The World's Largest Computer in 1951

  • Thread starter Thread starter wolram
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Computer
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around historical and technical aspects of significant machines and vehicles, including the ENIAC computer and the Russian Ekranoplan. Participants engage in a quiz-like format, posing questions and providing hints about various inventions, their specifications, and historical context.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes the ENIAC, detailing its size, weight, components, and power consumption, while noting its limited processing power compared to modern devices.
  • Another participant identifies the ENIAC as the machine described in the previous post.
  • Participants discuss a large vehicle that weighs 540 tons, can travel over land and water, and is hinted to be built in Russia, leading to speculation about its identity.
  • Some participants propose that the vehicle in question is the Russian Ekranoplan, explaining its design and operational principles related to ground effect.
  • There is a discussion about a vehicle that achieved over 188 miles per gallon, with participants speculating on its type and historical significance, including a mention of a Harley Davidson motorcycle from 1908.
  • One participant describes a crude device involving a wooden stand, a funnel, acid, and copper wire, prompting further questions about its purpose.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the identity of some machines, particularly the vehicle that achieved high fuel efficiency, as various guesses and clarifications are made. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the specifics of some inventions and their historical context.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about the specifications and classifications of the vehicles discussed, particularly regarding the Ekranoplan's operational capabilities and the fuel efficiency claims of the motorcycle.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in the history of computing, engineering innovations, and the evolution of vehicle technology may find this discussion engaging.

  • #1,351
I know, its a giant paper mache duck with a handlebar moustache named Groucho. The duck is named Groucho, not the moustache.
 
Computer science news on Phys.org
  • #1,352
RAF Fylingdale?

No
 
  • #1,353
obviously not my fibre optic thing in da pacific
 
  • #1,354
Yes or no, Ivan : Is it in the Bay Area ?
 
  • #1,355
obviously not my fibre optic thing in da pacific

no.

One more clue and then I have to go for just a bit.
1973
 
  • #1,356
Yes or no, Ivan : Is it in the Bay Area ?
Yes.
 
  • #1,357
1973 was the year the draft was rescinded. Something military, methinks ...
 
  • #1,358
Howard ...
 
  • #1,359
Project Jennifer
Hughes Glomar Explorer (AG 193)

I had thought the Spruce Goose, but the dimensions didn't fit, and then the date was wrong from your later hint.
 
  • #1,360
Evo said:
Project Jennifer
Hughes Glomar Explorer (AG 193)

I had thought the Spruce Goose, but the dimensions didn't fit, and then the date was wrong from your later hint.

CORRECT! Neptune refers to the sea.

The Hughes Glomar Explorer [HGE] was built in 1973 by Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. for an intricate CIA undertaking. The mission of Glomar Explorer was to raise a Soviet nulear submarine [the deeply held secret] that had sunk in the Pacific, resting on the ocean floor nearly 17,000 ft. ...The Soviet Golf-II Class ballistic missile submarine sank on April 11, 1968, ...

...the vessel has since been mothballed with the Naval Reserve Fleet in Suisun Bay CA, where it could be seen by cars crossing the Benicia bridge on U.S. Highway 680 east of San Francisco.

...This was the first instance of an agency using the "can neither confirm nor deny" answer in response to a FOIA request. Since then, the terms "Glomar response," and "Glomarization" are used to describe an agency’s response when they can neither confirm nor deny whether records exist.
http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/jennifer.htm

When this was a very secret enterprise in the early 70's, it was sometimes docked in Long Beach harbor. We passed it in our boat few times while heading out to fish. For some reason my dad knew that it was involved in work for the CIA, so we made a real point to take a look; and stand and wave at the secret agents as we went by.
 
  • #1,361
Oh yes, about the time that he refused to wear clothes any longer, Howard Hughes wrote an instruction manual for his employees. It instructed them how to catch flies with their bare hands.
 
  • #1,362
This is pictorial.
 

Attachments

  • thing1.jpe
    thing1.jpe
    7.4 KB · Views: 469
  • #1,363
curved tetrahedral surface with 1 verticy open and filled with a spherical object and is surrounded by an eliptical object with an interesting pattern?

that's the best I could do...
 
  • #1,364
Too easy.:biggrin:
 
  • #1,365
oohh! is it some kind of clock?
 
  • #1,366
why does evo always post here but it says she's not online?
 
  • #1,367
Ivan Seeking said:
Too easy.:biggrin:
Yeah, that one's a bit obvious. But what's Evo doing with an industrial-grade egg salad masher at home?
 
  • #1,368
Ivan Seeking said:
Too easy.:biggrin:
Easy for you... I need a hint (maybe time period or country?) Oh, is it in the Sistine Chapel??
I was thinking a triangle with an eye in it is a Masonic symbol, but the triangle is upside down
 
Last edited:
  • #1,369
I have an unfair advantage on this one.
 
  • #1,370
Where's that wanker Brewnog hiding? This is his kind of thing. :rolleyes:
 
  • #1,371
What's the painting in the background? Peter and the wolf? Is that a dragon's foot?
 
  • #1,372
Looks like a calendar, or an early model of the universe.
 
  • #1,373
Ivan Seeking said:
I have an unfair advantage on this one.
Likewise. If you've seen one before it is obvious.


To those still guessing, there is a near-clue here:

Danger said:
Where's that wanker Brewnog hiding? This is his kind of thing. :rolleyes:

Also, it's not art.
 
  • #1,374
I know what it is!

I'd like to see some non-engineers think about this one a bit.
 
  • #1,375
If I didn't already know what it was, I can't think how you'd find out, except by showing the picture to people till you found someone who recognized it.
 
  • #1,376
hints - a triangular rotor that revolves around a shaft

patented in the late 1920's

(seems a lot of the guys already know this one anyway)
 
  • #1,377
Why didn't someone just say Wankel rotary engine?? You like to torture me? That's it, I know. That is it, right? Yeah, an eye in a triangle- why didn't someone just shoot me?
 
Last edited:
  • #1,378
honestrosewater said:
Why didn't someone just say Wankel rotary engine?? You like to torture me? That's it, I know. That is it, right? Yeah, an eye in a triangle- why didn't someone just shoot me?
Wankel Rotary Engine is correct!
 
  • #1,379
Evo said:
Wankel Rotary Engine is correct!
Hooray! I was only the last person to get it. :rolleyes: Oh well, I guess a win is a win.

You will find a monkey, horse, and duck in these.
 
  • #1,380
No to the first thing Danger says.
I'll be back in a flash.
 

Similar threads

Is Alan Turing given too much credit when it comes to computers?
  • · Replies 29 ·
Replies
29
Views
5K
How to compute flexure and failure loads of acrylic sheets
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
15K