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How do you responsibly test something like this? The payload isn't going to follow a ballistic trajectory, it's going to follow an aerodynamic one. You'd probab
by hinkley 2mo ago
How do you responsibly test something like this? The payload isn't going to follow a ballistic trajectory, it's going to follow an aerodynamic one. You'd probably have to design something special to load into it to aim the damned thing.
Which is a road trip to some place very empty in something like a 180º arc. Maybe 225º.
- thot_experiment 2mo agoIt's shooting 3d printed balls, I imagine they don't stay supersonic for very long. Significantly less dangerous to others than driving a car.
- hinkley 2mo agoYou'll shoot your eye out, kid.
- thot_experiment 2mo agoIt's absurdist to be concerned about this and be okay driving a car from a total harm to society perspective.
- earleybird 2mo agoMerry Christmas
- hinkley 2mo agoHeartily disagree. It's the Frankenstein problem. As an engineer, if you can't even start a process with sobriety, rigor, and safety in mind, that cavalier attitude only amplifies as you go down the road from experimentation to design to unleashing your ideas onto the public. It's a harbinger of what is to come if you're being a suicidal idiot during the prototyping phase. If you don't even have respect for your own safety...
- thot_experiment 2mo agoIn terms of safety to me and others this endeavor is far below what is societally acceptable and if you think otherwise you are bad at evaluating danger.
- nojvek 2mo agoYes. That’s why he does it in a large open field where there are no eyes in vicinity. He has a trigger mechanism where he is standing several feet away from the side. And he uses light weight biodegradable plastic instead of steel balls. Most of his projectiles land in the ground not too far away. Responsible engineering.
- dofm 2mo agoHe has fairly specific mechanically timed release control over it — within 0.5 degrees. But he also used an extremely lightweight ball projectile — a few grams of 3D printed plastic — because he was only interested in the launch speed. And he pointed it in a direction where there were no people for miles.
- RevEng 2mo agoHe explains that the field he is shooting towards is over 5km of empty field. He also started his tests with much lower weight and speed to ensure proper behavior before getting up to full speed.
- myself248 2mo agoVery early in the video, he explains that while previous builds used steel ball-bearings, that's not responsible at these energy levels, so he switches to lightweight balls made of biodegradable plastic. There's comparatively little energy in the projectile after release, and it's only supersonic for a few feet. Further, you test in an enormous empty field, as he's doing.
- glitchc 2mo agoOne possibility is to mount the trebuchet on a tiltable platform and tilt it to a suitable elevation, say 45 degrees.
- rtkwe 2mo agoWhy? The release angle is fully controlled by design of the mechanism if you wanted to fire it into the ground for safety you could just advance the release timing by a few degrees.
- Razengan 2mo ago> How do you responsibly test something like this? Into the ocean, I would hope
- hinkley 2mo agoSir, the orcas have declared war on California.