What is Digg?406 Comments
- sockpuppets, on 10/12/2007, -6/+499It's obviously a thermal detonator.
- Terc, on 10/12/2007, -7/+488RTFA?
"SC Wrote:
Hello, Roger.
I just came across your metal orb on the internet. I know what it is. First, take note of the fact that a second interior sphere exists within, and that it is space roughly 1/2 inch from the outer walls. That is clue #1.
Second, the welded metal cap on the outside is clue #2.
The circular structures between the inner and outer tanks is clue #3.
The inner sphere was spaced from the outer sphere for insulation. The welded cap is where a hard vacuum was pulled with a vacuum pump and the cap welded on to prevent leakage. This forms a cryogenic storage device known as a Dewer flask. The sphere is a cryogenic storage tank that uses a vacuum insulated jacket to prevent the warming of the material stored inside. The circular structures are spacers that keep the inner tank from hitting the outer tank.
Now, the clamp with the Phillips screw is a grounding point where this crygenic tank would have been fastened to a larger assembly. If you examine the underside of the clamp, you may be able to identify some small quantity of copper there, where the grounding cable would have been pulled free.
The handle is the mounting point for the tank, and is also referred to as a hard point.
The X-ray images show serpentine plumbing that winds about and comes back near the interior surface- this is a clue that the tank was meant to function in microgravity. Gas bubbles would tend to cluster in the center and fluids would stick to the interior. The fittings with the wire or metal rod sticking out are pretty typical air fittings meant to connect to pressure lines. One set would provide pressure into the core of the tank (see the metal cylindrical structure in the X-rays) and the others would allow material to be drawn out of the tank. Usually, the lines themselves would be stainless steel braid exterior lines; often they would also be vacuum insulated.
It is very likely that this is titanium. This is clearly the cryogenic storage tank for a spacecraft. It would have held either liquid helium for cooling a sensor or it would have contained liquid nitrogen for the same purpose, as well as use as a pressurized gas propellant. Many satellites will use LN2 as the material for small thrusters, as it boils into a vapor and provides reaction for movement or orientation control.
I seriously doubt if this was a fuel tank, bcause the amount of fuel or oxidizer is might have carried is small. However, it clearly has undergone reentry. It might have done so inside the body of a larger craft, which would prevent a great deal of heat damage. Being buffeted by the outer shell or debris, as well as the high pressure shock waves on reentry, is what collapsed the surface and dented it in.
So what you have is a cryogenic storage tank from a spacecraft that reentered the atmosphere- once again, most likely used for liquid nitrogen or helium.
I am a fairly regular guest with Art Bell myself and recognized the structure of the tank immediately. I have worked for years in aerospace and debris from space vehicles often contains odd or unusual shaped objects. This is due to the conditions under which they must function, and the limits on space and mass that any spacecraft designer has to work with." - Innagadadavida, on 10/12/2007, -52/+365I for one welcome our new metallic orb overlords.
- ccanni1028, on 10/12/2007, -41/+349Terc told us what it is from the article, so there is only one question left.
Will it blend??? - jsg7, on 10/12/2007, -8/+252Ah! So THAT's where I left it...
- felchdonkey, on 10/12/2007, -13/+228Alright, someone do the ***** "blend" joke and we can all move on...
- frant1c, on 10/12/2007, -23/+219This part is essential: "There is a series of 3 tubes going from top to bottom which are inside each other." That, and the fact that it is found in Texas, makes it clear to me that it is a small-scale model of the Internet custom made for George Bush to understand the concept easier.
- Dpack1, on 10/12/2007, -13/+203Metal Orb discovered... France Surrenders
Sorry Felchdonkey, i couldnt resist :D - thelynx, on 10/12/2007, -11/+150The very last comment on that page seems to be the most plausible. He concludes (with relative confidence) that it was a component of a spacecraft that went through reentry:
-------------------------------------------- Comment Taken From Page----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello, Roger.
I just came across your metal orb on the internet. I know what it is. First, take note of the fact that a second interior sphere exists within, and that it is space roughly 1/2 inch from the outer walls. That is clue #1.
Second, the welded metal cap on the outside is clue #2.
The circular structures between the inner and outer tanks is clue #3.
The inner sphere was spaced from the outer sphere for insulation. The welded cap is where a hard vacuum was pulled with a vacuum pump and the cap welded on to prevent leakage. This forms a cryogenic storage device known as a Dewer flask. The sphere is a cryogenic storage tank that uses a vacuum insulated jacket to prevent the warming of the material stored inside. The circular structures are spacers that keep the inner tank from hitting the outer tank.
Now, the clamp with the Phillips screw is a grounding point where this crygenic tank would have been fastened to a larger assembly. If you examine the underside of the clamp, you may be able to identify some small quantity of copper there, where the grounding cable would have been pulled free.
The handle is the mounting point for the tank, and is also referred to as a hard point.
The X-ray images show serpentine plumbing that winds about and comes back near the interior surface- this is a clue that the tank was meant to function in microgravity. Gas bubbles would tend to cluster in the center and fluids would stick to the interior. The fittings with the wire or metal rod sticking out are pretty typical air fittings meant to connect to pressure lines. One set would provide pressure into the core of the tank (see the metal cylindrical structure in the X-rays) and the others would allow material to be drawn out of the tank. Usually, the lines themselves would be stainless steel braid exterior lines; often they would also be vacuum insulated.
It is very likely that this is titanium. This is clearly the cryogenic storage tank for a spacecraft. It would have held either liquid helium for cooling a sensor or it would have contained liquid nitrogen for the same purpose, as well as use as a pressurized gas propellant. Many satellites will use LN2 as the material for small thrusters, as it boils into a vapor and provides reaction for movement or orientation control.
I seriously doubt if this was a fuel tank, bcause the amount of fuel or oxidizer is might have carried is small. However, it clearly has undergone reentry. It might have done so inside the body of a larger craft, which would prevent a great deal of heat damage. Being buffeted by the outer shell or debris, as well as the high pressure shock waves on reentry, is what collapsed the surface and dented it in.
So what you have is a cryogenic storage tank from a spacecraft that reentered the atmosphere- once again, most likely used for liquid nitrogen or helium.
I am a fairly regular guest with Art Bell myself and recognized the structure of the tank immediately. I have worked for years in aerospace and debris from space vehicles often contains odd or unusual shaped objects. This is due to the conditions under which they must function, and the limits on space and mass that any spacecraft designer has to work with. - gert2, on 10/12/2007, -20/+1421. Find metal orb.
2. ???
3. Profit!!! - fkuall, on 10/12/2007, -10/+131yes, but does it run linux?
- lowerlogic, on 10/12/2007, -27/+145Does it blend?
Ok, I'll shut up now. - theprototype, on 10/12/2007, -11/+125It's a piece from The Hatch. The Others will be looking for that pretty soon...
- ad0beaddict, on 10/12/2007, -4/+96it's clearly a flux capacitor
- Spamiclese, on 10/12/2007, -15/+107"I am a fairly regular guest with Art Bell myself ..."
I wish he had put this statement at the top of his post and not at the bottom because that's where I stopped reading. - generalleoff, on 10/12/2007, -3/+82I'll bring up another old one. It's Chuck Norris's left testicle.
- bobmagoo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+77i don't know what it is, but i'm pretty sure that finding out requires hitting it with a hammer repeatedly
- bobmagoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+61@RandomGuySteve
"Half of us have better things to do with out time, and the other half are blubbering idiots."
well kudos to you for trying to bridge the gap - Dpack1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+53http://www.duggmirror.com/hardware/Hey_Digg_What_is_this_Weird_Metal_Orb/
Site wouldnt load for me, looks like DM caught most of it though. - succubuskiller, on 10/12/2007, -1/+48It is not a piece of the shuttle since the Columbia disaster was on February 1, 2003 while this was found in July 2002.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_disaster - kylesellers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+47It's nice to see that aliens are using Phillips head screws. That'll make it alot easier for us when we start integrating their technology into our own.
- healy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+44All your orb are belong to us!
- locusto03, on 10/12/2007, -3/+43What would Brian Boitano do?
- admadan, on 10/12/2007, -9/+49There's only one way to find out.....Some one pass me the Sawzall
- crazybrit, on 10/12/2007, -2/+39Everyone, stop downloading the sphere! It's clogging the tubes!
- gargantuan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+34Whatever the hell it turns out to be, I give it five days before the japanese figure out a way to ***** it and start selling replicas to horny japanese 'thing' lovers.
- picciano, on 10/12/2007, -2/+36If it has the numbers 4, 8, 15, etc., DON'T OPEN IT!
- Zoshchenko, on 10/12/2007, -3/+36Whatever you do, don't say "Klatu Barada Nikto" anywhere near it!
- flipmeat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+34Two words: Antiques Roadshow.
OP should keep researching. If the original vehicle can be identified, flown space hardware is fetching good money at auction these days. If you make a post at www.collectspace.com, you might get a pretty quick answer. - member57, on 10/12/2007, -5/+37Here's an oldie...
How about a Beowolf cluster of these..!.. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+31becareful, this sphere will manifest your thoughts and dreams...
- edzieba, on 10/12/2007, -1/+32@gert2
I think we can now reliably replace the 2nd unknown step with 'blend it'. - Kale, on 10/12/2007, -24/+52Perhaps from the last shuttle disaster? They found debris for miles.
- Sputtnik, on 10/12/2007, -2/+29@stoppedcode12
From http://digg.com/users/Sputtnik/profile:
Member Name:
Sputtnik
Real Name:
[none entered]
Location:
[none entered]
AIM/Yahoo/MSN/ICQ/gTalk:
[none entered]
My Website:
[none entered]
Member Since:
September 5, 2006
Inform yourself first. - Sputtnik, on 10/12/2007, -2/+29yes? who's calling?
- SkippyDoorknob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+26MechaGodzilla egg.
- bmeckel, on 10/12/2007, -13/+38well obviously its an alien spacecraft that wants to eat you alive, pfff, no biggie, i see these all the time.
- tHePeOPle, on 10/12/2007, -1/+25Looks like someone went a little crazy and used more than the recommended 1.21 Jiga-watts.
- Darthmalt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+23now if we can just figure out where the mac interface port is we can wipe out their entire fleet.
- bostonyankee, on 10/12/2007, -1/+23MY PRECIOUS!
- fyre2012, on 10/12/2007, -12/+34OMG they found my TinFoil (tm) hat!!!!
- fak3r, on 10/12/2007, -2/+24"Oh my God! It's full of stars!"
- picaman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20It's an Illudium PU-36 Explosive Space Modulator.
That creature has stolen the space modulator!
Delays, delays. - panique, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20pwned
- RedDogPaPi, on 10/12/2007, -3/+22Remember the movie The Iron Giant? When he expoded at the end?
That's one of it's robo-testicles. - WombatControl, on 10/12/2007, -3/+22That would have been my guess, but it was found several months before the Columbia disaster. It's definitely looks like a piece of space hardware, but it could have come from anywhere...
- uberdesigner, on 10/12/2007, -5/+23"I am a fairly regular guest with Art Bell myself"
there's your 10lb grain of salt - ShaunS, on 10/12/2007, -10/+28That is clearly the Autobot Matrix. If you can find a way to open it you will become Chaosmachine Prime!
- Alphateam, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20I totally believed this guy until he said he was a caller from Coast to Coast.
I'm thinking "This is too detailed to be B.S."
But knowing the people that call Art Bell they can make up some GREAT B.S. and make it sound good.
Oh well. - licoricewhip, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19Chuck Norris lost a testacle.
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