Breakthrough Jet Engine Operates Without Moving Parts

Image: Wave Engine Corp

Wave Engine Corporation has successfully demonstrated a jet engine that has no moving parts. The new engine is a modern version of a pulsejet, meaning it creates thrust by intermittent pulses instead of continuous combustion. Instead of rotating machinery parts it maneuvers with pressure waves. The engine was successfully tested in March in an unmanned flight during which it produced about 220 Newton of force, roughly equivalent to the thrust produced by a small leaf blower. This technology could make jet engines less complex, and thereby cheaper and more durable. More info here.

This episode of Science News covers fossil fuels. In this video I provide context on a podcast that Tucker Carlson recently did with climate change denier Dr. Willie Soon. It is mainly about the abiogenic petroleum theory, that is, the question whether the crust of planet Earth contains hydrocarbons that do not come from fossils, but I also have some comments on what Willie Soon said about the honesty of climate scientists. You can take the quiz here.

ChatGPT is a Bullsh*tter, Philosophers Argue

In a recent paper, a group of philosophers argue that if ChatGPT rambles along and produces long strings of falsehoods, it neither hallucinates nor lies, but produces bullshit. They explain that a liar has an intention to deceive whereas a bullshitter just does not care about the truth. Personally, I think that the term “hallucination” still works better since it suggests an absence of agency. Paper here.

Hydrogen Plans are Unrealistic, E.U.’s Fact-Checkers Confirm

The European Court of Auditors – the E.U.’s Fact Checking Body – had a close look at the E.U. Commission’s plans for a hydrogen economy. It found that “renewable hydrogen targets… were driven by political will rather than being based on robust analyses” and that the Commission “set unrealistic hydrogen production and import targets - the EU is not on track for achieving them.” No one who has been paying attention is surprised by this finding. I just recently talked about hydrogen nonsense here. The full report of the E.U. Auditors is here.

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