Yes, but it doesn't do so instantaneously now does it? A light saber by contrast can pass through inches of steel in the blink of an eye, which requires an amount of energy several orders of magnitude higher than a plasma cutter generates.
heh heh yup. I also thought that the largest problem with a lightsaber being plasma is that to cut as efficiently as portrayed it would roast anyone within a football field of it. Little problem called convection and the laws of thermodynamics.
I win then. It works, as does the Atari 400, the Commodore Pet, the Apple II (no bloody c, e, g or gs), and Commodore 64 I've got. I collect old computers for a hobby, but I mentioned the VIC because I've owned it since it was bought for my 8th birthday. It and its *tape* drive are still in operating condition. I also own several old game consoles, and my dad has a working IBM mini computer from 1970 (can't remember the model number, but it has 8" disk drives).
When I retire I'll start a museum.
heh heh - yep. Example as to why given in the crude comment by Gravitron which has more to say about him than it does about anything else. I find comfort and enjoyment in my routine and that is enough for me.
My company's office is 1 block from my church, which holds a mass at 12:10. So I spend half of the hour in service, then grab a hot dog afterward. For me it's a great way to relax and reset for the rest of the day. Say what you will about religion - it's one way to forget about code for 40 minutes.
Specifically their job is to rule on the constitution. States are allowed to pre-empt a more lax federal law, always have been. But Roberts is using the power of the SCOTUS to nullify laws to serve his corporate masters, not to rule on the constitution. There was nothing unconstitutional about California's law. That Dallas company doesn't want to deal with California law - they should not do business in California.
So what's next? I imagine the corporations will be bringing up lawsuits against Washington or Oregon for having a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum. After all - by your logic - those states have no right to do that so those laws need to be struck down. Take your flawed logic to its final conclusion - why have states?
All this is blatantly obvious to anyone who isn't a corporate shill.
Justice Roberts once again proves his obedience to his corporate masters. Once upon a time the SCOTUS was seen as above such petty matters. Now it is clearly the pawn of the corporations - and this has been obvious ever since the ruling which allowed the corporations unlimited access to fund/bribe politicians.
Agreed. If I wanted sensationalist ignorant bullshit I'd read Faux News or the Commie News Network. Whatever happened to/.'s sense of self esteem? News for nerds, stuff that matters - that is relatively accurate and free of the bleating of ignorance sheep that call themselves "science" journalists, who wouldn't know what radiation was if they got hit by a 10,000 rad dose. (Yes, I know that's sufficient to briefly make them glow every color of the rainbow before vaporizing).
Where do you think geothermal energy is coming from? Much of it is radioactive isotope decay. The earth is basically a giant fission reactor, just as the sun (and all stars) is a ginormous fusion reactor.
Yes there are other options. How many are as elegant or efficient?
Take a 1 foot thick shell of water around the crew compartment. Water is one of the best radiation deflectors there is, but also a very good insulator. Plus, it will flow to redistribute itself. If the craft doesn't rotate the water nearest the sun will expand and flow away to the dark side of the craft, while that cold water will move back creating equilibrium within the whole.
I don't know the specifics of the radiation uptake of water - it may indeed be safe to drink and if so, so much the better. We have to have it anyway...
Another flaw in pointing out that water evaporates/sublimates when exposed to a vacuum. That applies if the water is completely exposed and a (relatively) small amount. I wasn't talking about the exposure of the entirety of the tank to space all at once. Rather a pinprick hole in the tank - what happens? The water immediately next to the hole rushes out to fill the void but in so doing loses thermal energy rapidly. The hole will ice over unless it is too large. This will seal the gap because water, unlike almost all materials, expands when freezing.
The ice will sublimate but it's a fairly slow process, and needs solar energy. If water always evaporates away without a trace in space there'd be no comets or other iceballs flying around out there. The energy loss eventually will cause some amount of the water to freeze up.
Water has another property I didn't go over earlier because I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing. It doesn't compress well. This is why depth charges are so dangerous to submarines, and why bomb squads have taken to using containers of water to shatter bombs. I think the physics of a micrometeorite striking a water shell of a spacecraft would be to distribute the energy over a large area of the inner hull and make it possible to minimize the damage. I could be wrong on this though.
Are there other materials that can do all these things? Possibly. Any that do all these things? Unlikely. Any that we require to be able to live and thus will have to be taking along with us anyway in some form? Almost certainly not.
I wasn't thinking NERVA - but Gaseous Diffusion rockets which use Uranium Hexafluoride gas as the reactant. A lot more kick to those, but admittedly if we start today they're still 30 years away.
And yes, it is overly optimistic. Even the educated public here is scared of the things not to mention the 4th grade reading level challenged common public that believes the lies CNN and Faux News cook up for them. When such a rocket goes bad (it will happen, Murphy's law) the radiation release would be on par with any one of the 200 or so / year 50's bomb tests. But I don't foresee more than 1 failure a decade - and that amount of release, on a global scale, is acceptable in my mind. At least there'd be a point to it other than foolish sabre rattling with the Russians.
I don't think we have a choice though. We've pushed chem rockets as far as the tech can go. Just as, 100 years ago, we'd pushed steam as far as it can go. Either we change techs or we make no progress - pretty simple really.
Yes, ice sublimates. But it's a relatively slow process, one that allows for patching. If the hull breach leads straight to air on the other hand you have explosive decompression. So which would you rather have, a slow sublimating ice leak that will leak out your water supply in about 7 days or an explosive decompression that kills you in 7 seconds unless you're fortunate enough to have a bulkhead between you and the strike?
The reason, even 1st generation ones will be able to lift 2 to 3 times as much weight in orbit as the chemical rockets we have now. This is the difference between orbiting the earth with substantial protection in an overbuilt craft and orbiting with tin foil.
The simple act of wrapping the crew quarters with water tanks for one. Water, when exposed to vacuum, freezes. It expands when it freezes, sealing any holes made by micro meteorites or space junk. It absorbs radiation somewhat readily, meaning you'd have to purify it before putting it to its most common use - drinking it.
But building a spacecraft or spaceship with such a concept in place will take a monumental increase in lifting capacity. We've taken chem rockets about as far as they are going to go - nuclear is the way if we can ever get over our irrational fear of the stuff.
I don't take note of user names (or for that matter ID's) here. I simply address the comments on their own merits (or lack thereof), if I feel a need to say anything at all. I've gone months without posting before. In order to be trolled I'd have to have an interest in the person behind the comment. After all, that is a troll's modus operandi - to get attention for themselves and then draw others into an exchange of bickering gainsays for their entertainment. The moment the conversation moves to personal insults I leave because I honestly don't have the time for it.
My comment was a sarcastic response and quippish to be sure. I don't necessarily disagree with the original sentiment and wish that was the way the world worked - were governments did as they should and secured the rights of the people, and not corporations. The only protection we have from big business is big government. If the two ever fully unite then we have a problem (some would argue they already have united).
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, but it doesn't do so instantaneously now does it? A light saber by contrast can pass through inches of steel in the blink of an eye, which requires an amount of energy several orders of magnitude higher than a plasma cutter generates.
heh heh yup. I also thought that the largest problem with a lightsaber being plasma is that to cut as efficiently as portrayed it would roast anyone within a football field of it. Little problem called convection and the laws of thermodynamics.
Maybe now MS will refocus their considerable lobbying resources to true patent reform since they've now been bitten hard by the current broken system.
No. God forbids designers from programming...
(That's sarcasm btw)
Built hell. I'll believe when the sucker is launched... with a crew.
Outside is a myth. :)
I win then. It works, as does the Atari 400, the Commodore Pet, the Apple II (no bloody c, e, g or gs), and Commodore 64 I've got. I collect old computers for a hobby, but I mentioned the VIC because I've owned it since it was bought for my 8th birthday. It and its *tape* drive are still in operating condition. I also own several old game consoles, and my dad has a working IBM mini computer from 1970 (can't remember the model number, but it has 8" disk drives). When I retire I'll start a museum.
Get off my lawn - I still have my Commodore VIC-20 ;)
heh heh - yep. Example as to why given in the crude comment by Gravitron which has more to say about him than it does about anything else. I find comfort and enjoyment in my routine and that is enough for me.
My company's office is 1 block from my church, which holds a mass at 12:10. So I spend half of the hour in service, then grab a hot dog afterward. For me it's a great way to relax and reset for the rest of the day. Say what you will about religion - it's one way to forget about code for 40 minutes.
Agreed, but I'd like for you to be wrong. After 15 years of "This is the Year of the Linux Desktop" I'm not getting any hopes up.
Specifically their job is to rule on the constitution. States are allowed to pre-empt a more lax federal law, always have been. But Roberts is using the power of the SCOTUS to nullify laws to serve his corporate masters, not to rule on the constitution. There was nothing unconstitutional about California's law. That Dallas company doesn't want to deal with California law - they should not do business in California.
So what's next? I imagine the corporations will be bringing up lawsuits against Washington or Oregon for having a higher minimum wage than the federal minimum. After all - by your logic - those states have no right to do that so those laws need to be struck down. Take your flawed logic to its final conclusion - why have states?
All this is blatantly obvious to anyone who isn't a corporate shill.
Justice Roberts once again proves his obedience to his corporate masters. Once upon a time the SCOTUS was seen as above such petty matters. Now it is clearly the pawn of the corporations - and this has been obvious ever since the ruling which allowed the corporations unlimited access to fund/bribe politicians.
Envious?
Agreed. If I wanted sensationalist ignorant bullshit I'd read Faux News or the Commie News Network. Whatever happened to /.'s sense of self esteem? News for nerds, stuff that matters - that is relatively accurate and free of the bleating of ignorance sheep that call themselves "science" journalists, who wouldn't know what radiation was if they got hit by a 10,000 rad dose. (Yes, I know that's sufficient to briefly make them glow every color of the rainbow before vaporizing).
Beat me to the punch.
Where do you think geothermal energy is coming from? Much of it is radioactive isotope decay. The earth is basically a giant fission reactor, just as the sun (and all stars) is a ginormous fusion reactor.
Yes there are other options. How many are as elegant or efficient?
Take a 1 foot thick shell of water around the crew compartment. Water is one of the best radiation deflectors there is, but also a very good insulator. Plus, it will flow to redistribute itself. If the craft doesn't rotate the water nearest the sun will expand and flow away to the dark side of the craft, while that cold water will move back creating equilibrium within the whole.
I don't know the specifics of the radiation uptake of water - it may indeed be safe to drink and if so, so much the better. We have to have it anyway...
Another flaw in pointing out that water evaporates/sublimates when exposed to a vacuum. That applies if the water is completely exposed and a (relatively) small amount. I wasn't talking about the exposure of the entirety of the tank to space all at once. Rather a pinprick hole in the tank - what happens? The water immediately next to the hole rushes out to fill the void but in so doing loses thermal energy rapidly. The hole will ice over unless it is too large. This will seal the gap because water, unlike almost all materials, expands when freezing.
The ice will sublimate but it's a fairly slow process, and needs solar energy. If water always evaporates away without a trace in space there'd be no comets or other iceballs flying around out there. The energy loss eventually will cause some amount of the water to freeze up.
Water has another property I didn't go over earlier because I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing. It doesn't compress well. This is why depth charges are so dangerous to submarines, and why bomb squads have taken to using containers of water to shatter bombs. I think the physics of a micrometeorite striking a water shell of a spacecraft would be to distribute the energy over a large area of the inner hull and make it possible to minimize the damage. I could be wrong on this though.
Are there other materials that can do all these things? Possibly. Any that do all these things? Unlikely. Any that we require to be able to live and thus will have to be taking along with us anyway in some form? Almost certainly not.
I wasn't thinking NERVA - but Gaseous Diffusion rockets which use Uranium Hexafluoride gas as the reactant. A lot more kick to those, but admittedly if we start today they're still 30 years away.
And yes, it is overly optimistic. Even the educated public here is scared of the things not to mention the 4th grade reading level challenged common public that believes the lies CNN and Faux News cook up for them. When such a rocket goes bad (it will happen, Murphy's law) the radiation release would be on par with any one of the 200 or so / year 50's bomb tests. But I don't foresee more than 1 failure a decade - and that amount of release, on a global scale, is acceptable in my mind. At least there'd be a point to it other than foolish sabre rattling with the Russians.
I don't think we have a choice though. We've pushed chem rockets as far as the tech can go. Just as, 100 years ago, we'd pushed steam as far as it can go. Either we change techs or we make no progress - pretty simple really.
Yes, ice sublimates. But it's a relatively slow process, one that allows for patching. If the hull breach leads straight to air on the other hand you have explosive decompression. So which would you rather have, a slow sublimating ice leak that will leak out your water supply in about 7 days or an explosive decompression that kills you in 7 seconds unless you're fortunate enough to have a bulkhead between you and the strike?
The reason, even 1st generation ones will be able to lift 2 to 3 times as much weight in orbit as the chemical rockets we have now. This is the difference between orbiting the earth with substantial protection in an overbuilt craft and orbiting with tin foil.
The simple act of wrapping the crew quarters with water tanks for one. Water, when exposed to vacuum, freezes. It expands when it freezes, sealing any holes made by micro meteorites or space junk. It absorbs radiation somewhat readily, meaning you'd have to purify it before putting it to its most common use - drinking it.
But building a spacecraft or spaceship with such a concept in place will take a monumental increase in lifting capacity. We've taken chem rockets about as far as they are going to go - nuclear is the way if we can ever get over our irrational fear of the stuff.
That's Mimas, and it's similarity to the Death Star has long been noted.
Network traffic has moved 8 feet to the east.
That was horrible. Funny - but horrible.
I don't take note of user names (or for that matter ID's) here. I simply address the comments on their own merits (or lack thereof), if I feel a need to say anything at all. I've gone months without posting before. In order to be trolled I'd have to have an interest in the person behind the comment. After all, that is a troll's modus operandi - to get attention for themselves and then draw others into an exchange of bickering gainsays for their entertainment. The moment the conversation moves to personal insults I leave because I honestly don't have the time for it. My comment was a sarcastic response and quippish to be sure. I don't necessarily disagree with the original sentiment and wish that was the way the world worked - were governments did as they should and secured the rights of the people, and not corporations. The only protection we have from big business is big government. If the two ever fully unite then we have a problem (some would argue they already have united).
How delightfully naive of you. Sony and it's corporate bedmates own the government. It will not do anything without Sony's permission.