Could a land based or space based laser heat a small orbiting object relative to the 'ambient' temperature? Would that have any effect on its drag?
No, but one of the most promising proposals for dealing with small objects does involve a ground-based laser. A very high peak power (but moderate average power) pulsed laser would zap the objects each time they came in range. The high peak power would vaporize a very tiny amount of the surface of each object each time it was hit, giving it a tiny amount of thrust. Over a period of months enough delta-v would accumlate to change the object's orbit to one that would intersect the atmosphere.
> You will still have a very large moment arm and a decently sized moment.
You do not, however, have any more angular momemtum. Consequently, as the baloon deploys the tumble rate decreases drastically. The peak forces should not be very large unless you were tumbling pretty fast. In most cases the craft will still have some attitude control and so won't be tumbling at all.
> Since aerogels are so light......the debris would punch right through it and keep right on going (in a slightly different and perhaps even less convenient orbit).
To catch these objects we need something much, much more massive than they are to absorb the momentum and much, much larger to dissipate the energy. Fortunately we have such an object right at hand: the Earth. All we have to do is modify the orbits of the bits of debris slightly so that they intersect the Earth's atmosphere (because modifying the orbit of the Earth so that it intersects that of the debris would be inconvenient).
No. Instantaneous vaporization == explosion. Whatever your "bullet" hit has now been blown into a thousand new bits of debris (some of them plated with bullet vapor).
It has to do with boosting hundreds of tons of your ballistic gel into orbit and then watching in horror as the energy released by the first 10km/sec bolt to hit it causes it to explode.
Forty years ago those "geriatrics" were radical leftists, out in the streets protesting the policies of the government of the day. Forty years from now where do you think your politically-correct under thirties are going to be?
You aren't going to get rid of the "geriatrics" by waiting for them to die. You are just going to become one.
So if I understand it, the thing does not have enough buoyancy to stay aloft without its engines, or enough engine power / the right shape to stay aloft without the helium. So what we have here is a disaster that can happen if either component fails.
So if I understand it, the thing does not have enough lift to stay aloft without its engines, or enough engine power without the wings. So what we have here is a disaster that can happen if either component fails (the airplane).
Or: So if I understand it, the thing does not have enough lift to stay aloft without its engines (the helicopter).
they may be legally required to liquate the remaining merchandise before they comply with this particular court order.
I don't think so. This is a court order assigning ownership of this property, not an unsecured debt. I think that it will be considered senior to the claims of the other creditors in the same way that a lien is senior to unpaid bills.
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No, but one of the most promising proposals for dealing with small objects does involve a ground-based laser. A very high peak power (but moderate average power) pulsed laser would zap the objects each time they came in range. The high peak power would vaporize a very tiny amount of the surface of each object each time it was hit, giving it a tiny amount of thrust. Over a period of months enough delta-v would accumlate to change the object's orbit to one that would intersect the atmosphere.
Two small holes in the bag.
I can't quite make out what you are proposing.
> You will still have a very large moment arm and a decently sized moment.
You do not, however, have any more angular momemtum. Consequently, as the baloon deploys the tumble rate decreases drastically. The peak forces should not be very large unless you were tumbling pretty fast. In most cases the craft will still have some attitude control and so won't be tumbling at all.
Or possibly as a backup for the rockets. There are things up there that were supposed to be able to deorbit themselves before the malfunction...
> Since aerogels are so light... ...the debris would punch right through it and keep right on going (in a slightly different and perhaps even less convenient orbit).
To catch these objects we need something much, much more massive than they are to absorb the momentum and much, much larger to dissipate the energy. Fortunately we have such an object right at hand: the Earth. All we have to do is modify the orbits of the bits of debris slightly so that they intersect the Earth's atmosphere (because modifying the orbit of the Earth so that it intersects that of the debris would be inconvenient).
> Problem solved, no?
No. Instantaneous vaporization == explosion. Whatever your "bullet" hit has now been blown into a thousand new bits of debris (some of them plated with bullet vapor).
> What does that have to do with anything?
It has to do with boosting hundreds of tons of your ballistic gel into orbit and then watching in horror as the energy released by the first 10km/sec bolt to hit it causes it to explode.
Forty years ago those "geriatrics" were radical leftists, out in the streets protesting the policies of the government of the day. Forty years from now where do you think your politically-correct under thirties are going to be?
You aren't going to get rid of the "geriatrics" by waiting for them to die. You are just going to become one.
> I'm curious to see how they intend to make that work out.
By making it not incompatible with Firefox.
> Maybe not so much to Skynet.
Then we just have to hope the spammers piss off Skynet.
Another less subtle try: So NSA can break into Windows at will. How does this set them apart from everybody else?
So if I understand it, the thing does not have enough lift to stay aloft without its engines, or enough engine power without the wings. So what we have here is a disaster that can happen if either component fails (the airplane).
Or: So if I understand it, the thing does not have enough lift to stay aloft without its engines (the helicopter).
So how does that set NSA apart from anybody else?
The citizens didn't use it against the politicians. The politicians used it against each other.
If encryption approached "Facebook levels of popularity" it would be far too late for most governments to outlaw it.
> So much for liberté... we still have egalité and fraternité (until further notice)
Unless you are Roma.
> What's so hard about making a law that forces ISP's to install monitoring software?
I expect that is what they are going to do: make a law that forces ISPs to install monitoring software on their customer's machines.
> Wonder if they can automate this (identifying 'illegal' content)?
Of course. Anything not identified by an authorized publisher as legal is illegal.
> I don't see why they don't just put in some sort of sniffer at ISP switches.
I'm sure they already have that, but it's reserved for more important uses.
We now have weather radar and weather forcasting that actually works. Thuderstorms are no longer a serious threat.
> I think I missed the memo explaining how helium was now a scarce resource.
It always has been.
Why would I want to? It's a wonderful word.
> because that has a lot of history
Yes. A fine one.
I don't think so. This is a court order assigning ownership of this property, not an unsecured debt. I think that it will be considered senior to the claims of the other creditors in the same way that a lien is senior to unpaid bills.
> The US Constitution says bankruptcies are in Federal court and not a state matter.
It says no such thing. It does not cover bankruptcy at all, even indirectly.