What are we mining on the Moon?

Originally posted by disownedsky

Originally posted by cpdaman

GOLD is a super-conductor as well at least when it is heated under high temperatures for over a minute or so.

That so? Got some literature on that?

I say it ain't so.

Think that's correct. They use it in microchips.

Originally posted by thedman
Solar winds over the eons have deposited HE3 in the lunar soil and can be released by heating the soil.

Yeah, yeah. Helium 3. Whoop dee doo. Even if we someday manage to cobble together a working fusion reactor, is it still going to be economically profitable to go all the way to the Moon to get a little Helium 3 to power it? Not only do you have to build the reactor (or reactors), which costs a huge amount of money, you also have to build an entire, very costly lunar mining and transportation system to get the stuff and haul it all the way back to Earth.

Here's a better idea. Huge solar power cells in orbit that convert and transmit power directly to Earth via high-efficiency microwave lasers onto collectors in various deserts. The technology is relatively simple and doesn't require anybody to build massive fusion reactors. Or how about some nice, simple tidal power generators. No going to space required.

The point is, there are already plenty of ways we can harvest the natural power all around us -- sun, wind, surf, geothermal, biological, etc. -- to create electricity that are a heck of a lot cheaper than fusion reactors and lunar mining. And except for a few wacky science experiments, the market will determine which methods get used and which ones get dumpsterized. Fusion reactors. Feh.

[edit on 19-7-2007 by SuicideVirus]

Originally posted by Chorlton

Originally posted by elevatedone
we should refrain from posting crap that we know isn't true...

There is no cheese and milk on the moon, you know it, I know it and everyone knows it.
Jeez, when does school start again...

So
You know and I know and everyone knows there aint a breathable atmosphere on the moon.
You know and I know and everyone knows there aint any structures on the moon
You know and I know and everyone knows that the moon was not 'put there' by another civilisation

Yet, people happily discuss that?

Now back to the moon. What about the Buttermilk?


Now you're spoiling my fun. No cheese on the moon? What a rip off!! Cancel my ticket!!

Originally posted by thefatlady

Think that's correct. They use it in microchips.

They use gold for contacts because it is highly corrosion resistant and a good conductor. It is NOT a superconductor. That is another beast entirely.

Originally posted by GAOTU789

Oh and also Nasa doesn't allow for external peer reviews of it's work.

That's simply not true at all. Having scientific results published in peer-reviewed journals is the standard NASA shoots for and nearly always hits. Whole issues of some journals will be devoted to science results from a single mission, and lal those articles are peer-reviewed by anonymous jurors.

Originally posted by thefatlady

Think that's correct. They use it in microchips.

You use gold wires for bond-out, where you attach wires from the chip's pad ring to whatever, but it's not a superconductor.

It's a good conductor, it's soft and can be easily bonded to silicon with an ultrasonic wedge bonder, and it doesn't corrode or form weird intermetallics.

However, they also use copper and aluminum wires, and the metallization layers on the chips are nearly always aluminum.

can someone give the thread by john leer?

sorry new to this.....

thanks so much