Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Chemistry => Topic started by: Make it Lady on 17/01/2009 17:58:18
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I have a fastination with mercury and its ability to flow at room temperature but think its properties must be underused. So can Mercury be robotic blood? Any other theoretical uses would be most appreciated.
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Mercury has one huge downside, it's poisonous. I'd say that's the main reason why it's not used i.e. in thermometers.
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But in a sealed unit, surely it could have some uses.
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I have a fastination with mercury and its ability to flow at room temperature but think its properties must be underused. So can Mercury be robotic blood? Any other theoretical uses would be most appreciated.
I don't know much about robots, but I don't think it could be used for something in there. Or you intended specifically to find a use of Hg as a veichle of chemicals or of energy or as coolant?
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Electricity?
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Mercury has one huge downside, it's poisonous.
Duh ... they're robots - so it won't matter. [^]
Mercury is a metal, so it could be used to conduct a current in a robot body rather than a wire.
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This magnetic liquid is very T-1000 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-1000#Description), (but it's iron, not mercury) ... http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UUJVxGIjclo&feature=related
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I don't think they'll get past airport security! But they'll also be very heavy, the robots that is. They would have to be very well insulated because any leaks could mean trouble.
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The European Union has banned exports of mercury from 2011, in order to cut emissions of the toxic metal into the environment. Meanwhile, the US is expected to pass legislation that would see its mercury exports banned from 2013.
Better start building NOW! [:0]
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The European Union has banned exports of mercury from 2011, in order to cut emissions of the toxic metal into the environment. Meanwhile, the US is expected to pass legislation that would see its mercury exports banned from 2013.
Better start building NOW! [:0]
Where are they going to obtain mercury for so-called eco-friendly fluorescent lightbulbs ?
Like all fluorescent lamps, CFLs contain mercury, which complicates their disposal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp
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You guess is at good as mine [:P], let me do some digging [:-X] [:-X]
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Under EU legislation adopted on September 25, from March 2011 mercury waste from industrial processes - such as the manufacture of chlorine and the production of vinyl chloride, the monomer of PVC - will be stored in steel containers in underground salt mines.
The EU chlor-alkali industry is currently phasing out its use of mercury electrodes to manufacture chlorine and caustic soda, and expects membrane technology to have replaced them by 2020.
The CFLs will probably be replaced by something else, I think...
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Why would a robot need blood?
Mercury isn't a very good conductor of electricity so I wouldn't use it for wires unless there were some really good reason.
On the other hand it might be useful for cooling things.
Since mercury dissolves quite a lot of other metals, I think that it could be thought of as poisonous from the robot's point of view.
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So you would frighten a robot with Mercury but it wouldn't be that useful for anything else?
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Mercury didn't see to harm Mr. Mercury Robot (http://www.robotisland.com/product_info.php/products_id/545)
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So you would frighten a robot with Mercury but it wouldn't be that useful for anything else?
It would be useful for stopping veichles in a road; given the density of the mercury, it would weigh as a truck... [:)]
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Anyone seen this picture?
[ Invalid Attachment ]
Now thats what you call suicide!! [:o] [:o]
Man sitting on mercury (http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Elements/080/index.s7.html)
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If you mean "robot's blood" for electronic impulses it won't really work that good. because its conductivity measure in Siemens is: 10.163s/cm compare to cooper that is 595.8s/cm and silver's 630.5 s/cm.
the power dissipated by mercury will be as much as 58 times greater than cooper and 62 times greater than silver.
for any electronic circuit we want as much efficiency as we can. [;)]
Data obtained from: http://chemicool.com/elements/ (http://chemicool.com/elements/)
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US chemists have devised a molecular mimic for an enzyme that destroys toxic alkyl mercury pollutants.
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Anyone seen this picture?
[ Invalid Attachment ]
Now thats what you call suicide!! [:o] [:o]
Man sitting on mercury (http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Elements/080/index.s7.html)
I don't think he will be walking in a straight line for a while.
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But aren't you amazed that he doesn't even sink a little bit? That is freakish!
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Haven't you ever walked on custard?
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No, I am afraid I have not Mam, is it any fun?
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Anyone seen this picture?
[ Invalid Attachment ]
Now thats what you call suicide!! [:o] [:o]
Man sitting on mercury (http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Elements/080/index.s7.html)
I don't think he will be walking in a straight line for a while.
Is it that dangerous, because I used to play with it. [:-\] [:-'(] [V] [V]
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Are you serious? You had better not be!
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Not in large quantities. My grand mother is a nurse, one day I liked the way mercury looked so i broke the thermometer and start playing with the it. [xx(]
what I remember is that it did not blend back together. Why is that?
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High surface tension. Can't you see that the man is actually sitting on mercury??? You can't possibly do that on water!
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I didn't really examined the picture in detail [:P], i would not have noticed it if u didn't have told me. tx [;)]
can you explain how to calculate mercury's tension ,and compare it to water's tension.
I like math calculations. [;D]
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Have a look at this (http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=Knov8XAyf2cC&pg=PA211&lpg=PA211&dq=Calculate+mercury+surface+tension&source=web&ots=_Ic1K9aM0G&sig=HymV5skJduDFikzCGTGEvrji4Pg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA142,M1) starting from page 142.
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And this too (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_tension) if you have time!
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ok i will. [:)]
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Don't you have to go to school?
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Not in large quantities. My grand mother is a nurse, one day I liked the way mercury looked so i broke the thermometer and start playing with the it. [xx(]
Don't worry, it didn't do anything to you (I hope you didn't swallow it, right? [:)]). But that amount of mercury could be dangerous if you let it in the pavement (or in any other place without being closed in a container) for a long time without opening the windows: its vapour tension generates dangerous concentrations of the vapour in air, with time.what I remember is that it did not blend back together. Why is that?
Because the drops' surfaces became dirty and so the drops couldn't touch effectively.
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Don't you have to go to school?
Yep. [:(]
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So why are you
wasting your time mucking around here for?
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So why are you wasting your time mucking around here for?
there are way more interesting things in here that what there are in school,sometimes. [:P]
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So why are you wasting your time mucking around here for?
there are way more interesting things in here that what there are in school,sometimes. [:P]
and is 19:34 in here [:)]
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Where is here?
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it makes sense. free surface energy and energy bindings,, comes to be like covalent bonds between atoms, right?
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What makes sense? What are you talking about?
comes to be like covalent bonds between atoms, right?
[???][???][???][???][???][???]
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GMT - 5h during Standard Time, NC USA
High surface tension. Can't you see that the man is actually sitting on mercury??? You can't possibly do that on water!
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What does that:
High surface tension. Can't you see that the man is actually sitting on mercury??? You can't possibly do that on water!
Have to do with:
comes to be like covalent bonds between atoms, right?
[???]
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is that they are sharing n/2 bonds, just like semiconductors. For example a tetravalent (silicon) is bond with a boron (trivalent) to make a extrinsic molecule.
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Sorry what? It is still not making sense. Did you read those links?
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I have not finish reading, maybe that is why. [:I]
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Well, you just get back to doing your homework and/or studying or TV or computer games etc... [:)][:)][:)]
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I'm afraid at one stage people weren't quite so aware of the problems Mercury presents. I would say about 30 years ago it was common for children to push the balls of Mercury around in a tray as part of their science lesson.
One of my lecturers was ill for a month after topping up a manometer with Mercury. He was riding home on his motorbike and suddenly lost his balance. He couldn't stand up and had to crawl along the footpath and into a pay phone. He somehow managed to ring 999 for help. He had not been told that he should take precautions with Mercury at all.
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Well, you just get back to doing your homework and/or studying or TV or computer games etc... [:)][:)][:)]
NOpe, is better to try than quit. [:P]
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That's the spirit!
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I'm afraid at one stage people weren't quite so aware of the problems Mercury presents. I would say about 30 years ago it was common for children to push the balls of Mercury around in a tray as part of their science lesson.
One of my lecturers was ill for a month after topping up a manometer with Mercury.
Do you mean that he only opened the manometer? How much time was it left opened?
Some years ago I heated with a flame some grams of Hg with some grams of tin in a test tube to speed up the formation of amalgam (no hood!), for about 1 minute; in those conditions the Hg vapours concentration in air shouldn't have been so low. I knew it was dangerous but I only took the test tube with a hand at ~ 0.5 metres from me. I didn't experience anything strange.
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I'm afraid at one stage people weren't quite so aware of the problems Mercury presents. I would say about 30 years ago it was common for children to push the balls of Mercury around in a tray as part of their science lesson.
One of my lecturers was ill for a month after topping up a manometer with Mercury. He was riding home on his motorbike and suddenly lost his balance. He couldn't stand up and had to crawl along the footpath and into a pay phone. He somehow managed to ring 999 for help. He had not been told that he should take precautions with Mercury at all.
I have sloshed enough mercury round in my time to wonder if what caused him problems was coming off his bike rather than mercury.
Did anyone actually meassure his mercury exposure?
(it's not difficult to measure Hg in urine)
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Did anyone actually measure his mercury exposure?
Are you asking about me?
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No he really did have mercury poisoning. He fell off his motorbike because it effected his balance. He was ill for months. He was quite a character. He had no eyebrows and some facial scars from burns. He was a proper mad prof.
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W(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mysmiley.net%2Fimgs%2Fsmile%2Fconfused%2Fconfused0054.gif&hash=2f775ba56a236fa0fb84648a79029689)W!
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You look a bit stunned. Are you sure that it has nothing to do with your exposure to mercury?
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You look a bit stunned. Are you sure that it has nothing to do with your exposure to mercury?
50/50. the environment in conjunction with the genes made me that way. maybe I don not have a robotic blood but i know how natural selection works.
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Okay dude, you said it.
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wow, how dare is that man~! and i cant belive that we can use mercury to use as the robotic blood, but in the future , maybe works...
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wow, how dare is that man~! and i cant belive that we can use mercury to use as the robotic blood, but in the future , maybe works...
For what?
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What man? Me? [:(]
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I think he is the one that is using too much mercury. [;D] [;D]
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Can we get back on topic. Does anyone have any sensible uses for mercury that have not already been tried. Let's say that we could make it none toxic.
Please tell me if you think this thread is "Loony" as it has been mentioned in another thread. I was trying to write some sexy threads as suggested in the other thread. Seems my efforts are not appreciated. I can't say I'm very pleased! What do you think?
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Hey, what about braking fluid? (assuming it was non-toxic)
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what about an radiation blocking suit? [:-\]
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Suit?
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Can we get back on topic. Does anyone have any sensible uses for mercury that have not already been tried. Let's say that we could make it none toxic.
Please tell me if you think this thread is "Loony" as it has been mentioned in another thread. I was trying to write some sexy threads as suggested in the other thread. Seems my efforts are not appreciated. I can't say I'm very pleased! What do you think?
Then what about a picture where you swim naked in a pool of mercury? [;)]
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Do the gallium trick on her Mr.lightarrow. [;)]
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(assuming it was non-toxic)
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[???]
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I must say that Chemistry here has become a lot sexier than it was before!
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Do the gallium trick on her Mr.lightarrow. [;)]
But she shoud monitor the pool temperature very carefully: if it goes down 29.76 °C, the liquid solidifies, and we have a statue of Make it Lady...embedded in a solid pool [;D]
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Are you sure about that temperature?
I think I would look good in silver!
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Are you sure about that temperature?
I think I would look good in silver!
You would be the vampire's martyr.
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You're upsetting her.
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Galium supercools very easily so the pool might not freeze until it was a fair bit colder than that.
Also I suspect that the molten metal would do a very good job of cnducting heat from the body so, even at 30C it might feel rather cold.
Since the metal; is roughly 6 times as dense a water and people are roughly as dense as water then about 5/6 of the person would be on, rather than in the liquid. If it froze them most of the person would be in the air and their body heat would keep the Ga that was on their skin molten. It would be messy (and very expensive) but not fatal.
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Gallium supercools very easily so the pool might not freeze until it was a fair bit colder than that.
Yes, I didn't want to get complicated...Also I suspect that the molten metal would do a very good job of conducting heat from the body so, even at 30C it might feel rather cold.
But if you swim in water at 30°C it shouldn't be much different: new water continuously removes heat from your body; furthermore, the skin and the tissues between the hot internal blood and the cold surroundings have a limited conduction coefficient, which is what, in my hopinion, actually represent the significant parameter in the heat conduction in this case. However it's an interesting question.Since the metal; is roughly 6 times as dense a water and people are roughly as dense as water then about 5/6 of the person would be on, rather than in the liquid. If it froze them most of the person would be in the air and their body heat would keep the Ga that was on their skin molten.
About this last statement I'm not so sure, just for the high conductivity of the metal; I touched a clump of 30 g of gallium and I noticed that it didn't melt until all the metal started melting. However with greater amounts it could be as you say, I cannot decide.It would be messy (and very expensive) but not fatal.
Then I propose a variant: a dive in strongly supercoold gallium: as soon as she is inside...cheese please! [;)]
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You are silver finger. James Bond beware!
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I just found this:
A Dutch physicist, H.k. Onnes found the first superconductor. In 1911, Onnes realized that mercury had no resistance at 4.3° above absolute zero
Quoted from: ISBN 978-0-07-312634-0
MIL, there is still hope. [:D]
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That was 98 years ago though...!
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heike_Kamerlingh_Onnes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heike_Kamerlingh_Onnes)
I have seem two new noble prize winners in one day: Esaki(with his tunnel) and Onnes(superconductivity). I like this [:D]
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That was 98 years ago though...!
Is still useful, the only issue would be the way to keep that temperature in the robot...
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Yes, fill it up with liquid helium.
But what is a superconducting robot (heehee) going to do anyway?
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Yes, fill it up with liquid helium.
But what is a superconducting robot (heehee) going to do anyway?
with some i7 processors it may be able to bake some cakes.
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An orchestra?
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Yes, fill it up with liquid helium.
And for how many minutes can the robot operate before it heats up from the environment? [:)]
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You don't get the joke about the orchestra?[:D][:D]
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Yes, fill it up with liquid helium.
And for how many minutes can the robot operate before it heats up from the environment? [:)]
Depends where you put it.
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You don't get the joke about the orchestra?[:D][:D]
No [:I]. Explain please.
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Yes, fill it up with liquid helium.
But what is a superconducting robot (heehee) going to do anyway?
Did anyone realize that at 4.3 K the Hg is not exactly fluid?
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You don't get the joke about the orchestra?[:D][:D]
No [:I]. Explain please.
I said before: "what is a superconducting robot going to do?" and the answer: an orchestra...
Another meaning of conduct is to lead a group of musicians or a musical performance (i.e, orchestra) by signalling the beat with a baton or hand gestures, giving cues, and offering suggestions for interpretation or expression.
Geddit now?
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You don't get the joke about the orchestra?[:D][:D]
No [:I]. Explain please.
I said before: "what is a superconducting robot going to do?" and the answer: an orchestra...
Another meaning of conduct is to lead a group of musicians or a musical performance (i.e, orchestra) by signalling the beat with a baton or hand gestures, giving cues, and offering suggestions for interpretation or expression.
Geddit now?
Yes. [;D]
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Yes, fill it up with liquid helium.
But what is a superconducting robot (heehee) going to do anyway?
Did anyone realize that at 4.3 K the Hg is not exactly fluid?
At what point would the conductivity be stop? does the high surface tension give it elasticity?
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Why, it is a robot. Why does it need elasticity?
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because vibration causes semi-solids to tear apart. If that happen the mercury will not conduct so good, and with loose conductors overheating issues would hurt the robot.
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No.
With loose conductors the orchestra loses its rhythm.
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And then the robot will be hurt.
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I'm very pleased with this turn of events. I had not thought about superconductivity. This is why this topic was not loony! The whole point is to try and solve problems in an idea that seems unfeasible.
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I'm very pleased with this turn of events. I had not thought about superconductivity. This is why this topic was not loony! The whole point is to try and solve problems in an idea that seems unfeasible.
You mean something like: "given the fact we have found a robot with mercury as blood in an alien's spaceship, what should it be used for?" ?
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I'm very pleased with this turn of events. I had not thought about superconductivity. This is why this topic was not loony! The whole point is to try and solve problems in an idea that seems unfeasible.
You mean something like: "given the fact we have found a robot with mercury as blood in an alien's spaceship, what should it be used for?" ?
Maybe they do not have termoregulated structures in their dermis, and they might not have a hypothalamus. so they use the dilatation of the mercury to control their temperature. [:P].lulz [;D] [;D]
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No.
With loose conductors the orchestra loses its rhythm.
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And then the robot will be hurt.
+1
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Probably a complete waste of a post, but -
HILARIOUS.