MEMS are microelectronic mechanical systems; basically semiconductor fabrication technology machines; you've likely seen pictures of gears smaller than dust mites

MEMS flyer gliders are just eentsy little gliders that do the hovering paper airplane thing that I saw on Scientific American Frontiers television where a person walking could keep the plane hovering above their hands from the motion of human warmed air on the wing surfaces

If it works with hands I think it will work with MEMS plus microcurrents possibly called ultramicrothermals around the fingers MEMS brings the possibility of cybernetic control, thus the little gliders could be clever enough to circle or fly patterns

Now think of the radiometer; a bulb with a solar rotor that goes around from light pressure I think MEMS fliers could have radiometers that convert light to motion Thus when tilted right towards a laser or the sun they could make more powerful motions

Given the gradual rate motes move through sunlight a MEMS ultramicroflier might actually be like a paddle wheel airplane

They could do things like fly nto people mouths to deliver chemicals or viruses like happylong or karmageddon; they could taste good as well; they could surround people like a nimbus

with diffraction gratings they would look like sparkles
-- beanangel, Jul 30 2008

Walkalong glider http://en.wikipedia...ki/Walkalong_glider
has link to "PBS Scientific American Frontiers Free Flight episode with Walkalong Glider." [baconbrain, Jul 30 2008]

happylong http://youtube.com/watch?v=hqAgzWSwdV8
happylong a physiological way to immediately make a person happy like on nitrous oxide to immediately neutralize their behavior if that behavior is thought to be at serious ethical error happylong is the idea that if a person has genetically engineered bacteria as part of their body particularly at the GI tract those bacteria could react to a particular sound any human could make; proteus bacteria may be well structured at this; on reacting to the sound the bacteria produce or release chemicals like peptides that make the persons brain feel like it is on nitrous oxide; the effect is that if a person commits a serious ethical error any near person can make a noise at them to suddenly cause nitrous like happiness that neutralizes the purpose or activities of the person thought to be ethically at error; nitrous is the model drug as it is pleasant yet completely lacks retry urge; so much so that it is used as a food additive; nitrous operates on opiate receptors giving the idea that retry urge neutral pleasure chemicals could be created around that receptor structure; happylong is ethical as the person feels much happier than if they were using their brain with social or manipulative capability; happylong is rather like the idea of a "time-out" that can be applied to humans generally absent harm; the duration of happylong may be months or longer benefits are that happylong ceases war, bullying, physical domestic ethical errors, well meant but ethically negative actions [beanangel, Jul 30 2008]

// viruses like happylong or karmageddon// What??
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 30 2008


Idea author recognition by a glance at your comment, [Max]. Thanks.
-- normzone, Jul 30 2008


I haven't seen a vid of //the hovering paper airplane thing . . . where a person walking could keep the plane hovering above their hands from the motion of human warmed air on the wing surfaces// but it seems very unlikely.

There is an episode of the referred-to show with a "Walkalong Glider". That's a person making a light-weight craft fly by PUSHING air up with hands or a clipboard. The person can be walking in still air, or standing still in a gentle breeze. The craft is slope-soaring, not thermalling. See Wiki link.

There are thermals rising off a human body, true. But using them for directing mini-craft is less likely than running a radiometer in the open air.

I'm classing this idea as both "bad science" and "make something a different size". And fishboning.
-- baconbrain, Jul 30 2008


Aside from several other things, one thing to bear in mind is that a flying machine the size of a grain of sand is effectively a swimming machine - the dominant effect is the viscosity of the air. This is the reason why it is very difficult to throw an ant into someone's coffee from across the room, though doubtless we've all tried this many times.

Your MEMS microflier might well work, but its flying abilities will be negligible in the face of the slightest breeze.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 30 2008


karmageddon

nuclear weapon that strikes only men Thinking about it the use of gathered force at arms approaches sex specific Just as you may have heard of the idea of having taxation that is gender specific it is right that weapons of mass destruction kill only those physiologically structured to be force at arms killers

A nuclear weapon that kills only men, or more mercifully, aborts all male fetuses with fallout over millenia is a kinder gentler nuclear weapon

Naturally that sounds rather less sporting than the current nuclear weapon forms that kill everybody yet when we go with the idea that war is to change minds permanently feminizing a country is creating peace

Imagine the United states saying to Iran or North Korea We can ignore nuclear proliferation if you use a catalytic converter on your bombs that permanently reduces the physiologically sourced aggressive preferences of the remaning area humans We figure if you start lobbing peace bombs at each other area peace will persist There would be a feeling of energy security if Iran Iraq had feminized each other during the Iran Iraq war

When you think about it a large group of competent women sitting on top of a huge energy reserve that can be converted to food with the COOHization of hydrocarbons (crude oil chemically transformed to edible palm oil) is of benefit to those humans; also the creation of children would be a purposed activity such that the remaining area humans might eugenically create super clever female hafiz such that all who lived there were taught they would go to heaven regardless of their actions

various karmageddon weapons are possible from bullets to tanks These use physiological chemistry

Karmageddon as a physiological structure is basically creating a protein that fits the same receptors as ru-486; this protein is periodically generated from a recurrent herpes like infection thus periodically terminating any pregnancy every month The production of the RU-486 receptor affinity protein is controlled with chemoreceptors that detect amniotic fluid chemistry associated with a male fetus

the virus affects the placenta mildly possibly beneficially prior to chemodetection of fetus the amniotic fluid has unique gene products plus gene fragments thus a placental membrane sieve response triggers the ru-486 receptor protein response

That is kind of rude thus I am trying to make it work on blastocysts which would make the entire process absent awareness

This will feel a little milder as well if you realize my preference is an absence of casualties Its just that people just have daughters.
-- beanangel, Jul 30 2008


Can the little electromechanitastic thingies fly into your brain and teach you how to punctuate? Thermals in the brain, angel. Thermals in the brain, drink them up! I drink your brain thermals! I'm a brain thermal man! I've abandoned my boy!
-- daseva, Jul 30 2008


birds use macrothermals to glide

the tiniest flying creatures I've seen go pretty well although they are chemically powered

the radiometer could use a vacuum area on the rotor with a magnetic linkage to an outside the chamber gear

also, I am thrilled to note that wikipedia says When exposed to sunlight, artificial light, or infrared radiation (even the heat of a hand nearby can be enough), the vanes turn

thus MEMS microfliers could use both thermals from rising air plus possibly nearness to body warmth to turn a radiometer which passes rotational energy with a magnetic linkage to gear
-- beanangel, Aug 01 2008



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