Historical records of WWII indicate that Germany had plans to make a death ray by using a large mirror array placed in space to focus the sun light to in a small spot on the earth. The radio receiver and targeting amplifier electronics would have been made using vacuum tubes.
What would happen to a vacuum tube operating in space? Would the heat generated by the filament damage the tube or cause it to overheat and fail?
What would happen to a vacuum tube operating in space? Would the heat generated by the filament damage the tube or cause it to overheat and fail?
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Generally, in space, tubes are more reliable, more robust and longer life than solid state. The latter being much more easily damaged by cosmic rays. If you want rad hardened chips you pay a premium.
Also, during the cold war, it was thought that USSR Migs had the edge with their tube electronics being less susceptible to damage by EMP.
So from that respect, it would probably work.
I think the major hang up for the Nazi's was to get up there in the 1st place ;-)
Jan
Also, during the cold war, it was thought that USSR Migs had the edge with their tube electronics being less susceptible to damage by EMP.
So from that respect, it would probably work.
I think the major hang up for the Nazi's was to get up there in the 1st place ;-)
Jan
Theoretically in outer space you should be able to use tubes without the annoying and fragile glass part.
If an earthling vacuum tube was powered in a vacuum, the filament heat would have very high thermal resistance and all the tube elements would reach the same temperature as the filament. Am I missing something?
If you placed a heat source inside a tremors bottle or vacuum chamber, the heat would have very high thermal resistance.
I will check back on my next orbit.
If you placed a heat source inside a tremors bottle or vacuum chamber, the heat would have very high thermal resistance.
I will check back on my next orbit.
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Given more time... Look what Werner and his merry band of Nazi rocket scientists did for the U.S. missile and space program. The launch complex at Cape Canaveral, FL is Peenemunde writ large.
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If I were building a weapon I'd simply use a StarWars Lightsabre. A few years back I had bought a toy lightsabre in Heathrow airport. It was plastic, in a bright coloured wrapper like most toys. They wouldn't let me take it on the plane. I asked British customs why not - "we don't allow replica weapons on board". I asked what it was a replica of ? the lady was having none of it. I asked her to summon her manager as I had no other luggage to check in it would be inconvenient to check in a lightsabre. I explained to the manger that the Light Sabre hasn't yet been invented and therefore this plastic toy was not a replica of any known weapon. The manager made it clear that his front line staff have absolute authority and he was fully in support of her decision. I checked it in to the hold. So you see, the Nazi's would never have got off the ground thanks to British customs.
Thank goodness the Nazi's didn't get more time. According to Arthur C. Clarke's famous October 1945 article about communication satellites, rockets the Nazi's had in the design phase at the end of World War II could already have reached about half the earth's escape velocity.
TWT
hi there: Traveling wave vacuum tubs were used for space communications satellites by USSR (Gorizonet), USA (Telstar 1 and Syncom 2).
hi there: Traveling wave vacuum tubs were used for space communications satellites by USSR (Gorizonet), USA (Telstar 1 and Syncom 2).
Indeed.
They also had a design for a jet-engined bomber (Horten H XVIII) with a cruising speed higher than a P-51s top speed and twice the bomb carrying capacity of a B17 which would have been able to reach North America. Modern computer analysis has shown that it would have worked as intended and it would have been practically invisible to radar.
Travelling wave tubes are still being used in space. Satellite design is an interesting set of challenges as you need to dump heat into space whilst stopping the sun cooking everything. Oh and have enough batteries for when the pesky earth gets in the way. Science payloads orbiting a legrange point have it easy as you know which bit is sun facing and which bit is pointing into deep space! Last I heard the biggest comsat payloads were now in the 10kW region, with over 50% of that ending up as waste heat.
Sadly as a job is loses its allure when, after 7 years working on something it blows up on the launch pad. But for freaky materials and wacky tribology its a good place to work 🙂.
The moonbeam page is interesting, but the Nazi death ray would use sunlight. It does seem difficult to think that a space lens could concentrate enough sunlight to burn up anything big, but what would stop it? Would the image of the sun from a huge lens just be too spread out?
About 25 miles from where I live used to a military research centre during the 2nd world war. They worked on things like incredibly bright lights that could be used to disorientate the enemy.
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