Comments on: COSMIC RAY-GUN (Mar, 1947) http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/ Yesterday's tomorrow, today. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:33:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 By: Toronto http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-1079187 Toronto Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:58:08 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-1079187 The cyclotron is just for show. The two-man squirrel cage to the right actually powers the thing. The cyclotron is just for show. The two-man squirrel cage to the right actually powers the thing.

]]> By: Firebrand38 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-1079186 Firebrand38 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:55:38 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-1079186 jayessell: Ah! Kevin McDonald as Mr. Medulla! jayessell: Ah! Kevin McDonald as Mr. Medulla!

]]> By: jayessell http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-1079185 jayessell Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:11:58 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-1079185 Dang! I was trying to post a link to a magazine cover of a Gernsback-style spaceship sliced open and its crew and contents spilled into space. I think the sliced Atom Bomber illustration may have be inspired by it. Kind of obscure: "Dreadful technique! You've confused rays with beams! D! Minus! I'd give you an F, but that would only mean having to see you in summer school. " Dang! I was trying to post a link to a magazine cover
of a Gernsback-style spaceship sliced open and its
crew and contents spilled into space.

I think the sliced Atom Bomber illustration may have
be inspired by it.

Kind of obscure:

“Dreadful technique! You’ve confused rays with beams! D! Minus! I’d give you an F, but that would only mean having to see you in summer school. “

]]> By: Firebrand38 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-1079184 Firebrand38 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:57:12 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-1079184 jayessell: Trust me, I knew what he was talking about but my point was they really aren't. <a href="http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2941/what-secret-technology-is-darpa-hiding-from-us" rel="nofollow">DARPA</a> and the NSA have some really science fiction stuff but not the military as a whole. Partly because of the valid point that JMyint raised and also partly because of inventory. For example, as I write this the Army alone has 549,015 Active personnel and 563,688 Reserve and Guard personnel. Now this is an oversimplification (and I apologize in advance) but you just spent so many millions of dollars from your budget to buy 1,112,703 units of the Mk2 Widget to equip every soldier in uniform and maybe one and a half times that for spares. Three weeks later some geek in a lab coat discovers a principle to make the Mk3 widget possible. Who gets to tell the budget folks that you now want to scrap the 2,781,758 units that you couldn't live without just three weeks ago? And so it goes jayessell: Trust me, I knew what he was talking about but my point was they really aren’t. DARPA and the NSA have some really science fiction stuff but not the military as a whole. Partly because of the valid point that JMyint raised and also partly because of inventory. For example, as I write this the Army alone has 549,015 Active personnel and 563,688 Reserve and Guard personnel. Now this is an oversimplification (and I apologize in advance) but you just spent so many millions of dollars from your budget to buy 1,112,703 units of the Mk2 Widget to equip every soldier in uniform and maybe one and a half times that for spares. Three weeks later some geek in a lab coat discovers a principle to make the Mk3 widget possible. Who gets to tell the budget folks that you now want to scrap the 2,781,758 units that you couldn’t live without just three weeks ago?
And so it goes

]]> By: JMyint http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-1079183 JMyint Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:31:45 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-1079183 Actually the military tends to be five to ten years behind civilian industry and up to 20 years behind on science due to the amount of time it takes to deploy any new idea. Think of our newest fighter the F-22. The requirement was issued in 1981. A request for prototype was issued in 1986. The protypes were completed in 1990. Testing and acceptance was in 1991. The first production F-22 was delivered in 1998. Operational production began in 2001. The F-22 entered operational capability in 2005. So that is 24 years from idea to operational system. Actually the military tends to be five to ten years behind civilian industry and up to 20 years behind on science due to the amount of time it takes to deploy any new idea. Think of our newest fighter the F-22. The requirement was issued in 1981. A request for prototype was issued in 1986. The protypes were completed in 1990. Testing and acceptance was in 1991. The first production F-22 was delivered in 1998. Operational production began in 2001. The F-22 entered operational capability in 2005. So that is 24 years from idea to operational system.

]]> By: jayessell http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-1079181 jayessell Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:32:28 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-1079181 FB.... Typo? I'm guessing: Military TECHNOLOGY is at least 60 years ahead of what the public KNOWS ABOUT is & we are a lot more advanced than they would like us to believe PS: 10 maybe, 5 probably and NSA rather than the armed forces. FB…. Typo? I’m guessing:

Military TECHNOLOGY is at least 60 years ahead of what the public KNOWS ABOUT is & we are a lot more advanced than they would like us to believe

PS: 10 maybe, 5 probably and NSA rather than the armed forces.

]]> By: Firebrand38 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-1079174 Firebrand38 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:19:02 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-1079174 Mustard Tiger: <em>"60 years ahead of what the public is"</em> What are you talking about? Mustard Tiger: “60 years ahead of what the public is” What are you talking about?

]]> By: Mustard Tiger http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-1079173 Mustard Tiger Thu, 24 Jun 2010 02:16:31 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-1079173 quote "Has anyone ever been killed by a laser? I mean directly, not someone getting blinded and crashing or something like that. Anyone know?" It would be possible, check out Laser Defence System. Its in use now, probably been around for a long time. Military is at least 60 years ahead of what the public is & we are a lot more advanced than they would like us to believe ;) quote “Has anyone ever been killed by a laser? I mean directly, not someone getting blinded and crashing or something like that.

Anyone know?”

It would be possible, check out Laser Defence System. Its in use now, probably been around for a long time. Military is at least 60 years ahead of what the public is & we are a lot more advanced than they would like us to believe ;)

]]> By: Aristarchus http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-1067907 Aristarchus Sat, 09 May 2009 01:50:02 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-1067907 "Oh, AND they have obviously confused muons with mesons. Muons are not even mesons, they are leptons. Boy, is this some crappy science article." Actually, "mu meson" was the correct name in 1947. Somehow physics has advanced since then. “Oh, AND they have obviously confused muons with mesons. Muons are not even mesons, they are leptons. Boy, is this some crappy science article.”

Actually, “mu meson” was the correct name in 1947. Somehow physics has advanced since then.

]]> By: jayessell http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-1057687 jayessell Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:49:43 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-1057687 Here's a Cosmic Ray Gun, sorta. http://www.archive.org/details/superman_the_mad_scientist Here’s a Cosmic Ray Gun, sorta.

http://www.archive.org/details....._scientist

]]> By: jayessell http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-1057686 jayessell Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:43:42 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-1057686 Charley, somehow my 'Death by Robot' comment is #5 in the COSMIC RAY GUN thread. Charley, somehow my ‘Death by Robot’ comment is #5 in the COSMIC RAY GUN thread.

]]> By: Lemmiwinks http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-980442 Lemmiwinks Tue, 01 Jan 2008 15:30:26 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-980442 Anyone notice the hamster wheel used to power this thing? Poor hamsters :( Anyone notice the hamster wheel used to power this thing? Poor hamsters :(

]]> By: jayessell http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-923788 jayessell Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:52:32 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-923788 I'm fairly sure there <i>have</i> been retinal burns, something like on the ATM displays. I’m fairly sure there have been retinal burns, something like on the ATM displays.

]]> By: Blurgle http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-923132 Blurgle Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:32:58 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-923132 Nobody's ever been blinded by a laser. That's a bit of urban-legend pseudoscientific tomfoolery that the government's fallen for. Nobody’s ever been blinded by a laser. That’s a bit of urban-legend pseudoscientific tomfoolery that the government’s fallen for.

]]> By: Bob http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-923118 Bob Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:28:01 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-923118 Wasn't James Bond almost cut in half by Goldfinger? Wasn’t James Bond almost cut in half by Goldfinger?

]]> By: jayessell http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-922853 jayessell Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:58:36 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-922853 Charley... Maybe someone has been killed by having one fall on him. That's how the first (and probably not last) Death by Robot occured. A technician had turned it off and was under the huge arm while he disconnected the hydrolyic lines. The malfunction he was called to repair may have prevented the arm from going to the "park for service" position. Charley…
Maybe someone has been killed by having one fall on him.

That’s how the first (and probably not last) Death by Robot occured.

A technician had turned it off and was under the huge arm while he disconnected the hydrolyic lines.

The malfunction he was called to repair may have prevented the arm from going to the “park for service” position.

]]> By: planetologist http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-922368 planetologist Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:00:45 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-922368 Oh, AND they have obviously confused muons with mesons. Muons are not even mesons, they are leptons. Boy, is this some crappy science article. Oh, AND they have obviously confused muons with mesons. Muons are not even mesons, they are leptons. Boy, is this some crappy science article.

]]> By: planetologist http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-922353 planetologist Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:56:56 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-922353 Somebody here has clearly completely misunderstood what particle colliders are all about. Or the scientists were so desperate for funding that they made up some completely unplausible possibilities for "practical" use. Somebody here has clearly completely misunderstood what particle colliders are all about. Or the scientists were so desperate for funding that they made up some completely unplausible possibilities for “practical” use.

]]> By: hans http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-921801 hans Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:57:59 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-921801 SDI, anyone? SDI, anyone?

]]> By: Casandro http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/comment-page-1/#comment-921219 Casandro Mon, 17 Dec 2007 09:42:52 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/17/cosmic-ray-gun/#comment-921219 I wouldn't want to be even close to such a gigantic cyclotron. But anyhow, today the US tries a simmilar system and has not even solved aiming yet. I wouldn’t want to be even close to such a gigantic cyclotron. But anyhow, today the US tries a simmilar system and has not even solved aiming yet.

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