@MifuneT: I really find that very unlikely.

@wagnerrp: I know all this. I was curious whether energy density of batteries even makes the idea feasible.

@andrew_berge: We have those already, they're called lasers. :)

I was curious about the energy requirements of such a system, so I did a few napkin calculations. Panasonic recently started selling a new high energy Li-Ion cell that's about the same size as a AA battery. A rough calculation shows it has the same energy as a 100 rounds of .45 ammo, or 25 rounds from an M16. The only…

@burnblue: The Canadian media and distribution companies that control the rights to the music are a decade behind everybody else.

@leonardlow: [iopscience.iop.org]

@Martian Yeti: ... and make less money, since they can no longer sell the quad core chips at a premium to people who are willing to pay. Intel are a business not a charity.

@vinod1978: It is a marketing blunder, I absolutely agree. It's a sad fact that people tend to be very irrational.

@KBlack: As I said in my reply to Martian Yeti, this is only true when they first introduce a manufacturing process. And you're not likely to find a budget chip like this Pentium on a cutting edge process (although on that point I'm speculating).

@rototrack: Don't be an idiot.

@Martian Yeti: Lower production yields is only the case at the beginning of production. As the fabs work out the process kinks for a given process, and yields improve, the distinction becomes artificial.

@UberRob: It's not the Kuiper belt. The influence of the kuiper belt would be observed on other celestial objects.

@topher.peter: That would also influence large celestial bodies, i.e. planets and moons.

@Gary_7vn: Well, three. The weak nuclear force and the electromagnetic force are actually the same force.

@Sprzout: All analogies are flawed. The purpose of an analogy is to reproduce key aspects of situation or circumstance into a different context, to help people understand the underlying dynamics without the original emotional context clouding their judgement.

@Les Mikesell: It has nothing to do with monopoly.

@redman042: Nothing wrong with that if they market them as 4 bangers.

Intel and AMD have been selling you crippled chips for years. Most low-end chips you buy are the exact same as the high-end counterparts, but with functionality limited, or disabled.

@yah5: Actually, AMD do. They just don't let you unlock them.

@quangry: We did, in 1958. It's called Project Orion. Back in the day when you could talk about nuclear propulsion without hippies getting their panties in a wad.