4 ms·

Not just magnitude but duration. Name one machine that works without major overhaul for more than 100 years. For bonus points, name a machine that's significant

Not just magnitude but duration. Name one machine that works without major overhaul for more than 100 years. For bonus points, name a machine that's significantly more complex than a clock.

ForHackernews 13y ago
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/10000-year-clock/ http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/10000-year-clock/
- Tloewald 13y ago
  Hence my bonus points ;-)
Houshalter 13y ago
Name one machine that's designed to work for over 100 years. Many of NASA's spacecraft have survived well beyond their intended death dates, because they were constructed so well, and because space is cold, static, and good at preserving things.
- Tloewald 13y ago
  There are plenty of simple, well-made machines designed to work indefinitely -- e.g. doorknobs, window assemblies. Even simple, robust, well-maintained machinery tends not to last a very long time. There's a stone bench somewhere that Thomas Jefferson supposedly used to sit on that has become curved over time.
  - kjs3 13y ago
    I live in a mostly original (at the time I purchased it) 1950s home, and I can assure you that doorknobs and window assemblies do not last indefinitely.
  - GFK_of_xmaspast 13y ago
    Are you seriously going with "a stone bench" as your example of the durability of "robust well-maintained machinery".
    - rm445 13y ago
      I'm pretty sure he's taking the opposite view, that (a) building elements have indefinite design lives but don't last that long, and (b) Even stonework doesn't endure indefinitely. I'm not sure I really agree with the second point in this context - stonework tends to endure. We have Norman cathedrals that are looking good at nearly a thousand years old, comparable to the timescales under discussion to spaceflight. More to the point, there's no reason to believe that the basic structural elements of, say, a hollowed nickel-iron asteroid wouldn't be durable enough for spaceflight.
darkmighty 13y ago
You're unlikely to see any project designed to last more than a few generations simply because the original stake holders won't live to it's end. Also, there's the opportunity cost -- technology usually advances which makes the investment retroactively not worthwhile.
rm445 13y ago
What sort of major overhaul do you have in mind? A spacecraft on a multi-century flight would presumably have continuous ongoing maintenance and repair, but would need to function without a spell in space-dry-dock halfway through its journey. So to answer your question, what about the London Underground? It's a pretty complex machine that has been running for 120 years, with various overhauls, but of the frequent short shutdown type rather than total closure and redevelopment. The challenge for a spacecraft is being a closed system, but it's just an engineering problem.

Not just magnitude but duration. Name one machine that works without major overhaul for more than 100 years. For bonus points, name a machine that's significantly more complex than a clock.

ForHackernews 13y ago

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/10000-year-clock/ http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/10000-year-clock/

Tloewald 13y ago
Hence my bonus points ;-)

Houshalter 13y ago

Name one machine that's designed to work for over 100 years. Many of NASA's spacecraft have survived well beyond their intended death dates, because they were constructed so well, and because space is cold, static, and good at preserving things.

Tloewald 13y ago
There are plenty of simple, well-made machines designed to work indefinitely -- e.g. doorknobs, window assemblies. Even simple, robust, well-maintained machinery tends not to last a very long time. There's a stone bench somewhere that Thomas Jefferson supposedly used to sit on that has become curved over time.
- kjs3 13y ago
  I live in a mostly original (at the time I purchased it) 1950s home, and I can assure you that doorknobs and window assemblies do not last indefinitely.
- GFK_of_xmaspast 13y ago
  Are you seriously going with "a stone bench" as your example of the durability of "robust well-maintained machinery".
  - rm445 13y ago
    I'm pretty sure he's taking the opposite view, that (a) building elements have indefinite design lives but don't last that long, and (b) Even stonework doesn't endure indefinitely. I'm not sure I really agree with the second point in this context - stonework tends to endure. We have Norman cathedrals that are looking good at nearly a thousand years old, comparable to the timescales under discussion to spaceflight. More to the point, there's no reason to believe that the basic structural elements of, say, a hollowed nickel-iron asteroid wouldn't be durable enough for spaceflight.

darkmighty 13y ago

You're unlikely to see any project designed to last more than a few generations simply because the original stake holders won't live to it's end. Also, there's the opportunity cost -- technology usually advances which makes the investment retroactively not worthwhile.

rm445 13y ago

What sort of major overhaul do you have in mind? A spacecraft on a multi-century flight would presumably have continuous ongoing maintenance and repair, but would need to function without a spell in space-dry-dock halfway through its journey. So to answer your question, what about the London Underground? It's a pretty complex machine that has been running for 120 years, with various overhauls, but of the frequent short shutdown type rather than total closure and redevelopment. The challenge for a spacecraft is being a closed system, but it's just an engineering problem.