I want a nuclear powered computer. Who knows what future bringt? Small nuclear reactors at home, on our tables, jeez... I get shivers from thinking about that.I bet it would run FSX decent!!

I want a nuclear powered computer. Who knows what future bringt? Small nuclear reactors at home, on our tables, jeez... I get shivers from thinking about that.I bet it would run FSX decent!!

You could go steal a reactor from one of these

Interesting bit about the nuclear-powered lighthouses!It does talke a honed bureaucrat, though, to place the lighthouse at sea-level right next to a mountain!Cheers,- jahman.

Interesting bit about the nuclear-powered lighthouses!It does talke a honed bureaucrat, though, to place the lighthouse at sea-level right next to a mountain!Cheers,- jahman.

Why is that a bad position? And shouldn't thread be about IB?

Why is that a bad position?

Because the Earth is round (last time I checked) and you do want to have the lightbeam to be seem from as far as possible.

And shouldn't thread be about IB?

Didn't you just post about a nuclear-powered PC?Cheers,- jahman.

Because the Earth is round (last time I checked) and you do want to have the lightbeam to be seem from as far as possible.Didn't you just post about a nuclear-powered PC?Cheers,- jahman.

I really don't know what you mean - I have a boat license, and I usually understand these things.The lighthouse is signaling the edge of the mountain as I understand it... so what does that have to do anything with the curvature of the earth? Of course, you could place it somewhere higher up, the problem with that is that you don't know, as a boat captain, how far really the cape goes... this way it's a sure thing.And lighthouses can have different angles of light to signal safe passageway at given angle.

I really don't know what you mean - I have a boat license, and I usually understand these things.The lighthouse is signaling the edge of the mountain as I understand it... so what does that have to do anything with the curvature of the earth?

The lighthouse is like an NDB: The further away it is seen, the more useful it is, especcially if you can see two lighthouses, you have a fix. That's why lighthouses are usually tall. Since the earth is a sphere, the taller the object the further away it can be seen (distance to the horizon is proportional to the square root of the height of the object).

Of course, you could place it somewhere higher up, the problem with that is that you don't know, as a boat captain, how far really the cape goes... this way it's a sure thing.And lighthouses can have different angles of light to signal safe passageway at given angle.

Check the photo, the higher-up place is really nearby, say 300m, while the flat part in the profile is, say, 4x the height of the lighthouse, so just by putting the light on the ground there you would get 2x the range and 4x the area coverage.Also, having the lighthouse next to the water won't save you if there are shoals, or from any other capes except the particular one where the light is at.Generally speaking, if you need a specific point marked for reference, you would install a tall lighthouse, whereas if you need a specific point marked for avoidance, you would use a buoy.So the combo of "lighthouse" + "nuclear-powered" + "not on the heights right next to it" I find truly odd!Cheers,- jahman.

Thanks. Well, I guess they must have a reason to make it so low. Though in Croatia, where I usually speedboat around, most of lighthouses there are on similar heights, although possible to put higher. But they are not really much higher.But thanks again for the detailed answer.

Thanks. Well, I guess they must have a reason to make it so low. Though in Croatia, where I usually speedboat around, most of lighthouses there are on similar heights, although possible to put higher. But they are not really much higher.

Perhaps the limit is local visibility (so no point making the lighthouse taller)?

But thanks again for the detailed answer.

You're welcome!Cheers,- jahman.