[LAD] OT: alternative fuel for cars [was: Re: Car engine sound emulation for future electic cars. ideas ?]

[Fons Adriaensen]

On Tue, Aug 05, 2008 at 10:08:59PM +0700, Patrick Shirkey wrote:

> So should we only be interested in this kind of stuff if it comes from a 
> reputable mega corporation

No. But this provides some insight in why you want to believe
this: because it's not coming from that angle but 'alternative'.
In both cases you just blindly believe on 'authority'. Which is
of course very comforting if you desperately want something to
believe in this bad world, and it's why many people are religious.

> or institute of higher learning

In that case you're never asked to believe something on
the basis of some video, or on authority. If it's science,
it will build on previous results that have been verified,
usually over and over, and that are logically consistent.
You can, with some effort, learn these things and verify
them for yourself. Science was 'open source' before the
term existed - it's the essence of it.

> affiliated and funded by said reputable mega corp?

Private funding of scientific research is a problem, but
does not invalidate it as long as it follows the rules
of science.

> If you don't watch the videos then you should not comment
> on the validity of the results.

Why not ? The accumulated body of knowledge of physics,
of which I know some parts, and some others on this list
probably a lot more, weights in much more heavy than a
video. If I send you a video on which you see my head
turning 720 degrees while my shoulders remain fixed,
would you believe it ? Maybe you would, starting from
the idea that anatomy and medical science must be evil,
since the latter is funded by some large private firms ?

Anyway, nobody is contesting the videos. You can make
water explode (done it myself), as you can make explode
anything you want, by putting enough energy in it.
That doesn't mean the water provides any energy. In
other words these videos are completely irrelevant.

Is there any of them in which the experimenters
provide a calculated or measured balance of the 
energy they put in and what comes out ? If not
they are just amusement.

Ciao,

-- 
FA

Laboratorio di Acustica ed Elettroacustica
Parma, Italia

O tu, che porte, correndo si ?
E guerra e morte !