It doesn't take a rocket scientist........

limeygent

Scientists at NASA built a gun specifically to launch standard 4 pound dead chickens at the windshields of airliners, military jets and the space shuttle, all traveling at maximum velocity. The idea is to simulate the frequent incidents of collisions with airborne fowl to test the strength of the windshields.

British engineers heard about the gun and were eager to test it on the windshields of their new high speed trains. Arrangements were made, and a gun was sent to the British engineers.

When the gun was fired, the engineers stood shocked as the chicken hurled out of the barrel, crashed into the shatterproof shield, smashed it to smithereens, blasted through the control console, snapped the engineer's back-rest in two, and embedded itself in the back wall of the cabin, like an arrow shot from a bow.

The horrified Brits sent NASA the disastrous results of the experiment, along with the designs of the windshield and begged the U.S. scientists for suggestions.

NASA responded with a one-line memo --

"Defrost the chicken." (True Story)

AddickUpNorth

Lol!

Happy Valley

Many years ago, when I was still learning things, we were given a lecture by a senior scientist from Rolls-Royce engines. He said that lobbing a 4 pound chicken into the engine was the standard test to check whether the engine could withstand a bird strike. He didn't mention a special gun for the purpose, though.

RodneyCharltonTrotta

During the space race when they found out biros and other pens wouldn't work in zero gravity enviroments NASA spent millions on devising a pen that would.

The Soviets used pencils.

AddickUpNorth

For an intelligent species we're bloody stupid at times.

Stig

RodneyCharltonTrotta said:

During the space race when they found out biros and other pens wouldn't work in zero gravity enviroments NASA spent millions on devising a pen that would.

The Soviets used pencils.

It's a nice urban myth, but it ain't quite the whole story. It wasn't NASA, but a private company called Fisher. They have since recouped their investment and much more besides because having a pen that can write upside down is a pretty marketable thing. If you want one, you get a one off the internet for between £10 and £20. As for the Russians, they gave up with pencils because disposing of the shavings without having bits floating around the space craft was proving too tricky. The Russian space programme quickly became one of the biggest buyers of Fisher Space Pens.

AddickUpNorth

Kinda had your matches pissed on eh Rodders ;o)

CharltonKerry

Certainly made laugh, wife didn't understand it.

charltonkeston

Urban myth I'm afraid, frozen or not its the same mass = same result.

maybe_baby

charltonkeston said:

Urban myth I'm afraid, frozen or not its the same mass = same result.

Exactly!

legaladdick

Yep urban myth - http://www.snopes.com/science/cannon.asp

RodneyCharltonTrotta

Stig said:

RodneyCharltonTrotta said:

During the space race when they found out biros and other pens wouldn't work in zero gravity enviroments NASA spent millions on devising a pen that would.

The Soviets used pencils.

It's a nice urban myth, but it ain't quite the whole story. It wasn't NASA, but a private company called Fisher. They have since recouped their investment and much more besides because having a pen that can write upside down is a pretty marketable thing. If you want one, you get a one off the internet for between £10 and £20. As for the Russians, they gave up with pencils because disposing of the shavings without having bits floating around the space craft was proving too tricky. The Russian space programme quickly became one of the biggest buyers of Fisher Space Pens.

That's what those who have rewritten history will have you believe to save their blushes. ;-)

Bedsaddick

http://youtu.be/THNPmhBl-8I

Wheresmeticket

Bedsaddick said:

http://youtu.be/THNPmhBl-8I

Thanks Beds, hadn't seen that!

Off_it

Wheresmeticket? said:

Bedsaddick said:

http://youtu.be/THNPmhBl-8I

Thanks Beds, hadn't seen that!

Me neither. Very good.

limeygent

legaladdick said:

Yep urban myth - http://www.snopes.com/science/cannon.asp

Snopes should be banned, they spoil so many good stories...

Covered End

Has anyone ever met a rocket scientist ?
I was at a wedding last week & asked this bloke (about 30) what he did. He said he was a rocket scientist & I laughed.
But he really is, works in the Sevenoaks area. Seemed a totally normal guy to me ie not a "professor type".
I was amazed.

man_at_milletts

Doesn't Dowie have qualifications that effectively make him a rocket scientist?

Addickted

A few of them in Sevenoaks with Fort Halstead being up the road.

Friend Or Defoe

Covered End said:

Has anyone ever met a rocket scientist ?
I was at a wedding last week & asked this bloke (about 30) what he did. He said he was a rocket scientist & I laughed.
But he really is, works in the Sevenoaks area. Seemed a totally normal guy to me ie not a "professor type".
I was amazed.

So perhaps you're not that good at judging people's intelligence! ;-)

man_at_milletts said:

Doesn't Dowie have qualifications that effectively make him a rocket scientist?

I'm pretty sure it's just a mechanical engineering degree, which means he can work out how fast a shit goes down a pipe.

fattmatt

<blockquote class="Quote" rel="Covered End">Has anyone ever met a rocket scientist ?
I was at a wedding last week & asked this bloke (about 30) what he did. He said he was a rocket scientist & I laughed.
But he really is, works in the Sevenoaks area. Seemed a totally normal guy to me ie not a "professor type".
I was amazed.</blockquote>

My ex-girlfriend's brother was a rocket scientist. I believe he works for a private satellite company near Guildford.

Also not convinced by the mass thing with the jet. Imagine throwing a kilo lump of jelly at a window and a kilo house-brick. The hardness of the object and it's shape must have an impact???

man_at_milletts

Friend Or Defoe said:

Covered End said:

Has anyone ever met a rocket scientist ?
I was at a wedding last week & asked this bloke (about 30) what he did. He said he was a rocket scientist & I laughed.
But he really is, works in the Sevenoaks area. Seemed a totally normal guy to me ie not a "professor type".
I was amazed.

So perhaps you're not that good at judging people's intelligence! ;-)

man_at_milletts said:

Doesn't Dowie have qualifications that effectively make him a rocket scientist?

I'm pretty sure it's just a mechanical engineering degree, which means he can work out how fast a shit goes down a pipe.

LOL. I googled him and up came a thread entitled '10 ugliest footballers'.

He did work for BAE apparently. Perhaps he still should!

Granpa

man_at_milletts
Doesn't Dowie have qualifications that effectively make him a rocket scientist?.

No, he has qualifications that make you want to stick him in a rocket !

man_at_milletts

Granpa said:

man_at_milletts
Doesn't Dowie have qualifications that effectively make him a rocket scientist?.

No, he has qualifications that make you want to stick him in a rocket !

Rearrange this well know phrase or saying :-))

charltonkeston

Covered End said:

Has anyone ever met a rocket scientist ?
I was at a wedding last week & asked this bloke (about 30) what he did. He said he was a rocket scientist & I laughed.
But he really is, works in the Sevenoaks area. Seemed a totally normal guy to me ie not a "professor type".
I was amazed.

I have, Mullard space centre at working, part of UCL.
They make bits for staterlites

Friend Or Defoe

Speaking of rocket science, this is pretty cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=o8TssbmY-GM

man_at_milletts

Speaking of rocket science. The space station has been visible overhead for the past couple of nights. Marginally beats train spotting.

fattmatt

No Dowie has a face that was hit by a rocket.

Valiantphil

I was told that "rocketry" is not a science at all, but a "technology", so rocket scientists are actually rocket technologists.

It's political correctness gone mad.

Chrispy51

maybe_baby said:

charltonkeston said:

Urban myth I'm afraid, frozen or not its the same mass = same result.

Exactly!

Not exactly... when frozen the body would be solid, and therefore the whole mass of the bird would be focussed on the point of impact between body and screen, if not frozen - therefore liquid in the body such as water and blood would be in the liquid rather than solid state and therfore the body would be more floppy than solid, if you slowed down the time of impact there would be a lot more distortion in the body which would act to slow it down and spread the load across a larger area of impact, liquids would be expelled from the body (causing water and blood to splatter across the screen) and there would be less chance of it smashing the screen. So although you are correct that it will be the same mass, it will not be the same result.

fattmatt

Chrispy51 said:

maybe_baby said:

charltonkeston said:

Urban myth I'm afraid, frozen or not its the same mass = same result.

Exactly!

Not exactly... when frozen the body would be solid, and therefore the whole mass of the bird would be focussed on the point of impact between body and screen, if not frozen - therefore liquid in the body such as water and blood would be in the liquid rather than solid state and therfore the body would be more floppy than solid, if you slowed down the time of impact there would be a lot more distortion in the body which would act to slow it down and spread the load across a larger area of impact, liquids would be expelled from the body (causing water and blood to splatter across the screen) and there would be less chance of it smashing the screen. So although you are correct that it will be the same mass, it will not be the same result.

A much better way of saying what I was getting at!!!