude of a million earth masses, falling ... from a height of 200 million miles ... accelerating all the way.
It doesn't end well.
That's the iron catastrophe.
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...and that's the analogy that springs to mind when I see the US elite using up all "freedom" as a rhetorical fuel in 150 years, then using up "competent technocrats" as a rhetorical fuel in 50 years, then using up "fighting racism" in 5 years, then ...
...and that's the analogy that springs to mind when I see the US elite using up all "freedom" as a rhetorical fuel in 150 years, then using up "competent technocrats" as a rhetorical fuel in 50 years, then using up "fighting racism" in 5 years, then ...
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and note that, in keeping with the analogy, as the Cathedral burns up each new form of rhetorical fuel, it gets hotter, it gets bigger, and it lifts its parts further and further out of the gravity well ... storing up potential energy.
...all of which can be liberated >>>
and note that, in keeping with the analogy, as the Cathedral burns up each new form of rhetorical fuel, it gets hotter, it gets bigger, and it lifts its parts further and further out of the gravity well ... storing up potential energy.
...all of which can be liberated >>>
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when the entire thing suddenly has no more fuel to burn, there's no more pressure to keep up the parts, and the whole thing collapses under gravity.
when the entire thing suddenly has no more fuel to burn, there's no more pressure to keep up the parts, and the whole thing collapses under gravity.
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Remember: the first stage of fusion lasts 1 billion years. The last stage (silicon -> Fe) lasts less than a day.
Remember: the first stage of fusion lasts 1 billion years. The last stage (silicon -> Fe) lasts less than a day.
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A friend DM'ed me: "I like your analogy, but it fails for one reason - when the star collapses, that's how the Earth was formed"
Actually, no, that's not a failure of the analogy - that was part of it (the part I forgot to type up).
So, back to the astrophysics >>>
A friend DM'ed me: "I like your analogy, but it fails for one reason - when the star collapses, that's how the Earth was formed"
Actually, no, that's not a failure of the analogy - that was part of it (the part I forgot to type up).
So, back to the astrophysics >>>
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You've got this 25 solar mass red giant, and it's burned through hydrogen, helium, lithium, ...turning each into the next higher element, or even heavier yet ... and the star's getting bigger and bigger
You've got this 25 solar mass red giant, and it's burned through hydrogen, helium, lithium, ...turning each into the next higher element, or even heavier yet ... and the star's getting bigger and bigger
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(compare the USG reach in 1800 vs DoD / State department global reach in 2020, where it's a matter of vital national importance that US dollars be spent so that Pakistani children can be be taught that gender norms are social constructed)
(compare the USG reach in 1800 vs DoD / State department global reach in 2020, where it's a matter of vital national importance that US dollars be spent so that Pakistani children can be be taught that gender norms are social constructed)
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...but eventually the star runs out of fuseable elements / USG runs out of rhetorical fuel (the exhaustion of the elites in Moldbug framing), and one day ... there's nothing left to prop the edifice up.
and it all comes crashing down
The star comes crashing down
...but eventually the star runs out of fuseable elements / USG runs out of rhetorical fuel (the exhaustion of the elites in Moldbug framing), and one day ... there's nothing left to prop the edifice up.
and it all comes crashing down
The star comes crashing down
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When the stellar mass free-falls all the way to the bottom, accelerating all the way, it hits bottom / smashes into itself, and like a cavitation bubble collapsing, the deceleration is HARD.
Suddenly there's a ton more energy, and temperatures spike to to insane levels.
When the stellar mass free-falls all the way to the bottom, accelerating all the way, it hits bottom / smashes into itself, and like a cavitation bubble collapsing, the deceleration is HARD.
Suddenly there's a ton more energy, and temperatures spike to to insane levels.
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All of this oxygen and carbon and lithium and iron is squeezed together so hot and so dense that a whole new wave of nuclear reactions take place. Strange and weird reactions that "can't" take place because they require so much energy to happen... do.
This is nucleogenesis
All of this oxygen and carbon and lithium and iron is squeezed together so hot and so dense that a whole new wave of nuclear reactions take place. Strange and weird reactions that "can't" take place because they require so much energy to happen... do.
This is nucleogenesis
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This is the process by which basically every atom in the universe that's heavier than iron was created. Every lead wheel weight, every tank of argon welding gas, every neon sign -all of those atoms were born in the death of a start - the insane pressure cooker last seconds.
This is the process by which basically every atom in the universe that's heavier than iron was created. Every lead wheel weight, every tank of argon welding gas, every neon sign -all of those atoms were born in the death of a start - the insane pressure cooker last seconds.
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This is the final part of my analogy.
When, in 5 or 30 years, the Cathedral has burned through the absolute last of its legitimacy - when it screams "freedom" and people laugh, when it yells "but the roads" and they laugh, when it screams "racism" and they laugh - it falls
This is the final part of my analogy.
When, in 5 or 30 years, the Cathedral has burned through the absolute last of its legitimacy - when it screams "freedom" and people laugh, when it yells "but the roads" and they laugh, when it screams "racism" and they laugh - it falls
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The fall takes 200 or 300 years to start, and then lasts 15 minutes.
When all of the rubble, falling from insane heights, hits each other, pressures rise, and strange new elements are created.
This is how the atoms that make up the Earth were formed.
And this ...
The fall takes 200 or 300 years to start, and then lasts 15 minutes.
When all of the rubble, falling from insane heights, hits each other, pressures rise, and strange new elements are created.
This is how the atoms that make up the Earth were formed.
And this ...
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is how I think that the basic elements of the next generation of societies will be created as well.
There's an interesting theory I read recently ( maybe in The Narrow Corridor ? https://www.amazon.com/Narrow-Corridor-States-Societies-Liberty-ebook/dp/B07MCRLV2K maybe somewhere else?) that modern Europe was created by ...
is how I think that the basic elements of the next generation of societies will be created as well.
There's an interesting theory I read recently ( maybe in The Narrow Corridor ? https://www.amazon.com/Narrow-Corridor-States-Societies-Liberty-ebook/dp/B07MCRLV2K maybe somewhere else?) that modern Europe was created by ...
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(or, rather the atoms that later created modern Europe) were created by the collapse of the Roman empire and the fact that it was overrun by the Germanic tribes, thus fusing the democratic principles of the tribes with the bureaucratic norms of Rome.
(Tangential: I learned
(or, rather the atoms that later created modern Europe) were created by the collapse of the Roman empire and the fact that it was overrun by the Germanic tribes, thus fusing the democratic principles of the tribes with the bureaucratic norms of Rome.
(Tangential: I learned
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yesterday, during a wiki wander, that the last meeting of the Roman senate met in 603 AD, even tho the last emperor had been deposed over a century earlier
yesterday, during a wiki wander, that the last meeting of the Roman senate met in 603 AD, even tho the last emperor had been deposed over a century earlier
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but back to the analogy: I think that the crash of the Cathedral is going to fuse into existence crazy new elements.
Exciting times.
If I'm right (and I make no claims) then the steady acceleration of the rhetorical fuel depletion means we'll all see this in our lifetimes
but back to the analogy: I think that the crash of the Cathedral is going to fuse into existence crazy new elements.
Exciting times.
If I'm right (and I make no claims) then the steady acceleration of the rhetorical fuel depletion means we'll all see this in our lifetimes
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http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~ryden/ast162_4/notes15.html
For instance, consider the stages in the life of a 25 Msun star:
Hydrogen fusion lasts 7 million years
Helium fusion lasts 500,000 years
Carbon fusion lasts 600 years
Neon fusion lasts 1 year
Oxygen fusion lasts 6 months
Silicon fusion lasts 1 day
http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~ryden/ast162_4/notes15.html
For instance, consider the stages in the life of a 25 Msun star:
Hydrogen fusion lasts 7 million years
Helium fusion lasts 500,000 years
Carbon fusion lasts 600 years
Neon fusion lasts 1 year
Oxygen fusion lasts 6 months
Silicon fusion lasts 1 day
