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Elon Musk Explains Why He's Building 'Starship' Out of Stainless Steel (popularmechanics.com)
Long-time Slashdot reader darkwing_bmf writes: In an exclusive interview with Popular Mechanics, SpaceX founder Elon Musk explains why stainless steel is the best material to build rocket ships, beating carbon fiber in cost, durability and even weight.
"As far as we know, this marks the first time the material has been used in spacecraft construction since some early, ill-fated attempts during the Atlas program in the late 1950s," reports Popular Mechanics.
"It took me quite a bit of effort to convince the team to go in this direction..." Musk tells them. But among the other benefits "It has a high melting point. Much higher than aluminum, and although carbon fiber doesn't melt, the resin gets destroyed at a certain temperature... But steel, you can do 1500, 1600 degrees Fahrenheit."
"As far as we know, this marks the first time the material has been used in spacecraft construction since some early, ill-fated attempts during the Atlas program in the late 1950s," reports Popular Mechanics.
"It took me quite a bit of effort to convince the team to go in this direction..." Musk tells them. But among the other benefits "It has a high melting point. Much higher than aluminum, and although carbon fiber doesn't melt, the resin gets destroyed at a certain temperature... But steel, you can do 1500, 1600 degrees Fahrenheit."
funding secured, my man. Now pass the Doritos
He follows the UK standard practice of using Fahrenheit for high temperatures and Celsius for lows.
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
Plus it is really shiny and makes a nice clanging sound when it falls over.
It's actually going to be a time machine, not a spaceship. Musk: "If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits .88 C... you're gonna see some serious shit."
What more is necessary to know?
I like K. It's better than C or F because it appears later in the alphabet. And you don't have to bother with those silly negative numbers -- HOW can you have a negative temperature?
0K - a bit too cold.
300K - reasonable
3000K - a bit too hot.
6000K - a bit too hot AND bright. (Link)
-1K - you divided by 0.
If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
Where the hell does the .001 come from?
It's 220 yards, and a yard is 3 feet. int x int = int.
Intel processor.