Slingatron


Book Description

The slingatron is a mechanical mass accelerator that is dynamically similar to the ancient sling, but unlike the classical sling it is capable of smoothly accelerating massive projectiles to many km/sec. This book collects together the work done to-date on this mass accelerator so that it is easily accessible for experimental development.




The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back


Book Description




Project on National Security Reform


Book Description

The Project on National Security Reform submitted its 2-year study of the national security system, Forging a New Shield, to the President, President-elect, and Congress on November 26, 2008. Before the Project finalized the report's recommendations, its Vision Working Group tested the findings against a diverse set of scenarios to determine if the recommendations were robust and effective. This volume documents the scenario-testing process used by the Vision Working Group and includes the actual pre-reform and post-reform scenarios, and details many other scenario techniques used in the overall study. Results revealed that each of the five major findings improved the performance of the current national security system, but, on the whole, the findings concluded that the national security system was at risk of failure and needed serious reform. The work of the Vision Working Group has led to the formulation of an additional recommendation: The country must establish a mechanism to infuse greater foresight into the Executive Branch, and in particular the national security system. This proposed mechanism, named the Center for Strategic Analysis and Assessment, would exist and operate within the Executive Office of the President. This volume details the proposed architecture and operation of the Center.




Standard Handbook for Aerospace Engineers, Second Edition


Book Description

Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product. A single source of essential information for aerospace engineers This fully revised resource presents theories and practices from more than 50 specialists in the many sub-disciplines of aeronautical and astronautical engineering—all under one cover. The Standard Handbook for Aerospace Engineers, Second Edition, contains complete details on classic designs as well as the latest techniques, materials, and processes used in aviation, defense, and space systems. You will get insightful, practical coverage of the gamut of aerospace engineering technologies along with hundreds of informative diagrams, charts, and graphs. Standard Handbook for Aerospace Engineers, Second Edition covers: •Futures of aerospace •Aircraft systems •Aerodynamics, aeroelasticity, and acoustics •Aircraft performance •Aircraft flight mechanics, stability, and control •Avionics and air traffic management systems •Aeronautical design •Spacecraft design •Astrodynamics •Rockets and launch vehicles •Earth’s environment and space •Attitude dynamics and control




Will to Fight


Book Description

This report defines and describes will to fight and provides a model of unit will to fight that can be applied to ground combat units of any scale. It also provides a theoretical basis for adding will to fight to military war gaming.







Physics of the Future


Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The renowned theoretical physicist and national bestselling author of The God Equation details the developments in computer technology, artificial intelligence, medicine, space travel, and more, that are poised to happen over the next century. “Mind-bending…. [An] alternately fascinating and frightening book.” —San Francisco Chronicle Space elevators. Internet-enabled contact lenses. Cars that fly by floating on magnetic fields. This is the stuff of science fiction—it’s also daily life in the year 2100. Renowned theoretical physicist Michio Kaku considers how these inventions will affect the world economy, addressing the key questions: Who will have jobs? Which nations will prosper? Kaku interviews three hundred of the world’s top scientists—working in their labs on astonishing prototypes. He also takes into account the rigorous scientific principles that regulate how quickly, how safely, and how far technologies can advance. In Physics of the Future, Kaku forecasts a century of earthshaking advances in technology that could make even the last centuries’ leaps and bounds seem insignificant.




Soonish


Book Description

The instant New York Times bestseller! A Wall Street Journal Best Science Book of the Year! A Popular Science Best Science Book of the Year! From a top scientist and the creator of the hugely popular web comic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, a hilariously illustrated investigation into future technologies -- from how to fling a ship into deep space on the cheap to 3D organ printing What will the world of tomorrow be like? How does progress happen? And why do we not have a lunar colony already? What is the hold-up? In this smart and funny book, celebrated cartoonist Zach Weinersmith and noted researcher Dr. Kelly Weinersmith give us a snapshot of what's coming next -- from robot swarms to nuclear fusion powered-toasters. By weaving their own research, interviews with the scientists who are making these advances happen, and Zach's trademark comics, the Weinersmiths investigate why these technologies are needed, how they would work, and what is standing in their way. New technologies are almost never the work of isolated geniuses with a neat idea. A given future technology may need any number of intermediate technologies to develop first, and many of these critical advances may appear to be irrelevant when they are first discovered. The journey to progress is full of strange detours and blind alleys that tell us so much about the human mind and the march of civilization. To this end, Soonish investigates ten different emerging fields, from programmable matter to augmented reality, from space elevators to robotic construction, to show us the amazing world we will have, you know, soonish. Soonish is the perfect gift for science lovers for the holidays!




Design of Rockets and Space Launch Vehicles


Book Description

With growing interest in space activity and numerous new launchers in development, this book is a timely, comprehensive survey of important concepts and applications. It enhances understanding and provides exposure to practical aspects of design, manufacturing, testing, and engineering associated with these topics.




Initial Flight Test Evaluation of the F-15 ACTIVE Axisymmetric Vectoring Nozzle Performance


Book Description

A full envelope database of a thrust-vectoring axisymmetric nozzle perfomance for the Pratt & Whitney Pitch/Yaw Balance Beam Nozzle (P/YBBN) is being developed using the F-15 Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles (ACTIVE) aircraft. At this time, flight research has been completed for steady-state pitch vector angles up to 20 deg. at an altitude of 30,000 ft from low power settings to maximum afterburner power. The nozzle performance database includes vector forces, internal nozzle pressures, and temperatures all of which can be used for regression analysis modeling. The database was used to substantiate a set of nozzle performance data from wind tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamic analyses. Findings from initial flight research at Mach 0.9 and 1.2 are presented in this paper. The results show that vector efficiency is strongly influenced by power setting. A significant discrepancy in nozzle performance has been discovered between predicted and measured results during vectoring.