While Sinclair insn't giving anything out, perhaps it will be something like this design . Chris Townsend's "Mantic" design is something like an electric scooter, but a bit more stylish, and (according to the article) weighs 10 kg, folds up for easy carrying, and will cost ~$A 1000 (~ $US 650). Much cheaper & lighter than the Segway, similar speed and range, and almost as easy to use.
What's not to like?
I am a Statistician. One false move and you are a Statistic.
More to the point, cows (and other animals) will most likely be the first widespread application of this technology. My cat already has an ID chip, but that is completely passive. With a blood battery behind it, I could add a GPS tracker and transmitter, thereby answering the question: what *does* that cat get up to during the day?
With cows or other large animals, larger devices with more power would be possible. Perhaps a device to summon the cows for round up, or give them a shock if they stray out of bounds.
I am a Statistician. One false move and you are a Statistic
My second idea, greatest horizontal distance traveled above 100 km, would be a logical follow-up to the first one, since it could only be won by someone following a ballistic trajectory.
I like the idea of this one. Perhaps one event will be a Los Angeles to Sydney suborbital race. Special prize for the first team to do it under ninety minutes.
Wetsuits....
Heat might be tricky. Space is cold, but there's no air, so shedding heat is surprisingly hard. I'm not sure if overheating or freezing would be the main problem for humans in moderately insulated suits.
I haven't seen any technical literature on this, but it has featured in a few SF stories (such as Pournelle's Exiles to Glory), and I read some non-technical stuff about the idea in Savage's The Millenium Project. The basic design is something like a thick body stocking to provide enough extra reinforcement to the skin - enough to hold in the pressure. You keep cool by sweating, you keep warm by putting some warm clothing on. You wear a fishbowl helmet, and breathe pure oxygen at about five PSI (which incidentally is pretty well what astronauts do anyway).
I understand that NASA did some successful tests on these back in the seventies. I don't understand why they never put them into use.
Now, can someone help Dr. Brown with that Flux Capacitor project already? Thanks.
Never mind the Flux Capacitor, I want the Mr Fusion power pack. With one of those, you'd be able to power a lifter strong enough to do something useful.
Mind you, using it to power (say) a helicopter would probably be more practical.
I am a Statistician. One false move and you are a Statistic.
I don't think the rich should be rewarded for being rich. Instead, I think a lottery would be more appropriate, with tickets in the range of $100 and made available to anyone in the world.
A lottery is a good idea, and has been mooted before - though it has yet to get off the ground. Feel free to organise one - I'm sure Space Adventures would be just as happy to sell the tickets(s) to the organiser of a lottery as to any one else who has the money.
In the mean time, let the rich fly. They can afford it, and by paying to fly in space they show that there is a market for space flight. This will encourage private firms to start offering trips into space, and eventually make it cheap enough for the rest of us.
This is almost what Denis Tito did. On his flight (the first Space Tourist flight) NASA dragged their feet on granting permission, and it was planned that he remain in the Russian parts of the station for his stay at ISS. In the event NASA relented and he was allowed in the American section as well.
A thought on this issue: as you say, neither the Dems nor the Reps would like to see the rise of smaller parties, because this would erode their influence (power base), and they would even (gasp) co-operate to keep the system just the way it is. However, if a party smaller party does grow big enough to be an "annoyance" to the established ones, the one more hurt by the smaller party will bring the issues in this article up - hence this discussion.
Another comment from Down Under. Having a preferenential system, as we do here, makes it much easier for smaller parties be formed and to play a serious part in politics. However, it is rare for a small party to grow to be a major annoyance to the two large parties. What generally happens when a small party gets a moderate amount of influence is that the big parties take their policies on board, so that the smaller party loses its support.
This isn't really ideal - if the major parties were really sensitive to what people wanted they would set their policies without being forced to - but it does make politicians more sensitive to what people want.
How can it be "periodically trapped"? Is it like the object orbits Earth a few times and then skips back off through the cosmos?
I'm not an astronomer either, but I think it has to do with the Moon. If it was just Earth, Sun & asteroid, it would remain in the "horseshoe" orbit, but the Moon complicates things. By the sound of it, every now and then the Moon steeals a little momentum from the asteroid, enough for it to be captured into Earth orbit. This isn't stable, though, and after a while the Moon ejects it back into solar orbit.
Remember that the recent piece of Apollo space junk found in orbit about the Earth earlier this year had only recently been captured, and is due to leave Earth orbit in the next couple of months.
Don't forget the computer built into a desk in the movie "Tron". Haven't seen the movie in years, but as I recall it the villain had a big, glass topped desk with keyboard (can't remember if it was built in), with the monitor mounted under the desk but visible by looking through the glass desktop. The rest of the computer was presumably mounted in the desk, though that wasn't explored in the movie.
I've seen this one also - I bought a copy while holidaying in Singapore last month, buying a copy of the region 3 DVD. I've not seen Mononoke.
Verdict: I quite enjoyed it, as did my son (age 12) and daughter (age 8 - though she found some parts scary), and I would recommend it.
No idea, alas, when it is likely to hit Australia (I live in Sydney). No sign of Mononoke either...
Effectively, tidal energy energy works by slowing down the rotation of the earth, using the bulge in the water level raised by lunar tides. As the earth is rotating faster than the moon is orbiting, and as angular momentum is conserved, this works to *raise* the orbit of the moon.
This is already happening due to tidal friction; extracting tidal energy on a huge scale would perhaps speed the process a fraction, but only a fraction.
Re:Soviets were never really far ahead
on
Soviet Moon Rocket
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· Score: 1
The real Soviet advantage was bigger boosters, which was a result of poorer bomb technology. After WW2 the Soviets developed nuclear bombs like the US, but for both they were large - too large to "deliver" (love that military speak) with existing rockets. The Soviets developed bigger rockets. The US developed smaller bombs.
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What's not to like?
I am a Statistician. One false move and you are a Statistic.
With cows or other large animals, larger devices with more power would be possible. Perhaps a device to summon the cows for round up, or give them a shock if they stray out of bounds.
I am a Statistician. One false move and you are a Statistic
I like the idea of this one. Perhaps one event will be a Los Angeles to Sydney suborbital race. Special prize for the first team to do it under ninety minutes.
I haven't seen any technical literature on this, but it has featured in a few SF stories (such as Pournelle's Exiles to Glory), and I read some non-technical stuff about the idea in Savage's The Millenium Project. The basic design is something like a thick body stocking to provide enough extra reinforcement to the skin - enough to hold in the pressure. You keep cool by sweating, you keep warm by putting some warm clothing on. You wear a fishbowl helmet, and breathe pure oxygen at about five PSI (which incidentally is pretty well what astronauts do anyway).
I understand that NASA did some successful tests on these back in the seventies. I don't understand why they never put them into use.
Never mind the Flux Capacitor, I want the Mr Fusion power pack. With one of those, you'd be able to power a lifter strong enough to do something useful.
Mind you, using it to power (say) a helicopter would probably be more practical.
I am a Statistician. One false move and you are a Statistic.
A lottery is a good idea, and has been mooted before - though it has yet to get off the ground. Feel free to organise one - I'm sure Space Adventures would be just as happy to sell the tickets(s) to the organiser of a lottery as to any one else who has the money.
In the mean time, let the rich fly. They can afford it, and by paying to fly in space they show that there is a market for space flight. This will encourage private firms to start offering trips into space, and eventually make it cheap enough for the rest of us.
This is almost what Denis Tito did. On his flight (the first Space Tourist flight) NASA dragged their feet on granting permission, and it was planned that he remain in the Russian parts of the station for his stay at ISS. In the event NASA relented and he was allowed in the American section as well.
Another comment from Down Under. Having a preferenential system, as we do here, makes it much easier for smaller parties be formed and to play a serious part in politics. However, it is rare for a small party to grow to be a major annoyance to the two large parties. What generally happens when a small party gets a moderate amount of influence is that the big parties take their policies on board, so that the smaller party loses its support.
This isn't really ideal - if the major parties were really sensitive to what people wanted they would set their policies without being forced to - but it does make politicians more sensitive to what people want.
I'm not an astronomer either, but I think it has to do with the Moon. If it was just Earth, Sun & asteroid, it would remain in the "horseshoe" orbit, but the Moon complicates things. By the sound of it, every now and then the Moon steeals a little momentum from the asteroid, enough for it to be captured into Earth orbit. This isn't stable, though, and after a while the Moon ejects it back into solar orbit.
Remember that the recent piece of Apollo space junk found in orbit about the Earth earlier this year had only recently been captured, and is due to leave Earth orbit in the next couple of months.
Don't forget the computer built into a desk in the movie "Tron". Haven't seen the movie in years, but as I recall it the villain had a big, glass topped desk with keyboard (can't remember if it was built in), with the monitor mounted under the desk but visible by looking through the glass desktop. The rest of the computer was presumably mounted in the desk, though that wasn't explored in the movie.
Verdict: I quite enjoyed it, as did my son (age 12) and daughter (age 8 - though she found some parts scary), and I would recommend it. No idea, alas, when it is likely to hit Australia (I live in Sydney). No sign of Mononoke either ...
Effectively, tidal energy energy works by slowing down the rotation of the earth, using the bulge in the water level raised by lunar tides. As the earth is rotating faster than the moon is orbiting, and as angular momentum is conserved, this works to *raise* the orbit of the moon.
This is already happening due to tidal friction; extracting tidal energy on a huge scale would perhaps speed the process a fraction, but only a fraction.
The real Soviet advantage was bigger boosters, which was a result of poorer bomb technology. After WW2 the Soviets developed nuclear bombs like the US, but for both they were large - too large to "deliver" (love that military speak) with existing rockets. The Soviets developed bigger rockets. The US developed smaller bombs.