BP Oil Spill

[GudEnuf]

Try going back to school you might actually learn something.

X % is a fraction. Subtracting it from what remains will never reach zero!

 

[Knowdafish]

Try going back to school you might actually learn something.

X % is a fraction. Subtracting it from what remains will never reach zero!

You are basing your assumptions on incorrect logic! % is a fraction, True! A fraction times anything is a number! Correct? That number, no matter what it is, minus the whole reduces the whole! Correct? Your logic is not correct. Why? Eventually that percentage reaches 100%, as in 100% reduction, as in 100% gone! I've had more math than you'll ever forget!

Math is one thing. Logic is another!

Sounds like you are a believer in the theorem of 1=0 as taught in most geometry classes as well as other mathematical fallacies!

 

[Lissaspence]

No, the problem is that the leak cannot be stopped until the relief wells have been completed and the well sealed from the bottom up. The failure of the top kill procedure lends notion to the fact that the underlying well casing is fractured - that is, the well structure supporting the riser, BOP, etc. This is also supported by the fact that BP is allowing more oil to leak out of the pipe, in order to relieve pressure on the damaged well walls below the sea floor. As the oil flows though cracks in the well walls, it slowly but surely erodes them away, and eventually they will collapse entirely. If you've noticed, the ROV's now sport inclinometers to assess the integrity of the well structure - and for good reason. If the structure collapses before the relief wells are complete, then the leak will be literally unstoppable. If this were to happen, the underground well would bleed out until the pressures equalize, potentially spilling 1.5+ billion barrels of oil into the gulf.

This is why you can't just "plug the hole".


On a side note, oil that evaporates releases toxic (cancer causing) benzene gas. Additionally, as oil is broken down by microbes, it depletes the oxygen supply in the water, making it uninhabitable for other marine life.

Oh My God! I though this was scary and sad before I read your comment. That literally gave me chills....Lets just hope the well doesn't collapes then. What happens if the relief wells are completed and then the well collapes? It will still leak? Will it ever be fixable if it does collapes? Where do you get your information?

 

[Lissaspence]

You are basing your assumptions on incorrect logic! % is a fraction, True! A fraction times anything is a number! Correct? That number, no matter what it is, minus the whole reduces the whole! Correct? Your logic is not correct. Why? Eventually that percentage reaches 100%, as in 100% reduction, as in 100% gone! I've had more math than you'll ever forget!

Math is one thing. Logic is another!

Sounds like you are a believer in the theorem of 1=0 as taught in most geometry classes as well as other mathematical fallacies!

Either way guys this spill far exceeds the Exxon Valdez spill:

Wereley gave an in-depth presentation on his research with the potential size of the BP oil spill during the Science on Tap forum. It gave the community an opportunity to ask questions directly to someone who has been working with the government studying the spill.
During Wereley's presentation at the Science on Tap forum, he compared the BP oil spill to the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which spilled an estimated 250,000 barrels of crude oil into the ocean in 1989.
"Worst case, it is two Exxon Valdez per week. Best case - if there is one in this situation - is one Exxon Valdez per week," Wereley explained. "If BP does get the well capped, if the relief valve works in August, we are talking like a total of something like 17 to 30 Exxon Valdez-size spills."

a Century or more or less is TOO much! We are going to be feeling the effects of this in many ways for a long time to come. Nit picking over how many years is kind of silly at this point.

 

[GudEnuf]

You are basing your assumptions on incorrect logic! % is a fraction, True! A fraction times anything is a number! Correct? That number, no matter what it is, minus the whole reduces the whole! Correct? Your logic is not correct. Why? Eventually that percentage reaches 100%, as in 100% reduction, as in 100% gone! I've had more math than you'll ever forget!

Math is one thing. Logic is another!

Sounds like you are a believer in the theorem of 1=0 as taught in most geometry classes as well as other mathematical fallacies!

How about you start with any whole number and try reducing it by x %. No matter how many times you reduce it by the same x %, you will never reach zero and you will always have something left over.

I stand by the original post earlier:

Sorry, Linear math does not apply here.

It's X % of whatever oil remains will break down every year. Ergo, it will take infinity to reach 100% or not.

A previous oil spill in the Gulf took only two years to disappear from sight, although there's probably traces of it in some places out of sight from humans.

 

[Chaitika]

Why is it virtually impossible for some of you to have a discussion without the flaming and insults? Stick to the topic at hand!

Bobby, the bladder idea is full of win!