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
  • #281
brewnog said:
First devised in 1941, the final product was a cylinder weighing about 4200 kg. A lot of hard work went into its design, but one of the most ingenious factors enabling its use was an incredibly simple idea.
Whittle's jet engine?
 
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  • #282
Ivan Seeking said:
Since brewnog seems so confident I will assume that he is correct?

I kinda assumed I was correct too. It doesn't matter now, because...

It seems way too heavy, but could this be the bomb designed to bounce on water? IIRC, it was devised to take out a dam.

Yes! Barnes Wallis' "Bouncing Bomb", as featured in the epic film "Dambusters!".

Very well done, I thought I was going to have to use Clue 3!

Incredibly heavy devices, but I suppose you do need rather a lot of RDX to take out an entire dam. They had to bounce to get over the anti-torpedo nets which had been fitted to the reservoirs. The bombing missions were incredibly precise and difficult, - the planes had to be flying at 250mph, 400 feet from the target, before dropping the bombs. The planes had to fly at an altitude of 60 feet, no mean feat for a massive 4-engined bomber.

The simple but ingenious idea I mentioned was to combat the aircrafts' altimeter's lack of resolution at such low altitudes. A pair of spotlamps was set up on the belly of the plane, such that they focussed to produce one beam on the reservoir surface at an altitude of 60 feet.

And I had lunch in Barnes Wallis building today. :smile:
 
  • #283
brewnog said:
I kinda assumed I was correct too. It doesn't matter now, because...



Yes! Barnes Wallis' "Bouncing Bomb", as featured in the epic film "Dambusters!".
Sorry I didn't get here until now. Yes, I was referring to the original cube.
I loved 'Dambusters'. The uncle of one of my friends was on that mission. The spotlight trick was pure genius.
 
  • #284
Critical to the patent of 1884, this is only slightly more sophisticated than a spinning pie tin punched with holes.
 
  • #285
Ivan Seeking said:
Critical to the patent of 1884, this is only slightly more sophisticated than a spinning pie tin punched with holes.
The first UFO hoax-it-at-home kit.
 
  • #286
No, but as a clue, U lands right in the middle.
 
  • #287
Kinescope?
 
  • #288
Kinescope?

Nope. But oh so close...
 
  • #289
Ivan Seeking said:
Nope. But oh so close...
kinetoscope ?
 
  • #290
Painfully close but at least four years too late. If you can imagine taking an average of the last two [edit: concepts] suggestions...
 
  • #291
Kineoscope?
 
  • #292
Ivan SeekingIf you can imagine taking an average of the last two [edit: concepts said:
suggestions...
Oh well, then... that leaves only kinetscope or kineoscope. :-p
 
  • #293
There is still a more basic concept and invention involved.
 
  • #294
An airbrush!
 
  • #295
Zoetrope?...
 
  • #296
A phenakistiscope.
 
  • #297
a colorectoscope?
 
  • #298
Zoetrope

Ten years too soon. :biggrin:

We are so close, and I just tried and easily found it based on three very simple clues already given.
 
  • #299
Oh, wait, you said it has to have a U in it, then how about a thaumatrope?
 
  • #300
zoobyshoe said:
a colorectoscope?


I don't know that one. I don't think so...

another clue: camera
 
  • #301
Or, a kinetograph!
 
  • #302
That's what I thought, but there's no U in it.
 
  • #303
The first electric telescope?
 
  • #304
Moonbear said:
Oh, wait, you said it has to have a U in it, then how about a thaumatrope?

No, but that is another good guess. I didn't realize that there are so many related concepts, but this was considered an essential technical concept.
 
  • #305
Did Edison invent it?
 
  • #306
Paul Nipkow's mechanical television thingy
 
  • #308
Moonbear said:
Or, a kinetograph!

Whewwwww, uncle!

I call that one close enough, but what I was looking for was the Nipkow disk

In 1884, university student Paul Nipkow of Germany proposed and patented the world's first electromechanical television system. Nipkow proposed a disc camera, that contained a disc which was perforated. To capture a moving image the disc was rotated before an image and had the effect of dividing the picture into lines. Light sensitive selenium behind the perforated disk would capture the moving image.

The camera became known as the Nipkow disk.
http://www.acmi.net.au/AIC/TV_HIST_FORTNER.html

Also. http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blnipkov.htm
Also: http://www.acmi.net.au/AIC/NIPKOW_DISK.html

It is considered to be the first rasterizer, and was part of the first mechanical television, patented in 1884.
 
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  • #309
Uh oh, I guess Zooby got it first! :biggrin:
 
  • #310
Ivan Seeking said:
Uh oh, I guess Zooby got it first! :biggrin:
What was the clue about the U all about?
 
  • #311
T U V --> TV :biggrin:

Danger, you picked up this didn't you? I thought you did.
 
  • #312
Ivan Seeking said:
T U V --> TV :biggrin:

Danger, you picked up this didn't you? I thought you did.
I'm drawing a blank.
 
  • #313
Tenants Union of Victoria?
 
  • #314
Ivan Seeking said:
T U V --> TV :biggrin:

Danger, you picked up this didn't you? I thought you did.
:confused: Tel-Uh-Vision? :rolleyes: :smile:
 
  • #315
Moonbear said:
:confused: Tel-Uh-Vision? :rolleyes: :smile:

:smile: :smile: :smile: No, even worse!


...QRSTUVWXYZ
 

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