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Orbital Velocity
Rich Galen Wednesday October 20, 2004
This edition of Mullings is absolutely foolish for the first half. Skip to the middle.
In order to reach Earth orbit an object has to reach a velocity of approximately 17,500 miles per hour. At that speed the object will fall toward the Earth (because of gravity) at the same speed that it is moving (because of momentum) thus it will always miss the Earth or, as those of us skilled in the idiom of Keplerian Physics like to put it: "Stay up there."
Very important to this is the Law of the Conservation of Angular Momentum which is expressed as: "{%>(*8��c0o_s%/L=:;s@*^;!}" - if memory serves.
I don't know of the Law of the Conservation of Angular Momentum really does apply. I don't even know what it means. But I love saying it. You will, too. Try it at a restaurant:
"What are your specials? Do you have the Law of the Conservation of Angular Momentum? Really? Does that come with the house salad?"
This actually has application to �
Dear Mr. Mullings!
I knew this was coming
What are you talking about? Did you fall off your motor scooter already? If we wanted a physics lesson we'd watch The Discovery Science Channel, not read Mullings. You'll get to the election stuff right now, buster, or you'll get such a what-for.
Signed,
The National Society of People Who Really Know How to Give What-Fors.
What is a "what-for" anyway?
Mr. ---
Ok. Ok. Here's the point: Since Monday I have been talking to Republicans, to Democrats and to reporters (to the extent that is not a redundancy) about whether or not Senator Kerry has closed the sale with voters.
The overwhelming opinion - from all three groups - is that he has not.
As we discussed last week after the THIRD AND FINAL DEBATE, Kerry needed to accomplish two things. First, he had to demonstrate that he was, in fact, Presidential. He did this in the first debate and didn't undo it in the second or third debates.
The second thing he needed to accomplish was to convince Americans that the Presidency of George W. Bush is so badly flawed that President Bush must be defeated.
This Kerry has not done, and with only 13 days left, it is unlikely that he will come up with a magic rhetorical formula to do it.
The national polls have consistently shown that Kerry has been unable to push past Bush. He has been close. Sometimes tied. But never ahead in more than one poll during any polling period - if that.
The latest New York Times poll which showed the race tied, had some interesting internal numbers.
For instance on the question of whether respondents think the candidates say what they believe or what they thought voters wanted to hear, the President scored 59-39 on speaking from his heart; Senator Kerry was reversed: 37% think he believes what he says, 60% think he says what people want to hear.
On Iraq, while a large number now believe taking military action was the wrong course, a plurality (49-46) still believe it was the right thing to do.
A large majority (55-38) believe the President is doing a good job on the campaign against terrorism. (Note, the NY Times chooses not to call it a "war" but a "campaign".)
A larger majority (52-29) believe "the policies of the Bush Administration have made the United States safer from terrorism."
Finally, even though, by 48-27 respondents thought Kerry won the THIRD AND FINAL DEBATE, on the question:
Has anything you have learned from, or about, the debates made you change your mind about whom to vote for?"
Those whom the NY Times surveyed said NO by - are you ready for this? - 89% to 9%!
When the ballots are counted two weeks hence, Senator Kerry will have failed to reached orbital velocity. He will fall short, come back down to Earth, and watch a second George W. Bush Administration sail by.
On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: A definition of the Law of the Conservation of Angular Momentum, a link to the NY Times data, an amusing Mullfoto, and a terrific Catchy Caption of the Day.
--END --
Copyright © 2004 Richard A. Galen
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