or at least, boat-related...
The recent installation of 216 state-of-the-art electronically-controlled wave boards has made this the most sophisticated scientific wave-testing basin of its size in the world. Scaled-down fiberglass models, cruisers the size of canoes, ride waves that max out at a few feet high. But it’s the motion of the ocean that matters. The hinged wave boards, each with its own motor synced up to software, can precisely recreate eight ocean conditions (from flat calm to typhoonlike) across all seven seas, pushing the water and moving up and down like giant piano keys whose scales and chords are waves.
The Navy tests models in the basin to be sure that billion-dollar ships will float before it builds them, but also to assess whether sailors can launch missiles and land helicopters in particular circumstances, and how vessels handle with a full tank versus running on fumes. Pitch, roll, sway, heave, acceleration, displacement—the calculations alone are enough to make you queasy. (via)
thx lube!
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