Hoax. The press release at http://nasaupdatecenter.us/press.html says that Curiosity is at Matijevic Hill, overlooking Endeavour Crater. Curiosity is inside of Gale Crater. Opportunity is at Matijevic Hill. Nasa posts its press releases at nasa.gov sites.
I just replaced a 17" CRT monitor with a 24" widesreen LCD. The old monitor used about 110w when on and around 10w on standby. The new display uses 40w when on and 1w on standby.
When you lose something, it'll always turn up in the last place you look. Sometimes I keep looking for a little while after I find what I was looking for, just to disprove that theory.
That chip probably has something to do with running the servo-coil that positions the head. Everything dealing with data would probably have been on the external circuit board.
I doubt they removed that chip while the board was still in the enclosure, right next to the drive platter. I'm sure they would avoid doing anything that might have any chance of stressing the disk. Blowing air hot enough to melt solder a few inches away might just be enough to make a barely recoverable byte become unrecoverable. Or it might blow dust around hard enough to make a scratch. Or someone working that close to the disk might touch it accidentally. Even though none of those seem like a high probability, why take the risk? They'd have to remove the platters from the spindle at some point, why not wait to remove the chip until after the platters are removed, so there would be zero chance of damaging the platters while removing the chip? I suspect that chip came off due to heat and vibrations during the reentry.
And I suspect the little SMD resistor (SMD resistors are commonly black with white numbers, SMD capacitors at that size are usually brown and seldom labelled) stayed put because it weighs almost nothing and was held in place by the surface tension of the two relatively large solder blobs, while the chip weighed a lot more relative to the amount of solder holding it in place.
Call me when they actually have something that superconducts at room temperature. The article was very vague about what they actually did, and had a lot of phrases like "perhaps without a refrigerant", and "potential superconducting materials for industrial applications". I'd like to know more about the "experimental confirmation" briefly mentioned in the article. Sounds to me like it's mostly theory that was over-hyped by an author who doesn't know what he's writing about.
Well, they can use those long skinny balloons, you know, the ones clowns use to tie into wiener dogs and things like that. They're kinda like pipes, and I'm sure they'll be really popular in Congress. Finally, something they can understand.
It was a 54 column screen, I had one. And it was a bad idea. You had to scroll left and right for every single line of text. It sucked a quarter of a century ago, I can't imagine it would be much better now.
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
thegrassyknowl said: I guess it's a fault of the Unix people from way back. They made this epoch thing and used a 32-bit number to store the number of seconds since it. I guess they were assuming that all their software would have been replaced by something better on bigger machines. They shouldn't have written such reliable software and then maybe some of it would have been replaced by now;)
Well, the Unix people from way back were writing for a PDP-11, which was a 16 bit machine. I'd guess their early compilers didn't have an int type with more than 32 bits. Actually, since the Unix kernel was originally written in assembly, they may have used a 32-bit int because anything bigger was just a pain to write code with. I'm not sure whether a 32-bit time_t was in use before they re-wrote the kernel in C in 1973 or not.
Keith
Anyone ever heard of PC/104(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC104)? You start with a SBC with a 104 pin female connector on top and a male connector on bottom for the bus, and add modules with similar connectors above and/or below it. Everything has connectors top and bottom, so you can stack as many as you want (within reason), not just 4 modules.
They've been around for about 15 years.
Yeah, they don't just snap together, you actually have to use standoffs and screws, and they don't have cool looking plastic housings. Oh yeah, and no teleporter.
Keith
Re:I'm all for science/technology/astronomy but...
on
Back to Moon in 2015?
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· Score: 1
Re:I'm all for science/technology/astronomy but...
on
Back to Moon in 2015?
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· Score: 1
What is going to happen when this stream of high energy neutrons leaves your rocket and starts hitting stuff? Some of those billions of neutrons are going to end up smacking into atoms in the atmosphere or the ground and turning them into radioactive isotopes. Most of our radioactive waste isn't spent fuel, it's all of the things that were bombarded by neutrons in and around the reactors.
Spraying neutrons all over the landscape isn't a practical way to get into space. It might be useful once you're in space, but not for getting off the ground.
NASA went with Florida because it was on the Atlantic coast so that if they had a lauch failure it would land in the water instead of on someone's house. But they were planning on orbital launches which head east in order to go into orbit (east is cheaper than west because you get a bonus because of the Earth's rotation).
But Blue Origin isn't planning on going orbital, they just want to go staight up and back down to the launch point. So they don't need a lauch site near the ocean.
Besides, if you'd read the article you're commenting on, you'd have noticed that it says "The RLV would launch vertically from a concrete pad and would land vertically in an area near the launch pad." so I think we can rule out a splashdown.
Why do you think Microsoft is getting into the anti-virus business? First they single-handedly created a multi-billion dollar market for anti-virus software by creating an OS that's about as secure as cheesecloth, and now they're going to jump in and make more profit by selling anti-virus software.
It's like a contractor building a house with a leaky roof, and then selling you a tarp to put over it.
I wish the internet backbone sites would all block traffic to and from IframeDollars. Hmmm, but that's a slippery slope. Next week someone not quit as bad will show up, and where do you draw the line at who to block and who to let be?
Slashdot Mirror
Hoax. The press release at http://nasaupdatecenter.us/press.html says that Curiosity is at Matijevic Hill, overlooking Endeavour Crater. Curiosity is inside of Gale Crater. Opportunity is at Matijevic Hill. Nasa posts its press releases at nasa.gov sites.
I didn't see it, was it Wierd Owl Yankovic?
Well, there's a certain vice-presidential candidate.
I know it may not be politically correct to say it, but man, that Joe Biden is hot!
I just replaced a 17" CRT monitor with a 24" widesreen LCD. The old monitor used about 110w when on and around 10w on standby. The new display uses 40w when on and 1w on standby.
Seems like your "truth" may not be accurate.
Rigatoni-net!
So now we need to wrap tinfoil around our tires?
The article does not say that the technique is being used in any designs. It says:
"The new self-repair technique developed by the current EPSRC-funded project could be available for commercial use within around four years."
It's a nice sounding lab exercise, but it's not being used in any new designs, and won't be for a few years, if ever.
Zienth
That chip probably has something to do with running the servo-coil that positions the head. Everything dealing with data would probably have been on the external circuit board.
I doubt they removed that chip while the board was still in the enclosure, right next to the drive platter. I'm sure they would avoid doing anything that might have any chance of stressing the disk. Blowing air hot enough to melt solder a few inches away might just be enough to make a barely recoverable byte become unrecoverable. Or it might blow dust around hard enough to make a scratch. Or someone working that close to the disk might touch it accidentally. Even though none of those seem like a high probability, why take the risk? They'd have to remove the platters from the spindle at some point, why not wait to remove the chip until after the platters are removed, so there would be zero chance of damaging the platters while removing the chip? I suspect that chip came off due to heat and vibrations during the reentry.
And I suspect the little SMD resistor (SMD resistors are commonly black with white numbers, SMD capacitors at that size are usually brown and seldom labelled) stayed put because it weighs almost nothing and was held in place by the surface tension of the two relatively large solder blobs, while the chip weighed a lot more relative to the amount of solder holding it in place.
I have my spam filter set up to send all subpoenas directly to my junkmail folder. I find it saves me a lot of time and hassle.
Zienth
Please don't feed this troll.
Call me when they actually have something that superconducts at room temperature. The article was very vague about what they actually did, and had a lot of phrases like "perhaps without a refrigerant", and "potential superconducting materials for industrial applications". I'd like to know more about the "experimental confirmation" briefly mentioned in the article. Sounds to me like it's mostly theory that was over-hyped by an author who doesn't know what he's writing about.
Zienth
Consider the company's name. Do the words "micro" and "soft" sound like they go with a great lover?
Zienth
Unless the enemy has studied his Agrippa... which I have.
Well, they can use those long skinny balloons, you know, the ones clowns use to tie into wiener dogs and things like that. They're kinda like pipes, and I'm sure they'll be really popular in Congress. Finally, something they can understand.
Zienth
The internet is a series of balloons...
Zienth
It was a 54 column screen, I had one. And it was a bad idea. You had to scroll left and right for every single line of text. It sucked a quarter of a century ago, I can't imagine it would be much better now.
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Zienth
thegrassyknowl said: ;)
I guess it's a fault of the Unix people from way back. They made this epoch thing and used a 32-bit number to store the number of seconds since it. I guess they were assuming that all their software would have been replaced by something better on bigger machines. They shouldn't have written such reliable software and then maybe some of it would have been replaced by now
Well, the Unix people from way back were writing for a PDP-11, which was a 16 bit machine. I'd guess their early compilers didn't have an int type with more than 32 bits. Actually, since the Unix kernel was originally written in assembly, they may have used a 32-bit int because anything bigger was just a pain to write code with. I'm not sure whether a 32-bit time_t was in use before they re-wrote the kernel in C in 1973 or not. Keith
Anyone ever heard of PC/104(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC104)? You start with a SBC with a 104 pin female connector on top and a male connector on bottom for the bus, and add modules with similar connectors above and/or below it. Everything has connectors top and bottom, so you can stack as many as you want (within reason), not just 4 modules. They've been around for about 15 years. Yeah, they don't just snap together, you actually have to use standoffs and screws, and they don't have cool looking plastic housings. Oh yeah, and no teleporter. Keith
Getting a bit off-topic here, but yes, the US lost the Thresher on April 10, 1963, along with all 129 of her crew. See http://www.trivia-library.com/b/man-made-disasters -sinking-of-the-u-s-submarine-thresher-part-1.htm
e accidents_bymichaelyoung.html
The Scorpion was also lost in May of 1968 with all 99 of her crew.
For more info on submarine losses, see http://www.naval.ca/article/young/nuclearsubmarin
Keith
What is going to happen when this stream of high energy neutrons leaves your rocket and starts hitting stuff? Some of those billions of neutrons are going to end up smacking into atoms in the atmosphere or the ground and turning them into radioactive isotopes. Most of our radioactive waste isn't spent fuel, it's all of the things that were bombarded by neutrons in and around the reactors.
Spraying neutrons all over the landscape isn't a practical way to get into space. It might be useful once you're in space, but not for getting off the ground.
Keith
I hope *my* wife doesn't see this. She'll be upset that they didn't donate it to the Salvation Army.
"They're throwing away a perfectly good space suit? They should give it to a homeless person or something!"
Keith
NASA went with Florida because it was on the Atlantic coast so that if they had a lauch failure it would land in the water instead of on someone's house. But they were planning on orbital launches which head east in order to go into orbit (east is cheaper than west because you get a bonus because of the Earth's rotation).
But Blue Origin isn't planning on going orbital, they just want to go staight up and back down to the launch point. So they don't need a lauch site near the ocean.
Besides, if you'd read the article you're commenting on, you'd have noticed that it says "The RLV would launch vertically from a concrete pad and would land vertically in an area near the launch pad." so I think we can rule out a splashdown.
Keith
Why do you think Microsoft is getting into the anti-virus business? First they single-handedly created a multi-billion dollar market for anti-virus software by creating an OS that's about as secure as cheesecloth, and now they're going to jump in and make more profit by selling anti-virus software.
It's like a contractor building a house with a leaky roof, and then selling you a tarp to put over it.
I wish the internet backbone sites would all block traffic to and from IframeDollars. Hmmm, but that's a slippery slope. Next week someone not quit as bad will show up, and where do you draw the line at who to block and who to let be?
Keith