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Missile Defense

Technology has always found its greatest consumer in a nation's war and defense efforts. Since the last attempts at a "Star Wars" defense system, has technology changed considerably enough to make the latest Missile Defense initiatives more successful? Can such an application of science be successful? Is a militarized space inevitable, necessary or impossible?

Read Debates, a new Web-only feature culled from Readers' Opinions, published every Thursday.

kalter.rauch - 03:06am Sep 4, 2002 EST (# 4162 of 4171)
Earth vs <^> <^> <^>

lchic 9/2/02 10:20am

The name 'Mandella' became the most recognised in the world ....

Hmmmmmm...there's a South African ex-convict named Nelson Mandela.

What did he do that seemed 'right/correct/good...?

Divorced his wife as soon as he got out???

You tell me......does he have ANYTHING to do with Missile Defense?

kalter.rauch - 03:22am Sep 4, 2002 EST (# 4163 of 4171)
Earth vs <^> <^> <^>

rshow55 9/2/02 12:39pm

Here's a countermeasure that I feel sure would work. Suppose you have your warhead placed inside a gold mylared spherical balloon - and it is one of N balloons, of the same reflective mylar, of the same sphericity, of the same diameter - from a given missile.

HOW is THAT going to work???

Say the hidden warhead is released along with the other empty balloons at 10,000 mph......the warhead is going to continue on at 10,000 mph, leaving the decoy balloons behind. Even if the balloon shrouding the warhead were to miraculously stay intact for a significant distance, simple sensors ought to be able to detect the real warhead by its ballistic trajectory......right?!?!?

lchic - 04:24am Sep 4, 2002 EST (# 4164 of 4171)

Katter's raunchy posting on Mandella ... can't believe moniker 'he she or it' doesn't know off the top of 'his her it's' head as to where Mandella's creative stroke of genius lies ....
Come on -- think -- why is the name 'Nelson Mandella' the most widely known name in the whole world --- he did something people approved of --- what did he do?

{Nelson is with his 3rd wife - he imported this one)

lchic - 05:56am Sep 4, 2002 EST (# 4165 of 4171)

Creativity (7)

Reading Dasgupta (1994) one is struck by the depth of discussion entered into regarding 'creativity'.

WRT creativity in the sciences Dasgupta argues there is 'natural' and 'artificial' scientific creativity.

Natural science may be chasing down a truth - as did Showalter here: Equation for Neural Conductance and Resonance

Artificial science will involve the development of artifacts (as advocated by Showalter here) .... to devise, develop and use flahscards, within a system, for pre-readers would involve artificial-scientific creativity.

Professionals reach agreement as to whether an entity in their domain - a theory, an idea, a design - is important and influential in advancing 'the state of the art'of that domain.

...... more ...

(6 following messages)

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