Things you always wanted to know the answer to [Vol. 5]

[popeyewhite]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

Yes and no. It's like saying that punching people in the face is allowed in boxing. It is, but only within tightly defined parameters and with padded gloves

The parameters really aren't very tight in boxing!

[anonymous-user]

In Star Wars, if the Millenium Falcon accelerated to light speed in the way it does, would Han and Chewie be turned in to goo? Same with the Enterprise/Kirk? G force still works in space doesn't it?

[anonymous-user]

akirk said:

bigpriest said:

Well, even today if you see someone neatly trotting down a country lane on a horse, bear in mind the horse more than likely has a metal bar in its mouth which can be pulled sharply to make sure the horse remains in control. Whipping is still allowed in racing for control and encouragement. I'd guess a horse free to show its wild instincts would throw its rider at the first opportunity.

Not totally true - I grew up with horses and have ridden them bareback and in a halter (rope arrangement outside the head, no bit inside the horse’s mouth) - once a horse is broken / domesticated it is then as much about relationship between rider and horse as anything else...

"Broken". Even the terminology is violent. Poor horses.

[Pastie Bloater]

Sway said:

Completely agree.

However, there is of course a few centuries worth of evidence they can be a devastatingly effective war machine.

Question is - in light of all the above - how?

Are there certain breeds or bloodlines (or indeed training methods) that overcome their mad prey nature, and actually turn them into snarling rage beasts entirely trusted by their riders to carry them into the thick of battle?

I was under the impression that with the blinders, armour, control devices etc. the horse was basically just being used as a vehicle/automaton, rather than enjoying it in any way.
Maybe contrast to war elephants that do have a 'rage mode'.

[Clockwork Cupcake]

OpulentBob said:

In Star Wars, if the Millenium Falcon accelerated to light speed in the way it does, would Han and Chewie be turned in to goo? Same with the Enterprise/Kirk? G force still works in space doesn't it?

In Star Wars the jump to light speed has always been "pseudo-motion" (ie. not actual acceleration). Although that was completely torn up in The Force Awakens (or whichever it was. The one where Princess Leia goes all Mary Poppins).

In Star Trek they have "inertial dampers" (as mentioned recently in this thread) based on force field technology. So it is explained away.

[Clockwork Cupcake]

popeyewhite said:

The parameters really aren't very tight in boxing!

Well, you have to wear gloves. And you aren't allowed to beat your opponent into a bloody pulp because the referee will break it apart. Stuff like that. What I meant was it is not unrestricted.

[bmwmike]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

OpulentBob said:

In Star Wars, if the Millenium Falcon accelerated to light speed in the way it does, would Han and Chewie be turned in to goo? Same with the Enterprise/Kirk? G force still works in space doesn't it?

In Star Wars the jump to light speed has always been "pseudo-motion" (ie. not actual acceleration). Although that was completely torn up in The Force Awakens (or whichever it was. The one where Princess Leia goes all Mary Poppins).

In Star Trek they have "inertial dampers" (as mentioned recently in this thread) based on force field technology. So it is explained away.

On a similar note - if the "warp drive" or whatever was not a propulsion but rather it opened a worm hole around the ship, would the transit through space via the wormhole cause ship occupants to feel movement, requiring the inertial damper type stuff? I mean, in theory, isn't the ship "static" and the space moves around it..

[anonymous-user]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

OpulentBob said:

In Star Wars, if the Millenium Falcon accelerated to light speed in the way it does, would Han and Chewie be turned in to goo? Same with the Enterprise/Kirk? G force still works in space doesn't it?

In Star Wars the jump to light speed has always been "pseudo-motion" (ie. not actual acceleration). Although that was completely torn up in The Force Awakens (or whichever it was. The one where Princess Leia goes all Mary Poppins).

In Star Trek they have "inertial dampers" (as mentioned recently in this thread) based on force field technology. So it is explained away.

Cool, thanks. A question that ame up after playing KSP and watching ANH with a 5 year old...

[anonymous-user]

bmwmike said:

Clockwork Cupcake said:

OpulentBob said:

In Star Wars, if the Millenium Falcon accelerated to light speed in the way it does, would Han and Chewie be turned in to goo? Same with the Enterprise/Kirk? G force still works in space doesn't it?

In Star Wars the jump to light speed has always been "pseudo-motion" (ie. not actual acceleration). Although that was completely torn up in The Force Awakens (or whichever it was. The one where Princess Leia goes all Mary Poppins).

In Star Trek they have "inertial dampers" (as mentioned recently in this thread) based on force field technology. So it is explained away.

On a similar note - if the "warp drive" or whatever was not a propulsion but rather it opened a worm hole around the ship, would the transit through space via the wormhole cause ship occupants to feel movement, requiring the inertial damper type stuff? I mean, in theory, isn't the ship "static" and the space moves around it..

That's Dune, isn't it? Travelling without moving and all that

[DRFC1879]

No, that's Jamiroquai.

[FiF]

coppernorks said:

Clockwork Cupcake said:

With you there. I have never wanted to put myself on anything that does not have brakes.

I've heard it said that owning a horse is like having a big hole in the ground into which you shovel money. And owning a boat is like having a big hole in the water (presumably some kind of whirlpool) into which you pour money.

Mind you, I own a TVR so I guess I'm not much better.

It seems to be mainly a female thing, this passion / love for horses, while men race them, or bet on them,
women are found happily mucking the horses out, grooming them, fussing over them, devoting huge amount of time
to the ungrateful buggers.

Melanie Reid, a journalist who fell off a horse and is now wheelchair-bound still gets
teary-eyed at the smell of horse sweat and leather tack.,

Anecdote from too many years ago to think about. A young lady who I was quite keen on at the time persuaded me to go horse riding, silly me. We ended up in a forest, whereupon she and her steed buggered off into the distance down some forest paths, and while I'd been doing a reasonable job at walk and trot was suddenly out of my depth as my steed thought, ooh race! Now bearing in mind that I was used to forest tracks but either at the wheel or in co driver seat of rally cars proceeding at ridiculous pace between the trees, I have honestly never been so convinced, before nor since, that the day was going to end with me being carted off to hospital and in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.

In such a state managed to stay in the saddle, Christ knows how, then we got to the jumps.

I think at some point the horse thought, had enough of this numpty up top and going to go back to my stable. Got a feel of what it must have looked like to others as at one point was thundering back to base along this track, stood up in the stirrups like a jockey, trying to stop the bloody thing, when we approached a family out for a quiet walk. They took one look and scattered behind the tree line. Never again.

[akirk]

FiF said:

coppernorks said:

Clockwork Cupcake said:

With you there. I have never wanted to put myself on anything that does not have brakes.

I've heard it said that owning a horse is like having a big hole in the ground into which you shovel money. And owning a boat is like having a big hole in the water (presumably some kind of whirlpool) into which you pour money.

Mind you, I own a TVR so I guess I'm not much better.

It seems to be mainly a female thing, this passion / love for horses, while men race them, or bet on them,
women are found happily mucking the horses out, grooming them, fussing over them, devoting huge amount of time
to the ungrateful buggers.

Melanie Reid, a journalist who fell off a horse and is now wheelchair-bound still gets
teary-eyed at the smell of horse sweat and leather tack.,

Anecdote from too many years ago to think about. A young lady who I was quite keen on at the time persuaded me to go horse riding, silly me. We ended up in a forest, whereupon she and her steed buggered off into the distance down some forest paths, and while I'd been doing a reasonable job at walk and trot was suddenly out of my depth as my steed thought, ooh race! Now bearing in mind that I was used to forest tracks but either at the wheel or in co driver seat of rally cars proceeding at ridiculous pace between the trees, I have honestly never been so convinced, before nor since, that the day was going to end with me being carted off to hospital and in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.

In such a state managed to stay in the saddle, Christ knows how, then we got to the jumps.

I think at some point the horse thought, had enough of this numpty up top and going to go back to my stable. Got a feel of what it must have looked like to others as at one point was thundering back to base along this track, stood up in the stirrups like a jockey, trying to stop the bloody thing, when we approached a family out for a quiet walk. They took one look and scattered behind the tree line. Never again.

is it any different to a new learner driver being taken for a drive in a rally car forest stage...?
for someone starting out on a horse you want a 'school master' a horse which is placid / comfortable and looks after you - more likely to stop and graze on the grass than take off as though you were in a John Wayne movie...

when you learn to ride proficiently then the higher calibre horse is more exhilarating - much as a better car would be...

I have been cross-country on horses (large fences / walls) and played polo (8+horses galloping at each other at c. 40mph) - awesome fun - but I wouldn't put a beginner through either...

[vonuber]

OpulentBob said:

bmwmike said:

Clockwork Cupcake said:

OpulentBob said:

In Star Wars, if the Millenium Falcon accelerated to light speed in the way it does, would Han and Chewie be turned in to goo? Same with the Enterprise/Kirk? G force still works in space doesn't it?

In Star Wars the jump to light speed has always been "pseudo-motion" (ie. not actual acceleration). Although that was completely torn up in The Force Awakens (or whichever it was. The one where Princess Leia goes all Mary Poppins).

In Star Trek they have "inertial dampers" (as mentioned recently in this thread) based on force field technology. So it is explained away.

On a similar note - if the "warp drive" or whatever was not a propulsion but rather it opened a worm hole around the ship, would the transit through space via the wormhole cause ship occupants to feel movement, requiring the inertial damper type stuff? I mean, in theory, isn't the ship "static" and the space moves around it..

That's Dune, isn't it? Travelling without moving and all that

I quite liked the solution they came up with in Mass Effect:

https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/FTL

[Clockwork Cupcake]

vonuber said:

I quite liked the solution they came up with in Mass Effect:

https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/FTL

In the parody Sci-Fi series "Bill the Galactic Hero" written by Harry Harrison, they have the Bloater drive. You lock your stern's coordinates in space-time and then grow the ship until its bow is near your destination, then you unlock the stern and lock the bow's co-ordinates, and then shrink the ship again. You travel without moving.

(It's a parody. Don't think about it too much)

[glazbagun]

OpulentBob said:

Clockwork Cupcake said:

OpulentBob said:

In Star Wars, if the Millenium Falcon accelerated to light speed in the way it does, would Han and Chewie be turned in to goo? Same with the Enterprise/Kirk? G force still works in space doesn't it?

In Star Wars the jump to light speed has always been "pseudo-motion" (ie. not actual acceleration). Although that was completely torn up in The Force Awakens (or whichever it was. The one where Princess Leia goes all Mary Poppins).

In Star Trek they have "inertial dampers" (as mentioned recently in this thread) based on force field technology. So it is explained away.

Cool, thanks. A question that ame up after playing KSP and watching ANH with a 5 year old...

If your five year old is playing KSP you could just wait a few more years and he'll explain real FTL travel to you.

Actually, while we're on Star Trek- (and thinking of a comment about Srinivasa Ramanujan earlier) in TNG you often saw fresh graduates from Starfleet Academy who, despite being teenage/20, have intimate knowledge of several scientific fields to a level beyond our own scientists. In The Expanse, young people are flying and docking space craft.

Does an analogue for Starfleet Academy exist today? NASA astronauts often hold doctorates in multiple fields, but they don't go to NASA school. Did the Nazi's or Soviets ever have colleges for taking bright/well connected people and turning them into ready made research/ engineering geniuses? I suppose the French once gathered savants for pre-electronic computing, but that was pretty narrow for the individual involved.

[Harrison Bergeron]

vonuber said:

I quite liked the solution they came up with in Mass Effect:

https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/FTL

I like 40K where you punch a hole through space into [effectively] hell and then travel through the hole.



Question time: are there foodstuffs dishwashers can't deal with?

Whether that be something too tough or something that reacts with the washer fluid that might knacker the machine. I suppose the fluid being full of acid and enzymes means anything you can digest the washer can too.

[kowalski655]

Harrison Bergeron said:

I like 40K where you punch a hole through space into [effectively] hell and then travel through the hole..

Sounds like fun!
https://external-preview.redd.it/1B2FMbTdsMuUh5RoE...

[The Mad Monk]

My wife and I share a PC. When I reply or add a comment to a youtube video, it comes up as her name. How can I stop this - because sometimes it's inappropriate - or switch it to my name?

[Clockwork Cupcake]

The Mad Monk said:

My wife and I share a PC. When I reply or add a comment to a youtube video, it comes up as her name. How can I stop this - because sometimes it's inappropriate - or switch it to my name?

Why are you using the same user account? Just have a user account each (on the the same PC) and keep things completely separate.

Edited by Clockwork Cupcake on Wednesday 9th June 08:21

[talksthetorque]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

The Mad Monk said:

My wife and I share a PC. When I reply or add a comment to a youtube video, it comes up as her name. How can I stop this - because sometimes it's inappropriate - or switch it to my name?

Why are you using the same user account? Just have a user account each (on the the same PC) and keep things completely separate.

Edited by Clockwork Cupcake on Wednesday 9th June 08:21

Your user account on youtube can also follow you round on other devices, so I have mine on my phone, my better half has hers on her phone and both accounts can be selected on the smart TV when you load the youtube app.

I think on a PC you will have to log her out and you in and vice versa though.