I've seen the boob window rationalized as a feminist statement.

Most NTR designs are based on a fission reactor, not an RTG core. It's a function of how much power you want your reactor/engine to have.

I've seen some work in using a semiconductor to produce energy from charged particles produced by a nuclear reaction (nuclear decay or fusion proton). The main difficulty I've heard about has been damage to the cell. Alphavoltaics are an on going area of research, that illustrate what I'm talking about:

It's actually really hard to generate a nuclear explosion. You need a really fast drive to prompt supercritical or it spreads and melts before it can explode; it doesn't happen by accident. Even Chernobyl wasn't a nuclear detonation. These reactors have a mix of fissile material and other medium to make nuclear…

They engineer the reactors to withstand detonation of the fueled rocket and land intact. That's not to say it's impossible for one to break up (there is always the potential for events outside the design basis), but they wouldn't launch an RTG let alone a reactor unless the DoE was confident the release of…

see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betavoltaics

Shielding is actually one of the few benefits of betavoltaics, as they use isotopes that generate charged particles, so it doesn't take much (Aluminum foil is sufficient) to stop them, and the x-rays generated are weak.

It is not just a semantic point - as long as we talk about rape in terms of a product of lust then society can continue to blame victims for inciting their rape by engendering lust in their attackers. Rape uses sex to assert power, not the other way around. Until society internalizes that, what has been termed rape…

As a WI native and UW grad, I can't tell you how unsurprised I am to see Madison as a dark red square in an anemic sea of, "meh."

I'm missing something.

Taco party wins, because I can describe parties as either an Oktoberfest or a Cinco de Mayo. There's no seasonal celebration that is stereotypically associated clams that I can reference.

These Russian dashboard cams are simply getting out of control!

That's a really interesting concept. Any idea if it has spread to other cities, or is it just a Portland project?

It's not the only good thing.

Then we can share in our amusement, though I wish I observed this reaction more frequently. When an extrovert gets butthurt over a generalization that doesn't reflect on extroverts the introverts should point out:

It's not pointless if my wife prefers it. I let her do it rather than dislocate my shoulder trying to do it myself.

Thank you. I have to confess this was surprisingly rewarding. Partially because I'm a language geek, and partially because I enjoyed watching the vitriol become exhausted during the exchange.

In my mind, it's not particularly outrage worthy (Canadians - polite, even when sexist!), but to my mind it is a touch problematic when you couldn't imagine the same being said with the gender swapped, i.e. would he have told a boy, "...you're a great cook. You're going to make a wonderful husband for somebody"? …

Sure, pejorative can be an adjective as well as a noun, but that doesn't make your usage any more correct. A pejorative is a word or phrase that expresses of contempt or disapproval. The word pejorative is either used to describe the meaning of word (adjective) or to refer to a word (noun). Having contempt (verb)…

I'm having loads of fun arguing with him, but I'm the sort that listens to 'A Way With Words' on NPR. He's being resoundingly obtuse, but that is apparently his pejorative.