I wouldn't know exactly where to place this, since I don't immediately see where this kind of topic should go, but here it is.
Recently, a series on The History Channel called "That's Impossible" has begun which focuses on new weapons technology and other stuff that, until now, was considered to be purely science fiction. This week's episode is in regards to the Invisibility Cloak, but next week covers Real Terminators - the stuff of the Singularity.
This should be very interesting. Something that everyone here should probably pay attention to. I will try to provide some updates with each new episode, if someone doesn't beat me to them that is.
That's Impossible
Re: That's Impossible
Sadly, my lacking skills mean I'm just a messenger, and my posts on this subject will not be the best they should. But I believe it's still worth sharing with everyone else on this forum.
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Episode: Invisibility Cloaks
Right now, the obstacle hindering true invisibility is the difficulty in bending light perfectly backwards. But, some scientists believe that now they may have the technology to achieve this.
Here are some of the main foci of discussion, summed up for the rest of you to elaborate on further:
1. October 2007 - An isolated military base in southern England held top-secret tests on a 60-ton British Challenger tank... reports say that it just vanished into thin air.
Obviously their government doesn't want the truth revealed until the time is right to use it in combat, but if this is true, the event has enormous consequences. Right now, it's believed that the entire tank was coated in silicon to turn it into a highly reflective movie screen, allowing it to blend into its surroundings with the use of video cameras, effectively a form of super-camoflauge.
2. "Tricking the Eye"
The concept of invisibility goes back several centuries, to ninjas, using their skills to exploit the blind spots in the human eye. They didn't need to be invisible to be invisible, they just needed to know how to avoid detection. Interestingly, the activities of these ninjas are largely the same as of modern-day spies.
This is relatively easy, though. The brain can be fooled pretty easily. Someone who tries to see their own eyes move while looking in a mirror can't do it, because the brain is replacing those images with others, using psychotic suppression. And with how often this happens each day, an average person is effectively blind for 40 minutes a day.
It wasn't until World War II that the Allies took the next step:
3. Deception Camouflage
Did they truly make an entire city disappear from the Nazis?
More classic techniques were used during this war to hide certain targets from Hitler. The British knew that if they lost the Port of Alexandria and the Suez Canal, they would lose the war, and so Winston Churchill turned to professional magician Jasper Maskelyne and paired him with the "Magic Gang" - set designers, architects, and painters - to devise a solution.
For Alexandria, they managed to construct an exact replica a few miles away while using the night to help cloak the real city.
For Suez, however, nearly every solution was scrapped as impractical until the "Whirling Spray" - a series of spinning searchlights with tiny mirrors attached to the front of them - was conceived. Weaving their magic here, these lights managed to create the illusion of a city and canal miles away from where the real canal is. It worked well; some calculate that 50% or more of the bombs dropped on Suez missed the target.
4. Project Rainbow
Otherwise known as the Philadelphia Experiment by investigators, this was a test by the U.S. during WW2 to give radar invisibility to a destroyer escort-class warship. But rumors abound that it achieved more than radar invisibility.
Something went horribly wrong in this experiment by the U.S. Navy, assisted by Einstein. The test ship, the U.S.S. Eldridge, was first built to have magnetic coils that were intended to deflect torpedos, and this had some success. Then something else altogether happened with field coils wrapped around the ship deck that apparently completely dematerialized the ship at 5:15 p.m. on October 28, 1943. At initiation, a green fog enveloped the Eldridge and, after dissipating, the ship was gone. But after turning off the generators, when the ship reappeared, it was a significant distance away from where it disappeared, while some crew members went mad and others had body parts embedded in the steel hull.
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Unfortunately, this is as far as I'm able to get tonight. It's past 1 a.m. PST, which adds to my difficulty in writing this initial summary, but I will continue tomorrow, assuming someone else doesn't finish up for me between now and then.
-----------------------------------------
Episode: Invisibility Cloaks
Right now, the obstacle hindering true invisibility is the difficulty in bending light perfectly backwards. But, some scientists believe that now they may have the technology to achieve this.
Here are some of the main foci of discussion, summed up for the rest of you to elaborate on further:
1. October 2007 - An isolated military base in southern England held top-secret tests on a 60-ton British Challenger tank... reports say that it just vanished into thin air.
Obviously their government doesn't want the truth revealed until the time is right to use it in combat, but if this is true, the event has enormous consequences. Right now, it's believed that the entire tank was coated in silicon to turn it into a highly reflective movie screen, allowing it to blend into its surroundings with the use of video cameras, effectively a form of super-camoflauge.
2. "Tricking the Eye"
The concept of invisibility goes back several centuries, to ninjas, using their skills to exploit the blind spots in the human eye. They didn't need to be invisible to be invisible, they just needed to know how to avoid detection. Interestingly, the activities of these ninjas are largely the same as of modern-day spies.
This is relatively easy, though. The brain can be fooled pretty easily. Someone who tries to see their own eyes move while looking in a mirror can't do it, because the brain is replacing those images with others, using psychotic suppression. And with how often this happens each day, an average person is effectively blind for 40 minutes a day.
It wasn't until World War II that the Allies took the next step:
3. Deception Camouflage
Did they truly make an entire city disappear from the Nazis?
More classic techniques were used during this war to hide certain targets from Hitler. The British knew that if they lost the Port of Alexandria and the Suez Canal, they would lose the war, and so Winston Churchill turned to professional magician Jasper Maskelyne and paired him with the "Magic Gang" - set designers, architects, and painters - to devise a solution.
For Alexandria, they managed to construct an exact replica a few miles away while using the night to help cloak the real city.
For Suez, however, nearly every solution was scrapped as impractical until the "Whirling Spray" - a series of spinning searchlights with tiny mirrors attached to the front of them - was conceived. Weaving their magic here, these lights managed to create the illusion of a city and canal miles away from where the real canal is. It worked well; some calculate that 50% or more of the bombs dropped on Suez missed the target.
4. Project Rainbow
Otherwise known as the Philadelphia Experiment by investigators, this was a test by the U.S. during WW2 to give radar invisibility to a destroyer escort-class warship. But rumors abound that it achieved more than radar invisibility.
Something went horribly wrong in this experiment by the U.S. Navy, assisted by Einstein. The test ship, the U.S.S. Eldridge, was first built to have magnetic coils that were intended to deflect torpedos, and this had some success. Then something else altogether happened with field coils wrapped around the ship deck that apparently completely dematerialized the ship at 5:15 p.m. on October 28, 1943. At initiation, a green fog enveloped the Eldridge and, after dissipating, the ship was gone. But after turning off the generators, when the ship reappeared, it was a significant distance away from where it disappeared, while some crew members went mad and others had body parts embedded in the steel hull.
-----------------------------------------
Unfortunately, this is as far as I'm able to get tonight. It's past 1 a.m. PST, which adds to my difficulty in writing this initial summary, but I will continue tomorrow, assuming someone else doesn't finish up for me between now and then.
Re: That's Impossible
Unfortunately, I'm afraid that this may be all I'm able to post about in regards to the "That's Impossible" series. Certain issues - namely with my car - have left me without cable and Internet access, at least for the rest of this month.
If anyone else wishes to continue for me, they should be my guest. Until then, I apologize if anyone here was looking forward to reading my input on this series.
If anyone else wishes to continue for me, they should be my guest. Until then, I apologize if anyone here was looking forward to reading my input on this series.
Re: That's Impossible
That's Impossible
Tonight is the "Real Terminators" episode for anyoen interested. I think eventually they'll get the full eiposdes up online.
Tonight is the "Real Terminators" episode for anyoen interested. I think eventually they'll get the full eiposdes up online.
Re: That's Impossible
A new Japanese rock group.
Who needs bipedal biological entities? They just provide support-services. And, anyway, they are disposable.
Who needs bipedal biological entities? They just provide support-services. And, anyway, they are disposable.
Xandra
Haven't been on this
Haven't been on this blog for a while. You left out the traders Gerald; they have been around since gold became money early in human existance. I enjoy trading gold because its a market easier to read than for example forex. No emotional attachment whatsoever to the gold, just to make some dollars. I buy when my charts give me a buy signal and sell when the momentun slows. Its my little trading business on the side with about 5% of my net assets invested into it and it does very well.
Last edited by John on Fri Mar 27, 2015 2:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Removed spam crap
Reason: Removed spam crap
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