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Navy investing in "shock dampening" technology
by Victorino Matus, The Weekly StandardEFL'd to give you a taste; go read it all. THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE has given millions of dollars to a company you've never heard of in order to fund something called Project M, whose aim is "The Use of Modern Sensing and Actuation Technologies Coupled With High Speed Processing to Control Complex Dynamic Systems." In English, this means three objectives: "active control of vibration, active control of mechanical shock, and active control of magnetic fields." But for what purpose? To create an army of Magnetos capable of hurling large metallic objects at the enemy? Not quite. . . . . . . "Throughout history," [Rear Admiral Jay Cohen] said, "we had used rubber mounts" to reduce noise and vibration. "What all navies have traditionally done is put heavy, large cables all around the perimeter of the ship. We then pass electric currents through them to try and nullify the electromagnetic feature of the steel hulls." But what if you could drastically reduce the amount of noise a ship makes directly at the source? One small company in Alexandria, Virginia, was proposing just that. The result was Project M. Vibration & Sound Solutions Limited (VSSL) suggested placing mag-lev sensors at the source of the electromagnetic fields, such as motors. "The idea was to actually levitate the machinery with an array of electromagnets while using a small amount of power. " . . . Other applications include shock-absorbing seats for landing craft and humvees, which reduce casualties when a vehicle gets hit. Cool stuff with a high geek factor. Posted by: Mike 2006-02-23 |
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