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Tech Thread [Background]

1504672880
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
In case anyone's interested, here's a rundown of Link's technology.&nbsp; <a href="http://astralfrontier.org/2017/09/06/link-s-techno" rel="nofollow">http://astralfrontier.org/2017/09/06/link-s-techno</a>... My goal is twofold: bring in as much real science as I can, to represent the sort of home-made, DIY tech that a teen gadgeteer would use, and also make the most of a few basic elements: light elements like hydrogen and carbon, and versatile tricks like the skyhook system.
1504674431
Doyce
Pro
Sheet Author
I love it. I also woke up with a FANTASTIC team nemesis idea a few days ago...
Very cool.
1504759843

Edited 1504759851
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Doyce T. said: I also woke up with a FANTASTIC team nemesis idea a few days ago... I'm feeling fearful that this came up on this particular thread. :)
Dark Pneuma.
1504763521
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
+1
1504798262

Edited 1504799176
Doyce
Pro
Sheet Author
Forget everything I said last game. Here's the basic visual model for Vyortovian hovercraft fielded by the Dread Queen. <a href="http://www.impactlab.net/2017/09/03/the-dyson-of-d" rel="nofollow">http://www.impactlab.net/2017/09/03/the-dyson-of-d</a>... I'd say you can visualize about... 20 guys lined up on either side of the central opening, ready to slide to the ground on ropes. So... yeah. The big models probably carry 40 to 50 guys. There are smaller models, all the way down to one-man things like this (below), but bladeless. Actually, we can take this into a whole visual style for the Vyortovian tech. Hybrid ground/air vehicles... Smaller troop transports (just picture it sleeker): Or probably even something Helicarrier sized, though no one's seen anything like that...
1504808488
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
1510877177

Edited 1510877188
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Source:&nbsp; <a href="http://emdrive.com/faq.html" rel="nofollow">http://emdrive.com/faq.html</a> Q. How can the EmDrive produce enough thrust for terrestrial applications? A. The second generation engines will be capable of producing a specific thrust of 30kN/kW. Thus for 1 kilowatt (typical of the power in a microwave oven) a static thrust of 3 tonnes can be obtained, which is enough to support a large car. This is clearly adequate for terrestrial transport applications. We can build flight into Otto, Pneuma, and the Link Suit. Note however, because the EmDrive obeys the law of conservation of energy, this thrust/power ratio rapidly decreases if the EmDrive is used to accelerate the vehicle along the thrust vector. (See Equation 16 of the theory paper). Whilst the EmDrive can provide lift to counter gravity, (and is therefore not losing kinetic energy), auxiliary propulsion is required to provide the kinetic energy to accelerate the vehicle. The system works best for levitation, but we'll still need rockets for any decent speeds.
1511072256
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Link's current generation robot designs, with some upcoming innovations. The last one may be of interest.&nbsp;<a href="http://astralfrontier.org/2017/11/17/link-s-robots/" rel="nofollow">http://astralfrontier.org/2017/11/17/link-s-robots/</a>
Bill G. said: Link's current generation robot designs, with some upcoming innovations. The last one may be of interest.&nbsp; <a href="http://astralfrontier.org/2017/11/17/link-s-robots/" rel="nofollow">http://astralfrontier.org/2017/11/17/link-s-robots/</a> Okay, that's simultaneously really cool, extremely interesting, and deeply worrisome.
1511214014
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
More real world exoskeleton stuff:&nbsp; <a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/VxLpI" rel="nofollow">https://imgur.com/gallery/VxLpI</a> This is the kind of thing Leo wants to get into - helping peoples' lives improve through technology.
1511252405
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
<a href="https://futurism.com/first-time-robot-passed-medical-licensing-exam/" rel="nofollow">https://futurism.com/first-time-robot-passed-medical-licensing-exam/</a>
1513397011
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Self-healing transparent polymers. The carbon tech Leo already uses has similar properties, but this is a good intro to the concept.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=44&v=VJCX0xgQFBE" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=44&v=VJCX0xgQFBE</a>
1516350140
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Hard-light seems feasible! Here's a rundown of tech that paves the way. <a href="http://www.theweek.co.uk/68187/first-touchable-hol" rel="nofollow">http://www.theweek.co.uk/68187/first-touchable-hol</a>... <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directional_sound" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directional_sound</a> <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/touchable-3d-holograms-da" rel="nofollow">http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/touchable-3d-holograms-da</a>... Basically, a combination of directed ultrasound and laser-induced plasma can create open-air 3D holograms that people can safely touch. We don't yet have the engineering to produce actual force fields that can push things around, but using something like an EMdrive whose output can be directed, you might be able to create that effect. In our comic-book universe, of course, super-inventors have already solved these challenges, but production costs and the difficulty of maintaining the devices, as well as safety considerations, limit them to key government installations, high-tech labs, prototype weapon systems, and the like.
1516440711
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
We have some characters who can quick-change costumes or "flip" into a different look (Concord's transform, Pneuma's armor up, Numina's hologram). So here's a real-world color changing dress and what it actually looks like: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comment" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comment</a>... To save you from reading reddit comments, it's like wearing a Kindle (so don't wash it or go out in the rain). The illusion of motion I got from it is also interesting (and a little disorienting - imagine seeing a dozen people all cycling through patterns).
1516644124
Doyce
Pro
Sheet Author
I was actually thinking of describing someone's appearance change as "like watching a kindle e-ink screen refresh, but in three dimensions..."
1526528692
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Doyce's&nbsp; Segway-chair post in General Inspiration got me thinking back to a problem comics often face: how to depict differently abled characters in a universe where the prevailing technology both could and might fix it. I think one solution is to think outside the usual box: instead of asking ourselves, "how would we want to bring this character back to being like us", we can ask "how would the character want to continue using their current strengths?" And that gave me this exchange: Jason: Hey Maury, Leo and I are here to talk about funding a prosthetic kit for improved mobility. Are you-- Maury: Big fuck-off gorilla arms. Jason: What? Maury: Exoskeletal robot arms that I can control with my own arms. Strong enough to lift me and let me brachiate. Jason: What? Maury: Brachiate. Forward locomotion with the arms-- Jason: I got that part. But are you... Maury: Can you do it? Leo: Yeah, it's technically feasible. Maury: And I want that guy's grappling hook system built in too. *points at Leo* Leo: What? Maury: And hardpoints for cameras. And like a drone docking deal. With recharging contacts. And...
Bill G. said: Maury: Big fuck-off gorilla arms. I'm behind this 110%.&nbsp; I don't care about anything else but if you lead with this statement, I'm sold.
Mike said: Bill G. said: Maury: Big fuck-off gorilla arms. I'm behind this 110%.&nbsp; I don't care about anything else but if you lead with this statement, I'm sold. In an era that (oh so gradually) continues to encourage diversity and finding one's own, best image, this makes so much freaking sense.
1526601223
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
We dived in to fetch Streak out of his unresponsive state. In the real world, we're making progress reaching such people in other ways. <a href="https://sewickedthread.tumblr.com/post/174002234259/lt-amazil-my-hardcore-kittens-indiecat" rel="nofollow">https://sewickedthread.tumblr.com/post/174002234259/lt-amazil-my-hardcore-kittens-indiecat</a> (source in the first post)
1527715794
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Phoenix can turn dirt and air into high tech. Think that is outlandish?&nbsp;<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/process-takes-co₂-from-the-air-converts-it-to-carbon-nanotubes/?amp=1" rel="nofollow">https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/05/process-takes-co₂-from-the-air-converts-it-to-carbon-nanotubes/?amp=1</a>
1533930932
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
Organic solar cells reaching silicon levels of efficiency:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45132427" rel="nofollow">https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45132427</a> Carbon, man. :)
1533932123
Bill G.
Pro
Sheet Author
This is the "realistic" version of the sort of tech Maury wants:&nbsp;<a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/oE3b5yB" rel="nofollow">https://imgur.com/gallery/oE3b5yB</a>