Acme

Currently re-reading Hofstadter's I Am A Strange Loop. 'Round and 'round and 'round we go; where we stop Dougie will 'round . . .

You are correct. 20 tetrahedra do not close-pack to form an icosahedron. I don't have a ready reference, but investigated this with a friend some years ago when discussing Fuller's Synergetics: Explorations In The Geometry of Thinking.

This morning on the news 'they' said a pilot can not only disable the transponder by pulling a fuse, but they can do the same for the flight recorders.

Thanks for those clarifications Tea. I hadn't ever really thought about the transponders being turned off by pilots, but I have heard ATC ask pilots to reset them on numerous occasions.

Mmmmm...I'd need to read what you read. Did I miss the link? Anyway, the transponders have nothing to do with the radar. Besides the power dropping off with distance, there is a radar ceiling below which it cannot see. Even if the radar had enough power, if the plane dropped in altitude or flew far enough so that it was below the radar ceiling, it wouldn't be detected. At PDX the traffic control radar is up on a hill @ ~ 2500 feet so it can 'see' traffic on all sides of the hill. As a consequence the controllers cannot see any aircraft below 2,500ft and they rely on the pilots to report their altitude by radio. [The transponders may report altitude but I'm not sure.] Military radars are a different kettle of fish. Militaries are not in the habit of giving the specs of their equipment as doing so would make it possible for enemies to get around their capabilities. I'm not surprised that the Malaysian military is being cagey about what they did or did not image of the missing flight.

The transponders only send specific aircraft identification info to control towers and they are not necessary for an aircraft to be seen on radar. [i know this from listening to aircraft control radio out of PDX] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transponder I agree about no cell towers at sea and the limits of radar. Radar is line of sight and if nothing else, the curvature of Earth will put an aircraft 'off the radar' at some certain distance dependent on the elevation of the radar transmitting dish and/or its power.

Perhaps this is OT, but the door was opened. You represent a common misconception -if not insidious meme- in understanding scientific thought and progress. You show the contradiction yourself because most certainly those 3 historical characters knew full well what went before, i.e. they did their due diligence in research. No one discovers anything of import in a knowledge vacuum. Back on topic, a good programming language to learn is one that does what you need. I first learned GW-Basic (we called it Gee Whiz Basic back then). Later took some required course work in Pascal but never used it outside of class. Now when I need programming I tell someone what I want done and let them choose the language and work out themselves what isn't giving me what I asked for.

Just took delivery of Ethnobotany of Western Washington: The Knowledge and Use of Indigenous Plants By Native Americans by Erna Gunther. I have been referring to an online source at University of Michigan for individual plants, but this is my first book. Looking forward to meeting old friends and making new. Did you know (according to the Michigan source) that chewing my native Fringecup - Tellima grandiflora will keep you from having dreams of having sex with dead people? Will see if Erna confirms that. :read:

I enjoyed reading that! I read the rest of the thread too and as an American I have something of a tongue-in-cheek contribution. Call it the 'Elmer Fudd Effect'. Having many of us Yanks gwown up with Elmer for the past 70 or so years, and Elmer having a pwonounced whotacism, and Elmer being a portwayal of a fool of sorts, Americans associate such a speak affectation negatively and practice not to exhibit it. Do Brit's share the Fudd exposure with Americans? If so, is Elmer held in higher or lower regard by the Brits than us Yanks? Enqwiring minds want to know.

Greetings. I am Acme and I joined to answer a question on identifying a rock. I have a modicum of scientific knowledge and I am the primary supplier of industrial equipment for coyotes. Looking forward to satisfying my wants and meeting your needs.