Breaking the Light Speed Barrier by David Sereda

Diane Cooper ^ | David Sereda

[mikrofon]

A scientist from MIT named Dr. Bogdan Maglich had invented a new type of nuclear energy fusion reactor that could produce in one square meter a gigawat — a jillion watts — of energy

That's no big deal -- ol' Doc Brown got Mr. Fusion to pump out 1.6 "jigs" way back in 1985...

[Lurker]

Cuckoo.

L

[cripplecreek]

Hmmm. 3000 MPH and you go nuclear?

We must be swimming in nuclear fallout from all the meteorites that come in a hell of a lot faster than that.

[Izzy Dunne]

Today, we use what is called an oscilloscope,

I used a 20-year old oscilloscope in college in 1973.

[Coyoteman]

Because he personally witnessed one hovering in the sky for 20 minuets in Berkeley in 1968.

Lots of things were observed hovering in the sky in Berkeley and other nearby locales in 1968.

Lucy, and her diamonds, come to mind.

I'll wait for the article in Science or Nature.

[Army Air Corps]

This statement was amusing:

"Ninety percent of all the energy that comes out of that reaction is pure radioactivity, so it is not an environmental option whatsoever. But the public has been led to believe that this type of fusion will supply them with a safe environmental energy source."

Isn't the nature of a nuclear reaction, whether fission or fusion, the release of energy in the form of radiation be it alpha, beta, or gamma.

[Tom Bombadil]

Calling Hale-Bopp, Calling Hale-Bopp, Come in please.

Skyyyyyyyy Pilot, how high can you fly?

This sounds like something you would hear on the radio at 2AM in the morning.

[Flightdeck]

"a gigawat — a jillion watts
Funny, that's not the definition that I learned..."

In all fairness, the idiocy may actually lie with the interviewer, who could confuse billion with jillion. But there are plenty of other ridiculous errors...

[Army Air Corps]

"a jillion watts"

That's nothing! I have a cold fusion machine that I made from a beer bottle, and aluminum can, gum wrappers, and some spandex that can generate a zillion bazillion watts per day. May I have my grant money now?

[cripplecreek]

I usually confuse a jillion with a gazillion.

[Izzy Dunne]

the sound barrier, which is 660 miles per hour.

How come I get numbers around 750 MPH for the speed of sound?

[Flightdeck]

"The "frequency" of a solid object is many times that of light,..."

In general sure, but then again you didn't specify what wavelength "light" you were talking about.

[Army Air Corps]

"'I worked on environmental issues most of my life'

I quit right here."

Aww, c'mon it gets funnier from there.

[Coyoteman]

Isn't the nature of a nuclear reaction, whether fission or fusion, the release of energy in the form of radiation be it alpha, beta, or gamma.

Change back to an old favorite tagline:

[Army Air Corps]

"How come I get numbers around 750 MPH for the speed of sound?"

Because, good sir, you live on Earth...

[Scotsman will be Free]

"Sky Pilot" is a good tune.

[wagglebee]

How do alien spacecraft get into our Solar System from those galaxies far, far away?

He lost me right there!

[StormEye]

"And that is something that every amateur radio astronomer and every radio oscilloscope would pick up well in advance of the arrival of a spacecraft."

How utterly stupid. The man has no idea what an oscilloscope is but he uses the word because it sounds so scientific. The guy doesn't know an oscilloscope from a proctoscope!

[Army Air Corps]

"I love the sound of beta decay in the morning!"

Because it smells like victory! (In the vicinity of Pyongyang)

[jonascord]

As you approach light speeds, time slows down, so his percieved calender would naturally be behind ours. The poor guy probably hasn't seen the Revenge of the Sith yet, and is still waiting for the results of the 2000 election...