The World's Largest Computer in 1951

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In summary, the ENIAC was a massive machine weighing 30 tons, occupying 1,000 square feet of floor space, and containing over 70,000 resistors, 10,000 capacitors, 6,000 switches, and 18,000 vacuum tubes. It required 150 kilowatts of power to run, which was enough to light a small town. The final machine was less powerful than a $5 pocket calculator. The Russian Ekranoplan, also known as the Caspian Sea Monster, was a ground effect vehicle that could travel over 400 km/h and weighed 540 tons fully loaded. It was used as a high-speed military transport and could transport over 100 tonnes of cargo. The
  • #1,926
Sorry, had computer problems yesterday.
Danger said:
The new super-collider that Congress yanked the funding on?
Bingo. The Superconducting Super Collider. A ring particle accelerator, to be built in Texas, Congress was the big C, ~$8.25 billion is very expensive in my book. :biggrin:
 
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  • #1,927
Danger said:
The new super-collider that Congress yanked the funding on?

Im beginning to think your quite bright, anyhows, jolly good show old boy.
 
  • #1,928
wolram said:
Im beginning to think your quite bright
Not really. I just remember hearing about it on the news or in SciAm or somewhere a few months ago.

An accessory for it was patented 45 years before the thing itself, by someone else. The thing itself was never built to the original specs, so far as can be determined. Several subsquent patents by other people were unsuccessful designs.

edit: I'm going for a well-needed nap now. Feel free to post parallel puzzles while I'm gone.
 
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  • #1,929
Recoil mechanism on a rifle. Patented in 1899 by Paul Mauser, the M1 Garrand rifle wasn't actually made for another 45 years.
 
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  • #1,930
brewnog said:
Recoil mechanism on a rifle.
Interesting info, of which I was unaware, but not what I'm thinking of. (I'll have to look into that, though.)

Original was hand-cranked.
 
  • #1,931
Ahh, then it's the starter motor for a car. This one's been done before though, so (assuming it's the right answer!) I won't take credit.



Edit: Actually, I think I'm wrong, the gap wasn't nearly 50 years. But I'll leave it there just in case!

For you to look into my last guess, click http://patentpending.blogs.com/patent_pending_blog/firearms_patentstechnology/ and search for "Mauser".
 
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  • #1,932
brewnog said:
so (assuming it's the right answer!) I won't take credit.
You assume too quickly, m'man. Back it up a hundred years or so.
 
  • #1,933
Does this have something to do with communication? I'm thinking the phonograph was originally hand-cranked...
 
  • #1,934
honestrosewater said:
Does this have something to do with communication?
Nope....
 
  • #1,935
An accessory for it was patented 45 years before the thing itself, by someone else. The thing itself was never built to the original specs, so far as can be determined. Several subsquent patents by other people were unsuccessful designs.

A vacuum cleaner?
 
  • #1,936
wolram said:
A vacuum cleaner?
Sorry... no. But you're starting to get closer. Continue on the domestic theme.
Thanks for the link, Noggie. I'll go read it right now.
 
  • #1,937
I think he's referring to the sewing machine.
 
  • #1,938
zoobyshoe said:
I think he's referring to the sewing machine.
I think he thinks correctly. A sewing machine needle was patented in 1755, but there was no machine to go with it. (Just realized that I screwed up the time span.) A machine was patented in 1790, but not built. The first working model was made, but not patented, in 1810. Weird.
 
  • #1,939
Danger said:
I think he thinks correctly. A sewing machine needle was patented in 1755, but there was no machine to go with it. (Just realized that I screwed up the time span.) A machine was patented in 1790, but not built. The first working model was made, but not patented, in 1810. Weird.

Screwed up the time span eh, not another ground hog day.
 
  • #1,940
its about 8482 square km, and its a wet cell.
 
  • #1,941
Oooh I like the sound of this!

Is it Lake Volta? If so, I admire your punnage. :smile:
 
  • #1,942
brewnog said:
Oooh I like the sound of this!

Is it Lake Volta? If so, I admire your punnage. :smile:

INcredible FAnblooming Tastic.
 
  • #1,943
Well that was such a good pun, and I feel so guilty for getting it straight away that I want you to do another one. Your go again!
 
  • #1,944
Since Wolram took off for the moment... An interesting pic from my files. It may be obvious, but if not, or even if so, I thought it worth a go around. What was it?

http://img106.echo.cx/img106/51/whatwasit4pz.jpg
 
  • #1,945
Is that a CAT or MRI scanner?
 
  • #1,946
Very good! You are on the right track.
 
  • #1,947
There is a story behind the picture posted. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to give a reasonable approximation of that story.
 
  • #1,948
Ivan Seeking said:
There is a story behind the picture posted. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to give a reasonable approximation of that story.
Is this the portable MRI unit for which you engineered a self-leveling system?
 
  • #1,949
zoobyshoe said:
Is this the portable MRI unit for which you engineered a self-leveling system?

No :smile:

Now wait, did I tell you about the leveling system, or was that a fortuitous joke?
 
  • #1,950
I'm afraid I don't know very many MRI related anecdotes, except for the poor chap who was last week scanned under the influence of a muscle relaxant, while they played Dido to him!

Being paralysed, strapped down, and forced to listen to Dido doesn't sound like fun.
 
  • #1,951
This is a logical anecdote - one that can be deduced.
 
  • #1,952
Ivan Seeking said:
No :smile:

Now wait, did I tell you about the leveling system, or was that a fortuitous joke?
You mentioned it along with several other engineering accomplishments in a thread I started last year about those people who scam inventors. You talked about the guy you know who was involved with the creation of the Biodome in the desert in the same thread IIRC.
 
  • #1,953
Ivan Seeking said:
This is a logical anecdote - one that can be deduced.
Oh, I bet the thing with the strap hanging off is some ferrous object that was sucked into the magnet.
 
  • #1,954
zoobyshoe said:
Oh, I bet the thing with the strap hanging off is some ferrous object that was sucked into the magnet.

http://img106.echo.cx/img106/3733/mriscrubber7ro.jpg

The janitor ain't supposed to go in there with the scrubber.

Something similar happened to me. Someone had mixed in a chair with iron in the frame, with the identical stainless steel chairs used in the MRI lab. That particular magnet was 0.95T as I recall, and I was literally taken off my feet with my arm slung through the chair. I had to winch it out! We had another guy who was a WWI vet who had some really low grade stainless pins in his leg from the war. They were virtually sucked out of his leg.
 
  • #1,955
That's fantastic!

I thought they made damn sure that stuff like this didn't happen, but that picture is brilliant!
 
  • #1,956
zoobyshoe said:
You talked about the guy you know who was involved with the creation of the Biodome in the desert in the same thread IIRC.



Oh, him. :rolleyes:
 
  • #1,957
brewnog said:
That's fantastic!

I thought they made damn sure that stuff like this didn't happen, but that picture is brilliant!

Oh, then you would be amazed at what goes on.
 
  • #1,958
retained a short section of wing about six feet in length?
 
  • #1,959
wolram said:
retained a short section of wing about six feet in length?
The autogiro?
 
  • #1,960
zoobyshoe said:
The autogiro?

I thought this one might have lasted a bit longer, but Zooby gets it in one :biggrin:
 

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