And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Say what you want about the Russians, they take their ice-breaking seriously. If I recall, the USCG is down to one icebreaker, and it dates back about 50 years.
I was at McMurdo Station in Antarctica in 2006. The ice in the turning basin was about a meter thick and needed to be cleared before resupply ships could get in. The Polar Star (USCG breaker) couldn't break through but the Russians did. The USCG design is to shunt diesel fuel forward and aft for added weight which presses the bow down to break the ice; the further the icebreaker travels the less fuel (i.e. weight) it has for this process. McMurdo is 2400 miles from Christchurch, NZ. The Russian design is to use sea water for weight, so their breakers are equally effective regardless of the distance to the ice. As Aggie mentioned, they take ice breaking seriously.
very impressive... but ...didja ever stop to think that smaller chunks of ice melt faster than large chunks...provide less cooling... and maybe, just maybe opening up the air to the warmer sea water under the ice is contributing to global warming?? just asking for a friend.
Say what you want about the Russians, they take their ice-breaking seriously. If I recall, the USCG is down to one icebreaker, and it dates back about 50 years.
ReplyDeleteI was at McMurdo Station in Antarctica in 2006. The ice in the turning basin was about a meter thick and needed to be cleared before resupply ships could get in. The Polar Star (USCG breaker) couldn't break through but the Russians did. The USCG design is to shunt diesel fuel forward and aft for added weight which presses the bow down to break the ice; the further the icebreaker travels the less fuel (i.e. weight) it has for this process. McMurdo is 2400 miles from Christchurch, NZ. The Russian design is to use sea water for weight, so their breakers are equally effective regardless of the distance to the ice. As Aggie mentioned, they take ice breaking seriously.
ReplyDeleteRooskies. I hope they built the reactor better than the one at Chernobyl.
ReplyDeleteWhat's nuclear ice?? LOL
ReplyDeletevery impressive... but ...didja ever stop to think that smaller chunks of ice melt
ReplyDeletefaster than large chunks...provide less cooling... and maybe, just maybe opening up the air to the warmer sea water under the ice is contributing to global warming??
just asking for a friend.
Tell your friend to go pound some ice.
Delete