Shpaget

Keep in mind that not all geographical regions use this method. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_numbering_system

Not if it's still running but losing or gaining time.

The cool thing when you have thermal camera right next to the visible light one, you can take both images simultaneously and have them superimposed one on another. That way you get the best of both worlds - information from the thermal image and the clarity and context of the visible light (thermal images can often get confusing).

My foot, at least the right one, is 28 cm (or 0,92 ft, for you Yanks). I suppose some regular footwear would bring it up to "standard", but then again, I'd also expect an average man living in the period when the foot was defined to not be as tall as I am, making his feet even shorter.

Artificial horizon needs a gyro too, so you can just get rid of the human and use the gyro and a clock mechanism directly to control the rocket. Yes, it would take a few decades, but with an entire nation the size of the Roman Empire, or any other major civilization backing you up, you only need to train a few individuals to oversee various technological branches. The nation backing you up would benefit almost instantly. As soon as you introduce steel to a bronze age community, they would have a huge advantage over the neighboring nations. A steel plough is significantly superior to a wooden one that would normally be used at that time, offering much easier and faster field work. A simple steam engine to power workshops that would produce better tools and machines could be built in matter of years after the first steel is produced. Remember, you have all the knowledge, there are no expensive trials and errors, you already have the almost best possible design. There would be virtually no unwanted competition to threaten your nation, since they would need some really extraordinary insight to improve your machines.

Thinking more about this, sure, a Mars surface imaging scope could be made to look "up" as well as "down", but, if the thing is approximately the size of HST, how does it get to Mars? Can it even track both so close (Mars surface) and far (deep space, or even Solar system planets)? We know HST can't track targets on Earth surface. It's far too slow for that.

I realise that, but wide lens is better than no lens, and Hubble is way past the "getting old" phase. Yes it received an overhaul in 2009, ressurecting it from the brink of complete failure and making it fully functional once again, but that was 7 years ago. The new equipment installed is not so new any more. I think we, the planet Earth, need not only a contingency, but also more telescope time. The waiting list for Hubble time is the proof itself. Only around one fifth of requests are approved, and even then the telescope can afford to spend only a fraction of a second to snap a photo, then it's time for somebody elses request. Adding one more scope would not decrease the workload of Hubble, but would offer more total viewing time, even with much wider field of view and lower flexibility. I'm not saying we shouldn't make a mapping sat out of it. It's certainly an option. We have two of them available after all.

Well, we could always use more telescopes. Hubble is on its last legs and I wouldn't mind securing another big big to replace it. As far as I know, other than HST, there are only small ones working in visible light.

Sure you can. If I raise my hand I can reach about 2,5 m. Assuming I "launch" from the highest peak on the potatoid, my periapsis will never be less than 2.5m. That's enough for an orbit. I just need to remember to step sideways.

Interesting. I've never gotten the impression there is any standard. Throughout my education people used whatever they liked and then change their mind halfway through writing the number.

You would run hydrazine engine in the atmosphere?

The benefit of using marginally (not hugely) smaller number of steps (8) vs 10, is insignificant compared to ease and practicality of using only one sized container from set A. Set B requires 5 different containers and careful calculation, which introduces multiple opportunities for error. Counting to 10 is significantly easier. On top of that, again, you are cheating by offering only 4 scoops in set A vs 12 different scoops in set B, among which the largest one is more than double the size of the largest one in set A. If you had played fairly and offered a 2 l scoop in set A (which would be approximate to your 2048 ml in set B), there would be absolutely no contest in whatever aspect of your rigged scenario you want.

There is no way I would choose set B in any sane everyday scenario. If I want efficiency, I would certainly opt to quickly take ten scoops of 1l, rather than to fiddle with various combinations of different scoops. You are inventing an artificial and unrealistic scenario to give unfair advantage to your arbitrarily chosen scoops.

Let's change that. @YNM, OTTD, heh? I love that thing!

Using any unit implies precission. There are no fractions in metric. What imperial unit would not be "too big" for medication? Active substances in drugs are usually measured in miligrams, or even micrograms. How would you express that order of magnitude in imperial? How is a gram a unit that is too big for a cat?

The 53 step to exit the Assassin's Creed.

What about a full sized (but unmanned) 747 converted to RC? According to you, should that require a licence? Why?

When I read about generation ships, especially the ones taking thousands of years, I can't help but thinking about Orphans of the Sky by Heinlein. No majors spoilers ahead. Any such long lasting generation ship, even if mechanically robust enough to survive the long journey, will face issues with the crew. To sustain the large population needed for genetical diversity (assuming no cryosleep, for whatever reason), will necessarily have a large population not involved with the operations of the ship, and be support crew (medical professionals, food growers, education workers, even the plumbers and vacuum cleaner repair men will be needed). A very large community of such individuals will over just a few generations lose the perspective and spend all their time worrying about their job, not thinking about the final mission. It is entirely likely that the majority of the population will not be willing to stop and abandon their established lives once the ship finally arrives at its destination. A mutiny and the breakdown in function of the ship, as described in Orphans of the Sky, is equally plausible. Thousands of years is just too long period to maintain any predetermined social structure. Look at the history. Even decades are too long a period to predict the social future. Who could have guessed in 1925, that in just 15 years the world would be boiling in war? People witnessing the Cuban missile crisis lived to see American astronauts sharing a rocket ride with their Russian colleagues. Long term social stability of a generation ship is just too questionable.

It's not. It's 2 - 6 times more expensive per watt installed. An experimental system (a bicycle path) showed us that panels are susceptible to breakage and water ingress. They produce only around 50% energy compared to rooftop installations, for the same power installed. There has been no documented test to show us how such panels behave under traffic (heavy loads, emergency braking, tire grip on wet surface, wear and tear, dirt and grime obstructing the sun... If you want some good math behind this, watch the EEVBlog videos by Dave Jones. He's made a couple of them on the subject, every one involving a huge facepalm.

Is it just me or does the first stage seem to have some issues with guidance? Is looks as if it's oscillating left and right. I'm talking about the later phase, 60 or so seconds before second stage separation.

That's the whole point of the debunking videos Dave made. Placing the cells in the road is just stupid.

The inner limit would be the primaries surface, where some other forces would start to dominate the interaction.

How do you attach a ship to the black hole? Let's say you manage to make a suitable black hole and place parabolic mirror in the correct position, with the rest of the ship attached to the mirror. The BH radiates and the mirror focuses radiation to provide thrust. The ship moves and the black hole is no longer in the focal point.

Charles Xavier, Britt Reid, Adrian Veidt and many others agree.

GPS sats are not in GEO. They are in 55° inclined 20 000 km orbit