As I recall, Al-qaida made quite a bit of cash from investing in insurance companies prior to 9-11. Maybe they are trying to trap terrorists with their own greed.
Tactics aside though - it's pretty sick. Nothing surprises me anymore though.
If, power wise, it compares reasonably to existing engines, then there is an application for it. Ever heard how much noise a helicopter or a jet makes?
I'm sure the military would enjoy a nearly silent VTOL aircraft.
After railtrack I'd have thought people in this country would've realised that private corporations cannot be trusted with public services.
At least noone is going to die this time (probably)
Some people are going to flame me like hell for this, but space travel was driven by communism.
The USSR was first in space, and they drove the US to get to the moon by trying themselves. Only a large planned economy can support space travel unless a nation feels itself vunerable by not doing so (as the US did in the 60's).
We are now in an age of self-interest, and nobody is going to cough up the kind of money required just because its a noble endeavor. They want a return, and fast.
I can only hope the chinese get to the moon and scare the rest of the world into getting serious about space again.
Another important question is can it let a solid metal object pass through it without breaking the seal.
If there's an application for it, and it doesn't hugely break the laws of physics, some clever git will figure out how to do it.
Personally I wonder if the 'inflation' thing being researched for M2P2 solar sails (do a google for it) could be used to create bigger seals.
Can't see it being used to seal up any hole in a spacecrafts hull (yould need magnets all over the place) but they could be placed on the boundarys between compartments to minimize the impact of a leak. Won't help whoevers in the same section as the leak of course.
If you think the M16 is bad, do some research on the british army rifle, the SA80. The plastic components of this gun used to react with cam cream. It jams constantly. In cold whether, it has been known to shatter due to minor impacts (like the soldier whos holding it dropping to the ground).
The british army told its soldiers this gun was suitable for desert warfare during the recent gulf war. Just so long as they put a plastic sheet on the ground whenever they fired it and they took it apart and cleaned it every 30 minutes.
Machining quality isn't something the AK or it's rounds having going for them. The bullets fishtail instead of rifling properly so they could go anywhere.
An upside of this (for the purposes of killing someone that is) is that the bullet will corkscrew through the flesh of whoever is hit by it, doing a lot of internal damage.
You're right about that. At university I wrote a technical report about the failure of Arianne 5 - a rocket with complicated control systems. On the maiden flight the entire rocket was destroyed by a chain of events that started with an overflow error (well, really it started with sloppy application of a formal specification). Give me a russian ICBM any day of the week.
Slashdot Mirror
Recently, we have heard that:
:D
1. Masturbating keeps your prostate healthy.
2. Eating pizza helps prevent cancer
3. Not wearing a tie can preserve your eyesight
Bout time we had a run of good news
As I recall, Al-qaida made quite a bit of cash from investing in insurance companies prior to 9-11. Maybe they are trying to trap terrorists with their own greed.
Tactics aside though - it's pretty sick. Nothing surprises me anymore though.
If, power wise, it compares reasonably to existing engines, then there is an application for it. Ever heard how much noise a helicopter or a jet makes?
I'm sure the military would enjoy a nearly silent VTOL aircraft.
After railtrack I'd have thought people in this country would've realised that private corporations cannot be trusted with public services. At least noone is going to die this time (probably)
I once had a friend who sent his computer to be repaired and got it back with all the expansion boards and cables glued in place.
While annoying in this situation, it would be useful for rocket hardware - the glue didn't seem to have any effect on the connections.
Some people are going to flame me like hell for this, but space travel was driven by communism. The USSR was first in space, and they drove the US to get to the moon by trying themselves. Only a large planned economy can support space travel unless a nation feels itself vunerable by not doing so (as the US did in the 60's). We are now in an age of self-interest, and nobody is going to cough up the kind of money required just because its a noble endeavor. They want a return, and fast. I can only hope the chinese get to the moon and scare the rest of the world into getting serious about space again.
Another important question is can it let a solid metal object pass through it without breaking the seal. If there's an application for it, and it doesn't hugely break the laws of physics, some clever git will figure out how to do it. Personally I wonder if the 'inflation' thing being researched for M2P2 solar sails (do a google for it) could be used to create bigger seals. Can't see it being used to seal up any hole in a spacecrafts hull (yould need magnets all over the place) but they could be placed on the boundarys between compartments to minimize the impact of a leak. Won't help whoevers in the same section as the leak of course.
Using sci-fi terminology for real science can't make it look good. Would we have CD players now if the inventors of lasers had called them ray-guns?
If you think the M16 is bad, do some research on the british army rifle, the SA80. The plastic components of this gun used to react with cam cream. It jams constantly. In cold whether, it has been known to shatter due to minor impacts (like the soldier whos holding it dropping to the ground). The british army told its soldiers this gun was suitable for desert warfare during the recent gulf war. Just so long as they put a plastic sheet on the ground whenever they fired it and they took it apart and cleaned it every 30 minutes.
Machining quality isn't something the AK or it's rounds having going for them. The bullets fishtail instead of rifling properly so they could go anywhere. An upside of this (for the purposes of killing someone that is) is that the bullet will corkscrew through the flesh of whoever is hit by it, doing a lot of internal damage.
You're right about that. At university I wrote a technical report about the failure of Arianne 5 - a rocket with complicated control systems. On the maiden flight the entire rocket was destroyed by a chain of events that started with an overflow error (well, really it started with sloppy application of a formal specification). Give me a russian ICBM any day of the week.