The World's Largest Computer in 1951

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The discussion centers around two significant machines: the ENIAC, an early computer that was 10 feet tall, weighed 30 tons, and required 150 kilowatts of power, and the Russian Ekranoplan, a ground effect vehicle that could travel over 400 km/h and weighed 540 tons. The ENIAC utilized a vast number of electronic components but had less processing power than a modern pocket calculator. The Ekranoplan, developed by the Soviet Union, operates just above water using a shock wave principle, allowing it to travel over various terrains. The conversation also touches on trivia and historical facts about these machines, highlighting their unique engineering and capabilities. Overall, the thread showcases a blend of technical details and engaging quiz-like interactions.
  • #951
Danger said:
I would expect Australia and Aboriginal.
I happen to know this is the correct anser. Your turn.
 
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  • #952
Franzbear is Cap'n Cook, I take it ?

Chew on this till Danger wakes up...

In the autumn of 1789, Dr. Jo pleaded for the use of this thing on grounds of humanity and "equality". What was it ?
 
  • #953
Gokul43201 said:
In the autumn of 1789, Dr. Jo pleaded for the use of this thing on grounds of humanity and "equality". What was it ?
Would "Jo" be short for "Joseph"? And would this have anything to do with Robespierre's reign of terror during the French Revolution?
 
  • #954
zoobyshoe said:
Would "Jo" be short for "Joseph"? And would this have anything to do with Robespierre's reign of terror during the French Revolution?
aye and aye...anser up and go next.
 
  • #955
Gokul43201 said:
aye and aye...
Oh. In that case I have no idea.
 
  • #956
...and I thought this was was going to go down quick and easy; you know, no pain at all !
 
  • #957
Gokul43201 said:
...and I thought this was was going to go down quick and easy; you know, no pain at all !
I have no idea what this joke about decapitation means.

During the conflict, he sometimes resorted to using old window panes.
 
  • #958
zoobyshoe said:
Oh. In that case I have no idea.
You certainly better be kidding there... :bugeye:

edit: Never mind; your next posts came up while I was writing that. :redface:
 
  • #959
zoobyshoe said:
During the conflict, he sometimes resorted to using old window panes.
This is not related to Gokul's quetion. It is a new clue altogether.
 
  • #960
zoobyshoe said:
During the conflict, he sometimes resorted to using old window panes.
This is not the guy that came up with DDT, is it ? I think not...and I'm off.

BTW, the previous anser, as unansered by Zoob, was the guillotine.
 
  • #961
Gokul43201 said:
This is not the guy that came up with DDT, is it ? I think not...and I'm off.
No, not the DDT guy.
 
  • #962
zoobyshoe said:
During the conflict, he sometimes resorted to using old window panes.

Some pioneer of photography perhaps?
 
  • #963
brewnog said:
Some pioneer of photography perhaps?
That certainly makes sense. Photos were done on glass plates. That 'Brownie' guy that the Kodak/Brownie camera was named for? Or George Eastman? Maybe even earlier than that.
 
  • #964
Danger said:
That certainly makes sense. Photos were done on glass plates. That 'Brownie' guy that the Kodak/Brownie camera was named for? Or George Eastman? Maybe even earlier than that.

I like the idea of the de Guerre guy, but only because his name is a type of conflict.
 
  • #965
brewnog said:
I like the idea of the de Guerre guy, but only because his name is a type of conflict.
I know who you mean. Not him.
 
  • #966
zoobyshoe said:
I know who you mean. Not him.
Do I take this to mean that the photography part is right, and we just need a name?
 
  • #967
Danger said:
Do I take this to mean that the photography part is right, and we just need a name?
You can take it to mean it isn't that guy. That is all.
 
  • #968
Talbot? Morse?

I think I need another clue.
 
  • #969
Ooh, Archer!
 
  • #970
During the conflict, he sometimes resorted to using old window panes scavenged from destroyed houses.
 
  • #971
brewnog said:
Talbot? Morse?

brewnog said:
Ooh, Archer!
None of these.
 
  • #972
zoobyshoe said:
During the conflict, he sometimes resorted to using old window panes scavenged from destroyed houses.
I'll go back to my original train of thought then, but I don't think it's right. All that comes to mind is a war-time doctor who might have used glass for scalpels.
 
  • #973
"The conflict" was none other than "The War Of Northern Agression."
 
  • #974
zoobyshoe said:
"The conflict" was none other than "The War Of Northern Agression."
I'm out then. I've never heard that term. To me, it could mean your Civil War, or the Korean conflict, Viet Nam... anything with north and south sides.
 
  • #975
I'm out too, but you knew that. :smile:
 
  • #976
I can't find anything.
 
  • #977
"I wish that I was in the land of cotton
Old times there, are not forgotten,
Look away...
Look away...
Look away...
*****land!
 
  • #978
zoobyshoe said:
"I wish that I was in the land of cotton
Old times there, are not forgotten,
Look away...
Look away...
Look away...
*****land!
Right! Dixie Cups! I forgot that they used to be made out of glass.
 
  • #979
So far it has something to do with the Civil War or the American South (The War of Northern Aggression I've now learned is what the Southerners call the Civil War...I never knew that before having always lived north of the Mason Dixon line). I can't find anything about scavenging of window panes other than in the general sense that everything was scavenged.
 
  • #980
Moonbear said:
So far it has something to do with the Civil War
Well, my curiosity must wait. Bed time. See you tomorrow.
 
  • #981
Mathew B. Brady?
 
  • #982
Ivan Seeking said:
Mathew B. Brady?
BINGO!

Mathew Brady, the most famous photographic chronicler of the Civil War. 90% of Civil War pictures you have seen were by Brady.
 
  • #983
What was the Dixieland clue? Or was this just in reference to the Civil War?
 
  • #984
Ivan Seeking said:
What was the Dixieland clue? Or was this just in reference to the Civil War?
Yeah, that was because no one seemed to have heard of "The War of Northern Agression". Just saying "Civil War" would have been too easy.
 
  • #985
It is estimated that over 1400 anti-aircraft rounds were fired in this little known California event. After all, there was a war on!
 
  • #986
Ivan Seeking said:
It is estimated that over 1400 anti-aircraft rounds were fired in this little known California event. After all, there was a war on!
I believe you are referring to what might be called "The Battle of Los Angeles" when an air raid by the Japanese on that city was bravely repelled, despite the absense of any actual Japanese planes.

California Military History: California and World War II
Address:http://www.militarymuseum.org/HistoryWWII.html
 
  • #987
Correct!

Edit: This is an actual photo of the object that wasn't there.

http://brumac.8k.com/BATTLEOFLA/BattleofLAFig1.jpg
http://brumac.8k.com/BATTLEOFLA/BattleofLA.html
 
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  • #988
"...mounted on a block of concrete that floated in a cylindrical, brick-enclosed trough of mercury."
 
  • #989
zoobyshoe said:
"...mounted on a block of concrete that floated in a cylindrical, brick-enclosed trough of mercury."

This sounds to me like some kind of bearing for something big and heavy. A telescope?
 
  • #990
zoobyshoe said:
"...mounted on a block of concrete that floated in a cylindrical, brick-enclosed trough of mercury."
I believe I was told about this last winter, when I was visiting folks in the Bay Area. I think it was something about the fort below the GG Bridge. Some kind of terrestrial telescope (copied that off of brew), perhaps ?
 
  • #991
Brewnog and Gokul both incorrect. It is something you both have already heard of, I'm sure, but didn't know this detail.
 
  • #992
Nope, I'm not going to get it without another hint!
 
  • #993
Me neither...though I'm certain there was something that sat in a pool of mercury in the Bay Area.
 
  • #994
The point of the complex mercury bearing was to obviate the fact of how sensitive the device was to any vibration.
 
  • #995
zooby said:
Brewnog and Gokul both incorrect. It is something you both have already heard of, I'm sure, but didn't know this detail.

Ohh, but look!


The 200 tonne Dunn Solar Telescope at Sacramento Peak is suspended from a container holding ten tons of mercury, which acts as a bearing. This allows the telescope to be easily rotated during research.

Do I win?
 
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  • #996
Michelson-Morley interferometer...?

Daniel.
 
  • #997
Hmmmmmmm...good research, but does this telescope fit the rest of the description: "...mounted on a block of concrete that floated in a cylindrical, brick enclosed trough of mercury"?

Here's another clue: this was a measuring apparatus.
 
  • #998
dextercioby said:
Michelson-Morley interferometer...?

Daniel.
Whooops! We have a winner!

Your turn.
 
  • #999
dextercioby said:
Michelson-Morley interferometer...?

Daniel.


Gah, and I'd have got that if I'd thought the block was concrete instead of marble! Honest!
 
  • #1,000
I'm a theorist,i can't possibly recollect too many experiments.So i'll ask an embarassingly simple question.You can google it,if u don't know the answer.

"Revolutionized chemistry".An object.And who's responsible for "revolutioning chemistry"?

Daniel.
 
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