That, and the system has to be able to push 125 amps to the heater.

The only instance where I think electrical heating would make sense would be to have a pre-warmer that's in the heater core, itself. CONOPS - Start vehicle on cold day, press button for pre-warming, electrical element turns on and heats up coolant within the heater core, switches to regular coolant-based heating as…

So, most electric space heaters that are worth a damn are 240v, and have pretty high current draws. For something as small as a car, sure, you could use a smaller heater, but even those that are designed for small rooms are 1500 watts. At 120v, that's 12.5 amps. At 12v, that's 125 amps.

In cars like my Mustang, where the carpet is separated by a full center console that reaches the back seats, the left and right pieces should be separate, removable as needed. I'm usually the only person in my car, so the passenger side rarely gets dirty. It makes no sense that I can't just pull the driver's side,…

While electrical heating for the car would be nice (my Mustang takes like ten miles of driving before I have heat), the electrical draw would be HUGE, and would require larger and larger alternators, which would increase drag on the engine, which would lower fuel economy. The system currently used, where engine…

They're no easier to sink than a DDG or CG, but they don't have sufficient defensive weaponry to protect themselves (or the fleet) against airborne weaponry. Their decks could have easily been rebuilt with steel, rather than teak, and they have FAR greater waterline armor than any other ship afloat, currently. That…

Don't get me wrong, the Iowas were the most badass ship to have ever fired a gun in anger. I've been aboard the Missouri, and can't impress upon people enough at the enormity of those 16" main guns. That said, the time for capital ships like those was in the past. Smaller, more efficient, and more importantly,…

An aircraft carrier is a very different beast than a normal surface combatant. The Nimitz-class carriers actually have a full complement of close to 6,000, whereas the Ford-class will be closer to 4,000. Numerous advances have been made in ship automation, so you can remove a large portion of the complement and…

I'm not sure if you're joking or not, but each of the Iowa-class BBs required 3,000 sailors to man and operate. The Navy is going smaller, and using fewer sailors, and will not go back to ships that require that kind of manpower. Besides the fact that they're over 70 years old, and have been museum ships for the…

Way to ruin the fun, asshat.

I wouldn't doubt it! I can't believe that no one wanted to turn Sea Shadow into a museum ship. That's one of the saddest things ever.

Yes, it is! I worked for Lockheed Martin for almost eight years, and wish I could have worked in an organization as light and nimble as Skunk Works did. Now, I'm an engineer/manager for a much, much, much smaller company, and I'm trying to implement some of Kelly Johnson's more salient points on management and the…

Nice story, but not likely the Sea Shadow. I'm just finishing 'Skunk Works' by Ben Rich, former head of Skunk Works, and he has part of a chapter dedicated to the Sea Shadow and its development and testing. Among the things he notes, other than Kelly Johnson's (in)famous 15th rule ("Starve before doing business with…

I'd love it if the D-21 drone were photoshopped into this picture!

No, but cute != work.

The speed of light in a vacuum.

Jalop as fuck. Someone buy this person a beer.

I lived in Philly for four years, and commuted out to Bryn Mawr, King of Prussia, and Malvern for co-ops for a year of those four. I then lived on the other side of the bridge, in Mount Laurel and Cherry Hill, NJ, for a little over seven years. Philly has the worst drivers. The worst. Nowhere else on the planet…

Yep, no doubt. I interpreted their post incorrectly, anyway. People would be apoplectic if that car crashed, though there is a big contingent among us that think that cars are meant to be driven, regardless of pedigree.

Hmm...now it's working. Damn Nibbles.