Ace of Spades HQ

January 31, 2012

Science? Dude Evolves Cat-Like Night-Vision? And... Self-Guiding Bullet
— Ace

Right before the Sweet Meteor of Death, I'm calling this Chinese kid as my tribe's number one draft pick.

According to a news reel from China, a young boy there possesses the ability to see in the dark. Like a Siamese cat's, his sky-blue eyes flash neon green when illuminated by a flashlight, and his night vision is good enough to enable him to fill out questionnaires while sitting in a pitch black room Â— or so say the reporters who visited Nong Yousui in his hometown of Dahua three years ago.
...
Night vision is made possible by a layer of cells, called the tapetum lucidum, in the eyes of cats and other nocturnal animals. This thin layer is a "retroreflector" Â— when a beam of light hits it, it reflects the light directly back along its incoming path. The reflected beam constructively interferes with the incoming light beam, amplifying the overall signal that hits the retina and enabling the animal to see in very low-light conditions. Retroreflection also causes cat eyes to flash when they are lit upon at night, and experts say Nong's eyes, if they are truly catlike, should do the same.

And do they? I dunno, the video supposedly shows that glowing. I don't see it myself.

And finally, Gene Simmons' self-guided bullet from the old Michael Crichton/Tom Selleck movie Runaway.

Now, "self-guided" isn't entirely accurate. You have to keep a laser beam shining on the target. But if you manage that, the bullet will seek the laser's reflection.

Each self-guided bullet is around 4 inches in length. At the tip is an optical sensor, that can detect a laser beam being shone on a far-off target. Actuators inside the bullet get intel from the bulletÂ’s sensor, and then Â“steer tiny fins that guide the bullet to the target.Â” The bullet can self-correct its navigational path 30 times a second, all while flying more than twice the speed of sound.

Thanks to BrotherBewapitis and CDR M.

Oh, and this was linked as an aside in the cat-eye thing: The "Forbidden Colors" your eyes can't see, Red-Green and Blue-Yellow.

Posted by: Ace at 09:52 AM | Comments (110)
Post contains 369 words, total size 3 kb.

1 According to the Congressional Budget Office, which released its new Budget and Economic Outlook report on Tuesday morning, a 10-year repeal of the growth-rate formula that froze doctors' rates at current levels would cost $316 billion, compared with $290 billion when CBO last calculated the rate in November. The difference may make permanent repeal of the formula--always a long shot--even less palatable to lawmakers.

Posted by: Koop at January 31, 2012 09:53 AM (e8kgV)

"...and his night vision is good enough to enable him to fill out questionnaires while sitting in a pitch black room "

That ought to come in handy should young Nong decide to be an unemployed engineer.

Posted by: Jaws at January 31, 2012 09:56 AM (4I3Uo)

3 Calling bullshit on the Chinese NV kid. When do the Chinese ever innovate on their own? Most likely, they stole that technology from an American child living in Fredonia, WI.

Posted by: EC at January 31, 2012 09:56 AM (GQ8sn)

4 Laser guided technology has been around for quite some time. Not too far fetched that the technology has miniaturized enough to be used with bullets.

Posted by: dogfish at January 31, 2012 09:56 AM (NuPNl)

I wish my eyes had never seen Red Green.

The movie, that is. The TV show was hilarious.

Posted by: Michael Rittenhouse at January 31, 2012 09:57 AM (2Oas0)

6 Has anyone drafted the Wu-Tang Clan, or what's left of them?

Posted by: Dr Spank at January 31, 2012 09:57 AM (Sh42X)

7 LGBs! BWhahahahahahahahahahahahaha! (Laser guided bullets -- like laser guided missiles, only, uh, bullety.)

Posted by: joncelli Palpatine at January 31, 2012 09:57 AM (RD7QR)

8 Re: self-guiding bullet

If EA or Activision ever put this into future CoD or BF games, then I'm calling it quits. I'm fucking tired enough as it is with the USAS/frag ammo n00b assfuckers ruining every goddamn game I play.

Posted by: EC at January 31, 2012 09:57 AM (GQ8sn)

Yeah, considering that the Chinese were all chimeras yaaaay! I'm a tetch skeptical that the kid is all human and not part cat. I'm just grateful that the kid isn't Japanese because then it would be "oh and we grafted on these tentacles too".

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD 2012 at January 31, 2012 09:58 AM (VtjlW)

10 Shouldn't this post have waited for Caturday ONT?

Posted by: dogfish at January 31, 2012 09:58 AM (NuPNl)

11 Those Chinese maggots are always claiming they have some kind of far out thing and it always winds up being a hoax.

Posted by: Vic at January 31, 2012 09:58 AM (YdQQY)

>>You have to keep a laser beam shining on the target.

How many cats will die because their owners were playing with one of those laser light toys a short distance away??

Posted by: Cioncerned Mama AJ at January 31, 2012 09:59 AM (XdlcF)

13 Barack Obama is a stuttering clusterf*ck of a miserable tyrant.

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) Team Meteor. Now with Cheesecake at January 31, 2012 09:59 AM (8y9MW)

>>You have to keep a laser beam shining on the target.

How many cats will die because their owners were playing with one of those laser light toys a short distance away??

Posted by: Cioncerned Mama AJ, now in a readable format at January 31, 2012 10:00 AM (XdlcF)

15 Just shoot me.

Posted by: Concerned Mama AJ at January 31, 2012 10:00 AM (XdlcF)

16 So, like, does this chinkeroo kid see my sweet stuff when I get undressed in the dark? 'Cuz that would be sooo unfair!

Posted by: Meghan McCain at January 31, 2012 10:03 AM (/E3ql)

17 I hate cats.

Posted by: © Sponge at January 31, 2012 10:04 AM (UK9cE)

18 15 Just shoot me.

Posted by: Concerned Mama AJ at January 31, 2012 02:00 PM (XdlcF)

Keep your eye on the laser. (Sorry Mama, couldn't resist.)

Posted by: joncelli Palpatine at January 31, 2012 10:05 AM (RD7QR)

19 I attribute this new chinese superpower to centuries of a cat meat based diet.

Posted by: Larsen E. Whipsnade at January 31, 2012 10:05 AM (6BgmB)

20 8 Re: self-guiding bullet

If EA or Activision ever put this into future CoD or BF games, then I'm calling it quits. I'm fucking tired enough as it is with the USAS/frag ammo n00b assfuckers ruining every goddamn game I play.

Posted by: EC at January 31, 2012 01:57 PM (GQ8sn)

Then you'd hate the Resistance series. They have what is called a Bullseye that shoots a tag that all subsequent bullets will track to. But, the gun is one of the weaker guns, with limited range and no zoom. And there is a suit you can don that prevents tagging.

Posted by: Jimmuy at January 31, 2012 10:05 AM (7jkW7)

21 Just shoot me.

Posted by: Concerned Mama AJ at January 31, 2012 02:00 PM (XdlcF)

With a laser guided bullet or just the old, standard bullet?

Posted by: © Sponge at January 31, 2012 10:06 AM (UK9cE)

Actuators inside the bullet get intel from the bulletÂ’s sensor, and then Â“steer tiny fins that guide the bullet to the target.Â” The bullet can self-correct its navigational path 30 times a second, all while flying more than twice the speed of sound.

And this fruition of decades of brilliant research, innovation and imagination reduces income inequality how?

Posted by: CJ at January 31, 2012 10:06 AM (9KqcB)

23 (mmm...super powered Chinese)

*squirt*

Posted by: Tom Friedman at January 31, 2012 10:06 AM (R3/kR)

I attribute this new chinese superpower to centuries of a cat meat based diet.

Posted by: Larsen E. Whipsnade at January 31, 2012 10:07 AM (6BgmB)

25 Quick, get these bullets to some cartels!!!

Posted by: Eric Holder at January 31, 2012 10:08 AM (R3/kR)

26 <pounces on laser light circle on floor and waits for laser guided SMOD>

Posted by: Mama AJ at January 31, 2012 10:09 AM (XdlcF)

27 What was the name of that President of Brazil, who said that "blue eyed people" are evil? ......And didn't Barky sort of agree with that?

Posted by: wheatie at January 31, 2012 10:10 AM (UOOK1)

28 The downside is that the kid insists on cleaning his ass with his tongue.

Posted by: al-Cicero, Tea Party Jihadist at January 31, 2012 10:10 AM (QKKT0)

29 I know it's only 4" but it's Self-Guided, baby.

Posted by: garrett at January 31, 2012 10:11 AM (Vu6tR)

30 The Chinese kid has probably gained his ability from the copius amounts of chemicals in their water and air. The kid probably pisses solid lead too.

Posted by: Minnfidel at January 31, 2012 10:12 AM (vqCPH)

31 I am pretty sure that Palin is to blame, here.

Posted by: blaster at January 31, 2012 10:14 AM (7vSU0)

32 I know it's only 4" but it's Self-Guided, baby.

Posted by: garrett at January 31, 2012 02:11 PM (Vu6tR) .........................I wouldn't be bragging about that.

Posted by: Internet Enlargement Pills only 19.99! at January 31, 2012 10:15 AM (vqCPH)

33 11 Those Chinese maggots are always claiming they have some kind of far out thing and it always winds up being a hoax. .........Posted by: Vic . Yeah, I have the same eye color as that little boy. ....And I can see in the dark pretty good, if my eyes have had time to adjust. ....Most people are like that, aren't they? . Though I remember as a kid....in the family snapshots, my eyes would be the ones with the big 'red-eye' dots on them, moreso than the eyes of the other people in the shot. ....*shrugs* .....This is not something that is new.

Posted by: wheatie at January 31, 2012 10:16 AM (UOOK1)

This sounds like my worst nightmare.

Posted by: Ben Franklin at January 31, 2012 10:18 AM (Vu6tR)

35 Ive seen red/green additive before. It looks amber in color, not some ultra-cool new color.

Posted by: MikeTheMoose Camellia Sinensis Operative at January 31, 2012 10:19 AM (0q2P7)

36 Eh. Why do I think that there are some retinal and visual cortex component changes in addition to this luminum foil contraption that cats need to see better at night?

Posted by: alexthedude at January 31, 2012 10:19 AM (TUF2e)

37 Also.....with the rarity of the blue eye-color in the Chinese population as a whole.....perhaps they are just now learning about some of the basic differences in the lighter color ranges of eye-colors.

Posted by: wheatie at January 31, 2012 10:20 AM (UOOK1)

38 That's nothing. I can sense a Twinkie through 50 feet of reinforced concrete.

And get to it.

Posted by: Meghan McCain at January 31, 2012 10:20 AM (BhuDE)

39 Wow it's almost like he's genetically superior in some way -- that of seeing in the dark. But no. Everybody is equal biologically.

Posted by: Random at January 31, 2012 10:21 AM (YiE0S)

40 So we are resigned to Mitt now, right? So, how do we get revved up for that? Does Mitt have cheerleaders?

Posted by: blaster at January 31, 2012 10:21 AM (wMMGS)

41 Summon the meteors already (from link at Drudge):

The amount of money the federal government takes out of the U.S. economy in taxes will increase by more than 30 percent between 2012 and 2014, according to the CBO, even while the economy remains sluggish.

jeebus

Posted by: Jane D'oh at January 31, 2012 10:21 AM (UOM48)

42 Even if we're just dancing in the dark.......

Posted by: Worn Out Bruce Springsteen Song at January 31, 2012 10:22 AM (vqCPH)

43 Young man, I would like to offer you a scholarship....

Posted by: Dr. Xavier at January 31, 2012 10:23 AM (7vSU0)

44 Then you'd hate the Resistance series. They have what is called a Bullseye that shoots a tag that all subsequent bullets will track to.

Mr. Zorg would like to talk to you about patent infringement. This is obviously a reverse-engineered version of the ZF-1's Replay button.

Posted by: Meiczyslaw at January 31, 2012 10:23 AM (bjRNS)

45 40 So we are resigned to Mitt now, right? So, how do we get revved up for that?

Does Mitt have cheerleaders?

Posted by: blaster at January 31, 2012 02:21 PM (wMMGS) ......................////////You mean besides Hugh Hewitt?

Posted by: Minnfidel at January 31, 2012 10:24 AM (vqCPH)

46 How many cats do you have to eat to get that night vision?

Posted by: Rodent Liberation Front at January 31, 2012 10:25 AM (lgw0N)

I hate missing entire posts that I'm actually interested in. Like the previous two.

This one?

....

Cool, I guess?

Posted by: Truman North at January 31, 2012 10:25 AM (I2LwF)

48 Have you seen that youtube video of the ninja cat or the Blair Witch Project cat? Do you really want to blink and find claws in your face? Well, DO YOU!!!

Posted by: mike at January 31, 2012 10:25 AM (tiIIy)

49 So we are resigned to Mitt now, right?

If Santorum is still running in June, I'll probably vote for him instead.

But if the choice is Mitt and Obama in November? Mitt's got my vote.

Posted by: Meiczyslaw at January 31, 2012 10:25 AM (bjRNS)

31 I am pretty sure that Palin is to blame, here.

Posted by: blaster at January 31, 2012 02:14 PM (7vSU0)

Yeah, if it wasnÂ’t for her, Perry would be the nominee and our pussies wouldnÂ’t hurt.

Damn you, Sarah Palin!

Posted by: jwest at January 31, 2012 10:26 AM (FdndL)

51 calling BS on the 'guided bullet'...how do the fins work when the bullet is spinning - using gyroscopic force to stabilize its flight?

Posted by: model_1066 at January 31, 2012 10:26 AM (YbQJm)

52 11 Those Chinese maggots are always claiming they have some kind of far out thing and it always winds up being a hoax.

Posted by: Vic at January 31, 2012 01:58 PM (YdQQY)

I agree and call bullshit on this one too. He was probably living in one of these areas and sucked up too much pollution.

http://tinyurl.com/yly2v5r

Posted by: Hedgehog at January 31, 2012 10:27 AM (3jGS1)

53 Ohh, neat - I am on wireless and wired so my hash is changing....

Posted by: blaster at January 31, 2012 10:27 AM (7vSU0)

54 Random- Hold still, I'm trying to tag you with this laser.

Posted by: Chinese Guy at January 31, 2012 10:28 AM (r2PLg)

55 Does Mitt have cheerleaders?

Posted by: blaster at January 31, 2012 02:21 PM (wMMGS)

Yes, but their elbows are pointy.

Posted by: joncelli Palpatine at January 31, 2012 10:28 AM (RD7QR)

56 Does Mitt have cheerleaders?

Posted by: blaster at January 31, 2012 02:21 PM (wMMGS)

Yes, but they wear funny undies.

Posted by: alexthedude at January 31, 2012 10:29 AM (TUF2e)

57 calling BS on the 'guided bullet'...how do the fins work when the bullet is spinning - using gyroscopic force to stabilize its flight? From the article: The innovation involved some major changes to typical bullet design, which involves grooves to make the bullet spin and therefore fly in a straight line. Researchers had to eliminate that spinning to allow the bullets to twist and turn towards their target. Instead, they used those tiny fins Â— similar to those on a dart Â— to keep the bullet aloft while allowing it a full range of motion to navigate through the air. Ever hear of APFSDS? No spin.

Posted by: blaster at January 31, 2012 10:30 AM (7vSU0)

58 Does Mitt have cheerleaders? ******* Y-E-S!

Posted by: Jen Rubin And Ann Coulter now with lollipops! at January 31, 2012 10:30 AM (r2PLg)

59 calling BS on the 'guided bullet'...how do the fins work when the bullet is spinning - using gyroscopic force to stabilize its flight?

The bullet doesn't spin.

Posted by: GnuBreed at January 31, 2012 10:30 AM (BhuDE)

60 Yes, but they wear funny undies. ******* Lollipops is[/] the underwear worn by cheerleaders that matches their skirts. Weird!

Posted by: Jen Rubin And Ann Coulter now with lollipops! at January 31, 2012 10:31 AM (r2PLg)

Posted by: model_1066 at January 31, 2012 02:26 PM (YbQJm)

My is guess it they are effectively either slicing or drawing depending upon the direction of the barrel twist. You can't effectively steer a projectile shot through a rifled barrel in the opposite direction of it's natural drift, can you?

Perhaps this isn't a rifled gun that is launching these things? Perhaps they are more like mini-rockets than bullets?

Posted by: garrett at January 31, 2012 10:31 AM (Vu6tR)

62 ...or I could have read the article...

Posted by: garrett at January 31, 2012 10:32 AM (Vu6tR)

63 Lollipops is[/] the underwear worn by cheerleaders that matches their skirts.

Weird!

Posted by: Jen Rubin And Ann Coulter now with lollipops! at January 31, 2012 02:31 PM (r2PLg)

I think it's weirder that that is what they are called. VERY weirder.

Posted by: alexthedude at January 31, 2012 10:33 AM (TUF2e)

64 On the laser guided bullet thing, the Army did this with an artillery shell in the 80s - the Copperhead. Steerable artillery. Took some time to scale it down to (large) bullet level. Another 10 years it will be available in 9mm.

Posted by: blaster at January 31, 2012 10:33 AM (7vSU0)

so it's more like a mini JDAM, then?

God bless the moron horde and their combined know-how...

Posted by: model_1066 at January 31, 2012 10:33 AM (YbQJm)

66 <<Ever hear of APFSDS? No spin.>>

Can someone apply that tech to the MFM? And no I don't mean the pseudo O'reilly kind.

Posted by: Buzzsaw at January 31, 2012 10:34 AM (tf9Ne)

67 Perhaps this isn't a rifled gun that is launching these things? Perhaps they are more like mini-rockets than bullets?

Posted by: garrett at January 31, 2012 02:31 PM (Vu6tR)

If a gun doesn't have rifling does it cease to shoot bullets? Seriously, just asking.

Posted by: alexthedude at January 31, 2012 10:35 AM (TUF2e)

armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), a type of long-rod penetrator (LRP), and not to small arms bullets

sounds kinda sexy....

Posted by: model_1066 at January 31, 2012 10:36 AM (YbQJm)

69 Shotguns do not typically have rifling. Because you are shooting shot. But you can shoot slugs from rifled or unrifled barrels.

Posted by: blaster at January 31, 2012 10:36 AM (7vSU0)

70
Took some time to scale it down to (large) bullet level. Another 10 years it will be available in 9mm.

Posted by: blaster at January 31, 2012 02:33 PM (7vSU0)

Was moved to rocket form (Hellfire) for helicopter launch by the First Iraq War.

Posted by: alexthedude at January 31, 2012 10:36 AM (TUF2e)

71 [i[If a gun doesn't have rifling does it cease to shoot bullets? Seriously, just asking.

Posted by: alexthedude at January 31, 2012 02:35 PM (TUF2e)
[br]

If it doesn't have rifling it can still shoot bullets, but technically it would no longer be a rifle.

Posted by: Hollowpoint at January 31, 2012 10:37 AM (SY2Kh)

72 and sometimes the shotgun slug has its own grooves to impart spin...

Posted by: model_1066 at January 31, 2012 10:37 AM (YbQJm)

73 Self-guiding bullets are inevitable. Been active R&D for a decade plus. A couple prototypes are now being shot.

So, realistically, that probably means 2020 at the earliest. Typically a military R&D project takes 5-10 years from first prototype to actual weapon. Faster in war-time, slower in peace-time.

Given the likelihood of unforeseen problems, I'd predict later in the 2020s for a practical, guided-bullet weapon system for the average soldier. But it is coming.

Before that, I think we'll see guided grenade launchers by the early 2020s if not earlier. There is already a "smart" grenade launcher - XM-25 already deployed in Afghanistan. But that is not guided, it just can detonate at a set distance to explode over the fence or rock and hit the bad guy hiding behind cover.

Posted by: Clubber Lang at January 31, 2012 10:37 AM (ZPrif)

74 I was wondering the same thing, dude.

Posted by: garrett at January 31, 2012 10:38 AM (Vu6tR)

75 69 Shotguns do not typically have rifling. Because you are shooting shot. But you can shoot slugs from rifled or unrifled barrels.

Posted by: blaster at January 31, 2012 02:36 PM (7vSU0)

Yeah, but I can shoot .22s from an unrifled barrel as well, ya?

Posted by: alexthedude at January 31, 2012 10:38 AM (TUF2e)

76 Afterthought: That's what evolution does: It makes everyone equal in every respective character trait, visible and invisible. It assure that, separated from others of your species by tens of thousands of years and oceans and mountain ranges, etc., that all politically important characteristics and innate behavioral tendencies remain absolutely identical between groups -- no matter what their different environments! Natural selection strives toward egalitarianism. Why, just look at nature where all organisms look and act the same! And look at our branch, the hominids. There have been no important changes, and certainly not in skull and brain sizes. Ever! From Lucy to Neanderthal to modern man, sameness as far as they eye can see. Well, just look at the evidence! People evolved indifferent niches around the world have the same crime rates, IQ scores, and on and on. It's almost like equality is fundamentally written into the laws of nature! Why, look at families. They're all as smart as each other, as healthy, as happy, as successful. Just like individuals, they don't differ! Amazing how evolution touches all other species while leaving our species alone, utterly untouched and I changing, no matter the environmental pressures placed upon us, forever and ever. God truly did make sure that all people's are identically equal, for example Arabs who are every bit as productive and smart as the heavily-successful-in-terms-of-scientists, etc., ashkenazi Jews, under whose leadership, the tiny Israeli army trounced the combined Arab armies over and over again. That is of course best explained because of miracles from God, not because different peoples have different average capabilities in specific areas. Like intelligence. Naturally. I am so glad nature created me equal to everyone else in every specific mental trait, behavior, and ability.

Posted by: Random at January 31, 2012 10:39 AM (YiE0S)

77 Hellfire is a little bit different animal being a missile rather than a projectile. Rocket propelled things experience acceleration differently.

Posted by: blaster at January 31, 2012 10:40 AM (7vSU0)

78 *unchanging

Posted by: Random at January 31, 2012 10:41 AM (YiE0S)

79 <<Yeah, but I can shoot .22s from an unrifled barrel as well, ya?>>

Only if you make your own barrel I would guess. Rifling is standard in modern guns.

Posted by: Buzzsaw at January 31, 2012 10:41 AM (tf9Ne)

Yeah, but I can shoot .22s from an unrifled barrel as well, ya?

Yes, I guess...but don't expect to hit what you are aiming at if it's over 10-15 ft away..

Posted by: garrett at January 31, 2012 10:41 AM (Vu6tR)

81 Pretty much the entire arsenal of bombs and missiles are now precision guided. The JDAMs did that in the early 90s. And just recently the APKWS II program gave precision guidance to the 70mm Hydra rockets that attack helicopters fire.

Also just recently, past 5 years or so, we added precision guidance to 155mm artillery and 120mm mortars.

All that's left are the smaller man-portable mortars (81, 60 mm), grenade launchers (40, 25mm), and large, medium, and (eventually) small-caliber bullets.

I think we'll see the smaller mortars and grenade launchers around 2020, give or take a few years.

Posted by: Clubber Lang at January 31, 2012 10:43 AM (ZPrif)

Ahhh... sooo... mythology tells us that a 20 year old Cat turns into a Witch... and a 100 year old witch turns back to a Cat...

Perhpas he's made so many laps around that he is confused?

Or... is inhabited by Cat Demons...

Posted by: Romeo13 at January 31, 2012 10:43 AM (lZBBB)

83 Still, it can't beat a good longbow.

Posted by: garrett at January 31, 2012 10:44 AM (Vu6tR)

84 Still, itcan't beat a good longbow. Longbow Apaches have Hellfires that are millimeter wave guided rather than laser - they are fire and forget. No need to maintain laser paint. So, yeah, Longbows. And probably not too long before fire and forget is available in a bullet.

Posted by: blaster at January 31, 2012 10:46 AM (7vSU0)

85 can't beat a 2000lb JDAM, either....there's some good clips on YouTube that make you think that even the Taliban would say "holy shit that was cool!"

Posted by: model_1066 at January 31, 2012 10:48 AM (YbQJm)

86 The see in the dark piercing blue eyes is really cool by the way. If he can't get chicks I'll eat my hat. By the way - in the dark sex while being able to see the girls would be pretty wicked. One could aways use a blindfolding that effect was desired.

Posted by: Random at January 31, 2012 10:48 AM (YiE0S)

87 83 Still, itcan't beat a good longbow.

Posted by: garrett at January 31, 2012 02:44 PM (Vu6tR)

Well, a really big beam needs a really big mirror... Crossbow....

But things are getting kinda weird around here, ya know?

Posted by: Lazlo T. Hollyfeld, Genius at January 31, 2012 10:52 AM (lZBBB)

88 I don't see Morons shooting any of these rounds off at the local range. 50 cal ammunition is $5/round, just think what this shit will be.

Posted by: Vic at January 31, 2012 10:52 AM (YdQQY)

89 What happens when any soldier can be made an instant sniper with guided bullets? That's gonna complicate things. As will cheap guided mortars or grenade launchers. Or cheap kamikaze drones.

A lot of potential for political instability. Long term I think portable laser defenses will have to be used to protect political leaders. But I think that tech will arrive a decade+ after the cheap guided weapons.

And once the cheap guided weapons are widely available we'll see massively expanded surveillance and investment in laser defenses. We know the laser defenses can shoot down mortar and artillery shells. And UAVs are easy targets. Could lasers shoot down guided bullets? The problem is probably aiming it in time. Probably have to find some non-mechanical mechanism to steer the laser to react in time.

Posted by: Clubber Lang at January 31, 2012 10:54 AM (ZPrif)

90 Sure, but then artificial intelligences will take over and they can worry about such things.

Posted by: Random at January 31, 2012 10:57 AM (YiE0S)

91 "taxes will increase by more than 30 percent between 2012 and
2014"

That giant sucking sound you hear? Its the US economy going down the drain. The Federal govt has become a Vampire sucking its victims dry leaving only a withered husk..

Posted by: Purple Avenger at January 31, 2012 10:58 AM (m9V7b)

92 "Long term I think portable laser defenses will have to be used to protect political leaders."

Why on earth would you want to protect those cretins?

Posted by: Purple Avenger at January 31, 2012 10:59 AM (m9V7b)

93 The Federal govt has become a Vampire sucking its victims dry leaving only a withered husk..

Posted by: Purple Avenger at January 31, 2012 02:58 PM (m9V7b)

A lot of them look Wraithlike too. Minus the cool hair.

Posted by: Rodent Liberation Front at January 31, 2012 11:07 AM (lgw0N)

94 Certainly you can shoot a bullet down an unrifled bore. Accuracy will be compromised greatly, but it is still possible.

What happens is the projectile (slightly smaller than the bore size) bounces around and exits in the general vicinity of what you're aiming at.

Lands (the name for the grooves cut in a bore) impart spin, giving stability to insure the round flies straight.

Posted by: irongrampa at January 31, 2012 11:09 AM (SAMxH)

95 The Chinese tried to bio engineer his genes into making a battalion of super soldiers but testing indicated that the soldiers were prone to sleeping 23.5 hours a day and the sound of a vacuum cleaner sent them scrambling in a mad panic.

Posted by: befuddled at January 31, 2012 11:14 AM (xJU23)

96 @92
Why would I want to protect political leaders? Because I want to live in a stable, peaceful world. Guaranteeing the safety of political leaders is an important part of that. We can look at northern Mexico or Iraq to see what it's like when political leaders aren't safe and how quickly society devolves into chaos.

But regardless of what I want, states want to protect political leaders which is why nation-states invest so much money in protecting them.

So, I think it's a good idea. But I also think it'll be done regardless of what I think.

Posted by: Clubber Lang at January 31, 2012 11:17 AM (ZPrif)

97 What happens when any soldier can be made an instant sniper with guided bullets?
-------------------------------

Being able to have a bullet track to a laser point doesn't make a sniper. Can you imagine trying to hold that laser dot on a target 1000 yards out? You will have the same problems that snipers have with heartbeat and breathing. You also have to crawl to your hide and be able to egress after the shot.

What this will solve is wind and elevation issues only.

Posted by: Vic at January 31, 2012 11:23 AM (YdQQY)

98 Anyway, gots to go for a while. bbl

Posted by: Vic at January 31, 2012 11:24 AM (YdQQY)

99 Shooting at twice the speed of sound, it's easy to get burned.

Posted by: taliban dick hiding behind a corner at January 31, 2012 11:28 AM (sHY5w)

100 @98

Long term, a computer will be able to hold the laser on the target. You'll select the target in an image and, once selected, the computer can maintain the laser on that target. This is already a solved problem in vfx and computer vision. The issue is getting a steering mechanism for the laser small and light enough to be portable. Not sure how difficult that is.

Posted by: Clubber Lang at January 31, 2012 11:31 AM (ZPrif)

101

What's his mutant name?

Posted by: Dr. X at January 31, 2012 11:38 AM (FzhYM)

102 such are the unintended consequences of bestiality...

Posted by: Affenhauer at January 31, 2012 11:43 AM (ujsIB)

103 oh, and does that bullet come in 7.62x39?

Posted by: Affenhauer at January 31, 2012 11:44 AM (ujsIB)

104 The soldier holding the laser designator need not be human. It might look like a butterfly or a wasp, or a hummingbird perhaps, or it may have crawled into a building like a snake. Lots and lots of ways to shine a light, in the city, out in the rocks, in the trees, anywhere really. The trigger-puller might even be at his/her desk in the guts of the Pentagon, or at some three-letter outfit's desks, thousands of miles away from the target. Imagination would be the only limit to a nice guided bullet system.

Posted by: And Irresolute at January 31, 2012 11:51 AM (RC3M9)

105 "so we can never perceive those colors coming from the same place.

Almost never, that is. Scientists are finding out that these colors can be seen Â— you just need to know how to look for them."

Terry Pratchett already devised a test for this in order to see his hypothetical color infra-black. I suspect red-green and blue-yellow can be seen in the exact same fashion, probably in your peripherals.

The technical term for it is infrablack. It can be seen quite easily under experimental conditions. To perform the experiment simply select a healthy brick wall with a good runup, and, lowering your head, charge. The color that flashes in bursts behind your eyes, behind the pain, just before you die, is infrablack. - Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Posted by: gekkobear at January 31, 2012 11:58 AM (X0NX1)

106 Gotta kill a few people.
Then you gotta get sent to a slam where they say you'll never see daylight again. You dig up a doctor and you pay him 20 menthol Kools to do a surgical shine job on your eyeballs.

Posted by: Riddick at January 31, 2012 11:58 AM (9pdFK)

107 Bat Boy just called, said he was there first. Russian Magnet Boy says it's a hoax. And so on.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at January 31, 2012 12:40 PM (bxiXv)

108 There was an incident in the 70s where a respected physicist was completely taken in by some Chinese 'psychic children' and their handlers. Randi got called in and quickly exposed their inability to perform under the slightest scrutiny.

Scientists are suckers for professional liars. It just isn't in their training for the lab rats to lie.

Posted by: epobirs at January 31, 2012 01:23 PM (kcfmt)

109 Self-guiding bullet? It's been tried before. Whether or not the concept works, the biggest problem seems to be maintaining the government's funding in the research. http://tinyurl.com/7x4wdc8

Posted by: Socratease at January 31, 2012 01:23 PM (vaIln)

110 www.genset-china.com

Posted by: kadin at February 01, 2012 08:06 PM (2HMCV)

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