Clowns aren't born, they're made... just like fairies.
Posted on 02/16/2002 4:17:58 PM PST by Pokey78
With really cool names like this we won't have to fight any wars...
Now we need the "Gun of Wiping Out Entire Armies in One Shot," and a few other well named goodies, and we're ready to go.
What do you suggest, airport screeners looking for garish facepaint, smuggled horns, or dare I say it, outright clown-profiling?
Clowns aren't born, they're made... just like fairies.
You need a man for the job!
Anti-grav vehicles. Supposedly some stealth craft have dual types of propulsion/flight systems.
[to those prone to rabid remarks re such--No, thanks, I already have a container full of tinfoil hats. Start your own collection.]
We were, in the late 60's. And by the late 70's to early 80's there was the top of a mountain missing in New Mexico.
Stranger things have happened. . . we shall see.
The technology isn't THAT far out. It's cool stuff, but not beyond comprehension ...and it's all based on foundations of prior discoveries. It's not like this stuff just popped out of the blue for no reason. Discovery was accelerated not by some extraterrestrial beings but by a concept rather new to humankind which blossomed only recently- free speech and the free expression of ideas, freedom of religion, and the protections on private intellectual property- all of which gave an incentive for inventors and companies to share their discoveries by openly publishing them and discussing them, and by selling rights to them. That was a big thing since prior to these concepts coming into practice, guilds worked hard to keep their trade secrets exclusive; scientists and other thinkers could be persecuted as heretics, and designs could be stolen, rather than purchased, and those who had not invented them were able to profit on the scientific work of others by ruining the market for the original discoverer, taking his customers. Reforms in Europe and the birth of America as a country finally got things rolling. The old restrictions fell away and were replaced with a desire for progress- we prospered from it. The US drew the greatest minds and entrepreneurs from all over the world, which in turn feuled even more discoveries. It was only natural that such progress occur exponentially.
The Discovery Channel aired a program a few months ago showing guys shooting prototype lasers and talking about military uses.
Or, at least respect it.
Very interesting, but a little flat for a "Laser of Death" thread.
NOW we're cooking.
Would a laser simply burn off dust on the mirror's surface? And would a powerful laser be more likely to react to blemishes and imperfections in a mirror- if, for example, the mirror was scratched or pocked? Would it then reflect off of the 'good' parts of the mirror but burn into the flaws, possibly warping or destroying the mirror?
I would figure that in order to use a mirror as a 'defense' the mirror would have to completely cover the area you need to protect, otherwise you may be dead before the laser hits the place where you put your mirror... you don't know exactly where the thing is going to be aimed. To use the mirror to actually turn a laser against its operator, you'd have to to hit the plane carrying the laser, not neccessary the exact point where the laser is emitting, nor neccessarily at the same 'power', but at least with enough intesity to blind the aircraft and its crew. But you would also have to have the mirror (or mirrors) aimed at the plane before it fires, because there won't be time when it fires. And you'd have to have your own weaponry in case the plane turns out to be conventional and drawn to your highly polished reflective shell.
It might be easier just to build your own laser and hope you get to fire first.
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