DVD killed the VCR

[AdamW]

unfortunately, producing a gamma ray laser in the first place would take enormous amounts of energy,

Just a bit! Thought I would scribble down just how much, so using the Planck equation, the energy of each photon would be as follows

IR 780nm: 2.55 X10^-19 J

Blue 405nm: 4.90 x 10 ^-19 J

Gamma rays 10^-14m: 1.99 x 10^-11 J

Now that gamma ray photon is about 80 million times as energetic as that IR photon. AFAIK detectors usually measure the intensity of radiation (photons per second) rather than the energy carried by those photons. That means that you will have 80 million times as much energy received by the sensor. CDs and DVDs use a 5mW laser to read, so let's just scale that up: we end up with a 400W laser. 400 watts. In a laser. Ouch! And to write to CDs and DVDs I seem to remember something about a 20mW laser, so factored up that would be a 1600 watt write laser.

Of course there are always things that can be engineered out, you could make the sensors 80 million times more sensitive! Fortunately there is very little in the way of background gamma radiation (the atmosphere shields us quite well), so there wouldn't be too much outside noise.

 

[AdamW]

But then again, you would probably vapourise the disc

 

[mildmanneredjanitor]

but I would much rather spend £200 on a good quality system

You can't get a good quality system for £200.....

I'm suprised Ban,

but of course my statement above is subjective what I consider good quality may of course be very different to what you consider good quality to be...

Of course if I had more to spend on toys...

Reminds me of a recent conversation with a couple of friends, one of which has a Rolex (can't remember which model) but it has been progressively becoming more and more innaccurate and was quoted a couple of hundred pounds to have it serviced... . Now, I was under the impression that a watch like a Rolex was good quality (not even covered by a lifetime guarantee!)... Think I'll stick with the Rotary

 

[AdamW]

Well, a £5 quartz digital watch will keep time more accurately than a Breitling or Rolex mechanical watch.

Even the Caesium clock is inaccurate compared to the Strontium clock they are going to build (I think at Rugby or Teddington)

My dad bought one of these integrated surround sound systems for about £200. I despaired, but when I listened to it I would have to say it isn't at all bad. Certainly sounds far more than 10% as good as my £2000 separates surround system!

Does your stereo hover like in the picture MMJ?

 

[2scoops0406]

But then again, you would probably vapourise the disc

It's worst than that, the ratio of spontaneous emission radiation to stimulated emission radiation is exponentially dependent on the frequency of the radiation, so lets consider an old IR laser DVD player operating at a laser frequency of approx 10^14 Hz with a power consumption of approx 30W (for arguments sake we'll say that the entire 30 Watts is used for the laser) in order to provide a gamma laser DVD player frequency > 10 ^19, operating with the same gamma emission density as the IR DVD player, you would need approximately 30^5 Watts of energy or about 3 Mega watts. Coupled with the fact that Gamma ray can't really been reflected, I reckon those pesky engineers are gonna be busy bunnies.

Is it any wonder why when people prattle on about lasers as wepons, the power required to do this is absoluelty phenomenal.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

but I would much rather spend £200 on a good quality system

You can't get a good quality system for £200.....

I'm suprised Ban,

but of course my statement above is subjective what I consider good quality may of course be very different to what you consider good quality to be...

In the light of these differences over 'standards' does anybody have a view on the price of this pair of speaker cables I spotted in a brochure recently:
Kimber Select KS-3038 11ft(3,4m) £8,435!!!!!!!
Well, they are silver!

 

[mildmanneredjanitor]

In the light of these differences over 'standards' does anybody have a view on the price of this pair of speaker cables I spotted in a brochure recently:
Kimber Select KS-3038 11ft(3,4m) £8,435!!!!!!!
Well, they are silver!

Nothing standard about that! I would expect gold at that price! tho my wife would argue cos 'silver is so pweety'

Of course there are some people who just have to have the best, because that's just what they do. I doesn't matter that they never lower the roof or go over thirty miles an hour in their 200 mph prestige convertable, it's just that that's the best model.

I expect that some people consider paying that much for cable in the same manner I considered paying 200 notes for my stereo (was actually 230 i think?) It's all relative I suppose.

 

[planenut]

Crikey, and after all that i'm only just understanding how a fuse works!
That is, if when it's worked, it's no longer working, or is it?

I'll just wind up the gramophone and relax with me 78's.

 

[AdamW]

It's all relative I suppose.

Certainly. Two years ago I was having a conversation with some senior chap from my company after a rather splendid meal in Paris... Well, I thought it was splendid, he sat back and said "The oysters were c**p, that wine was bland and the meat was tough." I mentioned I had been to a rather nice restaurant the previous week. He said "Really, how much did that set you back?.... £80 for TWO people? Including wine? £80 wouldn't buy ONE starter in my favourite restaurant!"

At first I thought it a bit rude, but then I realised that he didn't mean any malice by it, he was just a gastronome who was willing to pay extortionate prices for a good dinner.

There is usually a point where spending twice as much does not give you a discernible difference. In a blind taste test an £80 starter is unlikely to taste any better than a £40 starter. But paying £80 for a starter is half the fun for some people. You impress the lady opposite, and the next time you are on the brandy and cigars with the directors you can mention "Oh, have you tried that <exclusive> new restaurant?". The fact that the meat came off a standard cow and was cooked by the commis chef is of no concern to them!

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

Looks like it's going to be an expensive week, 'cos I've got to get four the bu**ers!

 

[AdamW]

I'll just wind up the gramophone and relax with me 78's.

What, albums from 1978?! That's positively pre-historic!

"Do you want woofers with that? How many watts?"

 

[mildmanneredjanitor]

"Do you want woofers with that? How many watts?"

Not The Nine O Clock classic!!!

Remember, "Fiat - built by Roberts"

"ere Bob, pass me the hydraulic spanner - No, Bobs got it" etc...

Even better when your whole family consists of "'Bobs"

Bobs your uncle...

 

[TexMex]

Eddie, Gamma Ray lasers? surley they would be called Grasers. But if you're going to use Gamma Rays, you can focus them by other means. Black holes spew Gamma rays in tight beams for millions of miles out of thier poles. It seems to be a self perpetuating magnetic field that does the job of focussing the beam.

So all you need do is place a small black hole in the gubbins, and feed it with any raw material, and it will spew forth a tightly focused Gamma Ray beam. Another handy side effect of this technology, is that the time gets disrupted in close proximity to a black hole. You would therefore be able to record a signal, even before it arrived at the record head.

If this effect is too big, you will have no choice what you record. You will only see recordings that have not been made yet. Any recordings that you make yourself will have come out of the record head before the DVD recorder was invented and therefore be lost. Playing back a recording will reveal what future generations decide to record for you in centuries to come.

Actually I may have this effect the wrong way round. In which case your first attempt to record a dvd with this technology, may inadvertantly capture the first ever issue of corronation street. In which case, the extra resolution would be totally wasted, as the cameras of the day were only capable of monochrome, and the sound was recorded using scratchy analogue mono.

This technology would make the use of large power supplies totally redundant. All you need is a decent supply of matter to feed the hole. So another advantage could be the end of ground fill sites for waste disposal. Just feed all your houshold waste into your DVD drive and let the black hole convert it into a gamma ray for recording corronation street.

Building regs would also have to be upgraded to take account of the extra weight in your hifi. They may even insist that you provide a second black hole directly opposite your dvd recorder on exactly the other side of the earth, just to keep things balanced and prevent the earth wobbling on it's axis.

 

[mildmanneredjanitor]

"The oysters were c**p, that wine was bland and the meat was tough."

You can't buy class and sophistication...

I'm not fortunate enough to be able to enjoy eating in such establishments, but if one day I am, hopefully I will enjoy it without the need for crass statements like these.

But if you are ever in this neck of the woods send me an email and I'll give you the details of a absolutely fantastic family run restaraunt.