The bits of stuff already have random orbits. Since you would be tracking while zapping you would know the new orbit of your current target at least as well as you knew the old one. The orbit is not going to be changed drastically: just enough to drop the perigee down to perhaps 150 miles. The atmosphere will take it from there.
The debris is spread out over a volume of millions of cubic miles and the bits are moving at relative velocities of miles per second. They will tear right through your nets unless you match velocities with each bit, which would would require enormous amounts of fuel and take centuries.
Vaporizing the crap is not feasible, nor is putting extremely large lasers in orbit. Fortunately, neither is necessary. You build a very high peak-power pulse laser on the ground and use it to hit the bits of debris with femtosecond pulses that vaporize a few micrograms off each of them. The vapor acts like a rocket engine, its reaction force slightly changing the orbit. Hit each bit again every time it comes around and soon it is in a decaying orbit. Space Broom
Because they used to be insanely, ridiculously, incredibly damned expensive. Now they are merely damned expensive. In a decade or so they will be down to expensive. Someday they will be cheap, but the sun may go out first.
> 1) First, we used radar and the speed of light to figure out the distances of things in > our solar system. These calculations helped us figure out the diameter of the Earth's > orbit, which is used in the next step, parallax.
No. First we used Newton's laws and geometry to figure out the distances of things in our solar system. No radar needed. The first quantitative estimates of the speed of light were made using the known motion of and distance to Jupiter's moon Io.
Closed source vendors: "Use only closed source! Open source is dangerous!" Free Software advocates: "Use only Free Software! Closed source is wrong!" Politicians: "Let's compromise. We'll make it half-open. We'll just enact this legislation that imposes just a few minor restrictions on the GPL..."
Keep the damn politicians away, ok? They are already free to use the software but they have nothing we need. Everything they touch turns to shit.
If they are posting false negative reviews and then offering to take them down for a fee they are engaging in extortion. The false negative reviews may also constitute libel.
> I'm wondering if they can be sued for that. If they really write bad reviews for > restaurants that don't advertise, I would think that this would count as libel, > even if you can't sue for extortion.
I think that they could be sued for both libel and extortion, if anyone wants to bother.
Slashdot Mirror
Um, the Earth is a giant magnet.
The bits of stuff already have random orbits. Since you would be tracking while zapping you would know the new orbit of your current target at least as well as you knew the old one. The orbit is not going to be changed drastically: just enough to drop the perigee down to perhaps 150 miles. The atmosphere will take it from there.
n/t
The debris is spread out over a volume of millions of cubic miles and the bits are moving at relative velocities of miles per second. They will tear right through your nets unless you match velocities with each bit, which would would require enormous amounts of fuel and take centuries.
> I thought the collision was at like 300mi altitude. Now they'r saying this causes
> problems at Geosynchronous orbit?
> What am I missing?
The fact that in order to get from here to there one must cross the intervening space.
> I thought GEO was at like 30,000 miles above the earth.
Closer to 22,000.
> I didn't think the shuttle planned on traveling that high anyway.
Some of the wreckage was scattered into orbits that could intersect that of the Shuttle while it is on its way to Hubble.
Vaporizing the crap is not feasible, nor is putting extremely large lasers in orbit. Fortunately, neither is necessary. You build a very high peak-power pulse laser on the ground and use it to hit the bits of debris with femtosecond pulses that vaporize a few micrograms off each of them. The vapor acts like a rocket engine, its reaction force slightly changing the orbit. Hit each bit again every time it comes around and soon it is in a decaying orbit. Space Broom
Or maybe the USA has nothing to do with it.
> I don't know about Swedish law, but in the US, criminal discovery is a lot more limited
> than civil discovery.
It is, but Perry Mason stunts are still not allowed.
Because they used to be insanely, ridiculously, incredibly damned expensive. Now they are merely damned expensive. In a decade or so they will be down to expensive. Someday they will be cheap, but the sun may go out first.
It would appear that it must track the sun precisely.
It's the same problem whether you are sending the power for the climber up from below or down from above.
> 1) First, we used radar and the speed of light to figure out the distances of things in
> our solar system. These calculations helped us figure out the diameter of the Earth's
> orbit, which is used in the next step, parallax.
No. First we used Newton's laws and geometry to figure out the distances of things in our solar system. No radar needed. The first quantitative estimates of the speed of light were made using the known motion of and distance to Jupiter's moon Io.
> Ubuntu, similarly, doesn't think much of 128 megs of RAM.
There are several Linux distributions targeted at old hardware that would work fine on that machine.
> I know it's outdated hardware. It does everything else I require of it.
As long as you don't require it to access modern Web sites.
> ...we have no hope while ill-educated MBAs wearing expensive suits are in charge.
So quit doing what they tell you and they won't be in charge any more.
Don't leave it on too long. The tin whiskers could grow right into your brain.
...
And then there is tin disease
> I haven't heard of this actually doing anything malicious yet, and judging from some
> comments here, it hasn't actually done anything yet.
Hasn't yet done anything that we know of. Yet.
Shouldn't that read "the appallingly alliterative Ubuntu family"?
More dangerous is the possibility that they would decide to "adjust" the licenses.
Google "insulation".
Closed source vendors: "Use only closed source! Open source is dangerous!" Free Software advocates: "Use only Free Software! Closed source is wrong!" Politicians: "Let's compromise. We'll make it half-open. We'll just enact this legislation that imposes just a few minor restrictions on the GPL..."
Keep the damn politicians away, ok? They are already free to use the software but they have nothing we need. Everything they touch turns to shit.
> I think I'll go with what Bruce Schneier and other security researchers suggest.
Which is...
If they are posting false negative reviews and then offering to take them down for a fee they are engaging in extortion. The false negative reviews may also constitute libel.
> I'm wondering if they can be sued for that. If they really write bad reviews for
> restaurants that don't advertise, I would think that this would count as libel,
> even if you can't sue for extortion.
I think that they could be sued for both libel and extortion, if anyone wants to bother.
Money.
You had the opportunity to read the EULA, refuse it, and return the software. When did they have an opportunity to read your SPLA?