Nerdy Musings
- Thread starter Calleja
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I always hated in the different Star Trek shows, when the star-ship enters orbit and the crew mentions how they should land on the western continent, or northern .... whatever.
Directions do not really exist...
Directions do not really exist...
I only got it because I learned of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs from Rock Band.
I've been meaning to get more of their stuff ever since.
In a similar vein to the Star Trek continents 'problem,' I have an issue with the designs of most space ships in fiction. They look sleek, and boat-inspired (inb4 picture of Space Battleship Yamoto), a lot of the times, which are both unnecessary.
Also, space battles irritate me. It occurs to me that most fighting would occur at a distance, with whoever has the farthest range having the upper hand. Also, ships should be designed to have the smallest shoot-at-able surface area as possible, while still bringing to bear as many guns as possible. This leads me to imagine very long ships, which look like stars, or asterixes when viewed from the front. They would always be positioned to be pointing at the enemy while in battle.
Also, space battles irritate me. It occurs to me that most fighting would occur at a distance, with whoever has the farthest range having the upper hand. Also, ships should be designed to have the smallest shoot-at-able surface area as possible, while still bringing to bear as many guns as possible. This leads me to imagine very long ships, which look like stars, or asterixes when viewed from the front. They would always be positioned to be pointing at the enemy while in battle.
I only got it because I learned of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs from Rock Band.
I've been meaning to get more of their stuff ever since.[/QUOTE]
Their latest album "It's Blitz!" is my favorite. The main single "Zero" you can probably find easy on youtube, and is awesome.
You have no way of knowing what aspects of ship design are needed to meet the demands of interstellar travel.
I'm always amazed when I think about the human body and all of the different substances it produces.
ElJuski
Staff member
I only got it because I learned of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs from Rock Band.
I've been meaning to get more of their stuff ever since.[/QUOTE]
Their latest album "It's Blitz!" is my favorite. The main single "Zero" you can probably find easy on youtube, and is awesome.[/QUOTE]
HUMPH. Their best was their first! Fever to Tell is a fucking dirty, new-york pop-punk inspired mess of wails. Half those tracks stink of sex, drugs and rock n' roll.
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT ASSHOLES
AND OPINIONS
Yours stink?
Me too, but now that I've been studying a bit the inner workings of the cell, I'm even more amazed by them.
S
Soliloquy
When I was younger, I had the hardest time convincing my friends that Americans do, in fact, have an accent that sounds funny to people in other countries.
One of them was convinced that since American culture was a combination of so many different cultures, Americans would sound normal to everyone.
I never did manage to convince those guys...
One of them was convinced that since American culture was a combination of so many different cultures, Americans would sound normal to everyone.
I never did manage to convince those guys...
ElJuski
Staff member
On my roadtrip back in May it was hilarious to hear people saying that WE had accents. Chicago ones, to boot, although the suburbs have softened those barbs way long ago.
You have no way of knowing what aspects of ship design are needed to meet the demands of interstellar travel.[/QUOTE]
How about The Bebop from the anime Cowboy Bebop. It is literally a space-faring fishing trawler.
S
Soliloquy
On my roadtrip back in May it was hilarious to hear people saying that WE had accents. Chicago ones, to boot, although the suburbs have softened those barbs way long ago.[/QUOTE]
Man, I know how that feels.
I spent a semester in London, and there were times when I actually had to fake a British accent in order to be understood.
Me: "Do you know where I can find a watch?"
Clerk: "A what?"
Me: "A watch. I want to buy a watch."
Clerk: "I'm sorry, a what?"
Me: "A, uh... a wotch."
Clerk: "Oh, a wotch! Try Argos."
Me: "I'm sorry, where?"
Ah, it was a fun semester.
You have no way of knowing what aspects of ship design are needed to meet the demands of interstellar travel.[/QUOTE]
I guess not, but does anyone?
What I'm saying is that starship designs are based more off of style and/or familiarity than any lengthy pondering regarding what the best design would be as far as we know.
I mean, I understand that it's fiction, and that concessions need to be made. It doesn't bother me really, just like it doesn't bother me that the English they speak in Star Trek is altogether too recognizable for something that is spoken a few centuries hence. But it's something I'd like to see considered more.
---------- Post added at 11:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:35 PM ----------
The Bebop == One of my favorite fictional vessels of all timeHow about The Bebop from the anime Cowboy Bebop. It is literally a space-faring fishing trawler.
Me too, but now that I've been studying a bit the inner workings of the cell, I'm even more amazed by them.[/QUOTE]
I'm amazed at the inner workings of the cell and almost everything I know about them comes from here:
G
Gill Kaiser
In a similar vein to the OP, what about the fact that water is made from hydrogen, a highly inflammable gas, and oxygen, the high reactive gas required for combustion, yet as a compound it is relatively inert.
Not just inert, it will put out most types of fires. Flammable + Flammable = Fire Retardant
Re: Water and salt - Part of that is because the two things are so interested in combining with one another that they don't want to let go to combine with anything else. That's why salt (an ionic solid) takes such a high temperature to melt and why you have to rip water (a covalent one) apart with electricity (electrolysis) to get it back to its component parts.
Me, I've always wondered just exactly how violent the reaction between Cesium (or Francium!) and Flourine would be. Their respective electronegativities are so far apart that it promises to be particularly vigorous.
Yes, I'm a nerd. Knowing chemistry is fun. Don't believe me? Remember this--don't clean aluminum with muratic (hydrochloric) acid. Trust me on this one.
--Patrick
Me, I've always wondered just exactly how violent the reaction between Cesium (or Francium!) and Flourine would be. Their respective electronegativities are so far apart that it promises to be particularly vigorous.
Yes, I'm a nerd. Knowing chemistry is fun. Don't believe me? Remember this--don't clean aluminum with muratic (hydrochloric) acid. Trust me on this one.
--Patrick
Except when they explain how cells work, you SMARTPANTS.To be fair, those are the inner workings of the body. The characters in the show are the cells.
---------- Post added at 03:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:36 PM ----------
but great show anyway
G
Gill Kaiser
This stuff takes me back half a decade to when I did my chemistry A-level.
I can only imagine how logistically difficult it would be to set up a fluorine/francium reaction. The subsequent explosion would probably be one of the most powerful chemical reactions possible, presumably.
S
Soliloquy
And it's videos like this one that really w(h)et my appetite.
--Patrick[/QUOTE]
I remember reading somewhere that the explosions in that video were faked.
I
Iaculus
And it's videos like this one that really w(h)et my appetite.
--Patrick[/quote]
I remember reading somewhere that the explosions in that video were faked.[/QUOTE]
Wouldn't need much faking, depending on the amount of caesium they used. I've seen that stuff in action before, and even small lumps can make a big boom.
figmentPez
Staff member
Yes, they were faked. Here is a link to video of what really happens when alkali metals are exposed to water:
Alkali Metal Bangs from theodoregray.com
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