The Conservative Cave
The Bar => The Lounge => Topic started by: mrclose on August 17, 2012, 10:37:11 PM
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I think that I have outdone myself on dumb questions and stupid scenarios here! :rofl:
(My last question dealt with the sky stairway)
This months dumb question and stupid scenario is: The earth rotates at or around 1,000 mph, correct?
Now, let's say that I invented a machine that when activated, would nullify gravity.
The Dumb Questions .. of which there are three: :whistling:
1) If I were to take my 'machine' outside and flipped the anti gravity switch .. would the machine Rocket itself into outer space?
2) If it were to Rocket into space .. at what speed would it do so?
3) Now for a worst case scenario, (and the reason for the 1,000 mph rotation mentioned above) .. If the anti gravity machine just hovered, slightly above the terrain when activated .. wouldn't those skyscrapers and mountains .. rushing at you at 1,000 mph present a problem? :panic:
I can assure you of one thing .. whichever scenario happens to be the correct one .. I wont be 'sitting' in the machine when the switch is flipped! (http://i39.tinypic.com/34po1z5.jpg)
I Warned you about the stupid questions part! :hyper:
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I figured that I could 'schlep' my machine to the North or South Pole .. unless the following story turns out to be closer to the truth!
One of my favorite Sci Fi writers and a Professor of biochemistry, Issac Asimov did a short story (that he almost called dirty pool but didn't) that dealt with something like this.
The Billard Ball is the story of a journalist's recollection of the events surrounding the discovery of an anti-gravity device in the mid-21st century.
Heavy with physics theory, the story describes the relationship between the creator of the device, the billionaire inventor Edward Bloom, and his former classmate James Priss, a Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist who had discovered most of the theory that made the device possible.
The men are expert billiards players and bitter rivals. Challenged to execute a shot on a table which is equipped with the device, Priss sends a ball on a complicated trajectory which finishes when it enters the device's field.
At that point the ball vanishes and Bloom collapses, dead. There is a mysterious hole drilled completely through his chest.
Central to the story is the concept of a pure anti-gravity machine that turns out to be a perpetual motion machine of the 1st order.
Energy can be freely created in a volume of space time which is pulled 'flat' as defined within the Theory of Relativity as determined by Einstein.
However, this field possesses remarkable properties, which are the centerpiece of the story: any object which enters the field is reduced to zero mass, and hence must assume the speed of light.
There is also the unprovable speculation as to whether Priss knew, from his own theory and the nature of the blue glow produced by the field (possibly due to Cherenkov radiation), what would happen, and if he then directed the ball in such a way as to kill Bloom.
Asimov himself had some reservations about the name of the story, and noted that his friend Frederik Pohl's suggested title of "Dirty Pool" was far better than his own. The story retains its title despite the feeling of its author, as he preferred to remain consistent.
Neat Huh? :rofl:
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For a fun read .. I found Asimov's short story The Billiard Ball .. in it's entirety, on line .. Here: http://www.e-reading.org.ua/chapter.php/82002/30/Azimov_-_Asimovs_Mysteries.html
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Well, as far as the story goes, it does leave a little bit of a loose end hanging. If the ball went to zero mass but remained in that state upon leaving the field, it would have bounced off the victim and behaved like a gigantic photon (Or possibly passed through him without leaving a hole, depending on the relationship of mass to physical solidity). On the other hand, if it regained its mass upon leaving the field, there should have been some titanically-graphic effects which would make a tac nuke look like a firecracker as an object moving at the speed of light suddenly gained infinite mass upon leaving the field and instantly began decelerating in a 1 Bar atmosphere.
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Well, as far as the story goes, it does leave a little bit of a loose end hanging. If the ball went to zero mass but remained in that state upon leaving the field, it would have bounced off the victim and behaved like a gigantic photon (Or possibly passed through him without leaving a hole, depending on the relationship of mass to physical solidity). On the other hand, if it regained its mass upon leaving the field, there should have been some titanically-graphic effects which would make a tac nuke look like a firecracker as an object moving at the speed of light suddenly gained infinite mass upon leaving the field and instantly began decelerating in a 1 Bar atmosphere.
Damn DAT, I would have just told him to keep sucking on that lefthanded cigarette.
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Sir Isaac Newton loved apples. So did William Tell. They both enjoyed overtures.
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Well, as far as the story goes, it does leave a little bit of a loose end hanging. If the ball went to zero mass but remained in that state upon leaving the field, it would have bounced off the victim and behaved like a gigantic photon (Or possibly passed through him without leaving a hole, depending on the relationship of mass to physical solidity). On the other hand, if it regained its mass upon leaving the field, there should have been some titanically-graphic effects which would make a tac nuke look like a firecracker as an object moving at the speed of light suddenly gained infinite mass upon leaving the field and instantly began decelerating in a 1 Bar atmosphere.
Just D@MN!
Guess I better forget about building my machine after all!
Well it was fun while it lasted!(http://i39.tinypic.com/34po1z5.jpg)
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Yeah, I'd recommend getting them to test it at CERN, and making sure you're in North America when they do.
:-)
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Just don't cross the streams.
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Truth is .. I started my anti gravity project when my 'better half' asked me to scrub the toilets! :lol:
Told her that I didn't have time because I was working on something 'very' important! :panic:
(didn't work :argh: )
Since that didn't deter the 'chore' thing .. I'm working on a new idea for the next time she comes up with some Really weird 'chore' for me to do!
INVISIBILITY! :rant: :rofl:
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Truth is .. I started my anti gravity project when my 'better half' asked me to scrub the toilets! :lol:
Told her that I didn't have time because I was working on something 'very' important! :panic:
(didn't work :argh: )
Since that didn't deter the 'chore' thing .. I'm working on a new idea for the next time she comes up with some Really weird 'chore' for me to do!
INVISIBILITY! :rant: :rofl:
Did it work ?
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Neither worked! :argh:
Not the machine or the gettin outta the chore thing! :panic: