The greatest feat of human engineering ever achieved by man

a reply to: LSU2018

The first person to come up with a viable working design that can consistently keep that plasma contained and away from the walls will have essentially solved the world's energy demands for the next 500 years.

Loads of clever people fail to master the art of common sense simply because their heads are in another place.

Each to there own, takes all sorts to make this world spin.

a reply to: dfnj2015

Got a terrible cough... coughcoughmicrodozcough!

Wow - all that ultra-high technology, made possible only by computers, to make STEAM, which powered the low-tech nineteenth century. What was old is young again...

a reply to: dfnj2015

NSA records every phone conversation. Maybe they have an idea where he disappeared to.

originally posted by: Edumakated
Yeah, there are some super smart people. I'm often amazed at the stuff we can engineer and how it is done.

With that said, everyone still gets up and takes a dump in the morning.

I've been around some super smart people and while they could probably talk shop with Stephen Hawkins, they also lack basic common sense and could get hustled on the subway by a 12 year old.

:

There is a saying out there about the difference between being a smart man and a wise man. Basically a wise man can out wit the smart man or something to that effect.

The Germans for example made exceptional tanks. Much better than American tanks but not when it had to go up against a large number of them. Sure, the US lost a lot of tanks but so what. They just made more of them. Bet the smart German engineers didn't think of that scenario.

For me, I have always valued wit over straight up intelligence.

a reply to: dfnj2015

With this energy you can boil a lot of water to create steam

I thought I was coming to look at the feat that is the creation of a cuppa, but this was still an interesting read, thank you.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: Flavian

You think sticking a rusty tin can in low earth orbit is more impressive than a cure for polio or developing antibiotics that are literally responsible for saving millions of lives?

You know what’s funny
These rusty tin can builders as a general rule have a severe lack of something like simple social skills
I expect they don’t care about people, never mind curing anything or anyone.

Different people are impressed by different things, keep there rusty tin can heater, let’s see a cure for malaria

a reply to: FlyinHeadlock

I wonder if it was just Germany and the US head to head, without the allies helping the US, those German tanks would have sliced the US tanks into pieces
Maybe

Most German tanks were lost in Russia not Western Europe

a reply to: Bluntone22
Yes. Getting and keeping a manned space station in orbit requires the most prescise physics, rocket science, chemistry, construction, electronics, medical and bio engineering to create a livable habitat for humans, etc. It is a culmination of all our top engineering and sciences.

Antibiotics and medical accomplishments are amazing and certainly more important to humanity. Antibiotics and medical discoveries are just one necessary development en route to making the ISS feasable. Getting a stable orbiting space station is the epitome of human engineering to date.

originally posted by: FlyinHeadlock

originally posted by: Edumakated
Yeah, there are some super smart people. I'm often amazed at the stuff we can engineer and how it is done.

With that said, everyone still gets up and takes a dump in the morning.

I've been around some super smart people and while they could probably talk shop with Stephen Hawkins, they also lack basic common sense and could get hustled on the subway by a 12 year old.

:

There is a saying out there about the difference between being a smart man and a wise man. Basically a wise man can out wit the smart man or something to that effect.

The Germans for example made exceptional tanks. Much better than American tanks but not when it had to go up against a large number of them. Sure, the US lost a lot of tanks but so what. They just made more of them. Bet the smart German engineers didn't think of that scenario.

For me, I have always valued wit over straight up intelligence.

Yeah, one of my favorite sayings:

Education is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing you don't put it in a fruit salad.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: dfnj2015

So we are getting more energy out than we are putting in, and the process is sustainable?

Fusion works?

Where is the but?

But what happens during a sustained power outage or natural disaster where power loss results in a collapsed electromagnetic containment field?

originally posted by: dfnj2015

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: dfnj2015
Unless you've been around a super-genius you really have no idea how smart people can be.

Daily. So I get it.
I'm waiting for the miniaturized Mr. Fusion version for home use.

When I was in my prime I came up with what I thought was a really good algorithm for solving a very difficult problem. I worked on it over a month. I showed it to the guy who we thought was an ET. He looked at it, thought about for 2 minutes, and then gave me his algorithm which was so amazing it had to have come from God! This guy was truly like Mozart. I still can't believe it to this day what he did in front of me in 2 minutes.

Oh quit.

If I remember correctly it took me at least 4 minutes.

38 years ago I read in a news new paper that they wear building one.
and it had photos! it look't the same as the ones we see now!
they ether can not do it or its just fake to Take money!
Like cancer.

a reply to: dfnj2015
I had to give you a star for that post. Whether it is true or not, it's a good story.

originally posted by: Raggedyman
a reply to: FlyinHeadlock

I wonder if it was just Germany and the US head to head, without the allies helping the US, those German tanks would have sliced the US tanks into pieces
Maybe

Most German tanks were lost in Russia not Western Europe

One US strategy was to sacrifice a tank to draw out the German tank and attack it with two other US tanks. Learned that in my History of Modern Warfare class. And who developed the atomic bomb first and used it. Oh, that would be the dummies Hitler called mutts of the planet who pick pocketed the scientists from other countries to develop it.

a reply to: Bluntone22
Given enough time every machine ever made by man will eventually fail. What would it do to the earth if it failed? Explode, releasing enough energy to blow a hole as big as the Atlantic ocean and possibly breach the molten core or the planet? Or steadily burn through to the core?

a reply to: FlyinHeadlock

Well if the oil light comes on in your car you can turn off the engine before catastrophic failure.
I would think this machine would have some fail safe systems or it shouldn't be built..

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: FlyinHeadlock

Well if the oil light comes on in your car you can turn off the engine before catastrophic failure.
I would think this machine would have some fail safe systems or it shouldn't be built..

The problem is you cannot predict and prepare for every single failure. We've had several nuclear reactor disasters. I'm sure the Japanese never thought a nuclear reactor would get swept away by a giant Tsunami.

Some things just shouldn't be screwed with...

a reply to: Edumakated

Nuclear has a reasonable containment structure but 10 million degrees cant be contained.

originally posted by: Edumakated
Yeah, there are some super smart people. I'm often amazed at the stuff we can engineer and how it is done.

With that said, everyone still gets up and takes a dump in the morning.

I've been around some super smart people and while they could probably talk shop with Stephen Hawkins, they also lack basic common sense and could get hustled on the subway by a 12 year old.

Just because you use a toilet everyday does not make you a master plumber.