4 ms·
> what may be most remarkable about the engines is that they took almost 30 years to develop. That’s about 15 times as long as the gestation period of an eleph
by knodi123 11y ago
> what may be most remarkable about the engines is that they took almost 30 years to develop. That’s about 15 times as long as the gestation period of an elephant
Who the hell is running their analogy department?!?
"Thirty years! That's a big number! We need some kind of comparison that will instantly give the reader perspective. Of course, in this, as in so many other things, the answer lies in pachydermian pregnancy patterns."
- avar 11y agoI thought the next example was even more inane. It goes on to say: "and unimaginably longer than it takes to pop out a smartphone app".
- wmeredith 11y agoWell, as we all know, every smartphone app takes exactly 1 year to create, and it's hard to imagine a time period 30 times longer.
- craftkiller 11y agoSmart phones haven't even existed long enough for anyone to spend 30 years making an app for them... And the laws of physics have much better backwards compatibility than each new fly-by-night smartphone OS
- gavazzy 11y agoThirty years is: ~ 0.36 x orbital period of Uranus ~ 1.02 x orbital period of Saturn ~ 5.7 x half-life of colbalt-60 source: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=30+years http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=30+years
- hinkley 11y agoPsssht, it's not even half a Jovian year. What's the big deal.
- jws 11y agoAs long as we are ripping on their numbers… "75% less noise" almost certainly means 75% less power in the noise which means about 6 decibels quieter. That's noticeable, but not huge.
- gear54rus 11y agoWell the editor (or whoever else) is obviously butthurt over the SV and general direction where technology is headed. Tough luck... he'll have to adapt just like everyone else. Or go on a strike right with those taxi drivers.