Humor Random Comments Thread

[jedidia]

No Man's sky is having three public appearances in October, so launch can't be that far off anymore, and friggin Paradox finally announced a space 4X game, with a heavy focus on exploration no less.
I feel very happy right now

 

[Artlav]

A square meter of single layer neutronium would weight 644 kg.
Would that make a good armor plate?

 

[Andy44]

A square meter of single layer neutronium would weight 644 kg.
Would that make a good armor plate?

I think good armor is defined by "hardness", not mass alone. Armor plating traditionally was made of steel and lately more exotic things involving ceramics and uranium and so on. But dense, soft materials like gold and lead don't seem to be favored. A thin layer of lead will be very heavy but a high-powered rifle bullet might go right through it. I am speculating here, of course, I have no data to back this up. Would be fun to go out to a farm with a rifle and do some MythBusters-style testing.

So, how hard is neutronium? How well would it resist penetration by projectiles? Or is it intended to protect against something else besides bullets and fragments?

And please, tell me you've got some neutronium in your mad scientist lab!

 

[jangofett287]

For a time approximately less than 1.28 hours. After that you wouldn't have much armour left.

 

[Loru]

For a time approximately less than 1.28 hours. After that you wouldn't have much armour left.

I think Artlav is assuming same stabilising mechanism as in neutron star. They tend to last more than mere 1.28 hours.

 

[Urwumpe]

I think good armor is defined by "hardness", not mass alone.

Not just that. The primary effect of armor is by density - see Newton there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_depth

But having different materials with different properties allows you to change the conditions around which newtons theory was made. A very hard armour alone would be too brittle, especially against KE projectiles. A too soft material alone would be too weak.

Both in combination with other materials (for example with negative stiffness) and the magic starts. DU is rather soft as a "hard" material (in similar regions as Bronze), but it has a very huge density, that absorbs a lot of energy from KE and HEAT. Sandwich it with really hard materials and much softer materials, and you get something really magical

---------- Post added at 10:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:02 PM ----------

I think Artlav is assuming same stabilising mechanism as in neutron star. They tend to last more than mere 1.28 hours.

Wearing a neutron star on the other hand, would give "A magnetic personality" a completely new spin. Also it could get a bit hot, regarding that neutron stars only exist by resisting degeneration pressure.

 

[BruceJohnJennerLawso]

I was re-siding my house with cedar shakes, and had a bunch that were too narrow to use (paint sticks). I put them out on the curb in a box with a sign that said 'FREE' on it. I walked back to the house, and then went out less than 5 minutes later and they were gone.:huh:

In my neighborhood I actually think that I could stop paying for trash pickup by putting my trash out on the curb with a 'FREE' sign on it. There are a lot of packrats in this area who can't pass up free-anything.

We had the exact same thing happen with an old microwave. Put it out to the curb, and a truck came by barely 5-10 minutes later. It was so fast it was almost like they somehow got notified the minute it went out. :blink:

 

[Artlav]

Hm, i guess it boils down to how strong it is.
I was wondering if it would be a feasible armor - neutronium is awfully dense, but one-neutron-thick layer is awfully small volume, and i wondered if the two astronomical numbers would cancel out into something liftable.

Maybe not armor in protect-against bullets sense...
What if it can reflect anything?
Any particle or wave below an absurdly high energy would just get bounced off by one of the exclusion principles.

Then there could be options.
Make a paraboloid out of this stuff, feed matter and antimatter into it's focal point, and all the resulting gamma rays and neutrinos would get flung into one direction - instant death ray photonic rocket, no radiators or power limits required.

Hm, how do you nounise neutrinos?
Neutrinoic rocket?
Neutrinic rocket?

New math problem - how much radiation damage would you get if you were to stand under a 10-ton rocket hovering on a pure beam of neutrinos...?

---------- Post added at 23:36 ---------- Previous post was at 23:35 ----------

And please, tell me you've got some neutronium in your mad scientist lab!

I'm not mad enough to have it before i actually need some.

 

[TMac3000]

Wearing a neutron star on the other hand, would give "A magnetic personality" a completely new spin. Also it could get a bit hot, regarding that neutron stars only exist by resisting degeneration pressure.

Not to mention it would make you look fat.

 

[Linguofreak]

A square meter of single layer neutronium would weight 644 kg.
Would that make a good armor plate?

Considering that the binding force for neutronium is gravity, which would be lacking for such a small mass, it would probably spontaneously disassemble with a considerable release of energy.

Materials that explode violently tend to make poor armor.

---------- Post added at 20:36 ---------- Previous post was at 20:26 ----------

New math problem - how much radiation damage would you get if you were to stand under a 10-ton rocket hovering on a pure beam of neutrinos...?

Assuming that the rocket has an engine bell that reflects neutrinos perfectly, I'd be willing to bet on negligible radiation damage. If the bell reflects neutrinos with efficiency similar to normal matter, you'd have to worry more about mechanical and thermal effects, but would definitely take a lethal radiation dose.

 

[Evil_Onyx]

Materials that explode violently tend to make poor armor.

Err that is what ERA (Explosive reactive armour) is..

True it is more complex and considerably less energetic, but neutronium might be good for Hyper velocity projectiles.

 

[Linguofreak]

Err that is what ERA (Explosive reactive armour) is..

True it is more complex and considerably less energetic, but neutronium might be good for Hyper velocity projectiles.

But ERA, in the environmental conditions prevalent at Earth's surface, spends most of its time not exploding violently, and only explodes violently when hit. Therefore, in general, it does not fit in the "explodes violently" category.

When exposed to vacuum (which, in neutron start terms, even Earth's core, let alone its surface, might as well be) neutronium spends all of its time exploding violently. This tends to inhibit its use as armor.

 

[jedidia]

When exposed to vacuum (which, in neutron start terms, even Earth's core, let alone its surface, might as well be) neutronium spends all of its time exploding violently. This tends to inhibit its use as armor.

Most hilarious sentence I've read today :rofl:

 

[Artlav]

That's actually a good point - if you have enough magic to stabilize neutronium, then why waste it on stabilizing neutronium?

 

[Quick_Nick]

No thead exists for NASA's Mars announcement? It's live on NASA TV in 30 minutes.

Edit: Have an xkcd

 

[Furet]

Reno 2015

I was in California the last 3 weeks and made a little escapade to Reno. What a show!

Some photos I took of the Unlimited Gold race:

Rare Bear chasing Voodoo


Rare Bear and Voodoo fighting for the 2nd position


Voodoo getting higher and giving up due to mechanical failure


Strega passing Argonaut


Victorious Strega at landing


Great moments. I took more than 2,000 photos in 2 days!
:camera:

The final results here: http://airrace.org/robert-hoot-gibs...rega-at-2015-national-championship-air-races/

 

[Thunder Chicken]

 

[n122vu]

 

[mojoey]

 

[Andy44]

I believe the technical term is "deceleration sickness".