Annoying Questions I'd Like Answered...

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:23 am

I think this got overlooked in the thread which I first brought it up.

Can thermite be used to propel an object? I'm thinking it could be used in ammunition instead of gunpowder for space viable projectiles, rather than worrying about big ass rail guns and gauss rifles.

Edit: Wikipedia says most forms are not explosive, so that, I guess, answers my question.

New question, however, is this: what are the explosive forms of thermite?

Blasted · Post by **Blasted** » Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:28 am

I don't think so. Standard thermite doesn't explode in the same manner as gun powder. Apparently there is explosive thermite, but the basic issue is that it creates massive heat and will almost certainly melt your barrel.
There are better propellants out there.

Zinegata · Post by **Zinegata** » Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:29 am

Wouldn't the chemicals necessary to get a thermite reaction be absent in the vacuum of space?

Edit: Nevermind, thermite comes with its own oxygen supply. I mixed it up with something else.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:32 am

Blasted wrote:I don't think so. Standard thermite doesn't explode in the same manner as gun powder. Apparently there is explosive thermite, but the basic issue is that it creates massive heat and will almost certainly melt your barrel.
There are better propellants out there.

Ah, a point I didn't consider. I suppose a metal or substance which could resist the heat of a thermic reaction could be found, but, as you say, there are better propellants.

Just a thought I had. May use it in fiction with unobtainium barrels or something.

Zinegata wrote:Wouldn't the chemicals necessary to get a thermite reaction be absent in the vacuum of space?

Er... you mean the elemental metal and metal oxide? No more so than the chemicals necessary for you to have a gun in space...

Zinegata · Post by **Zinegata** » Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:40 am

Prak_Anima wrote:
Blasted wrote:I don't think so. Standard thermite doesn't explode in the same manner as gun powder. Apparently there is explosive thermite, but the basic issue is that it creates massive heat and will almost certainly melt your barrel.
There are better propellants out there.
Ah, a point I didn't consider. I suppose a metal or substance which could resist the heat of a thermic reaction could be found, but, as you say, there are better propellants.

Just a thought I had. May use it in fiction with unobtainium barrels or something.

It may be more realistic to consider the use of thermite ammunition. The military used thermites for free-fall incindiary munitions in World War 2. Present-day soldiers also use thermite grenades for the destruction of heavy equipment - i.e. gun barrels.

In space though, you don't need to fire it out of the barrel. Just give it a little kinetic energy, ignite it remotely, wait for it to hit the enemy ship, and watch their hull sizzle.

And if you've read Atomic Rockets, you'd know that pouring heat into a spacecraft is a very terrible thing.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 10:09 pm

So I have a new stereo, and don't get me wrong - it's cool - but I don't understand why the power light comes on when the stereo goes off.

I know it's off because the front display isn't on. So why does it need to have a light turn on when you turn the machine off?

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 10:44 pm

Is it a standby light? One of my DVD players has three modes:

1) On (green light)
2) Off (no light)
3) Standby (red light)

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 11:32 pm

I think it is the stereo's wau of saying that it is still plugged in.

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 1:12 am

A lot of new equipment seem to have a light that's on when the device is powered down but connected. However when the device is actually active and doing whatever it is supposed to do, then that light is turned off. I find it to be annoying but I've grown to ignore it mostly.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 2:15 am

Cynic wrote:A lot of new equipment seem to have a light that's on when the device is powered down but connected. However when the device is actually active and doing whatever it is supposed to do, then that light is turned off. I find it to be annoying but I've grown to ignore it mostly.

I know motherboards do that, but that's because at that point, you're exposed to the raw electronics and you don't want to short anything out.

Why appliances feel the need to tell me this externally, I don't know.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 5:18 am

I don't have the option of turning my stereo off. It's either on or standby. Which means the front panel is lit up and music is playing, or it's off, and the standby light is on.

Not only is the light irksome because I can tell when the machine is off by looking at the main display, but also because the damn light is bright enough that it illuminates the room like a night light. I'm thinkin' that some electrical tape and very careful cutting might be a good solution.

CatharzGodfoot · Post by **CatharzGodfoot** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 5:48 am

Or you could attach it to a switch (on a power bar, for example), and then just turn that off.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 6:23 am

That's a great idea, Catharz. Unfortunately, location prohibits me from doing this.

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 6:29 am

You can get a radio powered switch that communicates to a device you put on the wall socket between the socket and the power cord. I gave one to my mother because the light above her chair has one of those on the cord switches and it's tucked behind the bookcase. It looks like a regular switch and you can even mount it on the wall. She didn't so she keeps it by the table. Not sure if they make one for appliance level usage.

cthulhu · Post by **cthulhu** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 6:38 am

I'd just tape over the light.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Thu Jan 27, 2011 6:03 pm

I have used two layers of electrical tape and reduced the light to a small, blue, glowing dot. It no longer casts shadows in the dark.

cthulhu · Post by **cthulhu** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 5:19 am

Wow, that is one insane standby light.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 5:52 am

yeah, they exist. I had a friend who had an action figure arm placed in front of the light from his speakers so he wouldn't have his eyes boiled out of his head while on the computer.

Blasted · Post by **Blasted** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 10:11 am

I have painted over several of mine for that reason. The inventor of blue LEDs will be first against the wall come the revolution.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 3:20 pm

The green ones in my smoke detector are pretty bright. I never really noticed it on the ceiling, but when I walked under it as it flashed, I noticed a circle about 2-3 feet in diameter on the floor.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 7:17 pm

See? I'm not a lunatic!

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:31 pm

Maj wrote:See? I'm not a lunatic!

No, No, that's a completely different topic. :maj:

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:36 pm

Cynic wrote:
Maj wrote:See? I'm not a lunatic!
No, No, that's a completely different topic.

Fair point.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 4:58 pm

So what's the deal with wigs in the UK legal system?

tzor · Post by **tzor** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 7:01 pm

Maj wrote:So what's the deal with wigs in the UK legal system?

Tradition. We would probably have wigs in the US had it not been for the fact that the Supreme Court wanted to look like they were doing something "new." They kept the robes, though.