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Thursday, February 07, 2008

rick, this one is for you

i thought it was cool
Scientists to launch paper planes from space
Theory is paper craft may escape worst of friction and heat on re-entry

By Yoko Kubota
KASHIWA CITY, Japan - A spacecraft made of folded paper zooming through the skies may sound far-fetched, but Japanese scientists plan to launch paper planes from the International Space Station to see if they make it back to Earth.
On Wednesday the University of Tokyo researchers tested small, origami planes made of special paper for 30 seconds in 482 degrees Fahrenheit heat and wind at seven times the speed of sound. The planes survived the wind tunnel test intact.
The theory is that paper craft, being much lighter than space shuttles, may escape the worst of the friction and heat that much heavier space shuttles face on re-entry to the atmosphere..........


my question is this: if the origami planes DO make it back to earth and they hit someone or something, would they cause damage?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Coincidentally, this one is already in my posting queue . . . it'll show up in a week or two or three, because I keep pushing it back.

Unknown said...

i can't wait! i didn't know you queued so far ahead. i knew you did it, but i thought it was only one day

Anonymous said...

I have a few stories waiting in the queue - usually science, art, or politics - that I move around a little here and there. I try not to write stuff that's too time sensitive (which is why I appreciate your site so much - it's full of stories and commentary about things happening today!).

For example, my top 10 movie lists are done for the next two Wednesdays - Sci-Fi first, Gangster movies after that. It keeps me in fresh content daily, but not scrambling to write it all at the last minute.

Of course it's 3:00 AM and I'm just now starting my Friday Writing Exercise post, so it doesn't always work out for me.

Unknown said...

i thought only i kept odd hours