Great visualisation from Branch Education: https://youtu.be/B2482h_TNwg
It really evokes Douglas Adams' quip that "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
There's always guys like this: https://simplifier.neocities.org/ whipping up stuff in their backyard, but so far as I know there's no serious alternatives for general computing that I could, with serious organization with, say, my entire city and the surrounding countryside (which includes some mines), use in case of global destabilization to start building our own computers.
Tinfoil hat guy maybe but I think we should have that kind of backup plan ready. Just in case!
The tech tree both of these people have under their belt are huge, but the work Primitive Technology has to put in to get close to Simplifier's start is still huge. So much work required to get even a bit of metal.
Getting back to the level we're in as as society right now after a global catastrophe is going to a take quite a while. Some of the information to get going again is digital, so accessing might be impossible if things are bad enoguh
The article keeps mentioning of silicon metal, but wasn't silicon a metalloid at best?
"Transactions of the American Electrochemical Society v. 29 (1916)"
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433090838537&se...
SILICON-METAL
A special steel of great importance to electrical industry is silicon steel, used in electrical transformer construction and all alternating-current apparatus. Silicon metal and 75 percent ferrosilicon essential in its manufacture are produced only at Niagara Falls. The ageing of transformer steel has long been the cause of a serious falling off in efficiency. This loss often doubled after a few years' use. Silicon steel does not age. Moreover, its original hysteresis loss is 25 percent less than that of the old type of steel.
The saving in a large generating and distributing system from the generator through step-up and step-down transformers to the motor may be as high as 6 percent. Thus silicon steel, a comparatively unknown product, is saving many millions of dollars annually wherever electric energy is transformed.
Silicon metal as a "preparedness" product is important in the generation of hydrogen for aeronautical purposes. In conjunction with caustic soda it forms the cheapest method of generating hydrogen in the field or on shipboard when portable outfits are required.
scorpioxy•4mo ago
Learning about the conflict that has been going on for quite a while, makes me believe that something is fueling that fire. Didn't expect to see Spain as step 1.
Aurornis•4mo ago
bilbo0s•4mo ago
Because there are so many alternative materials fit for purpose. /s
That "only" is kind of "Jedi Hand Wave"-esque.
That said, neither Spain, nor Congo are the be all end all. The required resources exist elsewhere, but I mean.. you know.. money and politics.
Aurornis•4mo ago
The “only” is because the article was not about tantalum capacitors, and therefore it didn’t come up in the article.
I was not making any comments trying to diminish any problems. Merely explaining why it’s not in the article per the parent comment.
close04•4mo ago
chromehearts•4mo ago
____mr____•4mo ago
gsf_emergency_2•4mo ago