Explosive Gas Anti-Avalanche System

Alex


Photo: TAS

Is that a spout in the middle of a mountain? Actually, yes it is. Pruned blog has a neat article about Gazex, an anti-avalanche system that uses explosive gas to trigger controlled (smaller) avalanches to avoid the big fatal ones:

From a distance, they look like disembodied talons jutting out from the rockface, ready to prick at imminent disasters. With their array of remote sensors, they are constantly reading the landscape; the mountains are kept under constant surveillance, lest they want to endanger quaint Alpine hamlets and new luxury ski resort developments above Denver or lose skiers to the wintry wilds.

When an avalanche is deemed likely, it detonates a mixture of oxygen and propane gas in its explosion chamber. The resulting hot gas is then directed downwards to the zone at risk.

Link | Gazex website - via Picdit

Comments (2)

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Sounds like cognitive bias: http://www.healthbolt.net/2007/02/14/26-reasons-what-you-think-is-right-is-wrong/

Like all of the wackos who thought 9/11 was predicted after the fact.

No offense, just sayin...
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I'm not touching the olympics with a ten foot pole. First all the controversy regarding the environment and killing of various people/animals, and now natural disasters.
Thanks a lot, China.
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Strange...we're almost a year and a month late, and still these pimped-out hello kitties brings doom to humanity? Or are they underlings of C'thulu?
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It's great we can take things out on those evil chinese. One day, I will adopt many chinese female babies and as they grow up, I will tell them tales of the evil chinese and allllllll the wonderful things the infallible British did for ungrateful china during their colonization.. In the very near future, the righteous and infallible America will one day trump evil china. Don't worry china, you wont be forgotten, my home is zen like with asian style furniture. I even have a rock garden in my backyard. I have a collection of oriental tea sets I like to display on a 5-tier lighted corner shelf. I even have those neat green bamboo plants I purchased from IKEA in a glass vase with rocks.
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@ S-r-ex

Nice one. You should check out Blogadilla's C'thulu post from last year: http://www.blogadilla.com/2007/07/21/what-is-it-of-the-week-cthulhu/
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5? let me guess...
- generalized air and water pollution
- no human rights whatsoever
- lack of politicall freedom
- rampant corruption
- other countries starting to complain about generalized corporate spying and economical dumping?

May you live in interesting times...
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I am def not watching a bit of the Olympics for 2 reasons.
Since the ability to allow pro athletes sullies the games itself.

And

China needs to have more natural disasters and hopefully the next will be a major shift in the continent. as in, like atlantis, it just slips entirely under the sea.

Like daddy always said, "only good red is a dead red."
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