The Great American Jet Pack

The Great American Jet Pack PDF Author: Steve Lehto
Publisher:
ISBN: 1613744307
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
A history of jet packs and related devices, explaining how the technology arose, how it works and why we don’t have them in our garages today.

The Great American Jet Pack

The Great American Jet Pack PDF Author: Steve Lehto
Publisher:
ISBN: 1613744307
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Get Book Here

Book Description
A history of jet packs and related devices, explaining how the technology arose, how it works and why we don’t have them in our garages today.

The Great American Jet Pack

The Great American Jet Pack PDF Author: Steve Lehto
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
ISBN: 1613744331
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Tracing the remarkable history of a certain kind of flying machine—from the rocket belt to the jet belt to the flying platform and all the way to Yves Rossy's 21st-century free flights using a jet-powered wing—this historical account delves into the technology that made these devices possible and the reasons why they never became commercial successes on a mass scale. These individual lift devices, as they were blandly labeled by the government men who financed much of their development, answered man's desire to simply step outside and take flight. No runways, no wings, no pilot's license were required. But the history of the jet pack did not follow its expected trajectory and the devices that were thought to become as commonplace as cars have instead become one of the most overpromised technologies of all time. This fascinating account profiles the inventors and pilots, the hucksters and cheats, and the businessmen and soldiers who were involved with the machines, and it tells a great American story of a technology whose promise may yet, one day, come to fruition.

Jetpack Dreams

Jetpack Dreams PDF Author: Mac Montandon
Publisher: Da Capo Press, Incorporated
ISBN: 0306815281
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
A hilarious pop-socio-cultural history of the greatest invention that never was, the jetpack, and a participatory journey through the bizarre subculture of jetpack enthusiasts in search of a working model

Military Review

Military Review PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Military art and science
Languages : en
Pages : 828

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Book Description


The Physics and Astronomy of Science Fiction

The Physics and Astronomy of Science Fiction PDF Author: Steven D. Bloom
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786470534
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
The great scientific, astronomical and technological advances of the 20th century inspired the science fiction genre to imagine distant worlds and futures, far beyond the discoveries of the here and now. This book explores science fiction films, television series, novels and short stories--from Lost in Space (1965-1968) to Fringe (2008-2013) to the works of Isaac Asimov and Stephen Baxter--with a focus on their underlying concepts of physics and astronomy. Assessing accuracy and plausibility, the author considers the possibilities of solar system, interstellar and faster than light travel; intelligent planets, dark (anti-) matter, the multiverse and string theory, time travel, alternate universes, teleportation and replication, weaponry, force fields, extraterrestrial life, subatomic life, emotional robots, super-human and parapsychological powers, asteroid impacts, space colonies and many other topics.

American Murder Houses

American Murder Houses PDF Author: Steve Lehto
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0425262510
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
There are places in the United States of America where violent acts of bloodshed have occurred. Years may pass—even centuries—but the mark of death remains. They are known as Murder Houses. From a colonial manse in New England to a small-town home in Iowa to a Beverly Hills mansion, these residences have taken on a life of their own, gaining everything from local lore and gossip to national—and even global—infamy. Writer Steve Lehto recounts the stories behind the houses where Lizzie Borden supposedly gave her stepmother “forty whacks,” where the real Amityville Horror was first unleashed by gunfire, and where the demented acts of the Manson Family horrified a nation—as well some lesser-known sites of murder that were no less ghastly. Exploring the past and present of more than twenty-five renowned homicide scenes, American Murder Houses is a tour through the real estate of some of the most grisly and fascinating crimes in American history. INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS

May the Armed Forces Be with You

May the Armed Forces Be with You PDF Author: Stephen Dedman
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476622868
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
Science fiction and the United States military often inhabit the same imaginative space. Weapons technology has taken inspiration from science fiction, from the bazooka and the atomic bomb to weaponized lasers and drones. Star-spangled superheroes sold war bonds in comic books sent to GIs during World War II, and adorned the noses of bombers. The same superheroes now appear in big-budget movies made with military assistance, fighting evil in today's war zones. A missile shield of laser satellites--dreamed up by writers and embraced by the high command--is partially credited with ending the Cold War. Sci-fi themes and imagery are used to sell weapons programs, military service and wars to the public. Some science fiction creators have willingly cooperated with the military; others have been conscripted. Some have used the genre as a forum for protest. This book examines the relationship between the U.S. military and science fiction through more than 80 years of novels, comics, films and television series, including Captain America, Starship Troopers, The Twilight Zone, Dr. Strangelove, Star Trek, Iron Man, Bill the Galactic Hero, The Forever War, Star Wars, Aliens, Ender's Game, Space: Above and Beyond and Old Man's War.

The Imagineers of War

The Imagineers of War PDF Author: Sharon Weinberger
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0385351801
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 502

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Book Description
The definitive history of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Pentagon agency that has quietly shaped war and technology for nearly sixty years. Founded in 1958 in response to the launch of Sputnik, the agency’s original mission was to create “the unimagined weapons of the future.” Over the decades, DARPA has been responsible for countless inventions and technologies that extend well beyond military technology. Sharon Weinberger gives us a riveting account of DARPA’s successes and failures, its remarkable innovations, and its wild-eyed schemes. We see how the threat of nuclear Armageddon sparked investment in computer networking, leading to the Internet, as well as to a proposal to power a missile-destroying particle beam by draining the Great Lakes. We learn how DARPA was responsible during the Vietnam War for both Agent Orange and the development of the world’s first armed drones, and how after 9/11 the agency sparked a national controversy over surveillance with its data-mining research. And we see how DARPA’s success with self-driving cars was followed by disappointing contributions to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Weinberger has interviewed more than one hundred former Pentagon officials and scientists involved in DARPA’s projects—many of whom have never spoken publicly about their work with the agency—and pored over countless declassified records from archives around the country, documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, and exclusive materials provided by sources. The Imagineers of War is a compelling and groundbreaking history in which science, technology, and politics collide.

The Rocketbelt Caper

The Rocketbelt Caper PDF Author: Paul Brown
Publisher: Superelastic
ISBN: 147642618X
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
A True Tale of Invention, Obsession and Murder. When three men set out on a quest to build a real-life Buck Rogers-style flying machine, their obsession with the Rocketbelt 2000 shattered their friendship and set in motion an astonishing chain of events involving theft, deception, assault, a bizarre kidnapping, a ten million dollar lawsuit and a horrifically brutal murder.

What is the Future?

What is the Future? PDF Author: John Urry
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745696570
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
Thinking about the future is essential for almost all organizations and societies. States, corporations, universities, cities, NGOs and individuals believe they cannot miss the future. But what exactly is the future? It remains a mystery – perhaps the greatest mystery, especially because futures are unpredictable and often unknowable, the outcome of many factors, known and unknown. The future is rarely a simple extrapolation from the present. In this important book, John Urry seeks to capture the many efforts that have been made to anticipate, visualize and elaborate the future. This includes examining the methods used to model the future, from those of the RAND Corporation to imagined future worlds in philosophy, literature, art, film, TV and computer games. He shows that futures are often contested and saturated with different interests, especially in relation to future generations. He also shows how analyses of social institutions, practices and lives should be central to examining potential futures, and issues such as who owns the future. The future seems to be characterized by 'wicked problems'. There are multiple 'causes' and 'solutions', long-term lock-ins and complex interdependencies, and different social groups have radically different frames for understanding what is at stake. Urry explores these issues through case-studies of 3D printing and the future of manufacturing, mobilities in the city, and the futures of energy and climate change.