You're comparing small nation states against a federation
The US is NOT a federation. It's a large nation-state with 50 subunits (sort of like the UK has Scotland, England, Wales, or France its "departments").
You don't have to like the fact that the US is a continent-spanning nation, but it is, and your nation isn't (unless you're Australia, Canada or Russia)....
Keep in mind, anything you could hit with a navel gun is even easier to hit with a rail gun.
Apart from targets over the horizon.
Well, no. Railguns, like conventional cannon, fire a projectile that obeys the law of gravity. Which means the trajectory is parabolic for those who are exceptionally dense.
So, yes, railguns can hit targets over the horizon.
We could get sea level rises of several meters if we wait long enough
Yep. Surely could.
Irrelevant to TFA, though, since that was about the next thirty years, and the need for lots and lots of money to deal with problems that include airports being underwater if the money isn't spent.
They mention airports underwater by 2045 as part of the problem. Last I checked (about two minutes ago, when I saw the airports line in TFS), sea level rise by 2050, WORST CASE, is projected to be ~40cm.
So, how many airports do we have within 16 inches of sea level in the USA? New Orleans airport is the lowest lying of any major US city, and is four FEET above current sea level.
It's the only one that is single-digit feet above sea level, by the by.
Okay, a coke can holds 12 oz. of Coke. Which is about 0.36 liters. TNT has a density of 1.65, so a coke can could hold around 600 grams of TNT.
A 105 HE shell runs about 2200 grams of TNT, so this "coke can bomb" would have had about 1/4 the bang of a 105 howitzer shell, with next to no shrapnel.
For the required car analogy, the coke can bomb (if it had existed) would have been about as powerful as a Prius at 125 mph running into whatever. Given that the "whatever" in this case was the side of a bridge, damage to the bridge would have been minimal, though it probably would have scared the crap out of any driver nearby at the time....
Watching this 'debate', I've been unsurprised; but depressed, at the quality of 'argument' trotted out. The one that particularly annoys me is the "We can't allow it unless we know that it's totally safe and effective! What about possible side effects?!!".
I'm pretty sure we have Thalidomide to thank for that particular attitude.
Note that the "State" law in question is based on the Uniform Parenting Act by the Federal government. It's a set of standards for determining who is, or isn't, a "parent" in the eyes of the law.
The evidence seems to be that his PASSENGERS took selfies before. Then he crashed. Therefore he took a selfie.
More likely, the/. headline was garbled, and what was really asserted is that his passengers were taking selfies, and he was disoriented by the flashes from the selfies taken by someone else.
Also, note that for something to be terrorism, it must "involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life, property, or infrastructure...and, appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce" etc etc etc influence government policy. (emphasis added).
It should also be noted that "terrorism" includes:
This includes activities that facilitate or support TERRORISM and/or TERRORIST ACTIVITIES, such as providing a safe house, transportation, communications, funds, transfer of funds or other material benefit, false documentation or identifucation, weapons (including chemical, biological, or radiological weapons), explosives, or training for the commission of act of terrorism and/or TERRORIST ACTIVITY.
Note the "communications" part, which could be used to justify nailing the PGP and/or GPG people if desired....
Note that current US rockets are pretty much comparable to current Russian rockets. So we're no worse off than they are, and we've at least done it before.
Probably the most capable of putting together a quick and dirty lunar flight (politics and money aside) are the French. Current Ariane is at least as good as anything the US or Russia has.
Note also that, absent a burning need, SpaceX is probably closer than anyone else right now. Falcon Heavy is more likely to actually be finished on time than any of China/Russia/US/EU rockets, since they don't have to depend on the budget process of whatever country.
I take it you're unaware that conventional firearms work fine in a vacuum? No, neither gunpowder nor modern smokeless powders require external oxygen to burn....
I thought Russia's SCAA (State Civil Aviation Administration) might have a say as well. Mainly because they are the -only- country able to actually make a manned moon landing these days.
I'm curious - what makes you think the Russians are capable of making a manned moon landing, given that they've never done so, and don't actually have a launcher capable of doing so?
It's not like Energia is still being made or anything, even if it matched the performance of Saturn V, which it didn't.
At present, noone has the capability of making a manned moon landing, though China is developing a booster in the Saturn V range, as is the USA.
Allowing a special interest to essentially shut down an agency designed to monitor/regulate it is a bad thing.
Well, if the "war on drugs" goes away, the need for the DEA will go away with it, I hope. Not sure what they'd be doing otherwise, and I have no moral objection to shutting down a part of the government that no longer has a useful function.
I don't know who else would be targeted at a gun show so once the NRA picks up it's batphone you can bet the DEA will be as marginalized as the ATF (understaffed to monitor firearms nationwide, directorless for 7 years, etc), effectively ending the war on drugs.
Slashdot Mirror
You do know that the 16" guns on the battleships could fire 15-25 miles (38km max range)?
And that their projectiles were unpowered, right?
And that they still hit the ground/water at the end of their flight, right?
And that the math required to hit a target out of sight of the gun has been well known since before World War-ONE, right?
It's not just not impossible, it's something that's been in use (hitting targets beyond the horizon) for more than a century.
The US is NOT a federation. It's a large nation-state with 50 subunits (sort of like the UK has Scotland, England, Wales, or France its "departments").
You don't have to like the fact that the US is a continent-spanning nation, but it is, and your nation isn't (unless you're Australia, Canada or Russia)....
He seems to mean that diplomacy consists of bribing other nations to like you if you're the USA, and being bribed if you're not.
Well, no. Railguns, like conventional cannon, fire a projectile that obeys the law of gravity. Which means the trajectory is parabolic for those who are exceptionally dense.
So, yes, railguns can hit targets over the horizon.
Yep. Surely could.
Irrelevant to TFA, though, since that was about the next thirty years, and the need for lots and lots of money to deal with problems that include airports being underwater if the money isn't spent.
I'm guessing you're wrong here, since my Mom uses gmail. And she's hardly tech savvy, what with being in her late 70's and all...
Interesting notion, since congressional districts are drawn by STATE governments, and the GOP didn't (and doesn't) control all State governments.
Then, it has to be vetted by the Justice Department. You remember that one, it's run by Eric Holder. And Obama is Holder's boss, not the GOP.
It's not??
They mention airports underwater by 2045 as part of the problem. Last I checked (about two minutes ago, when I saw the airports line in TFS), sea level rise by 2050, WORST CASE, is projected to be ~40cm.
So, how many airports do we have within 16 inches of sea level in the USA? New Orleans airport is the lowest lying of any major US city, and is four FEET above current sea level.
It's the only one that is single-digit feet above sea level, by the by.
Note that the measles vaccine is only 97% effective.
Note further that the national vaccination rate is ~94.7%.
Which leaves us with 5.3% of the population vulnerable due to lack of vaccine, and 2.8% vulnerable due to failed vaccine.
In other words, the odds say about 35% of measles come into the country from vaccinated people going on vacation and coming back infected.
Okay, a coke can holds 12 oz. of Coke. Which is about 0.36 liters. TNT has a density of 1.65, so a coke can could hold around 600 grams of TNT.
A 105 HE shell runs about 2200 grams of TNT, so this "coke can bomb" would have had about 1/4 the bang of a 105 howitzer shell, with next to no shrapnel.
For the required car analogy, the coke can bomb (if it had existed) would have been about as powerful as a Prius at 125 mph running into whatever. Given that the "whatever" in this case was the side of a bridge, damage to the bridge would have been minimal, though it probably would have scared the crap out of any driver nearby at the time....
I'm pretty sure we have Thalidomide to thank for that particular attitude.
Note that the "State" law in question is based on the Uniform Parenting Act by the Federal government. It's a set of standards for determining who is, or isn't, a "parent" in the eyes of the law.
What's worse is that's not the evidence.
The evidence seems to be that his PASSENGERS took selfies before. Then he crashed. Therefore he took a selfie.
More likely, the /. headline was garbled, and what was really asserted is that his passengers were taking selfies, and he was disoriented by the flashes from the selfies taken by someone else.
"No" the problem? I really hope you meant "know" the problem, because otherwise your level of illiteracy is too deep for me to fathom.
It should also be noted that "terrorism" includes:
Note the "communications" part, which could be used to justify nailing the PGP and/or GPG people if desired....
Can you say Gyrojet? Sure you can.
Yes, it's been possible to buy a rocket pistol since the 60's.
You would be thrown backwards no more on the moon than on Earth. Same mass, which is what affects that whole recoil thing.
Hell, *I* wouldn't give a shit about the FAA if I were capable of making a lunar flight.
Absolute worst case, move the launch site out of the US (Cuba, maybe?), and go.
Note that current US rockets are pretty much comparable to current Russian rockets. So we're no worse off than they are, and we've at least done it before.
Probably the most capable of putting together a quick and dirty lunar flight (politics and money aside) are the French. Current Ariane is at least as good as anything the US or Russia has.
Note also that, absent a burning need, SpaceX is probably closer than anyone else right now. Falcon Heavy is more likely to actually be finished on time than any of China/Russia/US/EU rockets, since they don't have to depend on the budget process of whatever country.
I take it you're unaware that conventional firearms work fine in a vacuum? No, neither gunpowder nor modern smokeless powders require external oxygen to burn....
I'm curious - what makes you think the Russians are capable of making a manned moon landing, given that they've never done so, and don't actually have a launcher capable of doing so?
It's not like Energia is still being made or anything, even if it matched the performance of Saturn V, which it didn't.
At present, noone has the capability of making a manned moon landing, though China is developing a booster in the Saturn V range, as is the USA.
Well, if the "war on drugs" goes away, the need for the DEA will go away with it, I hope. Not sure what they'd be doing otherwise, and I have no moral objection to shutting down a part of the government that no longer has a useful function.
You say that like it would be a bad thing....
A shotgun? Probably not.
One hundred million shotguns? Yep, surely will...
Maybe they can find someone who can spell "rocket science"....