3 ms·

"During the second test, the projectile snagged before fully entering the rails and was partially reduced to a molten spray of vaporized aluminum. This issue wa

"During the second test, the projectile snagged before fully entering the rails and was partially reduced to a molten spray of vaporized aluminum. This issue was resolved for future launches with looser fit tolerance." For me a machine that can create a molten spray of vapourised aluminium (fixed spelling) is actually almost as interesting as a rail gun. :-) Dear FBI, purely for artistic purposes.

yk 11y ago
Best thing about this railgun is the optical effect. The spark shower looks like a really cheesy science fiction movie.
thechao 11y ago
The discovery of the elements is an interesting story. Even better, is all the craziness surrounding the naming of the elements! There are two (classical) naming methods for elements we care about for this story: those elements whose names end in -ium (strontium, gallium, et al), and those elements whose names end in -um (platinum, tantalum). Humphrey Davy (the discover of Al) originally use aluminium (1808) but, later, switched to aluminum (1812); the latter spelling became his preferred spelling. The British objected to the -um variant, and insisted on -ium. Davy (himself) seemed to consistently choose the -um variant after 1812. When the mass production of Al became feasible (another great story!) the inventor (... or, most effective capitalizer, I guess), used the -um variant; this happened in North America. Since that was the effective product name, it became the most commonly used variant in North America. Now, which is correct? The answer is: both! While I only have a few examples to look at, the dictionaries I have admit both spellings are used, and note which spelling to use in which circumstance, i.e., aluminium in Britain, and aluminum in North America. In fact, for some programs if your English locale is US then 'aluminum' is recognized as the proper spelling, and 'aluminium' is marked as 'misspelled'. However, switching your locale to UK, the opposite is true!
- dpark 11y ago
  The original name given was not "aluminium" (nor "aluminum"), but "alumium". Wikipedia confirms this and provides citations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium#Different_endings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium#Different_endings The story I've heard is that Davy started with "alumium", but added the "n" because the pronunciation was deemed too awkward, yielding "aluminum". Others pushed for "aluminium" because it sounded more consistent with other elements' names.
  - thechao 11y ago
    Unfortunately I can't edit my post; I would add that I am repeating a story I have heard---it is broadly the same as Wikipedia, as you point out. I am certainly not an authority!

yk 11y ago

Best thing about this railgun is the optical effect. The spark shower looks like a really cheesy science fiction movie.

thechao 11y ago

The discovery of the elements is an interesting story. Even better, is all the craziness surrounding the naming of the elements! There are two (classical) naming methods for elements we care about for this story: those elements whose names end in -ium (strontium, gallium, et al), and those elements whose names end in -um (platinum, tantalum). Humphrey Davy (the discover of Al) originally use aluminium (1808) but, later, switched to aluminum (1812); the latter spelling became his preferred spelling. The British objected to the -um variant, and insisted on -ium. Davy (himself) seemed to consistently choose the -um variant after 1812. When the mass production of Al became feasible (another great story!) the inventor (... or, most effective capitalizer, I guess), used the -um variant; this happened in North America. Since that was the effective product name, it became the most commonly used variant in North America. Now, which is correct? The answer is: both! While I only have a few examples to look at, the dictionaries I have admit both spellings are used, and note which spelling to use in which circumstance, i.e., aluminium in Britain, and aluminum in North America. In fact, for some programs if your English locale is US then 'aluminum' is recognized as the proper spelling, and 'aluminium' is marked as 'misspelled'. However, switching your locale to UK, the opposite is true!

dpark 11y ago
The original name given was not "aluminium" (nor "aluminum"), but "alumium". Wikipedia confirms this and provides citations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium#Different_endings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium#Different_endings The story I've heard is that Davy started with "alumium", but added the "n" because the pronunciation was deemed too awkward, yielding "aluminum". Others pushed for "aluminium" because it sounded more consistent with other elements' names.
- thechao 11y ago
  Unfortunately I can't edit my post; I would add that I am repeating a story I have heard---it is broadly the same as Wikipedia, as you point out. I am certainly not an authority!