Thread View: sci.physics
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Started by Mike E. Romano
Wed, 22 Jul 1992 23:51
Low Tech is Best
Author: Mike E. Romano
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 23:51
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 23:51
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I heard somewhere that certain engineering solutions which appear primitive
actually superior in efficiency to modern ones.
One example: the Amish farm method of transferring work power via a stiff
steel wire up to half a mile long, using rocker arms, and off center wheels,
to transfering drive from either a water wheel or a wind mill distant from
the farm's workshop.
That this method transfers work energy much more efficiently than an electric
line would, since voltage drops as distance of electric cord increases.
(I am not including energy loss due to conversion of water power to electric,
etc.).
In other words, is the bailing wire superior to electric wire in this case?
--
Mike Romano Univ. Calif. Berkeley
Re: Low Tech is Best
Author: John McCarthy
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 20:07
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 20:07
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What about efficiency in human labor? Why were all the belt systems in textile mills replaced by electric motors? I'll bet it was for flexibility. -- John McCarthy, Computer Science Department, Stanford, CA 94305 * He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.
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