4 ms·
This is bad read on the history of innovation. I offer two counter-examples, though there are many more: (1) Japanese semiconductor industry, for which there i
by rmrfstar 6y ago
This is bad read on the history of innovation. I offer two counter-examples, though there are many more:
(1) Japanese semiconductor industry, for which there is an excellent NHK documentary [1].
(2) After WW2, the British invited Soviet engineers to tour jet engine factories as a token of good faith. The engineers documented the factory layout, and wore adhesive on their shoes to gather metal filings for later analysis. A few years later, Mig-15's were shooting American planes out of the sky over Korea. A similar example: the British transferred huge bodies of knowledge to US aircraft engine manufacturers during WW2. This laid the foundation for the industry's future success.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihkRwArnc1k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihkRwArnc1k
- lightgreen 6y ago(2) According to Mig-15 wp page, UK gave USSR an engine with blueprints. The part in your story about adhesive shoes sounds like an urban legend, unimportant detail at most.
- redis_mlc 6y agoNo, I've heard about that in a few different aircraft programs, so it's likely real.
- techer 6y agoNot the origin of gumshoe
- s1artibartfast 6y agoAerospace metallurgy is some of the most secretive aspects of development. Metal filings could literally have been more valuable than the blueprints. This is still a very competitive space a challenge for reverse engineering. Even with samples and atomic analyses, it is not always possible possible to reproduce without the proper method. Here is a related link. https://www.inkstonenews.com/tech/chinese-spy-accused-trying-steal-us-trade-secrets/article/2168111 https://www.inkstonenews.com/tech/chinese-spy-accused-trying...
- oliwarner 6y agoAs you hint, raw composition isn't even half the story. You can put your microscopic samples in the mass spec and then melt the same elements together and not end up with the same stuff. Treatment, how it's worked, how it's coated are just as important. Not to mention how contaminated filings usually are.