* 11 troops dead in bloody day
* Arabic training, finally
* Marines’ kung fu grip
* Microwaves = lie detector?
* Real-life rocket bike
* New record for laser comms
* Privacy politics on the rise?
* DHS’ Hollywood con job
* SecDef meeting = sham
* Laser jet, blasted
* This is not kosher
(Big ups: RC, JQP)
The “rocketbike” article mentions that the rocket engine uses roofing tar as fuel. While this is correct, it is somewhat misleading, as the tar needs to be mixed with an oxidizer for it to combust fast enough for meaningful thrust. The technically challenging part of mixing a tar rocket is stabilizing the oxidizer: perchorate.
Microwave lie detector? Heh, it was invented by a russian scientist for the KGB in the early 70s. i spoke to the guy while working for Popular Mechanics/Russia. He was selling a modification for pulbic health (it’s essentially a miltiple-sensor vital stats detector).
Anyway, the technology is inferior to modern detectors which monitor brain activity via MRI.
Actually, the rocket bike motor does not need a perchlorate oxidizer. This is a hybrid motor — nitrous oxide is the oxidizer. The ignitor starts the tar burning and nitrous oxide is injected to sustain the reaction. My hobby is high powered rocketry. You can use anything from a polyethylene rod, compressed newspaper, or literally, a pepperoni sausage No kidding with the latter, it’s been done!