It is time again here at Atomic Toasters to test your mettle against the challenge that is Quixotic Quantum Quandary! Our particular and peculiar object is a fine musuem piece, not a mystery object of my own possesion. In fact, to have one of the limited number of these in your personal collection would be quite the accomplishment. Sure, it’s well used and worn, and was basically a one trick pony, but I doubt many of us would turn down the chance to have one.
The images you see here are but a small piece of the larger puzzle, however I think they do an excellent job of encapsulating just what it happens to be.
If any of you friendly frequenters of the Quandary have some ponderable particulars that you would care to share, a little tidbit of forgotten technology, please send some photos my way! Just email HycoSpeed@gmail.com and throw Q³ in the subject line so I’ll see it.
It's the steam powered Racing Wheelchair of Doom from the 1870's.
I'm not sure what it is, but it certainly looks like it was inspired by bees.
<img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2628/4209406825_4a9bcde890.jpg" width="500">
"…they do an excellent job of encapsulating…."
True.
Excellent job! The knowledge around here never ceases to impress. The Q³ happens to be Apollo 12, on display at the Virginia Air and Space Museum in Hampton, VA.
<img src="http://atomictoasters.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Q3-No30-Apollo-Answer.jpg" width=500>
<img src="http://atomictoasters.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Q3-No30-Apollo-Answer-2.jpg" width=500>
That looks like a piece of wood that the blue metal (?) thing is mounted on in your first picture. Did they use wood in the Apollo capsules?
I had a professor who was pretty involved with the Soviet space program, back when there were still Soviets. He showed our class some slides of the Mir before it had launched, and several classmates with NASA experience commented that US craft would never be permitted to make such extensive use of wood in the interior, but none of those guys were old enough to have worked on Apollo missions.
Still, the picture above is probably of an exterior surface, and wood isn't a material likely to survive re-entry temperatures.
Sigh.That's what I get for reading this stupid blog when I should be sleeping. Thanks for pointing that out.
You could use wood on the inside easily enough. It would not be impossible. In theory you might be able to make a capsule out of wood but while it could possibly survive the heat of reentry due to how wood char's and insulates itself to protect the inner hard wood. I think the other forces involved would more then likely tear it apart…
I suppose that means the label written after the flight is a historic example of Encapsulated PostScript.