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28 votes

Data storage on marble statue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=QDF8qV-ksCs Synthetic marble, you can create it- and control the swirls. And if you can control the swirls, you can encode into the curves https://en....
Pica's user avatar
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19 votes

Data storage on marble statue

Burn sub-100 micron holes in a digital pattern. Can be read by the appropriate laser reader placed in exactly the right place. Given the size of the structure, nobody's finger could feel the existence ...
JBH's user avatar
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19 votes
Accepted

How would the "Hardness vs Toughness" dynamic of gems apply if it were possible to make shields out of them?

Toughness is more important in a shield Toughness refers to the amount of energy necessary to deform a material. A tougher material will be able to absorb harder blows without being damaged, and if it ...
Shawn O'Neil's user avatar
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14 votes

Data storage on marble statue

A shipping or ownership label on the underside. "From the collection of John Doe, catalog number 1234, date 23-08-19." Except that 1234 is the number of the safe deposit box and 230819 is ...
o.m.'s user avatar
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10 votes

How would the "Hardness vs Toughness" dynamic of gems apply if it were possible to make shields out of them?

There are several issues when designing a shield. What is a shield? It is something that protects you against some incoming weapon. It can do that by deflecting the weapon, by absorbing it, or by ...
Richard Kirk's user avatar
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7 votes

How would the "Hardness vs Toughness" dynamic of gems apply if it were possible to make shields out of them?

Would the calculus change if we went from medieval weaponry to say, cannons or modern firearms? Yes. Allow me to introduce Composite Armor - Paraphrasing - but my understanding is that you have ...
TheDemonLord's user avatar
6 votes

Data storage on marble statue

Depending on Precision available and the amount of error for reading - there's multiple ways of doing this. From Surface texture, to pattern as indicated above by Pica, to the actual relationship ...
TheDemonLord's user avatar
6 votes

Speed of light in higher-dimensional space

If there are more dimensions, it won't change the speed of light. How hyperspace works is that you shift to a space where the distance between two points is shorter. Consider a person running across ...
Robert Rapplean's user avatar
5 votes

Data storage on marble statue

It depends on a technology level, intended audience and required longevity. E.g. you could drill a hole into the base and hide a flash disk or a nfc tag inside. Or you pick up your chisel and hammer ...
Edheldil's user avatar
  • 417
4 votes

Would the discovery of a room temperature superconductor with a high critical current improve ion drives?

The real issue with things like VASIMR and other electromagnetic thrusters is not so much the rocket bit, but the amount of power it takes to operate the things. Unless you're visiting the inner solar ...
Starfish Prime's user avatar
4 votes

Data storage on marble statue

Mostly on the internet. This is possibly a frame challenge answer. The point of a hiding place for something is to distinguish between intended and unintended end users of the thing. Actually storing ...
g s's user avatar
  • 4,043
3 votes

Data storage on marble statue

Quartz Data-Storage Rods The artist of the original statue had the idea to sculpt his statue primarily out of marble, but also drilled hundreds of holes through it and slotted carefully cut pieces of ...
Ruadhan's user avatar
  • 11.8k
3 votes

Data storage on marble statue

Imbedded Cache If you had an embedded data storage system hidden in the base with a hidden wireless connection that is activated upon picking up a RFID signal. Someone with the right setting on a ...
Thorne's user avatar
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3 votes

How close to a star could a dense asteroid belt reasonably form?

There are a few misconceptions in this question. The first is that there's anything that we could call a typical stellar system, but we'll ignore that in favor of the popular idea that systems will ...
Robert Rapplean's user avatar
2 votes

Would the discovery of a room temperature superconductor with a high critical current improve ion drives?

Probably! The really cool thing about superconductors is that they have exactly zero resistance - hence the superconducting properties they have. In an ion engine, you’re dumping kilowatts of power ...
controlgroup's user avatar
  • 2,216
2 votes

How close to a star could a dense asteroid belt reasonably form?

Its mostly gravity and the outcome of planets forming or gas-giants preventing the same, that affects the stability of asteroid belts. If you look at the solar-system, some out of the way- gas giant ...
Pica's user avatar
  • 3,317
2 votes

Data storage on marble statue

As I see it, there are three basic possibilities: The artist built the secret in, to be seen contemporaneously. In this case, it might use something like "the language of flowers". A ...
David G.'s user avatar
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1 vote

Data storage on marble statue

Use a neutron beam to write your data and then use an electron beam to read it. doi:10.1016/j.radmeas.2011.12.005 I am posting an answer under duress by breaking my self imposed boycott as ...
KalleMP's user avatar
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1 vote

Would the discovery of a room temperature superconductor with a high critical current improve ion drives?

Why wait for 'room temperature' superconductors? The background temperature in space is about 2.7 Kelvin. If you shield from the sun, this is cool enough for most conventional superconductors. Don't ...
Richard Kirk's user avatar
  • 7,975

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