Can a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier store all aircraft below deck in case of hurricane? If not, are aircraft flown off for safety or lashed to the deck?
There is not room in the hangar bays for all embarked aircraft. In cases of impending hurricanes or other strong weather, if mission permits, the boat makes every…
How long until USB-C becomes obsolete and what could possibly replace it?
USB Type-C is going to last a very long time. Why? Because of this neat trick called “alternate mode” that’s supported on Type-C connectors. One of the big…
Why do animals sit in silence as they are eaten alive and not scream in pain and agony?
Humans who have been mauled by big cats or suffered other huge injuries often report that it isn’t painful at the time, because adrenaline has an anaesthetic effect….
If Mt. Everest were 10,000 feet taller, would it have been climbed by now?
10000 ft is at least 3000m which would make Mt.Everest close to 12000m instead of 8850 metres. The first thing you need to know about mountaineering, especially the…
Here is A ball of Plutonium, be careful.
What you are seeing is a sphere of plutonium-238. In general, plutonium is not red, it is the usual metallic color. However, the 238 isotope undergoes natural decay…
Why don’t they design airplane tires to spin on landing (e.g. using fan blades) to reduce tire wear?
Great question. Years ago, I asked that exact question to someone at Goodyear Aircraft Tires. I was sure no one else had ever thought about it and I…
What exactly happened to the Russian space dog Laika?
The story they told was a lie. For decades, the world believed Laika, the Moscow street dog. Died peacefully in orbit a week after her launch in 1957. The…
Why do pilots seem to stabilize engines at around 50% thrust before pushing to full takeoff power?
The 777 engines are simply massive, with the GE-90’s generating upto 115,000lbs of thrust, per side. When cleared for take-off we run the engines to 55% N1 and…
Why aren’t car windshields made out of transparent aluminum?
When I read the question, my first impulse was to say “price.” But I didn’t really know how much aluminium oxynitride costs; that was just a hunch. So…
What if Tsar Bomba was dropped in the middle of the United States?
The geographic centre of the (edit: contiguous 48 states of the) US is a little north of a small burg called Lebanon, Kansas. A Tsar Bomba at operational yield would…