Having a blast

So, it's getting kind of late and I thought I'd get to bed a bit earlier for a change but, just when I was about to turn in, I hit THE jackpot. Keyword: physics. So there's no way I'm going to sleep any time soon :)

I "discovered" a large patch of physics courses' notes that are really comprehensive and (for me) a lot easier to understand than those summaries our teacher gives us. Go figure really. Guess I'm just into different methods.

Atomenergie - was, wie und wo?

Zuerst kommen wir zur Definition. Was ist Atomenergie, wie und wo wird sie benutzt? Atomenergie bedeutet die großtechnische Erzeugung von Sekundärenergie, wie Elektrischem Strom, aus Kernreaktionen, die auf drei Typen, Kernspaltung, Kernfusion und radioaktiver Zerfall, aufgeteilt sind. Da eine stabile Kerfusionsmethode noch in der Entwicklung steht und der radioaktiver Zerfall hohe Risiken enthält, ist die Kernspaltung der meistangelegte und auch sicherste Reaktionstyp und fast alle (434 aus 436) großtechinsche Reaktoren sind thermisch. Als Kraftstoffe werden am häufigsten Uranium-235 (gemischt mit Uranium-238, das Natururan) und Plutonium-239 benutzt, das Letztere ist auch der Hauptwerkstoff in Atomwaffen. Die radioaktiven Nebenprodukte der Kernspaltung wie Neptunium und Americium akkumulieren sich in den Reaktoren an und müssen regulär entsorgt werden. Kernreaktoren finden verbreitete Anwendung nicht nur in ziviles Energieproduktion sondern auch im Militärischen Bereich.

Da es schon fast 1 Uhr ist...

Im Fall einer technischen Störung können die Folgen drastisch sein. Die Kernspaltungsprozesse die in den Reaktoren stattfinden, setzen große Energiemaßen frei und lösen damit sehr viel Wärme aus. Deshalb stützen die Reaktoren von Atomkraftwerken sich auf das Kühlsystem und, falls das Kühlsystem des Reaktors versagt, ist der Reaktor zu jeder Veränderung innerhalb des Systems hochempfindlich. Falls die automatische Schnellabschaltung nicht funktioniert, triggert das Versagen des Kühlsystems die Überhitzung des Reaktors und könnte eine unkontrollierte Kernschmeltze und Explosion zur Folge haben, was zu einer weiträumigen radioaktiven Kontaminierung führen könnte.
usw. geht es (mit mein oberflächliches Analysieren von die positiven und negativen Seiten der Atomenergie).

Having to (over)simplify explanations while I'd rather go into details makes me feel moronic :S It's almost like.. "Look, it's a nuclear reactor. It overheats. Boom." No further information needed.

Chancen und Risiken der Atomenergie

+ die einfache Abfallregelung
+ die fast fehlende Emission der Treibhausgase
+ die Effizienz
+ die Betriebs- & Ausfallsicherheit
+ die permanente Forschungs- & Entwicklungstätigkeit

– der radioaktive Abfall
– die Gefahr möglicher Betriebsstörungen
– der Verbrauch von nicht erneuerbaren Ressourcen
– die Produktion von Atomwaffen & die Möglichkeit von Terroranschlägen
– die Kosten

So ist es.

Getting into MSO2007

I upgraded my Office to 2007 already in spring, mostly because the old version that I had was lagging and had some bugs in it. During the summer months I didn't really get the chance to try it out, for I didn't spend much time at home but, since September marked the beginning of my last year in high-school and large quantities of new assignments like presentations, essays and papers, I've spent the last few months experimenting with the new appearance, functions and templates. So I'm going to list a few reasons for why I really like the new Office :) Just for the fun of it!

1. The new easy-to-use interface: everything is grouped and it started saving a lot of time once I had grown accustomed to it.

Word and Powerpoint look really good and is totally user-friendly. It didn't take me more than some 20 minutes to get the whole hang of the functions I use.

2. Template/design previews: sometimes I like it shiny, sometimes plain but sometimes I have yet to figure it out. The built-in package includes numerous templates and the preview option allows you to check out various styles without having to make any changes to your document.

3. Chart & table tools: not only is the design of charts & tables and the arranging of data made a lot easier - it also spares tons of time. The preview function only adds to the comfort.

I did it!

So, finally it's done. I wrote the aptitude test to Oxford Physics. I actually didn't think it to be as easy as it was. Yes, I expected something worse :D In any case I think I did just fine and passed the 50% landmark. Now I just have to sit and wait for the next 4 weeks or something like that until they start sending out the interview invitations. The long wait is really frustrating but not nearly as frustrating as the fact that I'm unable to attend next year. Bleh. Well, at least I'll know whether to consider myself Oxford-material or not :)

To any of you who have yet to find out - I decided to put it on hold because I really need to consider a few things and I can't just jump into something of that big importance as a contract with some research facility/company that's going to bind me to them for several years. So I'm going to take International Relations in Tallinn University of Technology. I know, Marit is going to be a Bachelor of International Relations sounds kind of weird to me as well.. But it's probably the only thing that accounts as a tolerable choice for me in Estonia. I'd never-ever study a science here, it'd just be a waste.

I know I'm being rather brief here but I'll get to detailed explanations some time soon. I've got a few things to take care of first, though. So I'd expect an update in a few weeks time or so.

Remembering all that has been

Introducing you the superb Kieran Hebden, best known for his electronic solo project Four Tet :) Thanks for the coolest moments in London :)

I've listened to electronic music for ages already and I've seen a lot of it but Four Tet is something really special. Kudos to Kieran for creating such amazing pieces!

Craig Ferguson...

...on workspace jealousy and the juicy role of Fisherman no. 1