2 theories

Stinky · 27 May 2008 at 13:07

Mint_Sauce said:
What we need to make as the ultimate anti aircraft weapon is a huge wind machine. Fire it at the rear of enemy aircraft to ruin their lift. Maybe some kind of giant Airzooka?

maybe if we buy enough of these!

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/airzooka/index.html

Mint_Sauce · 27 May 2008 at 13:07

Stinky said:
maybe if we buy enough of these!

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/airzooka/index.html

Quick, to the MOD!

Stinky · 27 May 2008 at 13:08

Mint_Sauce said:
Quick, to the MOD!

i hear the traffics abit bad at the moment. maybe tommorow?

Haircut · 27 May 2008 at 13:09

Mint_Sauce said:
You're missing the point, I just want to know how many bits of light would fit in a perfectly reflective box. Maybe start off with something small like an oxo cube sized box and fill it with light. What would happen when it started to get full?

You're not understanding the concept on what light is though, it's not like there are balls of light of a certain size with which you can fill up spaces.

Mat · 27 May 2008 at 13:09

Mint_Sauce said:
You're missing the point, I just want to know how many bits of light would fit in a perfectly reflective box. Maybe start off with something small like an oxo cube sized box and fill it with light. What would happen when it started to get full?

Assuming you decide that light is particulate rather than in a wave form, I suppose the box would spontaneously combust due to the intense heat generated by so much concentrated light...

I love the trig soup idea though

Visage · 27 May 2008 at 13:10

Mint_Sauce said:
You're missing the point, I just want to know how many bits of light would fit in a perfectly reflective box. Maybe start off with something small like an oxo cube sized box and fill it with light. What would happen when it started to get full?

Im not sure it would ever get full. Certainly not before the radiation pressure blew the container apart.

BigglesPiP · 27 May 2008 at 13:15

bennyboy2606 said:
So i was thinking of two things

First

If i were to completely cover a room in mirror, and turn the lights on, and then off again, would the room stay lit because the light would be continuously bouncing of the mirrors.

Only if they're ideal mirrors with no refractive index in a vacuum. And there is nobody in the room observing.

Second

If you put somes head in a block, and cut through it in Ms with a lazer, would they remain alive untill the head is moved as the cells are still connected to?

No, lasers burn away tissue.

Monkey Puzzle · 27 May 2008 at 13:36

Yes in theory to the first one (assuming they're pervectly reflective and there's no absorption of the light). In order to measure it through a detector though(eg your eyes) you'd need to absorb the light.

The cell one - if you cut the cells you'd mess up some function of those cells (cutting cell organelles, extracellular matrix etc, leakage of cell cytoplam through cutting the membranes), though cell membranes might reform if the laser were insanely thin.

Ben M · 27 May 2008 at 13:54

Monkey Puzzle said:
Yes in theory to the first one (assuming they're pervectly reflective and there's no absorption of the light). In order to measure it through a detector though(eg your eyes) you'd need to absorb the light.

No, as discussed, photon tunneling means that there's no such thing as a perfect mirror, photons will always tunnel.

So does all matter, there's a chance that if I run into a wall that I will pass straight through.

The Dread Pirate · 27 May 2008 at 13:58

Did someone say areoplane and treadmill?

Sankari · 27 May 2008 at 14:01

I suspect that the laser would also cauterize the nerves, therefore destroying their ability to transmit signals.

Of course, the fact that they were completely severed wouldn't help either.

Solari · 27 May 2008 at 14:02

Ben M said:
So does all matter, there's a chance that if I run into a wall that I will pass straight through.

Can you try out that experiment and video each attempt for us all to watch?

Seriously, never heard of this concept. I used to read New Scientist a lot so this kind of thing intrigues me... any links on the subject?

The Dread Pirate · 27 May 2008 at 14:05

Solari said:
Can you try out that experiment and video each attempt for us all to watch?

Would probably turn out like the experiment I performed to test if powerlines were not trees as my T-shirt said. My conclusions were that the T-shirt was right and powerlines were not trees and can cause a lot more pain than falling out of a tree.

Visage · 27 May 2008 at 14:08

Solari said:
Can you try out that experiment and video each attempt for us all to watch?

Seriously, never heard of this concept. I used to read New Scientist a lot so this kind of thing intrigues me... any links on the subject?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_tunnelling

Ben M · 27 May 2008 at 14:16

Solari said:
Can you try out that experiment and video each attempt for us all to watch?

Seriously, never heard of this concept. I used to read New Scientist a lot so this kind of thing intrigues me... any links on the subject?

As someone posted up a bit, it's called quantum tunelling.

I said that there's a chance, you could spend your whole life doing it repeatedly and end up not doing it once. I think the probability increases the smaller the object is, so if you got an electron gun and fired it at a a wall, then you would see some tunelling. The thing with that is also that there are millions of electrons as well, so you're more likely to see it happen at least once.

Stinky · 27 May 2008 at 14:18

Ben M said:
As someone posted up a bit, it's called quantum tunelling.

I said that there's a chance, you could spend your whole life doing it repeatedly and end up not doing it once. I think the probability increases the smaller the object is, so if you got an electron gun and fired it at a a wall, then you would see some tunelling. The thing with that is also that there are millions of electrons as well, so you're more likely to see it happen at least once.

so this could happen with phsyical objects? if i sit here throwing my pen at the wall for a while. there is a small chance that it may pass though??

Ben M · 27 May 2008 at 14:19

Stinky said:
so this could happen with phsyical objects? if i sit here throwing my pen at the wall for a while. there is a small chance that it may pass though??

Yes, but remember that small means small. Expect to be there a while. Read up on quantum tunneling.

Haircut · 27 May 2008 at 14:19

Ben M said:
I said that there's a chance, you could spend your whole life doing it repeatedly and end up not doing it once.

I'm pretty sure if you work out the probabilites the entire population of the Earth could do it continuously for billions of years and chances are you still wouldn't see it happen.

Ben M · 27 May 2008 at 14:20

Haircut said:
I'm pretty sure if you work out the probabilites the entire population of the Earth could do it continuously for billions of years and chances are you still wouldn't see it happen.

Then again i could do it once, and it could work.

brb

Visage · 27 May 2008 at 14:21

Stinky said:
so this could happen with phsyical objects? if i sit here throwing my pen at the wall for a while. there is a small chance that it may pass though??

Yup. The odds are crazy though. You could do it every second for the lifetime of the universe and the odds against seeing it would still be astronomical.