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Comments · 259

  1. Re:Would this block an EMP? on Company Offers Disaster-Proof Storage For Records · · Score: 1

    Hehe.. I guess you could pump a non-conductive fluid through pipes in the cage to drive a turbine inside. Probably just use batteries though.

  2. Re:Would this block an EMP? on Company Offers Disaster-Proof Storage For Records · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Um, that's sort of true. You're confusing the gamma ray burst (prompt radiation) and EMP which are two different things. You're correct about not being able to totally gamma rays because of their incredibly low wavelength/high frequency. They can be shielded against with lots of matter in between, like lead or a whole lot of earth because the gamma rays ionize the shielding material and lose energy in doing so.

    The EMP however is completely different, almost the opposite end of the scale. It isn't a wave as much as a pulse - a very sudden, high amplitude rising and falling edge producing effects more similar to an electromagnet than radio waves. When this pulse reaches wires etc inside electronic equipment it induces a high voltage, zapping it. Faraday cages can certainly protect against them, but there are problems because to have a running computer it usually needs connecting cables for power, data etc which must go through the cage. These can conduct the pulse in unless carefully opto-isolated.

  3. MOOSE on Space Shuttle to be Outfitted with New Sensors · · Score: 1

    Check out the MOOSE "ejector seat" system - now there's something I'd give my right arm to have a go on.

  4. Re:Well... on Need... More... Power... · · Score: 5, Informative
    Incorrect. Fusion reactors can and are being made by amateurs. I'm making one myself at the moment, still in the design stages though :)

    None of these produce any usable power of course.

  5. Re:Sweet on Uranium Pebbles May Light the Way · · Score: 1
    Refining ore makes the product less radioactive ??? maybe if I melt my 10 karat gold ring with a pound of lead, I'll end up with a 24 karat gold bar. That's just non-sense

    Uranium is not gold. The ore contains radium which makes up approximately 98% of the radioactivity due to being much hotter than uranium, despite the fact that there is very little of it present. Uranium itself is of such low radioactivity and of such long halflife as to be inconsequential; the dangers arise from the fission products formed when uranium atoms split in half during power production.

  6. Re:No indeed - some experiments to date on Simcity Microwave Power by 2050? · · Score: 1

    ..system! A low power system! Damn this lack of coffee!

  7. No indeed - some experiments to date on Simcity Microwave Power by 2050? · · Score: 5, Informative
    A low power has been demonstrated. William C. Brown demonstrated a flying helicopter powered by microwaves - they are picked up by rectennas (rectifying antennas) which are enormously efficient at converting back to usable electrical energy. (50 to 85% DC-microwave-DC efficiency).

    This site also has some interesting information on beamed-power research.

    There are even competitions!

  8. Re:Why we stopped going to the moon on The Case for the Moon · · Score: 3, Informative
    Such a system has indeed been demonstrated. William C. Brown demonstrated a flying helicopter powered by microwaves - they are picked up by rectennas which are enormously efficient at converting back to usable electrical energy. (50 to 85% DC-microwave-DC efficiency)

    This site also has some interesting information on beamed-power research.

  9. Re:Availability on Weather Radar Goes Miniature · · Score: 3, Funny

    Let's also hope that bold text becomes more publicised and widely overused by all.

  10. Re:I find it amusing that I can buy... on IT's Most Outrageous Markups? · · Score: 1

    No. They couldn't. Realise that you're probably only one of about 100 people in the world who would want to do such a thing - not that that's bad, but those additional sales do not make up for the relatively huge extra development costs.

  11. Re:We should send him off in style... on Edward Teller Passes Away At 95 · · Score: 1

    You know, that's really a pretty good idea. I can't think of many better ways to go.

  12. Re:On the team on The Sound of a Black Hole · · Score: 1

    Ah, so you're a muffin man.

  13. Rubber-hose cryptanalysis on Quantum Cryptography Gets Nanotube Boost · · Score: 1
    Incorrect: even a one time pad is vulnerable to rubber-hose cryptanalysis. From the Jargon File:

    The technique of breaking a code or cipher by finding someone who has the key and applying a rubber hose vigorously and repeatedly to the soles of that luckless person's feet until the key is discovered. Shorthand for any method of coercion: the originator of the term drily noted that it ?can take a surprisingly short time and is quite computationally inexpensive? relative to other cryptanalysis methods.
    A related technique is the purchase-key attack.
  14. Re:OT: Orbit question on Balloonists Attempt World Altitude Record · · Score: 1

    But surely if it reached the same height and position as one of the current geostationary satellites, it would then stay in the same orbit? Or is it that just lifting it from a point on the Earth would not give it enough "sideways" velocity, i.e. by the time it got as high as geostationary would it no longer be in the same position above the Earth? (discounting air resistance etc)

  15. OT: Orbit question on Balloonists Attempt World Altitude Record · · Score: 1

    If, hypothetically, a balloon were to ascend to the height of a geostationary orbit (36,000 miles?) would it stay there? Presumably it would have to be launched from the equator... (discounting the fact that a balloon couldn't possibly get that high because there's no damn air)

  16. Re:Virus? on Kiddie Porn - The Virus Did It · · Score: 5, Informative

    Being a close friend of the the man's son, Alex Green, I can attest that his story is true - but there is more to it than that. Mr Green's older daughter (14 at the time, I think) had a vendetta against him for several years. She was the one who reported it to the police, and most of the Green family believe she put the porn on there to incriminate him. Of course Mr Green wouldn't testify against his own daughter, although he doesn't consider her a daughter any more...

  17. Re:IN SOVIET RUSSIA..... on Linking Dangerously · · Score: 1
    I mean, after all, there's nothing wrong with linking to instructions to your house (publicly available information), right? Still think free speech should cover that?

    Yes! Go right ahead, I'll put my money where his mouth is.

    Henry Hallam
    Woodlands
    Walls Hill Rd
    Torquay
    TQ1 3LZ
    United Kingdom

  18. Re:Cool on Robot Balloon Escapes In Britain · · Score: 1

    well, actually.. if you're fusing enough hydrogen to produce significant quantities of He, what are you planning to do with the metric fuckloads of energy?

  19. Re:I disagree. In China, network is fast. on Mailing Disks is Faster than Uploading Data · · Score: 1

    Just wondering... isn't slashdot blocked by the Great Firewall? If so, how did you get through?

  20. Anecdotal evidence on Introduction to Debian · · Score: 1
    Sorry but Debian installation is a pain in the ass. The average user can't install it.

    I consider myself a less-than-average user. Debian was only my second installation of linux, and the first time I'd used it for more than two years. I had absolutely no problems installing it a couple of months ago, and it has been running perfectly ever since then.

    Perhaps I'm the exception to the rule, but I was very satisfied with Debian's installation. Of course, this was on a clean HDD without the bother of repartitioning etc, but that shouldn't be much of a problem.

  21. Re:In the underground cave/aquifer on Fan-Made Space Quest Prequel Released · · Score: 1

    Found it! You just avoid them, but you have to use the diagonal keys on the numpad.

  22. Re:stuck in the pod on Fan-Made Space Quest Prequel Released · · Score: 1

    Push the orange button, it's a distress signal. I'm not sure how to get past the next bit, though

  23. In the underground cave/aquifer on Fan-Made Space Quest Prequel Released · · Score: 1

    How on earth are you supposed to get past the purple plants?

  24. Re:stuck in the pod on Fan-Made Space Quest Prequel Released · · Score: 1

    Push the button, then pull the lever.. worked for me

  25. Re:I have leg cramp problmes also. on Will Caffeine Cause Health Problems? · · Score: 1

    You mean Potassium Chloride... KClO3 is pretty nasty stuff, used as a weedkiller in fact. Not recommended, plus it tastes horrible (don't ask)