Guess We'll have to Stop making fun of Scotty in STIV

[Ranger REG]

There are lots of things inspired by Sci-Fi movies and writings. The computer interface used in The Minority Report is being developed based solely of it being seein in the movie. A holographic interface that adjusts based on hand positions using gloves.

You mean like in TekWars TV movies (based on novels written by William Shatner) which came out before the Cruise-infested The Minority Report?

 

[DreadPirateMurphy]

I want to start seeing transparant (or at least semi-trasparant) cans of Coca-Cola.

I would have thought that Crystal Pepsi would have the first transparent cans...

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

It is a ceramic, by the very nature of that it must be brittle. Now you have to have a perspective what brittle actually means. It means you don't get much yielding before failure. The stuff is undoubtedly quite hard and likely takes a beating to get a crack started, but cracks will go once they start. The thing about composites though, is that they do a great job of allowing different materials to cover the properties of others. I suppose it is possible that the substance is transition stabilized, which can reduce fracture propagation, but I couldn't find any articles back this up. for the moment I'm assuming it's a composite.

Now difficult to scratch is in no way counter to being brittle. Generally in fact, things that are very hard (which means difficult to scratch) are brittle.

buzzard

Ah, I think I see the distinction now.

 

[Fast Learner]

There are lots of things inspired by Sci-Fi movies and writings. The computer interface used in The Minority Report is being developed based solely of it being seein in the movie. A holographic interface that adjusts based on hand positions using gloves.

I just want to note that I and a friend built just such an interface in 1987 using, effectively, two Theremins, and had sprites moving on screen in three dimensions.

Computing power was so poor that we never took it beyond that, but you don't even need gloves for moving things about.