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Post by OziRiS on Jan 1, 2015 14:59:46 GMT
Op states that birds and GPS are both affected, so that means a VERY broadband interference. Just going off of what the OP describes. Blame the writers. Sorry, I wasn't overly clear in my last post. I meant that the comm headset could work if it was close enough the the transmitter of the comm signal. If it is close enough, a reasonable powered signal would have enough strength to be received over the EMI in the background if the receiver was close enough. Something like say a Bluetooth headset talking to a cell phone on someone's hip. However, a headset communicating with a base station several miles away would get lost in the EMI. Also, frequencies above 100 MHz don't carry well over the horizon. Frequencies in the upper VHF and UHF+ bands are used for high data bandwidth but relatively short range communication, basically line of sight comm. Higher frequencies are also used because they penetrate better things like buildings, forests, etc. A UHF transmitter is lucky to get 50 miles with a high, tower, clear line of sight and a strong amplifier. To get further ranges, you need to get into repeaters. If you want to go long distances, you want lower frequencies. Something in the, say, 30 MHz and down range where you can get some atmospheric bounce to give you range. IF you are out in the middle of nowhere, If you want to hit a satellite, you want UHF to penetrate the atmosphere. HF to bounce a signal off the atmosphere and hug the ground for a long distance. Oops. Missed that the OP stated both electronics and birds were affected, so yeah, you're right. That's a VERY broad band of interference. Actually, it's so broad that it seems highly unlikely that it could even come from a single source, doesn't it?
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Post by silverdragon on Jan 2, 2015 12:46:35 GMT
Yes, almost exactly like that, just a little larger to contain other electronics as well, and a couple of magnets (Shielded) to allow connection to the superstructure of the underwater machinery,
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Post by wvengineer on Jan 2, 2015 17:13:36 GMT
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Post by ironhold on Feb 19, 2015 17:38:06 GMT
As of two weeks ago, we've officially had two episodes dealing with shipwrecks. EP016 / "Pokemon Shipwreck" (Original US air date: 29 September 1998) A cruise liner known as the St. Anne has gone under. It's resting upside-down on its smoke stacks, which in turn are resting on a piece of rock that's jutting out from a crevice. In the episode, passengers who have survived the sinking are still alive underneath, as air pockets exist in what were the ship's lower levels. 1. An early "gag" sequence has it that any undue shift in the weight of the people or animals on board will cause the ship to tilt; it's explained as being a result of how heavy everyone and everything is. But how much weight would be necessary to cause such a situation? (In the episode, the situation is resolved by having everyone recall all but the most essential mon back to their pokeballs, which converts them to weightless energy in storage; not even long-time fans of the franchise can explain how this works, so we'll just go with it.)2. The escape plan calls for them to get to the bottom level of the ship and cut a hole in the hull. Once the water comes through, they'll escape by hanging on to water-type mon (who can presumably swim their way to the surface). A. How much heat would be necessary to cut one's way through the hull of an average cruise liner? B. No water is shown pushing through the cuts; a flow only happens when the hull is completely cut through. How realistic is this? C. Would it have made a difference where they cut the hull? They're shown having to traverse several levels to make it to the bottom. XY024 / "An Undersea Place To Call Home!" (Original US Air Date: 7 February 2015) A research crew is looking to locate the remains of the Cussler, a cruise liner that went down after hitting an iceberg; unlike the Titanic, the Cussler seemingly remained intact. When they go down, they discover that a colony of water mon are using the Cussler and several other ships as an artificial reef. The crew is content to take some readings of the underwater currents, catalog the mon living there, and call it a day. But a team of bandits has heard that the Cussler went down with a vault full of treasure, and they want to grab it. 1. When the crew finds the Cussler, they see another downed ship (looked like a cargo ship) being carried towards the site by the underwater currents. Do such strong currents exist? (It's hypothesized that the currents are how the Cussler wound up here in te first place.) 2. A group of mon are shown using what the crew's sub pilot says is acid to weld the Cussler and the cargo ship together, and later use their acid to weld a piece of metal plate in place to cover a hole (see below). Could acid actually be used to weld metallic objects together? 3. The bandits are shown stealing the vault by using some sort of plastic explosive to breach the hull, and a rocket motor of some type to shoot the vault out of the ship and towards a waiting recovery sub. Both the explosives and the motor are mounted inside of the ship, inside of an air pocket. A. Could the motor continue to fire once in water? B. How hydro-dynamic would the vault be? Even though it's a generic cube design, it is depicted as going like a torpedo. 4. With the hull breached, the Cussler begins to fill... which supposedly makes it unbalanced since it landed "face-down" on its bow. Would the ship filling with water really put it in danger of toppling over unless the breach was patched? 5. The surface of the area is shown as having three whirlpools, a testament to how powerful the currents are. But supposedly, at certain times of the day, as the tide comes and goes the current eases off enough that the whirlpools naturally come and go. Is this even vaguely plausible? 6. A little girl tends to a sea critter's wound by putting an adhesive bandage strip on its head. The strip remains in place for the entire episode, even after the thing is submerged for some time in salt water. Even vaguely plausible?
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Post by the light works on Feb 19, 2015 19:04:37 GMT
As of two weeks ago, we've officially had two episodes dealing with shipwrecks. EP016 / "Pokemon Shipwreck" (Original US air date: 29 September 1998) A cruise liner known as the St. Anne has gone under. It's resting upside-down on its smoke stacks, which in turn are resting on a piece of rock that's jutting out from a crevice. In the episode, passengers who have survived the sinking are still alive underneath, as air pockets exist in what were the ship's lower levels. 1. An early "gag" sequence has it that any undue shift in the weight of the people or animals on board will cause the ship to tilt; it's explained as being a result of how heavy everyone and everything is. But how much weight would be necessary to cause such a situation? (In the episode, the situation is resolved by having everyone recall all but the most essential mon back to their pokeballs, which converts them to weightless energy in storage; not even long-time fans of the franchise can explain how this works, so we'll just go with it.)2. The escape plan calls for them to get to the bottom level of the ship and cut a hole in the hull. Once the water comes through, they'll escape by hanging on to water-type mon (who can presumably swim their way to the surface). A. How much heat would be necessary to cut one's way through the hull of an average cruise liner? B. No water is shown pushing through the cuts; a flow only happens when the hull is completely cut through. How realistic is this? C. Would it have made a difference where they cut the hull? They're shown having to traverse several levels to make it to the bottom. XY024 / "An Undersea Place To Call Home!" (Original US Air Date: 7 February 2015) A research crew is looking to locate the remains of the Cussler, a cruise liner that went down after hitting an iceberg; unlike the Titanic, the Cussler seemingly remained intact. When they go down, they discover that a colony of water mon are using the Cussler and several other ships as an artificial reef. The crew is content to take some readings of the underwater currents, catalog the mon living there, and call it a day. But a team of bandits has heard that the Cussler went down with a vault full of treasure, and they want to grab it. 1. When the crew finds the Cussler, they see another downed ship (looked like a cargo ship) being carried towards the site by the underwater currents. Do such strong currents exist? (It's hypothesized that the currents are how the Cussler wound up here in te first place.) 2. A group of mon are shown using what the crew's sub pilot says is acid to weld the Cussler and the cargo ship together, and later use their acid to weld a piece of metal plate in place to cover a hole (see below). Could acid actually be used to weld metallic objects together? 3. The bandits are shown stealing the vault by using some sort of plastic explosive to breach the hull, and a rocket motor of some type to shoot the vault out of the ship and towards a waiting recovery sub. Both the explosives and the motor are mounted inside of the ship, inside of an air pocket. A. Could the motor continue to fire once in water? B. How hydro-dynamic would the vault be? Even though it's a generic cube design, it is depicted as going like a torpedo. 4. With the hull breached, the Cussler begins to fill... which supposedly makes it unbalanced since it landed "face-down" on its bow. Would the ship filling with water really put it in danger of toppling over unless the breach was patched? 5. The surface of the area is shown as having three whirlpools, a testament to how powerful the currents are. But supposedly, at certain times of the day, as the tide comes and goes the current eases off enough that the whirlpools naturally come and go. Is this even vaguely plausible? 6. A little girl tends to a sea critter's wound by putting an adhesive bandage strip on its head. The strip remains in place for the entire episode, even after the thing is submerged for some time in salt water. Even vaguely plausible? *all answers based on my own experience 1: it depends on the balance of the vessel, but it is theoretically possible to have it balanced such that a very small weight will cause it to become unstable. 2A: welding torch level heat 2B: plausible - the air is compressed to the same pressure as the water, so a small cut will have minimal leakage. 2C: it would make a difference in the thickness of the hull, but I don't know where the best place to cut would be. 1: if the ship was bouyant enough to minimize drag, it wouldn't take much - the New Carissa tended to wander pretty significantly even while beached. 2: I doubt this. a solvent might be possible. 3A: absolutely 3B: have to be a heck of a powerful rocket. water has a lot of resistance. 4: theoretically possible with air trapped in the hull. 5: I'm not sure about three, but the mythbusters tested whirlpools in an area where tidal surge caused naturally occurring whirlpools. 6: there are adhesives that good. (they are commonly used to stick tracking devices to marine creatures)
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Post by ironhold on Mar 21, 2015 0:32:32 GMT
EP 273 / "Gotta Catch Ya Later"Original US air date: 18 October 2003A 10-year old boy falls into a pit trap dug by poachers. In order to escape, he uses the metal fork and spoon from his lunch kit as climbing tools. Even with the items in question being over-sized, I question how much weight they'd hvae been able to hold.
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Post by the light works on Mar 21, 2015 8:27:11 GMT
EP 273 / "Gotta Catch Ya Later"Original US air date: 18 October 2003A 10-year old boy falls into a pit trap dug by poachers. In order to escape, he uses the metal fork and spoon from his lunch kit as climbing tools. Even with the items in question being over-sized, I question how much weight they'd hvae been able to hold. I'm dubious.
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Post by ironhold on Jun 4, 2015 21:44:44 GMT
AG 082 / "A Shroomish Skirmish"Original US air date: June 11th, 2005Four individuals are being chased by wild animals - *Male, approximately 18 years old *Female, officially stated to be 17 *Male, approximately 15 years old *Male, officially stated to be 10 The four blunder off of a cliff, but are saved when one of the four deploys one of his monsters. The monster hits the ground before they do, and immediately creates a whirlwind that breaks their fall. The height of the cliff isn't even hinted at, and so there would be some give-and-take as to whether or not there would have been time to deploy the monster. The person is also shown throwing it at the ground, possibly justifying how it reached bottom first. But that still leaves the issue of whether or not a whirlwind of any form could cushion a person's impact with the ground.
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Post by the light works on Jun 4, 2015 23:53:34 GMT
AG 082 / "A Shroomish Skirmish"Original US air date: June 11th, 2005Four individuals are being chased by wild animals - *Male, approximately 18 years old *Female, officially stated to be 17 *Male, approximately 15 years old *Male, officially stated to be 10 The four blunder off of a cliff, but are saved when one of the four deploys one of his monsters. The monster hits the ground before they do, and immediately creates a whirlwind that breaks their fall. The height of the cliff isn't even hinted at, and so there would be some give-and-take as to whether or not there would have been time to deploy the monster. The person is also shown throwing it at the ground, possibly justifying how it reached bottom first. But that still leaves the issue of whether or not a whirlwind of any form could cushion a person's impact with the ground. in theory, I'm going to say possible. terminal velocity is a thing, and so the correct form of upcurrent at sufficient velocity could result in a soft landing.
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Post by ironhold on Jul 2, 2015 16:13:50 GMT
M04 / "Pokemon 4Ever!" (2001 / 2002) This one's got an interesting build that the team might want to look at. A secondary character in the film is a boat pilot who ferries passengers up and down a particular river. On the surface, his boat appears to be pretty normal: a generic open-top hull (metal, most likely) with a propeller motor and two inflatable pontoons (which appear to be rubber or fabric) riding on the sides. However, the boat actually has a hidden secret. In order to deal with a waterfall that lies along the river, the boat can convert into a dirigible. The pontoons inflate to twice their normal size and rotate to being atop the craft, lifting it out of the water. The boat propeller then disengages so that a different propeller can activate, providing forward momentum while the craft is airborne. Presumably, landing is as simple as slowly pulling the gas back from the pontoons until the craft gently drops back down, at which point the pontoons are lowered and the boat propeller re-engages.
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Post by the light works on Jul 3, 2015 0:52:54 GMT
M04 / "Pokemon 4Ever!" (2001 / 2002) This one's got an interesting build that the team might want to look at. A secondary character in the film is a boat pilot who ferries passengers up and down a particular river. On the surface, his boat appears to be pretty normal: a generic open-top hull (metal, most likely) with a propeller motor and two inflatable pontoons (which appear to be rubber or fabric) riding on the sides. However, the boat actually has a hidden secret. In order to deal with a waterfall that lies along the river, the boat can convert into a dirigible. The pontoons inflate to twice their normal size and rotate to being atop the craft, lifting it out of the water. The boat propeller then disengages so that a different propeller can activate, providing forward momentum while the craft is airborne. Presumably, landing is as simple as slowly pulling the gas back from the pontoons until the craft gently drops back down, at which point the pontoons are lowered and the boat propeller re-engages. well, Zodiac (tm) boats have pontoons that do NOT stretch, and at full inflation, they are nearly as hard as riding lawnmower tires. (or children's bicycle tires - but not as rigid as car tires) this is necessary because they are part of the hull structure, even on a boat with a semi rigid hull design. if they had a fully rigid hull, then a more elastic pontoon would be feasible, but a more elastic material would be more susceptible to damage from imapact or abrasion. - however, taking that out of thepicture, they could theoretically build a double wall pontoon - a rigid core with an elastic outer envelope. at that point, you would need a high pressure pump to deploy and reclaim the helium used to inflate the gasbags. - all that to lead to the question of how big a gasbag it would take to lift the boat.
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Post by ironhold on Aug 22, 2015 14:55:41 GMT
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Post by the light works on Aug 22, 2015 15:17:47 GMT
the principle should still be the same - the density of whatever fruit it is would change as it ripens. I like the idea of quantifying that, but I don't know if it would fill an episode.
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Post by ironhold on Aug 22, 2015 21:58:18 GMT
the principle should still be the same - the density of whatever fruit it is would change as it ripens. I like the idea of quantifying that, but I don't know if it would fill an episode. Given that it's a hypothetical hybrid of a bat and a wyvern, then one would think it's using sonar to do what it does. The team could try to see if sonar would work, then follow it up with other potential methods of using sound.
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Post by ironhold on Dec 26, 2015 3:19:18 GMT
I was reminded of this one earlier today. EP054 / "The Case of the K-9 Caper!"(original US air date: 10 April 1999) In the series, most towns have an Officer Jenny clone (the exact nature of the character is usually hand-waved). In this town, the Jenny clone is in charge of the police department's K-9 training program. Each individual animal is trained to respond to her voice... and, stupidly enough, her voice only. A group of criminals discovers this and uses it to their advantage. They burst into the training facility and begin spraying gas around. One gas disables the animals' sense of smell, while the second gas (identified as helium in the episode summary blurb) distort's everyone's voices. The criminals then don costumes that make them resemble Jenny, and use an electronic voice changer to adopt her voice. This confuses the animals enough that they initially turn on her, suddenly believing her to be an impostor and the crooks to somehow be the real ones. 1. Is it possible to distort a trained animal's voice enough that it cannot recognize the voice of the handler? 2. Could an electronic device mimic the voice of a trainer so perfectly that a trained animal mistakes it for their trainer?
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Post by the light works on Dec 26, 2015 5:18:19 GMT
I was reminded of this one earlier today. EP054 / "The Case of the K-9 Caper!"(original US air date: 10 April 1999) In the series, most towns have an Officer Jenny clone (the exact nature of the character is usually hand-waved). In this town, the Jenny clone is in charge of the police department's K-9 training program. Each individual animal is trained to respond to her voice... and, stupidly enough, her voice only. A group of criminals discovers this and uses it to their advantage. They burst into the training facility and begin spraying gas around. One gas disables the animals' sense of smell, while the second gas (identified as helium in the episode summary blurb) distort's everyone's voices. The criminals then don costumes that make them resemble Jenny, and use an electronic voice changer to adopt her voice. This confuses the animals enough that they initially turn on her, suddenly believing her to be an impostor and the crooks to somehow be the real ones. 1. Is it possible to distort a trained animal's voice enough that it cannot recognize the voice of the handler? 2. Could an electronic device mimic the voice of a trainer so perfectly that a trained animal mistakes it for their trainer? it would probably have to be a recording instead of a voice changer, and depending on how dense the dog was, it is possible to make it not recognize its master.
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 26, 2015 10:04:30 GMT
EP 273 / "Gotta Catch Ya Later"Original US air date: 18 October 2003A 10-year old boy falls into a pit trap dug by poachers. In order to escape, he uses the metal fork and spoon from his lunch kit as climbing tools. Even with the items in question being over-sized, I question how much weight they'd hvae been able to hold. Depends on the construction of the cutlery... I have my Grandfathers military cutlery somewhere and can say that they could be used as tools if needed. They were steel. Sheffield Stainless at that. I also have some old pitons for climbing, things you dig in the cracks of the face of rocks, and they dont weigh in heavier than my Granddads knife.... My own wilderness knife CAN hold my weight, I know, I was trying to lever a nail out with it one time and got my whole weight suspended?... then it turns out it wasnt a nail, but a screw with a flattened head.... pair of mole grips and a good twist later.... If the cutlery is cheap Aluminium, forget it. If its hardened steel of good quality, thats a plausible. Dependant on the kids climbing skills that is?... And if he used the wrong end?.. I would suggest that he digs in with the handles as they are better spike shape and would dig in further..?..
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 26, 2015 10:14:07 GMT
M04 / "Pokemon 4Ever!" (2001 / 2002) This one's got an interesting build that the team might want to look at. A secondary character in the film is a boat pilot who ferries passengers up and down a particular river. On the surface, his boat appears to be pretty normal: a generic open-top hull (metal, most likely) with a propeller motor and two inflatable pontoons (which appear to be rubber or fabric) riding on the sides. However, the boat actually has a hidden secret. In order to deal with a waterfall that lies along the river, the boat can convert into a dirigible. The pontoons inflate to twice their normal size and rotate to being atop the craft, lifting it out of the water. The boat propeller then disengages so that a different propeller can activate, providing forward momentum while the craft is airborne. Presumably, landing is as simple as slowly pulling the gas back from the pontoons until the craft gently drops back down, at which point the pontoons are lowered and the boat propeller re-engages. The mats dont add up.... so therefore, at todays technology, impossible. The size of the dirigible would be huge to hold that weight, and Adam and Jamie have already shown the size of "balloon" that would be needed to lift a person far exceeds the size that any inflatable boat could manage?... You may remember they pumped a large-ish rubber boat full of helium?.. So having expandable flotation devices, they would be bigger and heavier in fabric than could be carried on a small boat. TWO dirigibles?... balance problem right there, in that if they are not "Exact", the boat is tipping over. To have the dirigible expand to lift the boat an then shrink to a flotation device yet stay stable and elastic at both levels requires a form of "Rubber" type elastic that has not been invented yet. Also, how to convert that gas back to stored liquid gas, would require a compressor pump of the size I expect would sink a small craft that size, and going forwards, would require a balloon of HUGE size to lift it in the air. Power to run that compressor would be..... well, more than an outboard engine.... The physics on that alone dont add up.
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 26, 2015 10:29:35 GMT
I have worked at a firm "Delta power marine" building RIB's, and know the neoprene in question. Its bloody hard wearing stuff... It has to be able to take the wear of a full scuba sitting on its side, and not deform, as they are used as dive support vessels and rescue craft etc. Think about the level of double the thickness of a Gortex jacket and then some.... maybe thee or four times that thickness... They also have to support the full weight of the boat should it drop off the top of a 20ft wave and crash into surf to prevent sinking.... The glue used to connect the neoprene tubes is bloody strong stuff, its actually stronger than the fabric. It does not expand. Its supposed to be rigid at full inflation and only give way due to the air inside being compressed, it wont expand any further. If it did, it would be unstable, as compressing one side would expand another, yet, in the whole design, its supposed to be strongest where it is being compressed?... therefore, its usually built with inside sections and compartments in the tube, so if one section punctures, you still have other sections to take up buoyancy.
So why use that?. Its light. The strength to weight ratio is phenomenal against the rigid hull, and when sat down in the water, its an incredibly stable support platform, but, when its up out of the water on full power, its light enough that you can get decent speed. Also it acts like an all round bumper that prevents damage. And well maintained, its also unsinkable, unless you put holes in everything.
Thats why they are used as Inshore Rescue craft.
Repair work is easy as well, its just like a puncture repair on a bicycle, patch over with "super-glue" and a bit of the supplied fabric, and away you go, maybe half an hour curing time for the glue.
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 26, 2015 10:36:22 GMT
I was reminded of this one earlier today. EP054 / "The Case of the K-9 Caper!"(original US air date: 10 April 1999) In the series, most towns have an Officer Jenny clone (the exact nature of the character is usually hand-waved). In this town, the Jenny clone is in charge of the police department's K-9 training program. Each individual animal is trained to respond to her voice... and, stupidly enough, her voice only. A group of criminals discovers this and uses it to their advantage. They burst into the training facility and begin spraying gas around. One gas disables the animals' sense of smell, while the second gas (identified as helium in the episode summary blurb) distort's everyone's voices. The criminals then don costumes that make them resemble Jenny, and use an electronic voice changer to adopt her voice. This confuses the animals enough that they initially turn on her, suddenly believing her to be an impostor and the crooks to somehow be the real ones. 1. Is it possible to distort a trained animal's voice enough that it cannot recognize the voice of the handler? 2. Could an electronic device mimic the voice of a trainer so perfectly that a trained animal mistakes it for their trainer? Dogs have sight. They recognise us by a mix of smell, sight, and sound. And also the way you act. To fool all three.... Yeah maybe, but, in confusion, a dog would just stop?... If it can see its handler, despite what sounds or smells it gets, it will respond to visual signals. I know dog trainers also use hand signals to control the animal. I would say in this situation, if faced with two identical copies of the same person, they would be able to work out who is the "true" owner/handler?...
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