In reply to Michel Jullian's message of Sun, 11 Nov 2007 15:56:33 +0100: Hi, [snip] > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "R.C.Macaulay" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: <[email protected]> >Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2007 2:24 PM >Subject: Re: [VO]: ITER (the way) What if? > >> ITER was originally an acronym for International Thermonuclear Experimental >> Reactor, but that >> title was dropped due to the negative popular connotation of >> "thermonuclear," especially when in >> conjunction with "experimental". > >I couldn't believe this so I checked at the source: > >http://www.iter.org/I.htm >"ITER "The way" in Latin. Formerly interpreted to stand for International >Thermonuclear Experimental >Reactor, although this usage has been discontinued." > >As if that was an "interpretation" of a name that existed by itself :-) This >ridiculous, nonsensical >and pathetic move must be fairly recent. Science shouldn't be left in the >hands of polls driven >politics...
I suspect the real reason for the name change was to cover up the fact that billions were to be spent on what was always intended to be an *experimental* reactor, and was never intended to be commercial. When politicians approve that much spending, they like to pretend that they going to get something bang for their (our) buck. Regards, Robin van Spaandonk The shrub is a plant.
