You could have it play a fairly loud recording when the motion sensor goes off late at night. The sound of a loud gun being fired, followed by a voice saying that the next shot won't be a warning shot, may work.
If your mom actually has a gun, she can use it if the guy hasn't left after the recording wakes her up.;-) Then the voice on the recording won't be lying.
Sony VAIO VGN-S1VP
It's got a 10.4 inch display, and only weighs 822 grams (or 1.8 pounds). It also looks a lot cooler, and has a keyboard that looks a lot more comfortable.
Aerogel is already being used in translucent windows (to let light in like skylights, but not to see through). I read an article about a hotel chain signing a big deal to have them installed at all their locations (it was part of the article that explained how NASA had licensed the aerogel technology to a company). This indicates that general-purpose problems like water solubility have been dealt with somehow.
The NASA article I posted a link to was written in 1998, and it stated that Aerogel could be produced for as little as 3 times the cost of glass. It's expensive now because it's not mass-produced. And the mention of suffocation is ridiculous. Air doesn't pass through glass either, yet somehow houses don't suffocate people.
If someone does manage to cover most of a house in aerogel and it gets too hot inside in the winter without a heater, I doubt people will die of heat-stroke before they manage to open a door or window.;-) If you think about it, the thermostat for your non-existent heater could simply control how wide to keep a door open through the insulation.
Passive solar heating of homes is becoming popular, and it relies on allowing sunlight to come in and heat up a large mass (usually a floor or wall built with extra mass to soak up the energy). The overhang of the roof on the south side of the house is calculated to keep the sunlight from coming in through the windows during the warmer months.
So a careful house design will make this product much less useful. Though I suppose it would still be useful to have a window that only let infrared light pass one way. Then, assuming you could flip the window easily, you could keep infrared in during the winter and out during the summer.
Hey, that hybrid lighting system is neat. I noticed that it specifically mentions using the infra-red portion to generate electricity. What happens to the ultra-violet portion? If it's not efficiently blocked, skin cancer would be a concern.
It will be interesting to see which one can be made clear first. A single-pane window that insulates like a tightly-sealed glass window with 10-20 panes would be nice. Although I'm a bit surprised that aerogel isn't being used in more applications today. (NASA only recently licensed the technology to a company, so perhaps we'll see more of it soon.)
I used to think extortion was illegal, but then I grew up and realized that it was actually encouraged by the U.S. government. That is, of course, as long as it's done with high-paid lawyers (which represents another level of extortion).
Try this link:
Riding the Highways of Light
That was my first post on Slashdot, and I messed it up. The propulsion method gets the craft going so fast that by the time it leaves the atmosphere, it can coast the rest of the way. Thr article briefly mentions how it will land.
Sorry about the broken links. That was my first slashdot post. Now I know why the text below the edit box says "(Use the Preview Button! Check those URLs!)";-) I tested the URL's before I pasted them into the article, but not after. It looks like it got transformed.
Sean
Here's a similar, but more interesting article: http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/prop16ap r99%5F1.htm
Now that's cool.;-) A flying saucer that flies straight up by creating a vacuum above it that literally sucks it upward. Plus, it uses no propellant at all, which means significantly less weight to lift.
Quote: "You could go halfway around the world in 45 minutes, or from the Earth to the Moon in about 5-1/2 hours."
If NASA wants to build a base on the moon, they need something similar to this. Even if technical problems make it difficult to lift people this way (i.e. excessive heat, microwave radiation, or G-forces), it sounds perfect for lifting heavy cargo and supplies into orbit or to the moon.
Of course, I like the candle-based rocket fuel as well: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/29j an%5Fen virorocket.htm
Slashdot Mirror
You could have it play a fairly loud recording when the motion sensor goes off late at night. The sound of a loud gun being fired, followed by a voice saying that the next shot won't be a warning shot, may work. If your mom actually has a gun, she can use it if the guy hasn't left after the recording wakes her up. ;-) Then the voice on the recording won't be lying.
Sony VAIO VGN-S1VP It's got a 10.4 inch display, and only weighs 822 grams (or 1.8 pounds). It also looks a lot cooler, and has a keyboard that looks a lot more comfortable.
Aerogel is already being used in translucent windows (to let light in like skylights, but not to see through). I read an article about a hotel chain signing a big deal to have them installed at all their locations (it was part of the article that explained how NASA had licensed the aerogel technology to a company). This indicates that general-purpose problems like water solubility have been dealt with somehow.
The NASA article I posted a link to was written in 1998, and it stated that Aerogel could be produced for as little as 3 times the cost of glass. It's expensive now because it's not mass-produced. And the mention of suffocation is ridiculous. Air doesn't pass through glass either, yet somehow houses don't suffocate people.
If someone does manage to cover most of a house in aerogel and it gets too hot inside in the winter without a heater, I doubt people will die of heat-stroke before they manage to open a door or window. ;-) If you think about it, the thermostat for your non-existent heater could simply control how wide to keep a door open through the insulation.
Passive solar heating of homes is becoming popular, and it relies on allowing sunlight to come in and heat up a large mass (usually a floor or wall built with extra mass to soak up the energy). The overhang of the roof on the south side of the house is calculated to keep the sunlight from coming in through the windows during the warmer months.
So a careful house design will make this product much less useful. Though I suppose it would still be useful to have a window that only let infrared light pass one way. Then, assuming you could flip the window easily, you could keep infrared in during the winter and out during the summer.
Hey, that hybrid lighting system is neat. I noticed that it specifically mentions using the infra-red portion to generate electricity. What happens to the ultra-violet portion? If it's not efficiently blocked, skin cancer would be a concern.
It will be interesting to see which one can be made clear first. A single-pane window that insulates like a tightly-sealed glass window with 10-20 panes would be nice. Although I'm a bit surprised that aerogel isn't being used in more applications today. (NASA only recently licensed the technology to a company, so perhaps we'll see more of it soon.)
I used to think extortion was illegal, but then I grew up and realized that it was actually encouraged by the U.S. government. That is, of course, as long as it's done with high-paid lawyers (which represents another level of extortion).
Try this link: Riding the Highways of Light That was my first post on Slashdot, and I messed it up. The propulsion method gets the craft going so fast that by the time it leaves the atmosphere, it can coast the rest of the way. Thr article briefly mentions how it will land.
Sorry about the broken links. That was my first slashdot post. Now I know why the text below the edit box says "(Use the Preview Button! Check those URLs!)" ;-) I tested the URL's before I pasted them into the article, but not after. It looks like it got transformed.
Sean
Here's a similar, but more interesting article: http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/prop16ap r99%5F1.htm
;-) A flying saucer that flies straight up by creating a vacuum above it that literally sucks it upward. Plus, it uses no propellant at all, which means significantly less weight to lift.
j an%5Fen virorocket.htm
Now that's cool.
Quote:
"You could go halfway around the world in 45 minutes, or from the Earth to the Moon in about 5-1/2 hours."
If NASA wants to build a base on the moon, they need something similar to this. Even if technical problems make it difficult to lift people this way (i.e. excessive heat, microwave radiation, or G-forces), it sounds perfect for lifting heavy cargo and supplies into orbit or to the moon.
Of course, I like the candle-based rocket fuel as well:
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/29