h a l f b a k e r yRenovating the wheel
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Hide Offshore Wind Farm
Hide offshore wind farm from view by day using lights to allow structures to blend with skyline. | |
A proposal to build the world's largest wind farm off Cape Cod is meeting opposition because residents don't want a horizon filled with wind turbines. If lights directed shoreward are fastened to the machinery out there and if these lights are adjusted so that their light is equal to the background
light being blocked by the structure then the structure will blend with the background sky and not be seen. This technique was used in WW2 by anti-submarine aircraft and allowed them to get much closer to a surfaced submarine before being seen. This technique might someday be used off the California coast where offshore oil drilling has been halted partly because residents don't want their view spoiled and partly for fear of an oil spill.
NY Times Article
http://www.nytimes....onal/14cape.html?th
Not so sure this link will work [hangingchad, Nov 16 2004]
Dazzle painting
http://www.gotourin...rticles/dazzle.html
Make big things disappear by making them more obvious [wagster, Nov 16 2004]
Popular Science Article
http://jmrc.tripod....tealth/stealth2.htm
Hiding in Plane Sight - Describes use of lights to hide aircraft. [hangingchad, Nov 18 2004]
(?) Optical Camouflage
http://projects.sta...ts/MEDIA/xv/oc.html
Just use a projector system and white blades. [Worldgineer, Nov 24 2004]
[link]
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[Dang - just grounded this oil tanker on that thar windfarm...] |
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cape cod wind-farm project leader to press conference- "the power our turbines generate, is just enough to keep the lights on, so that it appears the turbines aren't there" |
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"...except on windless days, when we use that nuclear power station over there to power the lights." |
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"New Endangered Species Shock - Invisible Wind Farm Brings Cape Cod Seabirds To Brink Of Extinction" |
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Through what viewing angle would this trick be effective? Unless it's extremely high, would fiber optic camouflage do the same job with passive technology? |
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The proposed idea could also be used to make the windfarm visible in case people want to see it at night. |
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I wonder if glass could be an appropriate material for windmills. Well, except for the generator and a few other parts. |
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[Half] I do not know what viewing angle this technique would be limited to. As I saw the anti-submarine use of this technique (on the History Channel) it was done with fairly small lamps mounted on the wings and front of the airplane and the airplane presumably spotted the sub first and then flew directly toward it. I am thinking that as long as the distant observer could see the light bulb that light would serve to make that area as bright as the background and thus the structure would not stand out against the lighter background. I don't think any passive camouflage would work because the background is so variable in brightness. Incidentally the closest wind turbine is 4.7 miles from the shore. The turbines are about 500 ft high. see link |
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This would still spoil the view of the horizon for a lot of bats. |
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But there would be if the wind turbines were there. They'd lose the pleasurable sensation of staring vacantly into space. |
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Instead, spend the money bribing influential people to come forward and say wind turbines are aesthetically pleasing. Personally, I think they're rather elegant. |
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Another WW2 trick was to paint crazy patterns on destroyers so that they no longer looked like destroyers. Apparently enemy subs would be so busy looking up their periscopes for something that looked a boat that they would completely fail to notice something that looked like a bad trip. (see link - note type 25 design!) |
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[wagster], this camouflage concept also confused submarine periscope operators by giving the impression that the ship had many bows, thus causing doubt as to which was the true one (and hence, what the true direction of travel of the target was). |
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It depends what colour the sky is. |
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These wind turbines should be placed
in the clouds. That way not many people
would even see them. |
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Bye, you all who have been so great to me! |
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[tahuyahick] I saw this demonstrated on the history channel. They used a large armored car on a hillock and silhouetted against the sky. When the lights were on it was not visible from a distance. I don't recall if they gave the distance but it was at least half a mile. |
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I have tried, but I fail. I have to mention all the fish that will be living under these structures. Tell me I will be allowed to hunt underneath it and I'll bun it. |
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Hi [normzone] The wind turbines should be great places to fish. They would be located on a shoal where the water is too shallow for big ship navigation. Near the structures you would have no trouble seeing them. From a distance you don't see the structures themselves as much as you see the silhouette of the structures against a bright background. The lighting I propose removes the silhouette. |
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