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Victoria
Exalted Member
I am a Berg Katse.
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 07-10-2011
Posts: 239
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27-07-2013 14:49
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Victoria
Exalted Member
I am a Berg Katse.
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 07-10-2011
Posts: 239
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| quote: | Originally posted by ElectricWhite
Just off-the-cuff: the mechas had to drink diet shakes and think really light thoughts! |
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So, in other words, 'There is no spoon?' Maybe the crew of the mecha has synchronised existencialist/metaphysical thinking sessions.
| quote: | Originally posted by Becky Rock
I wonder how much weight is required for something to break through the ground? |
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I don't know about surfaces like highways or roads, but for high-strenght concrete the tolerance is around 40MPa (=5800psi).
The Turtle King has pretty massive limbs, so if it's light enough, it can distribute its weight, but then there are mechas like the Mechadegon, which walks around on those thin, needly legs without ever getting stuck in the ground.
Then again, there are porous and nanoporous construction materials like metal or ceramic foam, foam glass and others, but I'm not sure if this would be enough when it comes to building-sized machines. Unless the cavities were filled with helium (or dark matter  ). And even then.
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Die Sonne tönt, nach alter Weise, In Brudersphären Wettgesang, und ihre vorgeschriebne Reise, vollendet sie mit Donnergang.
My fanart is here
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27-07-2013 15:57
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Victoria
Exalted Member
I am a Berg Katse.
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 07-10-2011
Posts: 239
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I wonder what's the tallest/heaviest mecha which can exist, at least in theory. In any way, I think it's quite impractical to have them walk. Swim or fly is much better.
Tiny robots like those ants/grasshoppers are also plausible. The MAST team (Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology) under BAE systems is financed by the US Army to develop tiny robots to perform surveillance instead of soldiers and cooperating with them is the Passadena-located Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Working on small-scale surveillance robots is also the DARPA in conjunction with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Naval Research Laboratory, elaborating on blueprints created in 1994 by the RAND corp. It seems like there was a lot of obstacles, but there already are things like the Nano Hummingbird made by AeroVironment, which made DARPA contact the company (no specific information was disclosed)
All in all, quite a few laboratories and institutions work with the subject of nano robots. And not many on big mechas. In fact, the only one I'm aware of is the Suidobashi Heavy Industries' 4m Kurata. Personally I think it's a bit of a pity. Though the costs would be huge, I think a smaller mechas like this might be extremely useful when it comes to natural disaster management.
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Die Sonne tönt, nach alter Weise, In Brudersphären Wettgesang, und ihre vorgeschriebne Reise, vollendet sie mit Donnergang.
My fanart is here
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27-07-2013 21:43
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Victoria
Exalted Member
I am a Berg Katse.
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 07-10-2011
Posts: 239
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Yes, and on a foggy day the excavator will suddenly give of a meneacing glow, and one of the workers, up until then enjoying a sandwich-and-coffee break will go- 'What is that?!'. Cue explosion and panicking people, and suddenly you have a giant spider mech going down the street. And in New York, on a UN Security Council meeting middle-aged men and women will give each other worried looks and argue about what to do, jets or no jets, ballistic missiles or no ballistic missiles, and suddenly a bemoustached man nobody had ever seen before will step forward and say: 'ladies and gentlemen, I just may know the perfect solution to this'. Cue 'dareda, dareda, daredaa-'
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Die Sonne tönt, nach alter Weise, In Brudersphären Wettgesang, und ihre vorgeschriebne Reise, vollendet sie mit Donnergang.
My fanart is here
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29-07-2013 02:36
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TheSolarSailor
Junior Member
I am a Galactor.
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 06-05-2011
Posts: 54
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| quote: | Originally posted by UnpublishedWriter
Galactor, or Spectra? |
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Not that it really matters in this case, as both Gatchaman and Battle of the Planets have the enemy using alien technology. With BotP it is more obvious since everything comes from another planet, but in Gatchaman, Leader X is of alien origin (the planet Selectol, if I remember correctly) and obviously provides knowledge that goes well beyond Earth science. He employs Galactor with the world's greatest minds and such, but I think Leader X himself can be used to fill the void with some sci-fi explanations about how the mecha function and are possible. Dr. Nambu has said repeatedly that Galactor possesses scientific knowledge that surpasses their own.
| quote: | | Regrettably, that inverse-square law can't be gotten around. I doubt that there could ever exist materials light yet strong enough to allow the giant mecha to even move. |
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When you deal with make-believe, it can be gotten around. The series is not a science show that is grounded in what is real, but a fantasy where they bend the rules. As long as they adhere to in-universe laws and internal consistency, I am fine with it. I mean, we don't watch Superman films and then rag on it for the ridiculous science behind an alien from a planet with a red sun coming to Earth and it's yellow sun and suddenly being able to fly, shoot lasers from his eyes, be impervious to everything, have enhanced hearing, etc now do we? Of course not. We accept that this is possible inside of the Superman universe.
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This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by TheSolarSailor on 24-09-2013 at 08:13.
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24-09-2013 08:10
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UnpublishedWriter
Gatchamaniac
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 31-08-2009
Posts: 3156
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| quote: | Originally posted by TheSolarSailor
| quote: | Originally posted by UnpublishedWriter
Galactor, or Spectra? |
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Not that it really matters in this case, as both Gatchaman and Battle of the Planets have the enemy using alien technology. With BotP it is more obvious since everything comes from another planet, but in Gatchaman, Leader X is of alien origin (the planet Selectol, if I remember correctly) and obviously provides knowledge that goes well beyond Earth science. He employs Galactor with the world's greatest minds and such, but I think Leader X himself can be used to fill the void with some sci-fi explanations about how the mecha function and are possible. Dr. Nambu has said repeatedly that Galactor possesses scientific knowledge that surpasses their own.
| quote: | | Regrettably, that inverse-square law can't be gotten around. I doubt that there could ever exist materials light yet strong enough to allow the giant mecha to even move. |
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When you deal with make-believe, it can be gotten around. The series is not a science show that is grounded in what is real, but a fantasy where they bend the rules. As long as they adhere to in-universe laws and internal consistency, I am fine with it. I mean, we don't watch Superman films and then rag on it for the ridiculous science behind an alien from a planet with a red sun coming to Earth and it's yellow sun and suddenly being able to fly, shoot lasers from his eyes, be impervious to everything, have enhanced hearing, etc now do we? Of course not. We accept that this is possible inside of the Superman universe. |
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I lampshaded that in one of my fics. Had Katse's loyal minion wondering how they'd beaten the laws of physics.
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Benefits, not features; benefits, not features
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25-09-2013 23:15
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