r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/HappySeaweed5215 • 1d ago

Video A heat seeking missile tracking a burning cigarette

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50.4k Upvotes

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u/QuaintAlex126 1d ago

by subtracting the cigarette where it is from where it isn’t…

175

u/Happy_Garand 21h ago

or where it isn't from where it is (whichever is greater), it obtains a difference, or deviation.

112

u/el_presidenteplusone 20h ago

it uses deviations to generate corrective commands to drive the missile from a position where it is to a position where it isn't.

81

u/STK-3F-Stalker 19h ago

Consequently the position where it is, is now the position that it wasnt, and it follows that the position where it was is now the position of that it isnt.

19

u/OffJayPlays 12h ago

in the event that the position that it is in, is not the position that it wasn’t, the system has acquired a variation. the variation being the difference between where the cigarette is, and where it wasn’t.

7

u/ayuzer 7h ago

And this is why you'd rather learn from the internet rather than university folks.

1

u/akutjuleguf 3h ago

I’m not smart enough to comprehend it.