USMA German

Go ahead and post the quote that you like the most... One who takes position first at the battleground and awaits the enemy is at ease. One who takes position later at the battleground and hastens to do battle is at labor. Thus one skilled at battle summons others and is not summoned by them. - Sun Tzu

Your are right. U238 reflector is called a tamper on a nuclear fission devise. It allows the devise to produce a greater yeild because more of the fuel will be burned up. They first wanted Gold as the tamper but discovered U238 gains better results.

nano technology is a double edge sword. One way to make sure the nano-bots do not get out of hand is to have a self destruction sequence to initiate after either a certain amount of time or after a task has been completed. I also am very interested in nano technology. Been reading up on it since 9th grade.

Yeah fission products is not a concern. However, neutrons can cause pitting in certain types of metals inside the containment facility but this can be resolved by choosing certain materials which brings me to a new question. I would like to reduce the amount of neutron pitting that will occur on the containment facility walls. Is there a chemical compound which absorbs neutrons. Thanks Fischhaber Go Army Branch: EN

The oceans is what keeps our weather somewhat stabalized due to its high specific heat coefficient. Specific heat coefficient describes the amount of energy needed to raise a mass of water 1 degree C. The Tsunami let off a great deal of energy that disrupted the ocean... particularly the Indian Ocean. The large wave which traveled around 500 mph initially may have changed currents for the time being. If this has happened cold water currents may have been replaced by warm water currents and the other way around. This would affect weather conditions primarially on the Indian Ocean. To have the effects travel all the way to the United States is a little far fetched. However, the smallest distrubance in the weather has the potential to have a major affect half way around the world. Any one ever heard of "The wings of a butterfly in Japan could cause a hurrican in the Atlantic" Here is a site describing currents in the Indian Ocean, however, it is a little hard to follow. http://iri.columbia.edu/~lareef/tsunami/#Indian_Ocean_Currents_During_December_ Fischhaber Go Army! Branch: EN

Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein The best! Fischhaber Go Army Branch: EN

Helium maybe a noble gas however it is a small element. Babbler, you mentioned that Xenon can react under extreme pressures. What about Helium under extreme temperatures of 800 to 1000 C. Pressure in the system can be assumed minimal. However, temperature is the major concern. How does Helium react with metals under high temperatures. Thanks! Fischhaber Go Army Branch: EN

Going off of what Jdurg said. Economically the process is not viable. There are plenty of great ideas out there however they never make it to society because it is to expensive. This is why you do not see every car with fuel cells. Changing the infrastructure of our gas stations to provide a large quantity of hydrogen alone would be a major cost. Speaking of making more energy that is carbon based check this out. http://www.changingworldtech.com/ Fischhaber Go Army Branch: EN

Lets define EMP. Electro-magnetic pulse. Can be produced from a Nuclear device. The degree of EMP produced from a Nuclear device depends upon the altitude of burst. The higher the burst the stronger the EMP field is created. In a high altitude burst (100,000 ft) there is initially a large flux of gamma rays produced. These gamma rays react with the earth's magnetic field and produce secondary gamma rays and strip off highly energetic electrons. This creates a field of highly energetic beta particles. This field is what the Electro-magnetic pulse is. The field is no more than negatively charged particles. That is why electronics are either disrupted or severely damaged based on the intensity of the EMP. EMP can be defended by layering AL preferrably with thicknesses depending upon the frequency of the EMP field. Different frequency means a different thickness of Al or other metals. Any circuit or any devise using electricity is in danger unless some level of protection is applied. If you have watched Oceans 11 do not take the example of thier EMP devise to heart. They have it all wrong. Fischhaber Go Army Branch: EN

Are Blondes Truly Dumb? It is a myth... A myth that was created as a result of American culture. The myth of the dumb blond comes from TV and movies. These avenues of information give younger people a standard to follow. Because these forms of information give examples of blonds who are "flakey" it gives society the impression that it is ok to "act" this way. Therefore, the average "dumb" blond is not dumb, instead, they choose to be dumb due to soical acceptance. Nothing genetic about it. Fischhaber Go Army Branch: EN

I will be graduating from West Point on May 28th 2005 with a Nuclear Engineering degree. I love science and math which ultimately led to my choice of Engineering as a Major. I also love to learn. I am in the Engineer Branch of the Army with the rank of 2LT as of May 28th 05. Great to meet you all! Fischhaber Go Army Branch: EN

Hi I am designing a thermodynamic process which uses a Helium/Xenon gas to drive the Turbines. I am not to familiar with Helium and its properties when put under extreme temperatures of around 800 to 1000 C. The biggest concern I have is corrosive effects of the Helium on the material used for the piping. I will be using some alloy of stainless steel to construct the pipes. The danger is if the pipes experience corrosive effects then there will be a leak and this could cause contamination of the thermodynamic (secondary loop). Any help on this would be great! Thank you. Fischhaber Go Army Branch: EN