Physics professor: Oil leak could last for years

By David Edwards
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 11:13 EST
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Physics professor Michio Kaku has some bad news: oil could gush from the leaking BP deepwater well for years.

After six methods for stopping the leak failed, BP is now trying a seventh method: “cut and cap.” Underwater robots are attempting to trim the pipe connected to the blowout preventer — and depending on how well the cut is made, either a “top hat” or “top cap” will be lowered from the surface which would then transport the spewing oil to a drilling ship.

The “cut and cap” method has several drawbacks. A perfect seal is thought to be almost impossible and some amount of oil will continue to leak into the Gulf. And the cap will have to be completely removed during inclement weather. The Gulf hurricane season began June 1, and it’s expected to be the worst year since 2005.

If this seventh attempt fails, the next option will be to wait on one of two relief wells to intercept and block the original well. This is considered the best hope for permanently stopping the flow, but those wells won’t be in place until August at the soonest. Some predict that it could take until Christmas.

But Kaku thinks that even those predictions could be too optimistic.

“You would have to win the lottery to get on the first try an exact, an exact meeting at the bottom of the well in order to pump cement to shut it off,” Kaku told NBC’s Matt Lauer Wednesday.

If the attempt fails, the drill will be reversed, the hole will be filled with cement and they will try again.

“You have to do this over and over again until you get it just right,” Kaku said. “It takes many tries. So August is optimistic.”

“So this could be spewing oil for months. Could it last for a year?” asked Lauer.

“It could last for years, plural. Okay? If everything fails and all these different kinds of relief wells don’t work, it could be spewing stuff into the Gulf until we have dead zones, entire dead zones in the Gulf. For years,” Kaku said.

This video is from NBC’s Today Show, broadcast June 2, 2010.


Watch this video on iPhone/iPad

David Edwards
David Edwards
David Edwards has served as an editor at Raw Story since 2006. His work can also be found at Crooks & Liars, and he's also been published at The BRAD BLOG. He came to Raw Story after working as a network manager for the state of North Carolina and as as engineer developing enterprise resource planning software. Follow him on Twitter at @DavidEdwards.
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  • Corporate Indu$trial Complex

    .
    BRITISH PETROLEUM, U.S. GOVERNMENT, MAY NEED TO LIE ABOUT GULF SPILL FOR YEARS
    .

  • matt

    This guy is a genious, i trust him more the the Media, Government or BP.

  • Gudio Romano

    Why doesn't the American Goverment seize the SS Queen Mary 2 and take to the well head site, fill it with concrete and sink it port side on top the leaking well. Maybe that might “plug” it up.

  • jimbeaux

    I can hardly wait to hear their “cover” story – on why tar balls are still washing up on Florida Beaches in 2030.

  • enorceht

    if russia capped 4 out of 5 leaks with nuclear bomb why is this not even being considered … it would not be a “bomb” just a small nuclear device … besides 4 out of 5 is better odds then i've seen any of the other things already tried

  • Joe B.

    China Syndrome.

  • http://www.facebook.com/nickpolnick Melvin Polatnick

    Beach front property in the gulf will soon be worthless. The smell of oil filled sand is horrible. Abandoned homes might be used to house the homeless, but they would rather sleep on oil free pavement.

  • Joe B

    Now you're talking – do you like your snapper blackend or radiated? At least we can all stop worrying about mercury poisoning…

  • Juan Valdez

    First, because amerikkka doesn't take “communist” advice.

    Second, because nobody really wants to stop the gusher. Everything is going according to plan.

  • Juan Valdez

    Ignorance is bliss….?

  • http://twitter.com/grolaw grolaw

    The pressure, cold, turbulent spew of hydrocarbons (the chemistry of hydrocarbons at that pressure in sea water has not been studies, nor have studies been done regarding the biological effects of “plumes” of hydrocarbons in deep currents) and failure to have prepared before the blow out – says just one thing to me: this will go on until equilibrium between ocean pressure and the hydrocarbon reserve. Drilling “relief” wells may make the time to equilibrium a bit shorter – but BP hasn't provided data about their studies of he expanse of the reserve and the wellhead pressure.

  • pistoff

    transport the spewing oil to a drilling ship yes thats the important part gotta make money

    bp will bill you if you dont return the oil that washes up on your land

  • enorceht

    actually i think it will end up closer to glowing …

  • pistoff

    why use something that big a helicopter full of bp execs would work just as well

  • Satan

    Well, while we're waiting we can pass out time by executing those responsible starting with those who are generally more responsible and working our way downward. No need to find out who's most responsible, for peace on earth and the safetey of our planet, plug the whole and shoot these mother fuckers dead for treason and terrorism.

  • enorceht

    i know you're right about the first reason – but i'm truly hoping your second reason is not true (in my heart, only my brain keeps getting in the way)

  • http://twitter.com/grolaw grolaw

    The nuclear option isn't an option.

    Do YOU have a bomb that is smaller than the diameter of the drill-hole?

    Do you have a bomb that has been hardened to withstand the temperatures and pressures at the well head and the turbulence once it enters the pipe?

    Do you have the technology to insert such a hardened bomb into the pipe casing and drive it down against the pressure of the hydrocarbons coming up?

    Do you have the geological studies that will tell you at what depth the bomb should be detonated?

    Do you have any reason to believe that the shockwave won't fracture the geological strata and cause hundreds or thousands of other pathways to the ocean for the hydrocarbon reserve this well has tapped?

    Do you know how the bomb will contaminate/irradiate and transmute the material at the point of detonation?

    Nukes are only the answer in science fiction.

  • http://twitter.com/grolaw grolaw

    How do you control the drop over 5000 feet?

    How do you know that the force of the hydrocarbons won't toss off a concrete ship like a fire-hose does to a tennis ball?

    Even assuming that your “fix” works, what then? You can't just leave a weight on a structure that will erode and eventually collapse? How do you fix the underlying problem?

  • http://twitter.com/grolaw grolaw

    How do you control the drop over 5000 feet?

    How do you know that the force of the hydrocarbons won't toss off a concrete ship like a fire-hose does to a tennis ball?

    Even assuming that your “fix” works, what then? You can't just leave a weight on a structure that will erode and eventually collapse? How do you fix the underlying problem?

  • MemphisBill

    We could study it.

  • MemphisBill

    We could study it.

  • enorceht

    “… this method (nuclear device) has been used before, by the Soviet Union. In four out of five uses, a small, low-yield device successfully stopped a major oil leak. …”

    you might want to do a seach for info on the net, here's a web site (note the name rightpundits.com) and even they consider it an option to look into

  • RFisOutRaged

    No, heshe obviously hasn't considered any of the questions you outline- HeShe only likes to sound tough and provide lynks to soviet era prop to buttress his toughened mind…

  • http://www.rawstory.com Egret

    It might last for years, or it might not. The entire world could be destroyed, take my word for it, I worked with a robot in grad school. Then again, it might not be destroyed, but you should be very afraid, because I need some money.

    How about some real information?

  • Lyman

    With the oil, you won't need any charcoal lighter. You won't even need any charcoal.
    Just put the fish on the grill and strike a match. In fact, with the radiation you won't even
    need a match. Just pull the graphite tooth picks out of it and let the ensuing chain reaction
    do the rest. Yum !!!!

  • enorceht

    how did they know when the stepped out of apollo 11 onto the moon what was actually going to be under their feet

  • enorceht

    you probably won't even need the grill … maybe a chain of food carts could start selling “fish on a stick” ready in seconds

  • http://earthenvironmentunderground.com/2010/06/03/physics-professor-oil-leak-could-last-for-years/ Physics professor: Oil leak could last for years « Earth Environment Underground

    [...] By: enorceht [...]

  • cripes

    Back of the envelope calculations (70,000 barrels per day until late August = 577,500,000 gallons of oil) is enough to cover Central Park in 1 foot of oil–and leave two million gallons to spare.

    More to the point, it would fill a lake on the median strip of the Washington Mall to a depth of 75 feet.

    Not enough to fill the Gulf of Mexico, but plenty there to f**k it all up. Cheers.

  • carol h.

    In case anyone hasn't heard, the oil is not under that water, oh no. It is actually just on top waiting to be skimmed away easily once they get the method right. So all the marine divers and those from the environmental agencies that have been going in daily to check, are all wrong. The oil and material from the disbursement are not really floating in darkness. And the divers that have to be hosed down after they get out, and before they can take off their special haz mat gear are wrong too. Just a nasty rumor.

    And the oil that can be seen from outer space and growing daily is I guess just a sun reflecting or an optical illusion. Christ on a crutch this man Hayward should shut is mouth.

    And guess who BP has hired to do PR? The person that does it for Haliburton. And the twist to end all twists is Haliburton is responsible for the poor concrete job that contributed to the spill. As they were in the Australian spill last year and one two years before that. Haliburton….hmm, weren't they Cheney's old company? And wasn't Cheney the one that held secret midnight meeting early in Bush's presidency with the energy companies, allowing them to write the rules themselves for what we now face? And were they not the ones that capped any damages for such ACCIDENTS, at a lousy 70 million dollars?

    Who knew? Who could have foreseen such a thing? And who could have known that with no improvements for accidents in the oil industry for 30 years, that such a thing could happen? And who could know that this newer and deeper water drilling could cause such a thing? And who could know that lax regulations would allow the drilling of this well without the drilling of the second well at the same time, as required, could cause such trouble. Of course now they are digging this second well. And it will only take another couple of months.

    And now the REPUBLICANS are stonewalling congress efforts to get the 70 million dollar cap removed. They have been doing daily for the last two weeks whenever it comes to the floor. And what republican brain trust said two weeks ago, that blaming BP was unAmerican? Translated this means that big company will get mad at the Republicans for going along with punishment and stop funding the GOP.

    Picky, picky, picky. Anyone that has hope anyone of real importance will be jailed, raise your hands.

  • BuckJohnson

    Spot on Grolaw, spot on. The nuclear option worked great on the surface (the problem is we are taking russia's word for it and they may have had to do it more than once, they never tell us about the failures) for russia, but what about in this situation.

    “Do YOU have a bomb that is smaller than the diameter of the drill-hole?

    Do you have a bomb that has been hardened to withstand the temperatures and pressures at the well head and the turbulence once it enters the pipe?

    Do you have the technology to insert such a hardened bomb into the pipe casing and drive it down against the pressure of the hydrocarbons coming up?

    Do you have the geological studies that will tell you at what depth the bomb should be detonated?

    Do you have any reason to believe that the shockwave won't fracture the geological strata and cause hundreds or thousands of other pathways to the ocean for the hydrocarbon reserve this well has tapped?

    Do you know how the bomb will contaminate/irradiate and transmute the material at the point of detonation?”

    As you stated these considerations aren't even looked at by many of the posters. For one, I think the smallest nuke that we have is demolition nukes which explode at 1 kiloton (thats a thousand tons of TNT for the ones that don't know), and those can fit in a very large duffel bag/sea bag (saw 1960's video of them demonstrating without exploding small demolition nukes designed to take out dams and large fortifications). As you pointed out how will they get this device down into the pipe with the oil without exploding. And if they decide to use a relief well and then come at an angle and try to move the bomb at the side of the pipe and then explode it, what's to say it becomes a dud. Twenty one inches diameter hole is alot smaller than the demo nuke, they would have to design a new type of nuclear device just for this operation and believe me that won't be easy and will take a long time. And lets say you do get it into the hole and deep under the ground, if you have a kiloton of explosives going off contained in rock and the blastwave at the point of ignition and so many feet away is at least 1 million atm (atmospheres) and goes down the further it goes from ignition drastically what will happen to the surrounding rock. It will not only atomize, but it will cavitate a sizable cavern under however deep under ground. And since it does make a cavern and/or hollow space for short time, the pressure from the reserve (which at it's highest is 165 to 170 thousand psi but 13 to 16 thousand at this spot, which is why they decided to drill at this spot because they couldn't handle the higher pressure) and the pressure from the mile of water above the surface will essentially make a sink hole (remember those underground nuke explosions from the 50's), which most likely force the oil up and through the newly made fissure which we won't stop.

    Then what about the propagation of the blast wave under ground, it has the potential which I also agree of shattering the land mass with the help of the water weight and oil pressure from below and allowing more oil out from different areas. Not to mention the possibility of the pressure wave wrecking or outright destroying much of the other drill holes in the gulf from the shift in the crust (which makes it a possibility that if it does work and no leaks we may have leaks from other wells from the damage.). Not to mention the methane gas which is in this deposit and around it, we might ignite it.

    http://www.technofascismblog.com/2010/05/30/det…

    Also to the one poster about beach front property, that is the one subject that they are being very very quiet about. Long before the large underwater plumes start to get into shallow water and onto the beaches and waterways of the states in the gulf they will start to smell the oil. Its nasty and smell like and chemical plant on a bad day. People will seriously start to consider selling their property to get away from the smell and the stink of the chemical oil dump. It will be like when someone yells fire, everyone will look for and go for the exit and then you will see a crash in property on the gulf coast and the florida coast. Imagine those nice homes on the water having everyday to smell toxic fumes from the ocean, thats enough to say enough.

    This thing will continue to spill for a very long time and I truly thing that they are getting us slowly ready for the eventuality that this will be how to keep the areas clean as possible instead of how to cap the well.

  • Zack Dryden

    Why not put a long pointed screw into the hole, or a ballooning plug of some type

  • billos

    BP has committed both ecocide and aquacide. We can thank BP fo these two words possibly making the Webster Dictionary in the next few years.

  • billos

    That is because the government has lied for a while now. We ALL know NOW they lied about the Iraq War. SO we'll listen and believe just as planned. But wait…..I go to the Marshlands and see DEATH……………….OIL and DEATH. and I see it NOW.

  • billos

    CRAP…they have an eight inch artillary shell with nuclear capability. Isn't this pipe 21 inches or so? Second, they would not stuff it in the hole. It would be planted next to the well output in hopes that the pressure wave would collapse the layers of seabed rock on and around the drilled hole and seal it. The bedrock is 3+ miles thick to the well. No fractures unless we use a 50 meg hydrogen bomb and that ain't gonna happen.

  • billos

    What I don't get is that the say 100,000 gallons per day is leaking, at worse case scenario. The other channel says over 40 million gallons have leaked so far…Do the math…who is lying???

  • dennycrane

    He's the man. I agree.

  • Smarter than you

    Yes, I have no doubt that they have a nuclear device that would easily fit into a 12″ pipe if they wanted to.

    You don't have to worry about the turbulence in the well. The device would be put down into one of the relief wells. You only need to get near the main well to close it off with a nuclear detonation.

  • Patriot101

    Cheney is on his way to fix it! No wait Cheney is just sending his PR people to defend BP! My Bad!!

  • Patriot101

    Anyone heard any of the MSM ask Louisiana State officials why they gave out so many oil drilling permits off their coast if they were worried about the fish and shrimp? You do realize States have to issue permits for drilling off of their coast!

  • Patriot101

    Good thing the right wing Supreme court just passed a law giving Corporations the ability to buy all of the politicians they can! Should be a good year for the GOBPers!

  • John Morris, Gales Creek Or.

    I love this guy, Mr. Kaku is one of the most brilliant men of modern times, I suggest we listen to his opinion.

  • canadaeh

    Ok I am so sick of these experiments.
    All they have to do is drill a hole ten feet down from the opening and inject fine metal filings into the pipe. Above the injected hole place a magnet around the pipe and feed it electricity.
    The filings will clog the pipe up and stop most of the leak then they can screw around as long as they want to put a cap on it.

  • prof

    I say, just wait till enough people from Texas to Florida, to Maine gets bankrupted. I predict crude form of vigilante justice. Especially, where gun laws are easy.

  • prof

    I say, just wait till enough people from Texas to Florida, to Maine gets bankrupted. I predict crude form of vigilante justice. Especially, where gun laws are easy.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Judi-Jujubee-Duncan/1352903956 Judi Jujubee Duncan

    “So this could be spewing oil for months. Could it last for a year?” asked Lauer.

    “It could last for years, plural. Okay? If everything fails and all these different kinds of relief wells don't work, it could be spewing stuff into the Gulf until we have dead zones, entire dead zones in the Gulf. For years,” Kaku said.

    This video is from NBC's Today Show, broadcast June 2, 2010.

  • thefreedomship

    MICROBES! This thing could be cleaned up in 6months with oil eating microbes. They eat the crude, and then turn it into food for marine life. It's amazing and It's even more amazing that it's not being talked about. Please watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PraHC0CAmiw and help spread the word. It's a solution.

  • John F. Hendry

    Day 44 of a New World: Professor Kaku’s Time Line

    On the Today Show Professor Kaku, Physic’s Professor City University of New York a note

    Professor Kaku,

    You were wrong, it changes everything:

    O=E=W=T © JFH^^

    Establish a true inertial frame of reference. Separate the Weak Force from the Strong Force Professor. Don't think about the most important part of physics, the asymmetry of the WF. It occurs in the Strong Force T and it will only confuse you. It's just a clock Professor. It creates atoms.

    O=Observer Unit of inertial frame measurement.
    E=Energy
    W=Weak Force
    T=Time Strong Force

    EM>{a}<GAV

    Look…I=E/R to S=Wp/T spacetime conversion. (Wp=gravity within the WF. Asymmetry correction not added to keep it simple. Gamma ray burst energy measurement answer: Points of Observation increase exponentially. 2nd law of Real Relativity by JFH^^)

    Peace, John F. Hendry

  • bud dingler

    the fact is this is a wild card. this guy has no clue how long it will take to stop the spill and neither does anyone else.

  • farang

    The fact is he is a physics professor and you are bud dingler.

    That tells me all I need to know about who has “no clue.”

  • AtlanticCapers

    Or they can just squirt some glue in there.

  • AtlanticCapers

    Or they can just squirt some glue in there.

  • Bob Stone

    Unfortunately this could be true. Lets hope it is not.

  • Bob Stone

    Unfortunately he may be right, lets hope he is not.

  • Bob Stone

    Also there is a risk that the entire oil field could become radioactive.

  • Wiseandawake

    100% GUARANTEED SOLUTION FOR OIL SPILL!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VfypUzx1tI&feat…

  • http://www.zoombits.co.uk/ micro sd card

    There was a Canadian security expert talks about the disaster, and he said the first mistake was to extinguish the fire burning on the platform. He said that everyone should have left the bench, not tons of water on him, but simply left with the burning oil when it came to the surface of the platform. He said it was probably all the water that firefighters sprayed on the platform that made the cut. I have no idea if everything is correct, but we would all be better if all this oil up and burn a rich sea abandoned.

  • vincent441

    Physics professor: Oil leak could last for years

    good

  • rxgary

    more than likely since bp was getting over 2 million gallons a day when well was working properly , it would be safe to assume this is what is leaking, that makes close to 90 million gallons.

  • *Dude*

    Instead of trying to cap it, why can't the riser be squeezed close. The professor himself said that the kink had already restricted the flow of oil. Why not go all the way and pinch it completely shut using a mechanical clamp of some sought.

  • crankyoldgit

    Ironically Amerika now seems to have plenty of oil, shame they can't just drive their Hummers down the beach and fill up. Eventually one has to accept that politicians have no interest in helping the people that elected them.

  • tednarcotic

    I was going to make some kind of case but you made me laugh too much with your mean reply to Bud Dingler and I crs, Oh well, my god that is funny.

  • rts111

    I have been following Mr Kaku for years. As a Harvard prof, he is one of the 'father's' of Super String Theory. I would recommend his book Hyperspace to anyone not formally educated in science. Yes, we should listen to him. I wonder if US politicians are listening?

  • Bonnie

    Thank you, michio Kiku for telling us this. We needed you to tell us that. Without the word of a physicist, we never would have figured.

    BTW, you being a high and mighty quantum physicist, you know high up there, and NOT a technician, how do you know that? Did you go under the surface and check it out?

    What exactly does a physicist have to do with the criminal BP pipeline? you have to do with
    And after all, don't yu deal with Qunatum Physics, and the Observer Effect? You know, when you focus on something, it manifests? Or is it that THAT is exactly the effect you want?

  • Liz

    If Professor Kaku is correct and my gut tells me he is we are finished the Gulf will die.

  • Manny

    What are Kaku's qualifications in geology, engineering, or phsyics as applied to oil wells and the like?

    If he has some specialization relevant to this problem, the story should explain what it is.

    Physics professors are notorious for assuming the right to speak in what they see as lesser disciplines without actually knowing anything about them (eg Linus Pauling and vitamins).

  • Gordon

    He is a physics genius, but is he also a geologist? Does he have any practical knowledge about drilling for … anything?

    See the latest XKCD for a slightly more realistic perspective on all these ‘worst-case scenarios’

  • jimbo92107

    You have my permission.

  • LibertyTreeBud

    A curse on everyone involved in this oil drilling debacle. I hope they all get what they deserve. The people will eventually refuse to put up with these rogue corporations, industrialists, bankers,brokers and criminal governmental corporations. Crap happens. Let's hope we all get to see it happen to all those involved in allowing this disaster to unfold the way it did.

  • mike morris

    we have to take the opinions of all those that r of the highest intellect, there r no experts on this task, th oil companies dont have a division for this scenario, there is no cost incentive to do research for this…this is planned, it is goin 2 go on for years…..unless we set a small nuclear device or large convential bomb…it could b the first time we have ever use a nuclear device to benifit the planent, hopefully th last…the end is on, Godspeed

  • mike morris

    but itz documented in Russia, not ficitional…

  • mike morris

    could b right on both accounts…but definately correct on the second point

  • fluminense

    AN AMERICAN CITIZEN WAS MURDERED BY ISRAELI FORCES ON THE ATTACK OF THE FLOTILLA TO GAZA.

    WHAT IS OBAMA GOING TO SAY? BEAUTIFUL WORDS AGAIN?!

    CHECK warincontext.org

  • Cresson Stafford

    How about this idea Mr Kaku bird. I have suggested to tyhe BP suggestion and also to Congressman Bill Youngs office to take a pressuruzed pipe smaller than the oil leak pipe and fasten a super thick balloon on one end and a welded chain wuith a heavy weight on the other. Robots place the pressurized pipe in the leaking pipe and then pull a small cable attached to a release valve thus inflating the balloon. The chain with the weight will hold the now expanded balloon and pipe in place . Pour concrete. This is what happens when youi focus on the solution as opposed to the problem.

  • Treg

    While I am deeply indebted to Physics professor Michio Kaku, yes his books are awsome, but seriously, WAKE UP American Journalists, the Gulf oil gusher not a problem for an physics professor whose expertize is the formation of the universe.

    Journalist should give us in the public an expert discussion from 3 types of experts:
    1) deep sea equipment ENGINEERS and
    2) deep sea Microbe Biologists and
    3) contemporary Science Historians.
    The first to tell us of the mechanics of shutting of the oil gusher, the second to tell us about how microbes CAN and WILL eat the oil, the third to tell us what was done before.

    More to the point, deep water engineers can outline the proceedures, risks, and explain to us the pros and cons.

    Microbe biologists & chemistry can tell us how microbes can be assisted, or mother nature helped, in eating the oil. Since the oil is both surface and deep, two microbe colonies are required. One that works using oxygen, one that works without using oxygen at those deep levels. More over, asphalt and tar are hard to digest and take long periods of time. What real risks are there to marine life?

    Contemporary science HISTORIANS can tell us about the Exxon spill and the dozens of big oil spills in the past, what techniques where used, what side effects where reported, and most of all, what worked best.

    Give us in the public the RESPECT by asking the right people. And if you want to discuss the economics of the situation, get some economists. Respect the field that should get the question. Don't ask a famous doctor about the moon landing, don't ask environmentalists how to stop the oil gusher, and don't ask Politicians “how are 'we' going to pay for this?” for the answer will always be “vote for me, get more govt spending”.

  • nice guy

    Drilling has everything to do with physics. In what instance would a geologist be better suited than a physicist in respect to drilling??? The answer is that the geologist needs advice from the physicist.

  • sad_sack

    Couldn't a rubber <<or fill-in-your-favorite-sealant-here>> seal be formed between a “top hat” type device and the large bolted flange below the newly sawed cut ? ? ?
    They could use the large flange as a “clamp” to firmly seat the seal.

  • jimbo92107

    You wouldn't need to shove the bomb down the gusher hole. You could drill a custom-sized hole parallel to the gusher hole, get it down a thousand feet or so, then set it off. The blast would move a huge amount of sediment and rock, collapsing the gusher hole. The immense weight and pressure of the surrounding rock would stop the gusher. That, I think, is the theory.

    As to who would perform this miraculous operation, I don't know. However, given that the Russians have done something like this on land, it seems wise to consult them. Probably it would still involve a lot of first-time calculations and engineering, but hey, that's why these guys studied calculus while we were drinking beer.

  • Vyper61USMC

    And WE, The American people will get what we deserve, want, and need. More oil. We placed this demand on the oil companies to drill farther deeper and faster to satsify our greed for oil. You morons cry and bitch about this accident, But continue to demand more oil for your suvs, motorcycles, boats, Etc. So, Keep drillig BP, I wanna keep driving my hummer and heating my home and living comfortably. I'm no hypocrite. I want my oil at almost any cost. Deal with it you left wing losers.

  • no nowt

    It is not in the interest of BP to stop the oil as they know if they manage to stop the oil now they will never be given permission to drill another hole to get at the oil again and all those billions will go to another oil company in the future

  • vyper61usmc

    no nowt, Are you really that stupid? Or just completley insane?. It is in fact, In BP's best intrest to put a stop to this mess. And they will ASAP. I think you're hopinh they fail in order to push your liberal agenda.

  • mike morris

    ur a hater…chk urself or ur goin to miss the boat

  • chester77

    huh, good idea. but is the pressure behind the oil too intense for a solution like this to work?

  • chester77

    God damnit

  • Loz

    while i respect your view, may i point out that what is involved in all aspects of drilling, movement at its basis is physics! no one more qualified to talk about this than him, and i have no doubt that he wouldnt unless he has knowledge of the field ( no pun intended)

    BP have blood on their oily hands. Wake up people.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jian-Chen/525411268 Jian Chen

    Top Kill (Just beginning)

    http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/29/us.gulf.oil.sp…
    'Top kill' fails, BP moves on 'to next option'

    http://www.512-china.org/
    Pay attention to Barack Obama's future

    http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-432904

    Master Yunfeng had held out olive branch to you , if you can not follow his requirement, you will find it difficult to keep your head above water (Top Kill).
    Top Kill = “灭顶”

    In the summer of 2010, a big disease will happen in the world.

    Contact: Chen Jian
    Email: chejian2046@hotmail.com
    yunfeng@188.com
    Cellphone: (646)861-9042

    But the well may not be completely sealed off until at least until August, when BP hopes to complete a relief well. Hayward, whose company is responsible for containing the spill, said BP will be working to clean up the mess left behind “for a very, very long time.”

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jian-Chen/525411268 Jian Chen
  • Nice guy

    Bonnie, you misspelled Michio Kaku's name. Is it that hard for you to copy simple information?? Physicists have everything to do with everything because physics dictates the three dimensional world we live in! DUH

  • nice guy

    Physicists are better suited to deal with any situation because they understand the fundamental principles of how life works.

  • nice guy

    Your idea, canadaeh, would not work. There is no explanation of a seal in your proposed idea and the pressures are far to great.

  • Sundown

    It’s good to see that there are more and more people waking up to what the real agenda is. They’re getting bolder with every year that passes, but some us are getting wiser and taking note.

  • John Smith

    You want all that oil to stop gushing out?Organize gas strikes in your city.They'll get that leak patched up real quick then.

  • Ryan

    Dude, this is not a Michael Crichton novel where we need to assemble a team of seemingly unrelated experts and they will magically solve everything in Act 3. In your plan, what role is Jeff Goldblum going to play?

  • http://www.theamericansheeple.com TellMeNoLies

    Yeah, real funny.

    You won't be laughing when when it starts raining dead mackerel on your face.

  • John F. Hendry

    Err, make that the 3rd law

    The Laws of Real Relativity by John F. Hendry

    1: Relative to an initial inertial frame of reference there is only one observer.
    2: Relative to the observer all other observers are behind it in time.
    3: Relative to the observer points of observation increase exponentially.
    4: Relative to the observer “now” is a constant.

    Consciousness has Mass

    Mass is relative to the weak force, there is no mass in the strong force.
    Mass is found in the DNA’s Gene Ensemble Instance summery location
    Every decent sound tech that knows me knows this as UFT equation checks itself.
    A 5th above is a 4th below. It takes two weak cycles to create one observer C/G in the strong force. WF 2:1 ratio SF 3:2 ratio

    “This is up, this is down, lets go up and down.” EM>{a}<GAV
    Time is relative to the observer. LIGO is pointed in the wrong direction
    EM> is stronger than gravity because moment are of force is greater than <GAV relative to the observer.

    Too simple for you Professor but many of us know this or it would thrown off Korg’s site and others where tech’s devour this stuff not that I know more than next to nothing ;-)

    Without the WF asymmetry added physics will be lost in Space forever
    Without the observer there would be no Universe of Spacetime to observe…..

    It hurts to be right….

    Peace John F. Hendry^^

    Now I can go hang myself then my work will be discovered
    But just in case email me….note that no one ever says I’m wrong? They just look and go Wow….and say nothing. That proves I’m right as their inner sense knows….

  • Innovator

    Okay lets get into it,

    1) 100% organic and animal safe oil absorbents are available, START USING THEM!!!!'

    2) perhaps a hydrogen bomb will produce an effective shock-wave to clamp the pipes.

    SOMETHING ABOUT THIS MUST BE DONE NOW!

    STOP USING ANTI-FREEZE AS AN OIL DISPERSANT!!!

    FOR THE LOVE OF YOUR CHILDREN USE THE ORGANIC!!!!

  • John F. Hendry

    Treg said:
    “the Gulf oil gusher not a problem for an physics professor whose expertize is the formation of the universe.”

    LOL No way Treg….the Professor is fully qualified and separated from the politics of oil. I was impressed he said it like it is….wait and see if he's right. BTW Your spelling is as bad as my math skills! But don’t worry….the UFT is right on the money.

  • Sundown

    So by that logic, he or any other physicist is qualified to do surgery on you. Got a wee case of misplaced hero worship perhaps?

  • tednarcotic

    I sensed from your response that I may have appeared to back the wrong side in this debate. So I checked back and Bud Dingler has made the point that I agree with. Here is where I failed to make a thoughtful and cogent post, it was because the comment “The fact is he is a physics professor and you are bud dingler.
    That tells me all I need to know about who has “no clue.” by Farang sent me into paroxcisms of laughter. Even now it strikes me as funny. My post was entirely about the mechanics of the put down. I became distracted and overlooked the serious subject at hand. You are right, I won't be laughing when when it starts raining dead mackerel on my face. And I won't be surprised by it or happy about it either.

  • Citizen K

    He doesn’t know anything about drilling.

    FYI it is more advanced than NASA and has used many methods and materials before anyone else has.

  • Citizen K

    He doesn’t know anything about drilling.

    FYI it is more advanced than NASA and has used many methods and materials before anyone else has.

  • Citizen K

    Remember that the Dems were the largest stockholders in Halliburton, like Ladybird Johnson its largest single stockholder before she passed away.

  • Citizen K

    Remember that the Dems were the largest stockholders in Halliburton, like Ladybird Johnson its largest single stockholder before she passed away.

  • Citizen K

    Operation Gasbuggy has the details of using nukes and make sure to get all of the details. Nukes are NOT an option. They will only serve to irradiate one of the most prolific fisheries in the U.S.

  • Citizen K

    Operation Gasbuggy has the details of using nukes and make sure to get all of the details. Nukes are NOT an option. They will only serve to irradiate one of the most prolific fisheries in the U.S.

  • http://twitter.com/Winafish Remy Chevalier
  • Cizizen K

    He may well know his physics, but he does not know how accurate directional drilling for the relief wells is. Another ignorant one has sounded off again, and an ignorant public will buy it.

  • Agatha

    Oh, God, No….

  • John Smith

    You want the oil leak to stop?Organize gas strikes in your city.That'll get that hole patched up in a jiffy.

  • William Jackson

    Why do we get comments ad nauseum from people like Michia Kaku who really don't have the first clue about which they are talking. How hard would it be to get a petroleum engineer who has actually drilled oilwells and knows something about the physics involved instead of someone like this fool that I am sure can discuss quatum mechanics, but only wants to be quoted to sell books. If you really want to talk to someone that understands the simple physics of this problem let me know.

  • Billyjack

    The facts are that I've been drilling wells for a living for over 30 years and this guy is clueless concerning this problem. Love the books about quantum mechanics, but it isn't going to solve this problem. Typical publicity hound.

  • ECLIPSE

    Why are microbes not being used now? Texas has already used them safely and they test safely in all tests. WHERE ARE THE MICROBES??? Check out how they work on Youtube they cleaned up an entire marsh in Texas.

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  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/674LF6NGK5KAO3UQPYNISQ243Q Dr. Love

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  • http://usahitman.com/?p=5713 Physics professor: Oil leak could last for years | USAHM News | The Media Hitman Has Arrived. Classified Information, and a Conspiracy?

    [...] Article Link // Professor: 40-45% of oil still there in undersea PLUMES; Not going to disappear (22.8%)The Greatest Era in Human History – George Orwell vs. Michio Kaku (21.7%)Investigation reveals numerous bogus claims on Obama resume (21.7%)ET Eureka Earth Energy Experience (EEEEE 5th Dimension) 12/21/2012-11:11 (21.7%)The Video(s) 'BP Does Not Want You to See' (19.3%)Obama defends Gulf of Mexico oil spill response (17.4%)BP TOP KILL May have BLOWN UP!! There is a new Much BIGGER Leak (17.2%)Investigator Warned MMS in 2009 About Deepwater Gas Blowouts in Gulf of Mexico (16.4%)BP admits oil could leak for months! WTF!!!! (16.4%)Gulf oil spill: BP prepares new attempt to cap flow (16.4%)Louisiana Environmental Attorney Stuart Smith Says Government Report Misleading Gulf Coast Citizens (RANDOM – 1.2%) Post Published: 03 June 2010 Author: conspiracyman Found in section: Breaking News, Oil Spill [...]

  • http://t45.vacau.com/feds-approve-oil-well-in-gulf-amid-warning-that-gusher-could-last-for-years Feds Approve Oil Well in Gulf Amid Warning that Gusher Could "Last for Years"

    [...] Michio Kaku says, “It could last for years, plural. Okay? If everything fails and all these different kinds of relief wells [...]

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Physics professor: Oil leak could last for years

By David Edwards
Print
 
nbc_today_kaku_spill_100602b
 

Physics professor Michio Kaku has some bad news. Oil could continue to gush from a BP deepwater well for years.

This video is from NBC’s Today Show, broadcast June 2, 2010.


Watch this video on iPhone/iPad

David Edwards
David Edwards
David Edwards has served as an editor at Raw Story since 2006. His work can also be found at Crooks & Liars, and he's also been published at The BRAD BLOG. He came to Raw Story after working as a network manager for the state of North Carolina and as as engineer developing enterprise resource planning software. Follow him on Twitter at @DavidEdwards.
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