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Colonel Philip J. Corso

Not all revolvers require cartridges...I have a few that are cap & ball, & they use loose black powder & a patched round ball...
 
Ravenwood said:
Not all revolvers require cartridges...I have a few that are cap & ball, & they use loose black powder & a patched round ball...
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I know. I was hoping he would shed some light on which type he was referring to so I would know what other technology would be necessary.
 
Sledge said:
Who the where the what now?
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I read Corso's book a long time ago,and must admit I was intrigued,I am now anxiously waiting, with baited breath, for a glimmer of a Science Fiction movie to appear, starring well-known actors,and directed by a famous Sci-Fi Film Director of such magnitude as to make this whole story totally believable,using special visual effects and real alien bodies [a la Area 51 ].
 
MrBooglemaumau said:
I read Corso's book a long time ago,and must admit I was intrigued,I am now anxiously waiting, with baited breath, for a glimmer of a Science Fiction movie to appear, starring well-known actors,and directed by a famous Sci-Fi Film Director of such magnitude as to make this whole story totally believable,using special visual effects and real alien bodies [a la Area 51 ].
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They did that already, it was called "Independance Day", it was about America saving the rest of the world from the bad guys while at the same time stereotyping other nationalities, the same as every other Blockbuster american movie. Only this time it was aliens, not Nazis or Japs or germs or ghosts or dinosaurs or moral dilemmas, who were the bad guys. Jeff Goldblum was in it, well he's in all of them isn't he
:degrin:

ohhhh wait
:D
 
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FattyCatty said:
They had something similar to this in a science fiction series by Eric Flint and David Drake, the Belisarius series. Of course, they were given information by a time-travelling "magic" being.:)
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Well if you give me an AI capable of explaining all the stages in building advanced tech I could probably do it. Of course it'd have to be able to figure out how to get the resources to create the infrastructure to get the resources to create the infrastructure to get the resources to create the infrastructure to get the resources to create the infrastructure to get the resources to create the infrastructure to get the resources to create the infrastructure.......to build the devices. And survive in the meantime.

Chris L said:
From the smell after it went off, they might guess the sulfur part, and the color might suggest charcoal, but the potassium nitrate would be a total mystery.
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Assuming it was using black powder. If it was a modern weapon with nitro-powder ammunition they wouldn't even have that much to go on with.
I'm not aware of any usage of saltpetre by the Romans for any purpose so it's unlikely they'd be able to replicate black powder. The Chinese were using various pyrotechnics around the first century CE so if the Romans learned of this they might be able to duplicate black powder.
Of course if someone showed the Romans how to construct niter-beds they'd be able to produce it in quantity....

Not all revolvers require cartridges...I have a few that are cap & ball, & they use loose black powder & a patched round ball...
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True and a loose powder/paper cartridge weapon with separate caps would be far more likely to inspire our putative Romans to experiment with firearms. I still can't see them making their won percussion caps without detailed instructions.
 
Dr Adequate said:
Kevlar. was invented by Stephanie Kwolek
The silicon chip was invented by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce
Night vision was invented during WWII, before the Roswell incident
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Actually, John Logie Baird had a version of night vision in the thirties, arguably his only actual invention in the field of television. He called it 'noctovision', and it can be found, along with a lot of misinformation as well, by google. Basically he substituted a detector sensitive to infrared light for the visible light photocells in use in the mechanically scanned television cameras of the day. He had some brief interest from the military, which died out when his claims for it turned out to be mostly hype. He had claimed it could see for miles, and penetrate mist and fog, but it could actually see for about as far as the infrared spotlight (an arc lamp behind a black filter) could penetrate, which was about far enough to make some cool studio shots. He also hyped a future version which he said would use radio waves, but it never actually materialized, otherwise he'd have a claim to radar as well.
 
Marduk said:
They did that already, it was called "Independance Day", it was about America saving the rest of the world from the bad guys while at the same time stereotyping other nationalities, the same as every other Blockbuster american movie. Only this time it was aliens, not Nazis or Japs or germs or ghosts or dinosaurs or moral dilemmas, who were the bad guys. Jeff Goldblum was in it, well he's in all of them isn't he
:degrin:

ohhhh wait
:D
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That was an awful movie,even by Hollywood's standards.
 
FattyCatty said:
They had something similar to this in a science fiction series by Eric Flint and David Drake, the Belisarius series. Of course, they were given information by a time-travelling "magic" being.:)
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I'm four or so into his 1632 series... what a great way to use (and appreciate) your fan base. I don't think Drake is involved in this one (hope Drake hasn't passed on, I'd look the fool).
 
JamesMG said:
I'm four or so into his 1632 series... what a great way to use (and appreciate) your fan base. I don't think Drake is involved in this one (hope Drake hasn't passed on, I'd look the fool).
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The Belisariius series is fun too. The ancient Byzantine/Romans aren't exactly reverse engineering future weapons, as they have no physical samples. Rather, they attempt to create the "technologies" after having been told it can be done; some of the theory is explained in a simplified way. The problem is figuring things out without having all the science/knowledge developed in the time between the present and the future.
 
Marduk said:
They did that already, it was called "Independance Day", it was about America saving the rest of the world from the bad guys while at the same time stereotyping other nationalities, the same as every other Blockbuster american movie. Only this time it was aliens, not Nazis or Japs or germs or ghosts or dinosaurs or moral dilemmas, who were the bad guys. Jeff Goldblum was in it, well he's in all of them isn't he
:degrin:

ohhhh wait
:D
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I thought it was Mars Attacks? :eek:
 
manxman said:
Why couldnt the romans shoe a horse then.
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As has been said the Romans did have horseshoes (hipposandals). In fact the first recognisable metal horseshoes start to appear in Roman times, as early as the first century CE, because of the hard surfaced all weather roads that the Roman empire built.
These 'hipposandals' actually resembled sandals, hence the name, and were strap on plates.
Recognisably modern type shoes that were nailed to the hoof were around by the eighth to eleventh centuries CE. Both these and the 'hiposandals' were mostly constructed of cast bronze rather than iron.
Iron horseshoes did not dominate the field until the thirteenth/fourteenth centuries CE.
 
Gawdzilla said:
And you'd have to reverse engineer the cell towers, the satellites, the batteries, and all the other infrastructure. (Well, you would HAVE TO do the billing system.)
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It would never work. There hadn't been fluoride in the water for long enough to make people stupid enough to accept long term contracts with huge cancellation fees. :D
 
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