I've never heard of Tunguska either.

::high fives fellow ignoramous::

The most prominent theory about Tunguksa (according to wikipedia) is that a meteor (about 30 feet across) exploded before it struck the earth. The blast pattern in the trees is butterfly shaped, which is consistent with a high powered blast that occurs above ground with initial forces going straight down, then spreading out horizontally after hitting the earth.

My favorite theory is that Tesla set it off:

It has also been suggested, by Oliver Nichelson, that the Tunguska explosion was the result of an experiment by Nikola Tesla at his Wardenclyffe Tower, performed during one of Robert Peary's North Pole expeditions. It is claimed that Tesla sent a communication to Peary advising him to be on the alert for 'unusual auroral phenomena' encountered as he attempted to reach the North Pole. However, by the time of the Tunguska event most work at Wardenclyffe had already ended and the site was mostly abandoned. In addition, it is by no means apparent how the small energy input at Wardenclyffe could be responsible for such a large energy output elsewhere. Also this event happened on June 30, 1908 and Peary didn't leave New York for the North Pole until July 6, 1908.

The Nichelson theory is that Peary would encounter a destruction field when he did reach the North Pole so having the Tunguska event take place before Peary departed does not contradict the theory. Though Tesla had lost major research funding by 1908, his Wardenclyffe facility was still operational in 1908. It was not until 1917 that it was torn down. The theory is that the lack of funding may have caused Tesla to use his transmitter in this dramatic fashion in order to continue his power transmission investigations.

The large amount of energy required to cause such an event could easily be achieved by the process of electrical resonance in which power could be built up over a period of days. Electrical resonance was a process well known at that time. This power build up over a period of time corresponds to the "bright nights" reported over Europe days prior to the explosion.

There are other theories such as a naturally occuring hydrogen bomb from a deuterium rich meteor.

I wonder if my agency is supposed to give me a 1090.

Hm.

Tax refund. Yum.

You'd think that you'd find some residue.

I'm mostly of the mind that it's hard to prove it wasn't a spaceship, since we really have no idea what one would look like. Which is very different (for me) from believing it was a spaceship. I'm generously Schrödingery about the whole thing.

Thanks for the insent, Kalshane. Somehow I managed to misplace my phone. At least it wasn't until after I left one message and talked to the other person of the unsettling calls. This one will be a cakewalk in comparison.

Once the hardware manifests itself, that is.

My favorite theory is that Tesla set it off:

Ooh! Maybe Tesla and Edison each built giant flying robots, and the explosion was the result of the two robots battling it out in space!

The large amount of energy required to cause such an event could easily be achieved by the process of electrical resonance in which power could be built up over a period of days. Electrical resonance was a process well known at that time. This power build up over a period of time corresponds to the "bright nights" reported over Europe days prior to the explosion.

WTF is electrical resonance? Sounds like something someone made up for The X Files.

You have been a participant in the biggest interdimensional cross rip since the Tunguska blast of 1909!

Disappointed me no end when I learned the blast actually happened in 1908. Damn you, Dr. Stantz, and damn me for believing in you!!

I'm going to go home before I fall asleep sitting and the other students find me here like this in the morning. Bye! Have fun storming the Natter!

I hope I'll get to post with y'all soon again.

Bye!

Gonzales says the Constitution doesn't guarantee habeas corpus ( this is from the headline)

[link]

Electrical resonance - I'm realizing that while there's plenty of science behind electrical engineering, it's still pretty fucking magical in a way.

Gonzales says the Constitution doesn't guarantee habeas corpus

Well, they already suspended it so that's kind of moot.