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more about #physics more comments → fuchikoma: Fight maneuvering would be very costly. I wonder about the viability of a strong magnetic pulse in a flyby - if the other fighter had enough affected ... more » Navin R Johnson: It's interesting to think about how plain the interior of a spacecraft would look with everyone using HUDs compared to the lights and screen covered c... more » Navin R Johnson: I would image that just as spacecraft would use the orbital slingshot effect, so too would guided missile type weapons. This would have a nice side e... more » The5thElephant: As a huge fan of the excellent RTS game "Homeworld", I approve of this article. Though sadly an RTS game with combat based on this article's ideas wo... more » whiteflea: Wow...just an excellent, absolute nerdgasm of an article. He had me hooked as soon as he started analyzing Ender's Game. more » N@tedog: So, spaceship combat would be like interplanetary jousting? You get one shot and have to defend and attack at the same time as you soar past each other. more » Odin: Radiation huh? I guess my choice of space mech should be the Guren Nishiki. While I've dragged the topic to animu mech series. I'd like to point out t... more » SkipErnst: I think many singularitarians might have a different view of future space battles where they are fought not with gigantic cumbersome human ferrying sh... more » MrEvil: Actually I think it was Babylon 5's Starfury fighters that had the most accurate portrayal of space combat. In fact the design of the fictional craft... more » Jrsy Devil's Advocate®: One of my favorite science fiction books to depict space combat is Glory Lane by Alan Dean Foster. Battles aren't comprised of Starfighters zipping ... more » Zebatinsky: So, my big question on space combat is how you protect your non-battleships -- y'know, the important stuff -- in an environment where they could be at... more » Fractal the Meek: *twitch* As a PhD candidate in applied laser physics, I'm appalled by the insinuation that diffraction of light (laser or no) suddenly becomes apprec... more » GitEmSteveDave_ My Brute Dojo Code CDIAFIFE: So, and someone correct me if I am wrong, Babylon 5 had almost everything right. From the StarFurys, to the station repelling incoming fire with outg... more » Stndsh0: Where is the picture from? more » Kaiser-Machead: Thank you for this article, and thanks for testing the limits of my suspension of belief when I watch movies with space battles! more » -
#space
The Physics of Space Battles
Joseph Shoer is a Ph.D. candidate in aerospace engineering, studying how modular spacecraft could be assembled, and hoping that they will be the telescopes and human exploration vehicles of the future, and not for crushing the dreams of Martian colonists. More » -
#books
This Is Simply The Coolest Pop-Up Book We've Seen
It may not overheat in the presence of bread, but this pop-up book has the most accurate paper Large Hadron Collider ever. Figures that a book would make ending the world by firing that bad boy up look fun. More » -
#cern
Confirmed: CERN Is Just a Huge Half-Life Level
Plenty of people have given CERN and Half-Life's Black Mesa research facility the This Thing Looks Like That Thing treatment, but this tour of the facility's deepest bowels is just too much. Steam geysers? Endless corridors? Rusty valves? Slime growths? More » -
#people
A Brief History of Williard Boyle and George Smith, CCD Inventors and Nobel Winners
Williard "Mr. Modesty" Boyle and George "Three Page Dissertation" Smith, sailors extraordinaire and co-winners of this year's Nobel prize in physics deserve time in our spotlight: They invented the CCD image sensors which gave our digital cameras eyes. More » -
#prizes
Nobel Prize In Physics Rewards Fiber Optics Expert, CCD Creators
So apparently a controversial Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this week. Forget that one. Focus instead on the far geekier one that was also awarded this week. Why? Because we gadget lovers have a lot to be thankful for! More » -
#space
She's Got It Where It Counts, Kid: LHC Hyperdrive Testing a Possibility
Parallels between the Large Hadron Collider and the beloved Millennium Falcon are becoming increasingly clear. Both take a bit of work to get off the ground; both feature rogue agents; and soon both could employ hyperdrive technology. More » -
#physics
World's Fastest Car Wash Has Certain Disadvantages
I feel like there's an adage in here somewhere. How about this: If you have to say "oh, but it's just water!" before doing something, then you probably have no business doing it. More » -
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#futuretech
A Pack of Wild Canadians Claims They Can Deliver Nuclear Fusion on the Cheap
Vancouver-based startup General Fusion has been running around claiming they can build a nuclear fusion reactor in the next 10 years for under a billion dollars. And some anonymous futurists just gave them 9 million dollars for their troubles. More » -
#science
Historic, Gigantic Atom Smasher to Be Demolished
Lawrence Berkeley National Labratory's Bevatron was the world's largest atom smasher when it was build for $9 million in the early '50s. Soon, it'll be reduced to a pile of rubble. More » -
#space
Theoretical Warp Drives Theorized To Be Black Hole-Creating Doomsday Devices
I still think we should and will reach the stars, but today I'm forced to concede that using a theoretical "warp drive" might not be the best way to go: More » -
#overheard
"It's Possible to Receive a Small and Quick Electrical Shock From Your Earbuds While Listening to iPod"
From Apple's support pages, a warning about potential static electricity buildup in earbuds, in which Apple has been reduced to explaining basic physics to its customers. [via Crave UK] -
#lhc
Wooden Large Hadron Collider Carries Minimal Risk of World-Ending Black Holes
The real Large Hadron Collider has been a bit of a disappointment to date, so an impatient Russian artist decided to make his own. Out of wood. More » -
#stephenhawking
Stephen Hawking Expected to Make Recovery
Super genius and physicist Stephen Hawking is supposed to make a full recovery from his chest infection, but is being kept for observation in the mean time. [MSNBC] -
#design
Floating Cloud Couch Concept Doesn't Look Physically Possible
Yeah, this is a neat image and all, but it's a blatant example of a designer not even doing a little bit of research into how physical objects work before opening up Photoshop. More » -
#clips
The Science Behind Watchmen
James Kakalios was a consultant on Watchmen (film), and here, he walks us through the physics of Dr. Manhattan. Summarized, he's "not strictly correct from a physics point of view, but very cool nonetheless." -
#omg
Large Hadron Collider's Restart Button To Be Pressed By Tom Hanks
Too good to be true: because his character in Angels and Demons saves the Vatican from being destroyed by antimatter stolen from CERN, Tom Hanks will be flipping the switch to restart the LHC. More » -
#science
Postponed LHC Restart Could Wrestle "God Particle" Discovery From CERN
Scientists are racing to to discover the Higgs boson particle first. That's right – CERN isn't the only one looking, and its Large Hadron Collider might be upstaged by a U.S. accelerator yet. More » -
#lhc
LHC Restart Postponed Further, Won't Attempt To Swallow Earth Again Until September
Those anxiously awaiting the restart of the most complex machine ever built on earth will have to wait a little longer, as CERN today announced they were pushing back Large Hadron's restart to September. More »
