[p2p-research] [Open Manufacturing] Fwd: there is no energy crisis

[M. Fioretti]

On Wed, Feb 18, 2009 00:47:32 AM -0800, marc fawzi wrote:

> The part about the world running out of Indium and Gallium smells
> funny to me, based on the following:
>
> 1. ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) is [used in] billions of other laptops
> ...
> 2. Gallium Arsenide is used in most IR and near-IR laser
> diodes... used in all CD and DVD players today, billions of them
>
> 3. Gallium Arsenide is used in most very high frequency FETs (field
> effect transistors) which are in wide spread use in
> telecommunications...

in other words, "how could we be running out of these materials in
~10/15 years if we are making such a large use of them today"???? Is
this your counter-argument, ie the reason why you find funny that part
of the critique?

> I hardly have any credentials in the solar or semiconductor space
> (besides helping students at Northeastern U. design a solar racer)
> but had worked with lasers and flat panel display tech at the R&D
> stage back in the early 90s when making a blue laser entailed IR
> beam doubling via birefringent nonlinear crystals (a $100,000 setup
> at least) and we used ITO in fabricating flexible displays and
> architectural lighting.

Did you, in order to fabricate displays for those projects, have to
study in depth ITO world reserves, or came into in-depth studies on
the same subject? If yes, what were the results? If not, how is that
activity of yours relevant?

> So one German scientist said we're running out of Indium and/or
> Gallium.... What does it mean to base a conclusion on what one
> scientist's statements?

On this you're right, of course . But the arguments and data you
provided so far contain nothing that can actually counter that
statement from that scientist (does his nationality matter, btw???),
do they?

Speaking of efficient use of resources: for heaven's sake, dear list
members, please do learn to quote email properly. Don't retransmit to
many people, every time, KBytes and KBytes of text they had already
received. On a global scale, this is one, not the biggest of course,
reasons which keep consumption of raw materials for networks and
drives higher than necessary. On a local scale: even if there were
only one member on this list who pays Internet connectivity per byte
or time... would it be polite to force that person to pay more just
because of carelessness?

Marco
http://mfioretti.net

-- 
Your own civil rights and the quality of your life heavily depend on how
software is used *around* you:            http://digifreedom.net/node/84