Re:Researchers switch from helium to hydrogen weather balloons
by guenthert on Wednesday May 10, 2023 @03:24PM
(#35892228)
'cause that would be irrelevant if the objective is to minimize the use of limited helium resources on earth.
Or so I thought, yet they seem to be concerned about the transportation cost and greenhouse gas emission of transporting helium containers to the station.
Re:Researchers switch from helium to hydrogen weather balloons
by TechnicalVault on Wednesday May 10, 2023 @04:41PM
(#35893199)
Unless they have a power purchase agreement then that would depend entirely on whatever the local grid mix is at the time. Bear in mind researchers aren't usually the ones running the physical facilities in big labs. There will be a whole ops department leading that, folks build a career on that.
Re:Researchers switch from helium to hydrogen weather balloons
by _spduchamp on Wednesday May 10, 2023 @07:01PM
(#35894655)
I once worked a short stint at a company here in Toronto that was making weather probes for an airport in Japan. I did calibration, testing, and sealing little holes in the styrofoam enclosures. These probes had sensors, battery, microcontroller, and a radio. We made many thousands of these things that would be sent up on weather balloons and would eventually be e-waste landing in the Pacific. The whole time, as I saw boxes of these probes stacking up I was thinking about this constant stream of e-waste. It blew my mind that these sophisticated little devices were single use electronics, and I kept thinking that there really must be a better way to do these measurements.
Re:Researchers switch from helium to hydrogen weather balloons
by jfengel on Thursday May 11, 2023 @02:36PM
(#35906342)
Not really. The dangers of hydrogen are exaggerated. The famous one is really more about burning fabric than burning hydrogen. It's no more worrisome than large quantities of gasoline, which we deal with all the time.
And even if there is a problem, it's a weather balloon. It's designed to be disposable. It floats away from people. If it is anywhere near people, it's because there's a leak -- which means the gas is already escaping, and will rapidly be gone.
Or so I thought, yet they seem to be concerned about the transportation cost and greenhouse gas emission of transporting helium containers to the station.
Baffled.
And even if there is a problem, it's a weather balloon. It's designed to be disposable. It floats away from people. If it is anywhere near people, it's because there's a leak -- which means the gas is already escaping, and will rapidly be gone.