• emizeko [they/them]
    ·
    7 months ago

    China's on a trajectory to make the same kind of technological breakthrough, imagine the panic if China suddenly demonstrated a room-temperature semiconductor with low energy requirements or, I dunno, zero point energy

    • Washburn [she/her]
      ·
      7 months ago

      I can't wait to see the reaction even when the Chinese space program puts someone on the moon for the first time in 50 years, while the US is just giving blank checks to Elon Musk, Boeing, and Lockheed.

        • Pentacat [he/him]
          ·
          7 months ago

          As a bonus, it would remove all the submarine’s unwanted hair.

        • Smeagolicious [they/them]
          ·
          7 months ago

          So am I missing something fundamental? Silent or stealth supercavitation propulsion seems extremely difficult just by its nature of creating constant explosions lol, but I am a complete layperson. I did read the take that it could be considered stealth by virtue of simply moving fast enough to use its own propulsion signature as a mask? Genuinely curious, the project sounds really cool

          • Awoo [she/her]
            ·
            7 months ago

            Isn't the point that this is removing all moving parts of the submarine? No mechanical pieces, no engine (it's nuclear), no propellor, no jet. Replaced with laser.

            It won't be completely soundless, you're always going to make some sort of sound based on displacing water. But any reduction on existing methods is going to make objects that are already incredibly hard to detect even harder.

            • Smeagolicious [they/them]
              ·
              edit-2
              7 months ago

              That's what I thought as well, I just wasn't sure if it balanced out against a cavitation based propulsion system - maybe it does(!), but idk lol. I just assumed it would be relatively easy to detect via sonar but with a very different profile obv.

              Edit*: then again, we are comparing the volume of cavitation vs a conventional submarine drive system. Could very well be that the conventional engine with more moving components is just straight up louder than bubble explosions >.>

      • Tankiedesantski [he/him]
        ·
        7 months ago

        The reaction will be incredibly racist, almost certainly starting with denial, then allegations of copying, and ending with sour grapes.

    • Tankiedesantski [he/him]
      ·
      7 months ago

      I think Huawei 5G was a mini-Sputnik Moment. China leapfrogged the US in a crucial future technology and went global with it. Key difference here is that the US spun up its science and tech sector to try to keep up with the USSR, whereas now the US is just using lawfare and sanctions to keep Chinese 5G from spreading.

      • Des [she/her, they/them]
        ·
        7 months ago

        i'm Chinas number 1 booster for this scenario and i can't wait

        break my mind BAYBEE