/sci/ - Science & Math

Science is a method of objectively explaining observable phenomena. It isn't science's obligation to "solve" political or societal problems.

Science is a fag, nature will fix it

After the singularity, the AI will give us all the answers we need.

Should happen in about 20 years.

>>7303450
Wait, it's not?

>>7303444
[citation needed]

>>7303444
>we will never run out of copper because copper can be made from other metals.

[This is what economist actually believe]

>>7303462
Do you seriously believe our mines will last more than a few decades if china and india and brazil and africa start consuming like USA?

>>7303474
I have no data. I know essentially nothing about our mines, current known metal reserves (proven and unproven), consumption rates, or projected increases in consumption.

I cannot draw conclusions of any kind from no data.

Thus, [citation needed]

>>7303476
http://www.maryknollogc.org/resources-peak-oil-economy-future-fewer-natural-resources

>>7303476
The problem with this question is that you can almost always go to lower quality sources at the expense of more energy to process them.

In the 1800s we were essentially extracting pure copper. Now were down to using ores with a yield less than 2%.

The lower the % content, the larger the total resource. Eventually you get tot he point where the most economical option is extraction from sea water.

So we will never run out of a particular resource, it will just become to expensive for the extraction to be worth it.

>>7303490
Yeah, petrol will never run out because the last tons of it will be so expensive they wont be worthy to be extracted

>>7303483
Fossil fuels are a special case, in that the point of extracting them is to get energy.

We will NEVER run out of oil. We will eventually get tot he point where it takes more energy to extract oil than can be recovered by burning it.

Peak oil is a very serious issue, and it gets almost no press compared to Global Warming.

>>7303495
>>7303497
you slowpoked me you son of a bitch!

since we're posting graphs

>>7303444
>our natural resources (mines)

all are not active (aka: safe to operate)

real world application: china just purchased several inactive gold mines in lieu of dollar collapse

>recycling will solve some of this

http://www.hp-offers.com/

china recycles shoes

>>7303483
scare tactic

>implying lack of abundance

>>7303444
We might manage to start some rudimentary asteroid mining in the near decades, which could help solve shortages on certain materials, especially metals in the platinum group and fissible material, like uranium.
Sorry for being vague, I don't have the articles and facts.

>>7303531
>asteroid mining

>>7303531
>asteroid mining
>I don't have the articles and facts
ye

>>7303545
i got hemorrhoids on my assteroid

>>7303545
Asteroid mining is feasible if we can find a more efficient way of providing objects with escape velocity.

>>7303562
like the emdrive lol

>>7303545
>>7303542
It's all in the "might", it's a possibility. It's not the same as saying we will be FTL traveling in 20 years, or le infinite energy hoax. If enough budget allocated to the matter, we could move on from the launching bottleck through sheer capital investment (launches are and will always be the most expensive part of space explarotion). If certain materials become rare enough, then their price could make it profitable to make a mining expedition on a NEA, of which there is a large amount, but only a couple of them come close to the earth sooner than, say, 200 years. http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/neo/groups.html..
The other problem is that we don't know jack shit about their resources, which means we would need to outfit some unmaned expeditions to them beforehand to determine which ones have the metals we need.

>>7303574
>The other problem is that we don't know jack shit about their resources, which means we would need to outfit some unmaned expeditions to them beforehand to determine which ones have the metals we need.

live long and prosfer

What about fusion mang

>>7303531

>put my space suit and my hardhat on
>hop on a rocket and travel to the asteroid mine
>work for decades or hundreds of years until the asteroid's orbit brings it back near earth
>sell all my ores and be filthy rich
>also i am dead

Good plan.

>>7303678
>wait for asteroid's orbit to bring it back near earth

Fuck that, I'll ride that bitch back to Earth myself, steering it with thrusters and shit. Yeehaw!

>>7303707

One solution is to use a mass driver. Fire loads of finished ore towards earth so that you can get piz-aid, eject the mine tailings out the back to provide thrust, either to stay in place or travel around.

Not sure what the giant catcher's mitt to grab all the incoming loads of ore at freefall looks like though.