The Physics of Space Battles "I had a discussion recently with friends about the various depictions of space combat in science fiction movies, TV shows, and books. We have the fighter-plane engagements of Star Wars, the subdued, two-dimensional naval combat in Star Trek, the Newtonian planes of Battlestar Galactica, the staggeringly furious energy exchanges of the combat wasps in Peter Hamilton's books, and the use of antimatter rocket engines themselves as weapons in other sci-fi. But suppose we get out there, go terraform Mars, and the Martian colonists actually revolt. Or suppose we encounter hostile aliens. How would space combat actually go?"
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey
on Dec 17, 2009 -
106 comments
Lightlane builds lasers that shoot out from your bike onto the road, displaying a bike lane wherever you ride. Written about
here and
here.
posted by erikvan
on Jun 24, 2009 -
92 comments
Sketch Furniture, aka Furniture Made With Frickin' Lasers. Swedish designers use motion capture technology to draw chairs and tables with light in mid-air. Their sketches are then built out of plastic by a laser into real pieces of furniture. Honestly, either one of these things would amaze me. I'm starting to like living in the future. (via
bb)
posted by Riovanes
on Nov 1, 2006 -
23 comments
Frick'n Lasers! When an UT Austin student finds a stash of graded freshman physics
homework, he decides to pitch in and add his own comments to those of the TA. Our children is might not be learning, but at least they're getting to play with lasers!
posted by robocop is bleeding
on Feb 9, 2005 -
79 comments
New Utrecht High School , school rules gone wild:
#9. Carrying Magic Markers is prohibited.
#13. NO WEAPONS ALLOWED (Laser Beams are considered weapons). Possession will result in automatic Superintendent's Suspension and/or expulsion from school.
Lasers going the way of the drug-dealing magic-marker peddling beeper?
posted by omidius
on Dec 20, 2004 -
92 comments
Last Mile by Laser "The multibillion-dollar optical-fiber backbone that was built to bring...high-performance multimedia..to office and home computers...has come up a bit short" Free Space Optics may be the answer
posted by ajayb
on Jul 12, 2002 -
3 comments
DiscT@2: This revolutionary Laser Labeling System allows graphics and text to be burnt onto CD-R disc, eliminating the need for labels. Customers can put graphics, such as signatures, logos, memorandums, and photo images onto CD-R's unused area after data writing.
posted by Fofer
on Jun 16, 2002 -
11 comments
Airborne Laser 21st Century, here we come! According to the always serious folks at
Janes, a new kind of weapon that has a strong smell of fifties sci-fi will soon become really real. An airborne basket-ball sized laser beam should soon be able to destroy missiles before they reach their target. Why doesn't this news makes more confident in the future of this world?
posted by Baud
on Jun 7, 2002 -
32 comments
