OT: Stellar tech to ignite big-bang project

[Parker, Ron]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jeremy Fowler [mailto:jfowler at westrope.com]

> Also, the F-117A fighter is suspected of having "hybrid
> propulsion and lift technologies, utilizing conventional 
> thrust for public
> take-offs and landings, but switching to antigravity mode for 
> extended cruising
> range, for lightning-fast maneuverability, and for shrouding 
> the airframe in
> invisibility (by having its local counter-gravity field bend 
> light around the
> airframe)".

...
> Than again, I could just be talk'n out my ass. ;-)

That would leave a bad taste in your mouth.

But seriously, I am assuming this whole thread is a joke.  I've worked with
the guy that ran the 32Ki-processor Thinking Machine used to design the
F-117.  The biggest issues were in optimizing the shape to minimize the
radar cross section across a number of frequencies.  Just a hint at the
scale of the computations they ran, you try dividing two 75,000 x 75,000
element matrices to compute the radar backscattering going on.

Just for fun, they used to run real-time full screen ray tracing scenes
during down time, streaming the output at I think 60fps to their drive
array.