A Magnetron is a type of high power UHF & microwave amplifier valve
used mostly in radar transmitters.
It has nothing to do with trains, maglevs or other.

Anyway the worry is moot;
The eroei of oil has fallen to 10 as to be expected and can be seen in
the high cost and poor returns of money invested by the major oil companies
in search and development. Hasn't anyone noticed how the majors are
selling assets so as to look for more fields ?
They have to find a new Saudi Arabia every three years just to keep running in the same place.

We are too late to build the VFT, we can longer afford it or raise
the money. What we need is to spend money on the "Fast Enough" train system.

Given we have to find a new Saudi Arabia every three years, why aren't we focusing on achieving total self sufficiency with the much cheaper and endlessly sustainable alternatives, some as outlined above/earlier.

Or, just because broad scale algae farming i.e., would not only save the entire Murray/Darling, but quite massively prosper all who currently depend on it in any way.

Here we go again spending millions to dredge the mouth of the Murray!

And alternatives that also effectively reduce greenhouse gas emission; and well as providing the most powerful economic growth mechanism that's available to us! Namely, very much cheaper energy!

And make case for V.L.T or something a little cheaper that we will likely need to replace with a V.L.T, when they've more than quadrupled in cost!

And that my friends is how to save public money!? Clever aren't we?

I dispute that we can't afford the V.L.T, and can probably afford it, off budget, if we ask the Chinese to build for us?

We couldn't afford the snowy mountains scheme or the Sydney harbor bridge either, when we built them, both has since completely paid off what it cost to build them! The bridge many times over!

The only thing we can't afford is to wait a decade for the cost to double, be it either a V.L.T, or a fast enough train!

Yes we might be able to afford a second class NBN i.e., but if we have to replace it with fibre to the home in a decade, due to massively increased traffic and demand, how much will we have saved? Well?

Sorry to one and all if I got the magnetron (magnet-train) mixed up with a V.L.T; but given it was reported as such when they first appeared, I believe, that's what I thought they were.

I nonetheless apologize for the misnomer and stand corrected.
Rhrosty.

P.S. I'm I the only one not able access OLO for Monday the 8th?

Rhostry, not to worry about the magnetron, minor detail anyway.

We are not searching for viable alternative energy because there is
a fixation on solar and wind, neither of which, or together, can do the job.
There is a fixed gaze by the AGW advocates who have a rigid mindset
which transits from CO2 to wind and solar.

The harbour bridge and the snowy scheme etc etc were all built at a
time of cheap energy.
That era is over and the rules have all been changed.
I did see an article about a continuos algea process with glass
tubes exposed to light and the algea develope as the liquid moves
through the process.
Such schemes as algea and geothermal need government funded research
as there seems to be no other independant money available.

Nothing will happen while the politicians just do not understand what
is the real situation we face.
We need someone to sink a tanker on the way to Australia to wake up
the pollies, although all that might do is get them to buy nuclear submarines !

Bazz, most magnetrons are in microwave ovens, not radar transmitters.

Australia is financially sovereign: we own the Reserve Bank so can afford to borrow as many Australian dollars as we want. We also energy, the materials and the labour force. We have most of the technology, and what we don't have we could easily buy.
So in what possible way could we no longer afford to build the VFT?

The cheap oil is gone, but plenty of cheap energy remains. Though wind and solar can't do the entire job, together they can do the vast majority. Certainly much more than they currently are.

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Rhrosty, what does VLT stand for?

And you're clearly not unable to access OLO for Monday the 8th, as OLO is this site and Monday the 8th is when you posted this question. There have been no new articles today, probably because it's a public holiday.

Magnetrons were first invented for radar and yes I know, I have changed
a few in microwave ovens !

//Elon Musk's "hyperloop" is another form of high-speed rail which doesn't use magnetic levitation, but air-cushioning, although propulsion is still linear induction. The efficiency is enhanced by careful management of the airflow around the train, including pumping air from in front to behind the train and partially evacuating the tube it runs in. It will be a great project to watch unfold.//

The hyperloop is brilliant. Other than that, I say bring back the zeppelin. Lighter-than-air aeronautics has been area overlooked since the tragic Hindenburg disaster, but we're way smarter than that now.