h a l f b a k e r yPoint of hors d'oevre
add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random
news, help, about, links, report a problem
browse anonymously,
or get an account
and write.
register,
|
|
|
Please log in.
Before you can vote, you need to register.
Please log in or create an account.
|
Using the same steerable "mole" technology used to run pipes and cables without trenching, power and guide such a device through the subsoil under the desired target, then pump in an ANFO slurry explosive such as Ammoblast, add a detonator and booster, backfill and tamp the bore with fast-setting concrete,
and initiate the charge electrically from a remote location.
Could also me used for de-mining or countermining; essentially a sub-surface version of "Bookrest" or "Tureen".
Gives a whole new meaning to "undrmining someone's efforts".
Wikipedia: Tremors (film)
http://en.wikipedia...wiki/Tremors_(film)
Vaguely relate [rcarty, Mar 02 2011]
Wikipedia: Mongolian Death Worm
http://en.wikipedia...ongolian_Death_Worm
[rcarty, Mar 02 2011]
Wikipedia: The Devil in the Dark
http://en.wikipedia...e_Devil_in_the_Dark
[rcarty, Mar 02 2011]
Mines used in First world war battle of Messines
http://en.wikipedia.../Battle_of_Messines
These underground mines killed 10,000 germans in an instant. [xenzag, Mar 05 2011]
[link]
|
| |
One could also use it for pranks. With smaller explosive charges, of course. |
|
| |
So the earthworms get it in the neck again, eh? |
|
| |
Maybe there could be a cattle-catcher type device on these, to ease the worms out of the way. |
|
| |
//Gives a whole new meaning// Much better than that: it
resurrects a dead metaphor. |
|
| |
(Alternate title could be: "Robotic Sapper") |
|
| |
could be, but that's a tunnel not a trench. |
|
| |
So you're saying the Gulf of Mexico blast was just BP doing a test run that went wrong? |
|
| |
No, Texaco doing a live fire that went right ... |
|
| |
Read the description of the use of underground mines by British forces in the first world war attack on Messines. The statistics are quite shocking. 455 tonnes of ammonal explosive was used, and all of it exploded directly under the German lines. "Reports were made that the shockwave from the explosion was heard as far away as London and Dublin" |
|
| |
"In the week before the attack began, some 2,200 artillery guns bombarded the German trenches with an estimated 3–4 million shells." There is actually footage of the mines at Messines detonating. The ground heaves up like a mountain to what looks like hundreds of feet in height. Look for on youtube. |
|
| |
I often laugh when I hear the expression "shock and awe" re Iraq invasion. War is horrible, and none worse than WW1. |
|
| |
I read a lot of books on the subject of the first world war, when I was at school, loaned to me by an elderly man who was in the Battle of the Somme. |
|
| |
My favourite quote of the day comes from [xenzag]'s link: |
|
| |
"The evening before the attack, General Plumer remarked to
his staff, "Gentlemen, we may not make history tomorrow,
but we shall certainly change the geography." |
|
| |
Bun for the psychological effect alone. |
|
| |
Plumer, along with Monash, Congreve and Currie, was one of the very best generals of WW1. |
|
| |
But what can so few do, amongst so many ...? |
|
| |
I think the few decided they could blow up the many, didn't
they? |
|
| |
True. Nice for chemists to get some credit. |
|
| |
They already got *plenty* of credit when Rutherford
refused to shake Haber's hand. |
|
| |