Yep. In the Tao of Bugs Bunny, “Maroon” is a bad thing. I wonder what that makes the Cardinal?

Jeff:

Yep. Chicago walked away from big-time football. Which is why Notre Dame will never, never, never beat Chicago in foorball (I think the all-time series is 4-0, but I’m not sure).

Didn’t UC abandon their football program in 1935 or whenever they quit the Big 10?

I didn’t know they never lost to Notre Dame. They kicked the crap out of us. I remember when we had that four year losing streak. When you combine NU’s football program with the Cubs, no wonder so many citizens of that fine city want to just throw up their hands in despair.

Jeff

Jeff

JSO: I always thought, from watching Bugs Bunny cartoons, that being a maroon was a bad thing.

Nah. Not a Maroon. I’m a Wahoo. My son is a Maroon, though.

Speaking of football, you do realize that Chicago has never lost to Notre Dame, don’t you? I don’t think NW can say that.

Jeff

I could post a bunch of Univ. of Chicago jokes, but I’d probably get kicked off this site. However we used to joke that the phrase “The University of Chicago Social Life” is an oxymoron.

Indeed, there is a friendly rivalry between the two schools, and a lot of cooperation between them. In fact, they were going to merge back in the 30′s until NU put the matter to rest.

I have a funny story to relate. My father, who was also a NU alum…)a big alum, if you know what I mean), used to always joke that when the Wildcats went to the Rose Bowl, we’d be sitting on the 50 yard line. Of course, nobody ever thought that would happen until the season of 1995 when we won the big 10. My dad had to pay up and take my sister, also an alum, my mom(also an alum), and myself. We didn’t get to sit on the 50, but those 40 yard seats on the 50th row were pretty nice. I hope to be able to see us go there again in my lifetime.

I respect all of the fine academics that come out of UC, but will gleefully engage in a little snarkiness with my buddies who are products of that monastic environment.

Jeff

The boys at the Univ of Chicago had to borrow half of our staff to bring off the reaction under Stagg field.

Please don’t misunderstand. I believe there is dignity in all work, and what those Northwestern staffers did with brooms and dustpans was nothing short of miraculous.

Your honesty is the hallmark of a confident intelligent human being.

…*hat tip*

Back in the early 80′s, I basically scammed my way through the program. My advisor and committee didn’t have a clue about what research I was doing. I got a bunch of undergrads to do the actual lab work, which I designed, and I took most of the credit. The faculty didn’t grasp what I was doing, and they let me slide by because they didn’t want to show their true ignorance of my field. My defense was a joke, as nobody had a clue of what questions to ask. My real aim wasn’t to get a Phd, but to waste a couple of years in grad school while my lovely wife finished up at the Art Institute. The PhD was just a byproduct of those times. In reality, I spent way too much time playing poker in illegal card rooms, at the track, and trading wheat for 3.75 hours a day in the wheat pit. I did find out that I was
pretty good at multi-tasking.

Thanks for the hat tip anyways.

Jeff

The boys at the Univ of Chicago had to borrow half of our staff to bring off the reaction under Stagg field. The only good thing about the University of Chicago is their economics dept. Maybe I’m a little prejudiced, but University of Chicago….ugg:)

Tritium works better than deuterium because of the atomic cross section and the resultant yield of energy from the reaction. Although it is officially classified, the US arsenal uses tritium.

Actually, you’re right about the triggers, but they’re sketchy on any fission bomb and that’s where the problem is. A good trigger is necessary for the reaction speed to accelerate properly, lest you have just a smoldering gob of U-235/plutonium melting all the way to China. Also, the shape of the reactant is important, and that’s very classified. The tritium was for the resulting fusion reaction. As I said, I never did it, but seriously gave it thought. There’s so much official disinformation about the actual engineering of nuclear weapons, that it’s hard to try to figure out what is the wheat and what is the chaff.

As for the goading, you’re right and I’m wrong. I shouldn’t have done it but sometimes I’m just so bad. I’ll try not to be so obnoxious in the future.

PHd in Chemistry…*hat tip*

Translation:Respect

Great line.

…and I am currently reading my way through the Saturday papers (to include that panderer to Middle England – The Daily Mail – which in spite of it being jumped all over by the left does from time to time post interesting articles).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=494612&in_page_id=1766&ito=1490

Now going to re-read your piece.

A few things.

1. Why would you design a bomb with tritium? My understanding is that the timing on the tritium infusion has to be so precise that you need very special triggers to pull it off. Where would you get those?

2. Your attempt to goad some of those who comment on this board is beneath you. Really. You’re better than that. Yes, I know that many on this board understand little about economics and the way that some things have to be if the US, or any other economy, is to work. Don’t you think it would be better to try to explain things to them than to mock them?

3. If “NU” means “Northwestern University,” then it’s pretty clear to me why you couldn’t design a functioning bomb. Surely, the kids at the University of Chicago could do it .

Jeff