Welcome to the not-quite-ready-for-prime-time schedule for OryCon 44! Seriously - we’re still hard at work on the schedule, but we want to give you an idea of what wonders await you in just a few more weeks. Please check back frequently for changes and additions, and see you in October!
Where are we heading? What are novel industrial applications for 3D printing? While all the things you have become downloadable files you print at home? Any tips from those already printing to those interested?
If all our food is made from soy or algae someday, will it have to be bland? If we create machines that can magic up anything, will they only be used to recreate existing foods? Why does no one ever have food intolerances or allergies in sf?
Compatibility between space systems of different countries and different contractors seems like a no-brainer of emergency planning, but Boeing astronauts can't go back in SpaceX capsules, let alone Russian, Chinese, or whatever future Indian, ESA, and others might use. We do have an international docking adaptor, but that's only a first step. Can we evolve international standards to make this better and safer?
What is our best hope for a human mission to Mars? Are there any governments or private entities planning a mission with intent to execute in ten years or less? Is it a waste of time? What cultural change is required to support it as a real possibility?
Greg Barr, Wolf Read, and G. David Nordley In 1993 an international team, headed by Martyn Fogg and Greg Barr, embarked upon a three-year project that produced a wondrously rich and exotic extraterrestrial world, Epona. Larry Niven remarked "... I've never seen a playground this size!" Three of the participants will review this CONTACT project and some of its spin-offs.
We made it to Mars! What now? What are the challenges of long term occupation of Mars? Do we currently have the technology to sustain a base? What are the base inhabitants in for?
How much is there to learn before this is possible? Do we have the technology? What are the tech barriers? If there was a will to do it, and an entity to finance it, how long would it take?
This performance displays the brilliantly colored light created by High Voltage Arcs, Sparks and Corona Glow. This is man-made lightning and thunder, only slightly tamed, and is brought close to people so they can see the beauty in these arcs. Demonstrations are 15-20 minutes and showcase the arcs generated by 3 different Tesla Coils and 10 other types of HV apparatus with arc lengths up to 3 feet long. Intense Electromagnetic fields are created, so in an abundance of caution, people with implanted medical electronics should not attend. The Good Dr. Professor Anderson, a physicist and engineer, is a Maker of Tesla Coils with arcs up to 7 feet long. He is fascinated by the beauty of the colored light from the Arcs, and feels the Intensity and deadly Attraction of being (almost) nose to nose with 500,000 volts of electricity.
This performance displays the brilliantly colored light created by High Voltage Arcs, Sparks and Corona Glow. This is man-made lightning and thunder, only slightly tamed, and is brought close to people so they can see the beauty in these arcs. Demonstrations are 15-20 minutes and showcase the arcs generated by 3 different Tesla Coils and 10 other types of HV apparatus with arc lengths up to 3 feet long. Intense Electromagnetic fields are created, so in an abundance of caution, people with implanted medical electronics should not attend. The Good Dr. Professor Anderson, a physicist and engineer, is a Maker of Tesla Coils with arcs up to 7 feet long. He is fascinated by the beauty of the colored light from the Arcs, and feels the Intensity and deadly Attraction of being (almost) nose to nose with 500,000 volts of electricity.
To truly move to renewable energy, we must combine wind, solar, and possibly wave or tide. What are the best and latest developments in this world. Who leads the way in each? What are the cleanest sources of energy? What are the downsides of each?
In a clean energy future, how big a role does nuclear play? Should it replace every other way to generate energy? Should we keep some natural gas? What are the barriers, and how do we break them? What kinds of reactors should we look at?
Any future where we are primarily relying on renewable energy will depend on storage. What are the latest trends in battery technology? Should we be thinking in terms of massive central storage, or distributed storage in each person's home? What about using EVs as storage when not driving? What are the environmental costs? How smart does our grid need to be?