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I think the answer to that is "yes", since our technology is advancing all the time. The question this made me wonder about is, "If this new 2015 engine was giv

I think the answer to that is "yes", since our technology is advancing all the time. The question this made me wonder about is, "If this new 2015 engine was given to the 1970s engineers, would they be able to understand how it was made and create a similar one?" This is just 40 or so years later. It makes you wonder how advanced an alien civilization would really have to be to impress us.

elpachuco 12y ago
Anti gravity engines. Warp engines. Replicators like those of Star Trek.
Animats 12y ago
They'd realize that some kind of new technique was being used to fabricate complex free-form parts. After close examination of the metal, they'd discover it was a sintering process, because sintered metal has a recognizable structure. They'd quickly figure out it was built up layer by layer by some deposition and heating process, because the layers are visible. Lasers were known in the 1960s. Even kilowatt-sized lasers existed in the 1960s, although they were big and involved chemical reactions. Numerically-controlled milling machines were known, although they were really clunky and usually involved paper tape readers, rather than direct computer control. Scanning electron microscopes were available by 1971, so it was possible to look at the fine structure of a chunk of metal. So the whole process might have been figured out. With enough money, laser sintering might have happened in the 1970s. It was actually invented in 1981, by a grad student looking for a project. (http://www.me.utexas.edu/news/2012/0712_sls_history.php http://www.me.utexas.edu/news/2012/0712_sls_history.php) It took a long time before it worked well, but that could have been accelerated with money. Making a model by laser scanning with structured light was a known process in the early 1970s. It was used by Ford Motor to get from clay models of cars to metal dies used to stamp out body parts. Previous approaches involved plaster casts and mechanical tracing machines. However, a computer tablet was beyond 1970s technology to even analyze, let alone duplicate.
- tsotha 12y ago
  >However, a computer tablet was beyond 1970s technology to even analyze, let alone duplicate. I doubt they'd be able to duplicate it, since there's a whole manufacturing infrastructure they'd have to duplicate first. But I doubt they'd have any trouble analyzing it. By 1970 they had integrated circuits, and there were people who were already looking ahead to the possibilities. It's not that hard to pop the plastic off of an IC and look at it with a microscope. Based on the gestalt of the time, they'd probably look at the tablet and think you should have something more advanced by 2015.
  - hga 12y ago
    They'd also immediately recognize what the tablet was, and anyone who was familiar with The Mother of All Demos or Xerox PARC's work would recognize the linage. And wonder why the UI was so inconsistent ^_^. As for ICs, the "standard" 7400 series dates back to the mid-60s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7400_series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7400_series They'd be impressed by the surface mounting, but that's not a great leap from through hole DIPs. They'd be really impressed by the CPU, since computing resources were so hard to get back then, but putting it all on a single chip is obvious, and e.g. the 4004 dates back to late 1971. Even DRAM dates back to the mid-60s (IBM), with the 1103 (Intel's first DRAM, a whopping 1024 bits) being sold stating in late 1970 (albeit with low yields for a while).

elpachuco 12y ago

Anti gravity engines. Warp engines. Replicators like those of Star Trek.

Animats 12y ago

They'd realize that some kind of new technique was being used to fabricate complex free-form parts. After close examination of the metal, they'd discover it was a sintering process, because sintered metal has a recognizable structure. They'd quickly figure out it was built up layer by layer by some deposition and heating process, because the layers are visible. Lasers were known in the 1960s. Even kilowatt-sized lasers existed in the 1960s, although they were big and involved chemical reactions. Numerically-controlled milling machines were known, although they were really clunky and usually involved paper tape readers, rather than direct computer control. Scanning electron microscopes were available by 1971, so it was possible to look at the fine structure of a chunk of metal. So the whole process might have been figured out. With enough money, laser sintering might have happened in the 1970s. It was actually invented in 1981, by a grad student looking for a project. (http://www.me.utexas.edu/news/2012/0712_sls_history.php http://www.me.utexas.edu/news/2012/0712_sls_history.php) It took a long time before it worked well, but that could have been accelerated with money. Making a model by laser scanning with structured light was a known process in the early 1970s. It was used by Ford Motor to get from clay models of cars to metal dies used to stamp out body parts. Previous approaches involved plaster casts and mechanical tracing machines. However, a computer tablet was beyond 1970s technology to even analyze, let alone duplicate.

tsotha 12y ago
>However, a computer tablet was beyond 1970s technology to even analyze, let alone duplicate. I doubt they'd be able to duplicate it, since there's a whole manufacturing infrastructure they'd have to duplicate first. But I doubt they'd have any trouble analyzing it. By 1970 they had integrated circuits, and there were people who were already looking ahead to the possibilities. It's not that hard to pop the plastic off of an IC and look at it with a microscope. Based on the gestalt of the time, they'd probably look at the tablet and think you should have something more advanced by 2015.
- hga 12y ago
  They'd also immediately recognize what the tablet was, and anyone who was familiar with The Mother of All Demos or Xerox PARC's work would recognize the linage. And wonder why the UI was so inconsistent ^_^. As for ICs, the "standard" 7400 series dates back to the mid-60s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7400_series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7400_series They'd be impressed by the surface mounting, but that's not a great leap from through hole DIPs. They'd be really impressed by the CPU, since computing resources were so hard to get back then, but putting it all on a single chip is obvious, and e.g. the 4004 dates back to late 1971. Even DRAM dates back to the mid-60s (IBM), with the 1103 (Intel's first DRAM, a whopping 1024 bits) being sold stating in late 1970 (albeit with low yields for a while).