As I stated, there are valid points of view on both sides of this
discussion. Some folks simply want to get on the air and chat, and if a
piece of wire draped over the couch works they're happy. Other folks
try to optimize their situation (antennas in the context of this
discussion) within whatever practical constraints they may face, or at
least they strive toward an understanding of same. I have no issue at
all with either point of view, and at various points in my ham career I
have been all over that scale.
However, I do have a real problem with replacing science with hearsay,
theory with opinion, and fact with myth. The whole subject of antennas
is rife with misunderstanding and careless opinions, and when somebody
knowledgeable enough to shed light on any particular topic (I
specifically and categorically exclude myself from that camp) is willing
to do so, I'm not sure our hobby is advanced by suggesting they're
having a bad hair day.
Speaking of myths ...
It is absolutely not "fact" that aerodynamic experts have concluded bees
can't fly. It's a cute urban legend that won't die simply because
people love to use it to justify why physics isn't reliable when it
interferes with what they want to believe. Three minutes of Google
searching came up with these and several other links:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1076/is-it-aerodynamically-impossible-for-bumblebees-to-fly
http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2008/05/bumblebees-cant-fly.html
http://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/~ben/zetie1.htm
http://www.maa.org/mathland/mathtrek_09_13_04.html
http://www.math.niu.edu/~rusin/known-math/98/bees
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumble_bee#Flight (scroll down to "Myths")
73,
Dave AB7E
On 9/15/2010 9:14 PM, Kelly Taylor wrote:
> I think this all reminds me of the bumblebee axiom quoted here (or on
> Cq-contest, can't remember), which said that -- and it is fact --
> aerodynamic experts, calculating mass and wing surface area, have concluded
> the mathematically, bees can't fly. The bees, not knowing any better, just
> fly.
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