• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Technology doesn't always work out..... Here's some fails

Hey here's a cool video about batteries

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Dangerous building in New York

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.


Why the Blue LED was almost impossible to make?

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 
Last edited:
Hey railguns.. They're super cool on shows like The Expanse but hey according to this guy a goose chase

I think they're kind of low priority because for long range work, we have missiles. No gun projectile can outdistance a missile. And while powder-fired guns aren't great, they're adequate for up close.

True. We just lack the material science yet to create a long lasting barrel. I took the video I posted with a grain or two of salt

A little like the reason why we don't have laser rifles... the laser tech exists, but the batteries needed do not.
 
The ironic thing about those blue LEDs are the wavelengths most modern streetlights are set to operate at which tend to be towards the blue spectrum, which is pretty much the worst when it comes to lighting and light pollution in general. In making the switch to LED lighting, because they are typically cheaper to operate, municipalities have tended to use MORE of them, not less. More lights, brighter lights, and more scatter and light tresspass (yes, this is a real thing I'm not making up) is getting worse and worse for us and the environment around us. I've noticed more and more lately how much brighter headlights tend to be these days, and in the past it used to be warmer lighting, but now closer to the blue spectrum and brighter white in general.
 
The ironic thing about those blue LEDs are the wavelengths most modern streetlights are set to operate at which tend to be towards the blue spectrum, which is pretty much the worst when it comes to lighting and light pollution in general. In making the switch to LED lighting, because they are typically cheaper to operate, municipalities have tended to use MORE of them, not less. More lights, brighter lights, and more scatter and light tresspass (yes, this is a real thing I'm not making up) is getting worse and worse for us and the environment around us. I've noticed more and more lately how much brighter headlights tend to be these days, and in the past it used to be warmer lighting, but now closer to the blue spectrum and brighter white in general.

I can't drive but even as a passenger I notice this in the car when some A-hole is behind you with LED lights that are actual mini suns and they decide to hi beam you. I can imagine it's pure hell for actual drivers who have to be on the road.
 
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

LOL
 
In my youth, they introduced the Betamax video recording system, and most people agree that technically, it was a lot better than VHS. VHS still won.
It failed because VHS, after a few years, boasted 8-hour duration (at the slowest speed, on the longest cassettes). Never mind that the quality at that speed was, if you'll pardon my Yiddish, bupkis.

If 3/4" U-Matic (hardcover-novel-sized cassettes, with a 1-hour maximum capacity) had ever been offered as a consumer format, I'd have been happy to buy it.

But shed no tears for Betamax: with a bit of re-tooling, it spawned the Betacam and Betacam-SP broadcast formats (a cassette the size of a Betamax cassette holds 30 minutes, and in an emergency, you could record [non-SP] on an actual Betamax cassette; a larger cassette, about the size of a 3/4" cassette, introduced in the Betacam-SP format, holds 90 minutes). Of course, all of this became obsolete with the move to HDTV.
 
I know we had a betamax recorder here (and mostly used L750 tapes at home. Call it 3hr15 recording time on our system).

Our local rental places had both for a while before betamax was phased out.

They seemed to last longer than the VHS tapes - especially if you used long-play on the vhs)

My Aunt & Uncle had another format for their home video player/recorder, though right now I can't remember what it was called (Smaller but thicker than a music cassette)
 
I can't drive but even as a passenger I notice this in the car when some A-hole is behind you with LED lights that are actual mini suns and they decide to hi beam you. I can imagine it's pure hell for actual drivers who have to be on the road.


Not even so much behind, but those cars ahead coming from the opposite lanes create a blinding effect. The effect was much less pronounced when cars all had halogen lighting, but the LEDs have made them too bright, and there have been calls to have that mitigated by a new set of standards. Driving at night on a road full of corners and being blinded by oncoming cars have been proven to be a source of accidents. Some roadways are difficult enough to drive on without the glare of oncoming headlights.

And it might be my imagination, but it used to be transport trucks had brighter lights as a matter of purpose as a way to identify them on the road, but now everything is so bright including regular vehicles.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top