Mythbusting, Tuesday, 8/18

[tyler_gone]

By classic handwavy email arrangement, class today met in one of the labs at Stark Industries. And if they were there in part so Tyler could keep an eye on Tony, he would never, ever admit it.

"Welcome to Tony Stark's lab," Tyler greeted the class. "The management has told me to make it known that if you break or steal anything, you should assume Tony Stark owns your soul. He will claim it painfully and very, very slowly."

His smile showed teeth and wasn't very nice.

"We're here to build a perpetual motion machine in a real-world lab. Perpetual motion machines are devices that produce more energy than they consume. Now, physics say a perpetual motion machine won't work -- it violates a couple laws of thermodynamics. That doesn't stop idiots from trying to make and sell them as 'free energy' machines. Your job is to try to invent the first working perpetual motion machine. In an hour. If it were possible anywhere, it would be possible in this lab."

He quickly showed the students around the lab, enumerating tools, circuits, computers with only basic functions accessible, and the projector. "This will let you test your design," he said, showing a quick demonstration with a drawing of a drinking duck thing.

... never let it be said he lacked a sense of whimsy.

"To give you a head start, I'm passing out blueprints for a few kinds of machine. We have the ring oscillator, the Minto wheel, and the water fuel cell. As far as I know, none of these work, but you should try building them anyhow."

He gestured to the lab. "Go to it. I'm here and Tony's around to claim your soul if you mess anything up. And Ino, Anemone, thank you for covering last week."

Comments

Re: Design! [8/18]

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"What the hell fun is that?" Katchoo demanded. "Geez, I hate technology sometimes."

Re: Design! [8/18]

[thatsamilkshake]

"You like it when it plays your mp3's for you," Francine teased.

Re: Design! [8/18]

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"That's different." Look out -- Katchoo was about to go on a rant, and luckily she hadn't actually perfected the art of destroying things with a look or she'd have to be cloned for the amount of soul-owning the look she gave the machinery would entail. "That's helping me appreciate someone else's creativity, not taking the whole frikkin' creative process away from them!"

Re: Design! [8/18]

[thatsamilkshake]

"Maybe some people just like to come up with ideas and make somebody else put them together?" It didn't sound all that fun to Francine either, if she thought of it in terms of, say, cooking.

Re: Design! [8/18]

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"Well, it's stupid." Katchoo had her teeth set in the idea now, and much like an overly determined pitbull wasn't about to let it go. "It's like . . . like . . . blasphemy, almost."

Re: Design! [8/18]

[thatsamilkshake]

"Maybe we should stay away from the projector so we don't get struck by lightning, then."

Or accidentally touch it and break... something. Anything.

Re: Design! [8/18]

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

"That's why I'm staying riiiiiiiiiiiight here," Katchoo informed her solemnly.

Re: Design! [8/18]

[thatsamilkshake]

"Right here sounds pretty good to me," Francine said, plopping down by her side.

Re: Design! [8/18]

[thismaskiwear.livejournal.com]

Katchoo gave her a sidelong glance and grinned. Not a for-a-given-relative-value-of-Katchoo grin; an actual one. "Pretty good just got upgraded to great."