wpenrose

Those Mylar birthday balloons will do just that, if you leave them in the corner of a room long enough. Eventually, enough gas will leak out that they'll settle toward the floor -- until the string touches. The weight of the string is just enough to bear them down, but once the string touches the floor, the balloon will stop settling and float about the house, sometimes for weeks. We had such a balloon a few years ago. We were likely to find it anywhere in our three story house. It would go up and down stairs, bump into the back of your head while watching TV, etc. We joked that it was haunted. As more helium leaked out, it settled lower on the string until finally it dragged on the floor and we got rid of it (and perhaps the spirit that drove it). Dangerous Bill

First of all, what is the source of the quote, and how did they derive that number? Without that information, the statement is worthless. Remember that 73.5% of all statistics are made up on the spot. Dangerous Bill

Don't be too sure. Google up on "acoustic emission". This technique uses a very sensitive microphone to detect chemical reactions involving phase changes, corrosion, boiler and structural member stress, etc. Your method resembled acoustic emission, but it would be far cheaper and probably more sensitive for susceptible reactions. Dangerous Bill

It may not be as long as you think until the People's Government will be happy to oblige. In the meantime, watch for drunken VPs carrying shotguns. Dangerous Bill

It's about time. Dangerous Bill

Look at http://www.maxim.com and search on 'flying capacitors'. This is prettily packaged switching to do exactly this. Dangerous Bill

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercapacitors Dangerous Bill

Nope. Because ID is not testable, it is no argument at all. ID's response: God put the DNA there for a reason we do not understand yet. Dangerous Bill

Intelligent Design can be taught in political science, religion, English, or any other classroom than science. If it is not subject to refutation by experiment or observation of the natural world, then it doesn't meeting the basic definition of a science. Otherwise, ID is a perfectly valid world view, even if it is a product of cult thinking. It just ain't science. Dangerous Bill

Genesis. (Okay, just kidding.) Dangerous Bill

My understanding is that supercaps are already in regular use, largely for high efficiency, long time-constant power storage, as in hybrid cars. Example: http://www.maxwell.com/ultracapacitors/applications/case_study.html Dangerous Bill

...said "Erwin, what did you do to the cat? It's half dead."

Good: geraniol, cinnamaldehyde, methyl salicylate, amyl acetate:-p Bad: lutidine, collidine, hexyl sulfide, nonanal (? C9-aldehyde - nauseating:eek: ) Dangerous Bill