Recent content by Waterfox

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    Gamma Ray Laser, possible? Superior Weapon?

    There's no advantage in using gamma rays to burn things, a 1kW visible/IR laser would be far more effective than a gamma ray laser of the same power for burning things. The only uses I see are damaging radiation sensitive equipment as stated and giving people radiation induced illness.. I...
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    Music Music Production: Enjoying the Creative Process

    I've played around in FL studio. Never studied music or an instrument other than the compulsory classes early on in school, but its a fun way to be creative on a computer. Here's some simple compositions I came up with http://soundcloud.com/carrotsnack I like to mix instruments of different genres.
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    Got doubts about Curiosity surviving Mars landing

    Didn't the Soviet Buran land autonomously?
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    Got doubts about Curiosity surviving Mars landing

    Nearly every online article and video I see talking about EDL have comments from people who are uncertain about the complexity of the landing. You are definitely not alone. Check out the previous "Six Minutes of Terror" of video Back then many people were unsure it would work, but it work...
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    Free Fall: Weight & Air Resistance

    As you move further away from the Earth's surface, the value of g decreases proportional to 1/distance2. Only at sea level is g ~10m/s2. You do have to be very high though until you notice the difference, for the astronauts in the international space station g is still > 9m/s2.
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    Would the delay cause the box to move?

    Maybe another way to phrase the question would be that there is a space probe stationary 1 AU from the Sun firing its thrusters towards the Sun to stop it from falling towards it. All of a sudden the Sun disappears from the area (rapidly accelerates elsewhere or an anti-Sun annihilates with it...
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    Special Repelling Magnet Shoes

    Then why not just use springs? The only advantage I see is that springs may fail earlier due to wear.
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    Need help with Gravitational Constant (G)

    Don't let the units confuse you, in place of G just use 6.67*10^-11 Also your value for c^2 is wrong, it should be 300,000,000^2 = (3*10^8)^2 = 9*10^16
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    Negative Voltage: Understanding How Current Travels

    If the "-" represents the ground or reference then I believe the "+" can have any potential difference whether positive or negative. In such a case though the "-" terminal will have the higher potential and so conventional current will run from it to the "+" terminal.
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    Using accelerometer to detect moving/stationary at sea on a vessel

    The accelerometer will only measure acceleration, it cannot tell the difference between being stationary with respect to the Earth or moving at a constant velocity. You can integrate the acceleration data to obtain velocity information, but it will likely become inaccurate over time.
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    Lifting yourself up while seated

    Off topic, but I just have to post this: http://bbsimg.ngfiles.com/1/21873000/ngbbs4ca94cfa070d9.jpg
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    Increase magnetic field density near surface of magnet

    Thanks for going to effort of running a simulation, it seems my prediction was true despite my limited knowledge of magnetism. Also a 25% increase will actually make the thinner magnets slightly more effective than the thicker ones for my use, so given imperfections it should be about equivalent...
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    Increase magnetic field density near surface of magnet

    I'm not entirely sure how the sheet will affect the field but I expected something like this: http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/3425/magneticfield.jpg Is this what will happen? To simplify things, will this increase the field density in the small volume above the magnet like in the...
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    Increase magnetic field density near surface of magnet

    I'm currently playing with diamagnetic pyrolytic graphite and I have created a small portion of a track similar to this video I want to create a circular track for it travel on, but as rare Earth magnets are getting expensive I'm going to use thinner magnets that consequently have a weaker...
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    What is the speed of gravitational waves?

    You're right, it is the speed of light, although it is yet to be experimentally measured. You're also right that the planets will lose their orbit in order of distance from the Sun. Skip to 7:20 in this video for a visual explanation Hopefully someone else will give more information.
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