The World's Largest Computer in 1951

  • Thread starter Thread starter wolram
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Computer
AI Thread Summary
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.
  • #2,301
I hope its not Trivial Pursuit.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2,302
Mk said:
I hope its not Trivial Pursuit.

I'm sorry to shatter your hopes, yes.
 
  • #2,303
4!=24
5!=120
6!=720
(Number of colons in a MAC address)!=?
 
Last edited:
  • #2,304
Mk said:
4!=24
6!=720
(Number of colons in a MAC address)!=?
1111000 (or, alternatively, 78)
 
  • #2,305
No, that's not quite right.
 
Last edited:
  • #2,306
What the hell? Don't tell me I killed the thread again!
 
  • #2,307
It ain't dead yeat. Just clue us some more.
 
  • #2,308
Look up MAC address on your computer or on the internet, this one, you don't have to think a lot. Unless you don't know what the "!" means.
 
  • #2,309
You guys suck. 120.

Hey, why did you edit that? :-p In Windows, the colons are hyphens, BTW. For others, they're periods or spaces. Or did I miss something? Is it 1? Do I win? It's either 1 or 120. Hurry up and tell me! :devil: Heh, I didn't realize I missed this game so much.
 
Last edited:
  • #2,310
Last edited:
  • #2,311
Nevermind, as long as I won, it's not important. :biggrin: How about a backwards clue?

They are not housed in a piece of fruit. They are not strings. They are not false.
 
  • #2,312
That's confusing! Let me think about that one. Give me 5 minutes.
 
  • #2,313
To keep me on the right track:

Does it have to do with coconuts?
Does it have to do with security?
Does it have to do with olives?
Does it have to do with stringed musical instruments?

Or am I thinking too hard?

I'm expecting a no, no, no, and no.
 
Last edited:
  • #2,314
Ah! Its been over 14!
 
  • #2,315
No, no, no, and not really. The fruit and strings are misnomers.

They have no hands, but they wave and slap each other around a lot.
 
  • #2,316
Well, here's how I've been thinking:
You said a backward clue, so first I put the clues backwards.

They are not false They are not strings They are not housed in a piece of fruit

Well, they look the same to me, so I made them even more backwards. This time I did the words.

False not are they Strings not are they Fruit of piece a in housed not are they.

I saw fruit of piece. Fruit of peace. The fruit of peace is security. Drupes are fruits. I looked at strings. An olive is a "fibrous drupe." The olive is quite the fruit of peace (olive branch), and fruits are houses for the seeds. Olive strings are a kind of string for your cello, or violin or whatever. http://www.stringworks.com/discussion/messages/858/2628.html?1109281537 http://store.musicbasics.com/pirolviolstr.html But the false part doesn't fit in.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #2,317
Ok well, I'm going to bed. Goodnight! All I can think of is electromagnetic wave interference with the waves and slapping anyway.
 
  • #2,318
:smile: Yes, you're thinking too hard. Nothing is hidden in the clues -- you can take them at face value. :smile:

They are not housed in a piece of fruit. They are not strings. They are not false.

The fruit and strings are misnomers.

They have no hands, but they wave and slap each other around a lot... when they *cough* venturi too close for comfort, as Bernoulli could have told you.
 
  • #2,319
Not some kind of wind sock, is it ?
 
  • #2,320
Gokul43201 said:
Not some kind of wind sock, is it ?
No. You do normally blow or suck wind through them though. Just stop, take a breath, and think about it for a sec. :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink:
 
  • #2,321
Guess I was thinking about the wrong kind of instrument then, eh ? Hmmm...I wasn't paying attention to one key word in your clues : "they" !
 
Last edited:
  • #2,322
i think i must be a pervert...
 
  • #2,323
My next guess (not a strong one, I might add) : lips ("lips of truth" from the Bible)
 
Last edited:
  • #2,324
of course it's lips.
 
  • #2,325
Uvula? They can be split.
 
  • #2,326
Nope. They are between the lips and lungs.

The fruit is normally larger in men than in women.

"venturi" was not a typo.
 
  • #2,327
adams apple
 
  • #2,328
Just because of the 'string' reference, I was thinking of vocal cords, but I can't for the life of me figure out the rest of the clue.
 
  • #2,329
Something you might do with your vocal cords is to sing false____... :-p I'm sure venturi is a musical term, but I'm too lazy to google it.
 
  • #2,330
adams apple is your voice box
 
  • #2,331
Actually it's the thyroid cartilage, also called the laryngeal prominence. :-p
 
  • #2,332
Darn it, Gale got it.
 
  • #2,333
Ah its been a whole day without a question! I'm going insane!
 
  • #2,334
It first moved on July 2nd, 1998, and heralds the new age of synthetic [artificial] telekinesis.
 
Last edited:
  • #2,335
Okay, sorry, had connection problems earlier. Yes, Gale, Adam's apple was part of it. Danger got another BIG part. (They aren't strings/cords.)

If no one gets it after this, shame. :-p

They are not housed in a piece of fruit. -- that lump in your throat called your Adam's apple is not actually an apple but the anterior portion of the thyroid cartilage, part of your larynx, which does house these things.

They are not strings. -- though they were called vocal cords (and sometimes still are), they aren't shaped like cords or violin strings and they don't function the same way either; they're more like lips than anything else I can think of.

They are not false. -- you have a pair of false ones. I want the true ones.

They have no hands, but they wave and slap each other around a lot... when they *cough* venturi too close for comfort, as Bernoulli could have told you. -- when you close them just tightly enough and try to force air through them, from your lungs and up your trachea, the air eventually pushes them apart, starting at the bottom. It flows through the space between them, the glottis, which is narrower than the trachea. The velocity of the air flow increases as it passes through the glottis, which is accompanied by a decrease in its pressure, causing a partial vacuum, which pulls them closed again, starting at the bottom. This cycle, a mucosal wave, repeats and is an example of the Venturi Effect (which happens, e.g. in a Venturi tube) and is described by Bernoulli's Law. Or something like that; physics isn't my thing, and I really need to get it straighter, but it's just a game.

You do normally blow or suck wind through them though. -- When you breathe, speak, cough, etc.

They are your VOCAL ______.
 
Last edited:
  • #2,336
Vocal folds.
 
Last edited:
  • #2,337
Mk said:
Vocal folds.
Yay, Mk! :biggrin:
 
  • #2,338
Ivan Seeking said:
It first moved on July 2nd, 1998, and heralds the new age of synthetic [artificial] telekinesis.
Bah, must go. First guess: Sony's ESPER Laboratory??
 
  • #2,339
Ok, while I'm making mine, I'll take a crack at his:

In 1998, the US Postal Service used British hovercrafts to haul mail, freight, and passengers from Bethel, Alaska to and from eight small villages along the Kuskokwim River.

A frog? A spider?
 
  • #2,340
Vulpes_vulpes_laying_in_snow.jpg


Awww its so cute! I bet if that little Vulpes vulpes were trotting around in the Libiyan capital it might find some some submarines at what approximate longitude and latitude, on the coast?

I recommend...
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/102/yarn8vj.png
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #2,341
Yikes ! Is that your question ?
 
  • #2,342
Lol, if you have no idea I'll give you a hint I guess.
 
  • #2,343
honestrosewater said:
Bah, must go. First guess: Sony's ESPER Laboratory??

No, but you have the right idea.
 
  • #2,344
I really don't know what you mean. Does this have to do with Art Bell at all? (I don't like George Noory)
 
  • #2,345
No

I don't care for George either.
 
  • #2,346
More clues! :cry:

Mk, is that a trick question? 57*N 12*E?
 
  • #2,347
In order:
You must unscramble the letters.

They form two words, and some letters are rotated, or backwards. :devil:

The Mac version recently came out.

Make sure you've turned on the right extra layers!

Check on the coast, a bit to the East.
 
Last edited:
  • #2,348
Mk said:
In order:
You must unscramble the letters.

They form two words, and some letters are rotated, or backwards. :devil:

The Mac version recently came out.
Yeah, Google Earth, right? I got that much.
Make sure you've turned on the right extra layers!

Check on the coast, a bit to the East.
Bah... guess I have to get it. Red fox, Tripoli, submarines... hmmm...
 
Last edited:
  • #2,349
Yep. :smile:
 
  • #2,350
Oh, yeah, who's the master?

The Foxtrot Subs in Tripoli are at approximately 32*54' N 13*13' E
 

Similar threads

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

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top