Slashdot Mirror
Brits To Crash Test a Scramjet
hywel_ap_ieuan writes "The BBC is reporting that a the "Hyshot consortium" will be testing a scramjet called Hyshot III in Australia on Friday. The fun part: "If everything goes to plan, the experiment will begin at a height of 35 km. As the engine continues its downward path the fuel in the scramjet is expected to automatically ignite. The scientists will then have just six seconds to monitor its performance before the £1m engine eventually crashes into the ground.""
Perhaps they could team up with some Earth Sciences researchers doing work on crater formation...
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
All expeirements should end in some kind of explosion! What good is being a scienctist if you don't get to blow shit up?!?
> "If everything goes to plan, the experiment will begin at a height of 35 km. As the engine continues its downward path the fuel in the scramjet is expected to automatically ignite. The scientists will then have just six seconds to monitor its performance before the £1m engine eventually crashes into the ground."
Revised for 2006: "We'll settle for one out of three these days... as long as you have a hell of a lot of it to compensate."
Then again, the British did usher in the passener jet age with the Comet.
and that will be obvious after my question........
but couldn't they build it to survive impact into the ocean, and then retrieve it?
I seem to remember the US space program doing this when they first went to the moon. And that man who singlehandedly built the rocket and went to the moon. What was his name? Apollo Creed? Anyways Tom Hanks was really great in that movie. Forest Gump I think it was.
On its descent the engine is expected to reach a top speed of Mach 7.6 or over 9,000km/ hour.
I think crash is a bit of an understatement!
I'm sure they could suggest hundreds of places where they'd like to see a new crater. Two birds with one stone 'n' all that.
"The White House is not an intelligence-gathering agency," -- Scott McClellan, Whitehouse spokesman.
his worst job ever ...
... the inventor of this plan had with the senior manager in control of the budget:
"So let's see, in short your plan is to fly a plane up to 35 kilometers in height above the mainland of Australia, switch off the engine, let it drop down with a highly experimental engine - this 'scramjet' - that you suppose would then go off automatically and accelerate the vehicle to a phenomenal speed, finishing it all off with a nice crash of that same million dollar plane into the ground ?"
"Oh yeah mate, blimey, that's it - you got it in one row !"
"You ever done this before ?"
"Nah, if I would ave, I wouldn't be standing here mate, eh ?"
"And this 'scramjet', it would ignite automatically ?"
"Sure, that's what the manual says anyhow"
"And while it sores over our Australian mainland with this high velocity, and when it enters the ground in the final stage, it would not have reached any, say, 'populated' areas?"
"Nah mate, only a couple'a'dingos probably. Everything should be fine, unless things go wrong, but that's why we're testing eh, aye?"
"You're absolutely right, I guess... Here's your money, and now don't screw up !"
"Sure thing, won't screw up, and I will tell the same to the monkey that drives the controls ! Cheers mate !"
Slashdot: stuff for news, nerds that matter, matter for news, stuff that nerd
it can only be deemed a failure if it *doesn't* crash? -- jeek
Heck at Mach 7.6 it's probably enough to smash an atom. Just duct tape some uranium to the tip and off you go.
Until MythBusters decides to try this one!
Creative misinterpretation is your friend.
Scrambledjet
The third one burned down, fell over, then crashed into the ground. But the fourth one stayed up!
Do you see a comment by "heatdeath" responded to by "LiquidCoooled."
Computational Chemistry products and services.
I always wondered hwo thre going to cut the flight time from the UK to Australia.
looks like ther planning on taking the direct route....
Begin test in 3...2...1... START!
-At-choo!
-Dude, WTF? Hit the RECORD BUTTON!
-What?
*CRASH*
-Ah, nevermind.
You would have to use something other than ducktape. As we all know, ducktape is sufficent to contain a nuclear explosion!
NeoThermic
Use my link above, or to view my server, NeoThermic.com
Imagine the consequences if they confused meters with metres !
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
This needs to be on an episode of Mythbusters...so they have something else to blow up or crash
My first thought when reading your response was, "wait, they failed to crash their jet into the ground?"
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
Anything worth doing can be done in 6 seconds! ;)
... Windows 98. No, seriously, think about it:
The scientists will then have just six seconds to monitor its performance before the £1m engine eventually crashes into the ground.
Replace the word "scientists" with "consumers", "£1m" with "$5b", and "engine" with "OS." Also, add the phrase "If it boots," before the statement.
Latewire
And yet, when I tried to apply this in my Biology labs, the professors got REAL cranky...
the major advances in civilization are processes which all but wreck the societies in which they occur - A.N. White
It's interesting to note that paull has used some of his new budget to get some kind of conical metal prosthesis added to his chin, one can only assume that this is intented to improve his aerodynamics.
g /_41471360_paull_230b.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41471000/jp
Supposing two planes carried it together....
If you're taping ducks to ducts would you use duct tape or duck tape?
None of them can see the clouds; The polished wings don't care.