Z-5 Analog Abstract Generator

[buffo]

I think I've been away from this sport for too long. Tell me again what FLEM stands for (sounds sort of phlegmish), where is it, how long does it last, etc??

Hehe...

FLEM = Florida Laser Enthusiast's Meeting. (I prefer to pronounce it as "fleem", with a long E, but most people call it "phlegm" because it sounds gross, and gross is always funny, right?)

Anyway, FLEM is one of many Laser Enthusiast's Meetings that are held all over the place. Unlike some of the larger events (like SELEM, or South Eastern Laser Enthusiast's Meeting), FLEM is usually just a one-day event. (Though we always set everything up the evening prior and usually geek out late into the night after setup is complete, so that stretches it out to a day and a half I guess.)

The next FLEM will be held on Saturday, March 1st, 2014 in Tavares, Florida. We will set things up on Friday night, February 28th, starting at around 4 PM, and as I mentioned above we will probably hang around and geek out all night. But Saturday morning, starting at 9:30, we will kick of the official event. It normally runs until around midnight or so.

Tavares is about 50 minutes by car from Orlando. (It's off to the North West.) The event will be held at the Triangle Boat Club meeting hall, which is right off Hwy 441 in downtown Tavares, just before the dead river bridge. There is a Holiday Inn Express hotel within walking distance (on the other side of the bridge), and most people will be spending the night there. (They give us a $20 price break on the rooms because so many people stay there.)

I'll be in America until the first week in April and if you guys are going to be there, it sounds like something I really should attend.

When will you be arriving? Will you be in-country in time to make it to Tavares by March 1st?

If not, then we can probably arrange a second meet at a later date that might better coincide with your travel plans. Unlike some of the larger LEMs, the ones in Florida are really easy to set up.

I intend to publish the P-4 manual here for all you folks, but the Z-5 has a few extra features which will involve a bit of a re-write. Not a lot, though.

Please take your time. I'm sure it will be worth the wait!

I wish my photo of Edward Teller jamming on the P-4 hadn't burned in the fire. Would have been a great advertisement.

Wait - THE Edward Teller? As in the father of the hydrogen bomb? Holy crap dude! How did you ever manage to meet him in person? Let alone get a picture of him operating a console? (Disclaimer: I'm a former Navy Nuc, so physics is sort of my thing, especially nuclear physics...)

Adam

[AshMcFadden]

I'm in-country right now. I've been watching it snow in Colorado since Thanksgiving. Guess I need to figure out how to get to Orlando the cheapest way (probably PSA from Denver?) and rent a car when I land.

I'll get my copy of the original manual sent to me from Ireland soonish and publish it here, then update it to a Z-5 manual after I get my hands on a Z-5.

And yes, THE Edward Teller. One of the laser magazines staged a trade show in Tahoe in...uh...I think it was about 1988-1990 and American Lasers from SLC wanted something spectacular in their booth, so I set up a P-4 and scan head on one of their lasers and put the P-4 out front where anyone could walk by and play with it, keeping the scanner amp gain down to where nobody would damage anything. Teller was one of the speakers at the event and he was walking around, looking at the trade show booths, and came across me. He caught onto the P-4 pretty quick and spent probably ten minutes, transfixed, playing with it.

[buffo]

I'm in-country right now. I've been watching it snow in Colorado since Thanksgiving. Guess I need to figure out how to get to Orlando the cheapest way (probably PSA from Denver?) and rent a car when I land.

Well, I did some checking... If you fly Southwest Airlines (they fly Boeing 737's) out of Denver, your air fare will run you around $250 round trip, assuming you fly in to Orlando late in the evening on Thursday, Feb 27th and fly back out late in the evening on Sunday March 2nd. That seems to be the absolute cheapest option, but it adds a day to your trip.

Frontier Airlines (they fly Airbus A319's) has a non-stop flight that arrives on Friday in the afternoon and leaves on Sunday mid-morning, which might work better for you if you don't plan to spend any extra time in Orlando. Flying Frontier will cost $288, but you'd save a night in the hotel, so it's probably cheaper overall. (That's also assuming Denver to Orlando.)

All the other airlines I checked were more expensive, but the average seems to be around $350 or so. I used Orbitz.com for most of the airlines, but to check Southwest you have to go through their website.

Note that rental cars over a weekend are usually quite affordable, since you normally only have to pay for a single day to get a car for the whole weekend. Worst case though, I'm sure we can arrange to pick you up at the airport if we have your flight information. (Several other members are flying in for this event.)

I'll get my copy of the original manual sent to me from Ireland soonish and publish it here, then update it to a Z-5 manual after I get my hands on a Z-5.

If you can make it to the Florida Laser Enthusiast's Meeting, you'll have your chance to get your hands on a Z-5!

And yes, THE Edward Teller. <snip> Teller was one of the speakers at the event and he was walking around, looking at the trade show booths, and came across me. He caught onto the P-4 pretty quick and spent probably ten minutes, transfixed, playing with it.

That is seriously cool. I've obviously never met the man, but I've watched many interviews of him on various documentaries over the years. Amazing guy. A bit eccentric, to be sure, but still amazing. I'm terribly envious that you got to meet him in person!

Adam

[AshMcFadden]

"A bit eccentric" ain't the half of it. He was disappointed that we didn't use nuclear weapons in Korea and during the cold war. His proposed X-Ray Laser was a one-shot device using a shaped nuclear detonation around a sacrificial laser rod. Imagine a few thousand of those in orbit. Then there was his plan to excavate an artificial harbour in Alaska using nuclear explosives. The man really was Dr. Strangelove. Add to that the fact that he was responsible for getting Oppenheimer booted, something for which the general scientific community never forgave him, add in his hawkish disposition; he became a pariah, feeding solely on defence contracts. I put aside my dislike for the man for the sake of decorum and a photo op.

[glorocks]

I did a banquet in Houston TX back in '82 for the ASCE. We did "dinner beams". The key speaker was Nick Holonyak, who got the first visible laser diode working. He actually had a LD chip mounted under a piece of quartz mounted in a ring, which he was extremely proud of.
When you meet people like this, the "I'm not worthy" line comes immediately to mind.

[buffo]

"A bit eccentric" ain't the half of it. He was disappointed that we didn't use nuclear weapons in Korea and during the cold war.

Given how enamored he was with thermonuclear technology, it's not all that surprising that he wanted to see it used. But I agree, his hawkish disposition put him at odds with the rest of the scientific community, even if at the time it was a commonly held political viewpoint among the general public.

His proposed X-Ray Laser was a one-shot device using a shaped nuclear detonation around a sacrificial laser rod.

I've read a bit about proposed orbital-based, nuclear-pumped X-ray lasers (mostly as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative), but I don't remember any of them that used an actual rod. Most of the ones I remember had a capilary tube filled with a low-pressure noble gas (Neon, Argon, and even Radon, I think?) and operated at insanely high ionization levels (like Argon +8, and so on) with no real resonator to speak of. And yeah, it was a one-shot device. The idea being that you "target" incoming MIRV's by aiming a bunch of capilary tubes in the general direction of the incoming target, and then you trigger the device which fires all cavities simultaneously, a split second before the entire device is destroyed by the resulting detonation. Seems like a bit of a kludge, but how else are you going to generate coherent x-rays right?

Then there was his plan to excavate an artificial harbour in Alaska using nuclear explosives. The man really was Dr. Strangelove.

Wasn't he also the one behind the Pan-atomic canal idea? Yeah, "operation plowshare" had more than a few crazy ideas. Dr. Strangelove indeed! But again, we're talking the 1950's here. The political (and moral) climate back then was quite a bit different than it is today.

Add to that the fact that he was responsible for getting Oppenheimer booted, something for which the general scientific community never forgave him, add in his hawkish disposition; he became a pariah, feeding solely on defence contracts.

I had forgotten about that. He had no love for Oppenheimer, that's for sure, and that whole affair was really petty of him. It's a shame that he didn't see the error of his ways later on. I guess by then he was too entrenched in his own mantra to go back. Pity.

Still, he is a fascinating character. I wouldn't have passed up the chance for a photo op either, even considering his decidedly right-wing political views.

Adam

[AshMcFadden]

Adam,

I substituted "rod" for "capillary tubes" - just being sloppy - and you're right, there were to have been more than one per device.

I think he was probably associated with the Pan-Atomic Canal, too.

I could have put up with him as a "mostly harmless" and mildly entertaining anachronism, but for what he did to Oppenheimer.

[DZ]

That would be really awesome if you could make it to FLEM, Ash! You'd probably get to see 2 of these consoles working. I'll bring mine and should have Brad's console completed by then as well. Just got the email that the panel shipped yesterday and I have the circuit board finished.

[AshMcFadden]

I'm already checking air fares.

[Bradfo69]

Wow!! A combination of getting a console along with hands on lessons from the master and builder would be incredible! Talk about a value added proposition to this purchase!

REALLY looking forward to FLEM!!