Donuts on a rope?

Is it just me or does the linked picture look like a stage of the donuts on a rope contrail? Considering the rule held by many that the government is years ahead of public technology, could this be an explanation for the unusual donuts on a rope contrails?

optics.nasa.gov...

[Edited on 5/25/04 by xenophanes85]

MMMMMMMM.......donunts.

The image xenophanes85 refers to:




(Just to show people what is meant here)

I believe the propulsion is achieved by a laser beam. The exposure of the camera likely captured the light form the laser when it hit the bottom of the craft many times per second and superheated the air. So the doughnut trail isn�t smoke its light and not consistent with the �doughnut on a rope� con trail.





[Edited on 25-5-2004 by kinglizard]

What the heck are we looking at in that pic?

Originally posted by d1k
What the heck are we looking at in that pic?

The object on the right looks like the back of a semi-trailer.

Originally posted by groingrinder

Originally posted by d1k
What the heck are we looking at in that pic?

The object on the right looks like the back of a semi-trailer.

....agreed.

(is it some type of propulsion ?)

Looks like propulsion to me. not a lot of information on this site though at least not that I found in 2 min o looking heh.

optics.nasa.gov...

I saw something on laser propulsion a while back the discovery channel. It was something NASA was doing on experimental way to propel ships into space without massive chemical rockets.

This picture looks like that. They use rapid laser pulses to propel the object off the ground. The object gets so hot that they have to catch it with a net.

So no donuts, just lasers

Maybe the "donuts" in the picture react to something in the upper atmosphere and leave behind the contrails?

vortex studies

vortex study 2

and more

There are a lot of interesting studies out there on vortex formation.

[Edited on 25-5-2004 by HowardRoark]

This works by a laser firing on the bottom of the "craft". The air gets super heated and explodes underneath the craft propelling it upwards. This happens several times per second, launching the craft upwards!

Pretty neat stuff... could be used to lift cargo into space or as a passenger craft (craft goes way up, earth rotates, comes down in a new place)

Laser Light Craft - experiments currently ongoing at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. It pretty much works as Calculon386
said - except the plasma caused by the laser is actually what gives the craft thrust...

wouldn't this method of propulsion require hugggge amounts of energy, to move say an aircraft of some sort?

Both this system, (and speculatively Aurora) use pulse detonation propulsion. As noted by Calculon and Intelgurl, the laser superheats the air causing an small explosion not unlike lightning causing thunder.

The PDWE in Aurora forms donuts from the exploding gases of the post combustion detonation.

The laser beam approach is neat for those scientists. It shows the light "frequencies".

So, I'm kinda confused ... are most, if not all, of us in agreement that this is a a scaled down version and preliminary stage of the donuts on a rope contrails?

[Edited on 5/26/04 by xenophanes85]

Originally posted by xenophanes85
a scaled down version and preliminary stage of the donuts on a rope contrails?

OK, now I am the one confused.

This little "toy" from NASA could just be a (scaled down) "civilian" version of what the military contractors have. It could also be a glimpse of what causes the donuts on a rope contrail (preliminary stage).

You seem to be interested cma, respond if I made it easier to understand.

[Edited on 5/28/04 by xenophanes85]

en.wikipedia.org...:NB36H-2.jpg

Look familiar?