Most complicated thingy [Archive] - Two Plus Two Newer Archives

bisonbison

03-08-2006, 01:38 AM

Guys, you need to lighten up. I need someone to tell me about the most complicated device ever made by man that fits these criteria:

No electricity, no combustion, no steam. No strange power source I haven't accounted for.

Purely mechanical power (horse, river, wind power, man pushing button to activate spring...) is fine.

The typewriter?
The windmill?
The something else entirely?

The winner? Everything I own.

Borodog

03-08-2006, 01:47 AM

I'm going to go with the self-winding pocket watch. I have a beautiful one my wife gave me with the guts all exposed behind the crystal, and that thing is astounding.

Sharkey

03-08-2006, 01:52 AM

My guess is the piano.

aeest400

03-08-2006, 02:11 AM

Babbage's analytical engine. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Babbage)

DrunkHamster

03-08-2006, 03:29 AM

Principia Mathematica

diebitter

03-08-2006, 03:45 AM

The brain. Though strictly speaking, these are made by women only.

MrMon

03-08-2006, 03:51 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I'm going to go with the self-winding pocket watch. I have a beautiful one my wife gave me with the guts all exposed behind the crystal, and that thing is astounding.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's got to be something like this. I can't find a picture of the internals, but the H4 watch that solved the longitude problem was something to behold.

Precision mechanical clocks/watches are amazing technology that you can hold in your hand and are only as complex as they need to be, yet are very complex, and they do work. Babbage's engine may be complex, but it didn't work, or at least it couldn't be built, so that's kind of a strike against it. Watches work.

hmkpoker

03-08-2006, 03:59 AM

I don't know if this counts, but the pyramids are pretty impressive /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Siegmund

03-08-2006, 06:14 AM

I am going to second the suggestion of something in the clockwork department. Perhaps one of the complicated orreries, that gives the time, date, phase of the moon, and position of all the planets.

The optical range and direction finders, combined with mechanical computers to calculate the direction and elevation of the guns, used on WWI-era battleships may also be a candidate. (By WWII these were electrical analog computers, I think, but the early ones, at least, were mechanical...)

In more modern times, the hologram might be a candidate - it requires electricity to create one, but not to view the several images contained in one. If you judge complexity based purely on bits of information contained, rather than number of moving parts, your winner will almost surely be something like holograms or microfilm. The latter may be more to your taste, since it can requires just a mechanical camera and chemicals.

cambraceres

03-08-2006, 06:21 AM

The most complicated purely mechanical pocket watch

Patek Phillippe Caliber 89

By far the most complex mechanism not run by external power sources I can think of.

I like that principia answer, but why not say qm or higher math?

Mik1w

03-08-2006, 10:28 AM

what about like a modern snier rifle? I would imagine a lot goes into that to make it accurate. There is gunpowder as well, I suppose that might not count.

I saw something at a museum in London, but I can't remember what it did. It was a huge mechanical device, I think it was a mechanical abacus, but it was absolutely massive and looked incredibly detailed and complex. It was about three times my height, and in a very large box. I think it was an early "computer", but it was entirely mechanical so I'm not sure.

purnell

03-08-2006, 11:01 AM

purnell

03-08-2006, 11:16 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Babbage's analytical engine. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Babbage)

[/ QUOTE ]

"Had the Analytical Engine ever actually been built..."

Disqualified?

Nottom

03-08-2006, 11:48 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Babbage's analytical engine. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Babbage)

[/ QUOTE ]

"Had the Analytical Engine ever actually been built..."

Disqualified?

[/ QUOTE ]

They did build a working copy in the early 90s. Just becasue Babbage himself didn't successfully build one shouldn't disqualify it.

purnell

03-08-2006, 12:12 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Babbage's analytical engine. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Babbage)

[/ QUOTE ]

"Had the Analytical Engine ever actually been built..."

Disqualified?

[/ QUOTE ]

They did build a working copy in the early 90s. Just becasue Babbage himself didn't successfully build one shouldn't disqualify it.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you are talking about "difference engine no. 2", which is pretty impressive itself, but not the analytical engine.

Borodog

03-08-2006, 01:15 PM

My second guess would have to be a clipper ship.

billygrippo

03-08-2006, 05:40 PM

roman pluming/aquaducts.

purnell

03-08-2006, 05:58 PM

It's not particularly complicated, and it is a heat engine (but it can run on solar power, of which wind power is a subtype, so it sorta qualifies), but i think the Stirling engine (http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~khirata/) is pretty cool.

bunny

03-08-2006, 06:17 PM

[ QUOTE ]
The brain. Though strictly speaking, these are made by women only.

[/ QUOTE ]

CORed

03-08-2006, 06:17 PM

Babbage engines have been built in recent years and they did work. Babbage was never able to muster the financial resources to build it, but the design was valid.

Rduke55

03-08-2006, 06:55 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The brain. Though strictly speaking, these are made by women only.

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

Some of the blueprints are from the man though.

Rduke55

03-08-2006, 06:59 PM

What about that ancient greek computer (http://www.giant.net.au/users/rupert/kythera/kythera3.htm) thingy? (http://www.giant.net.au/users/rupert/kythera/kythera-p62.htm)

FlFishOn

03-08-2006, 07:08 PM

Palomar telescope mirror mechanical computers:

""Active" mirror control: To combat flexure, Bruce Rule devised 36 devices which are plugged into voids on back of mirror (can be seen through holes in mirror cell). Each of these mechanical computers has 600-1000 parts (number depends on whether or not you count all parts of a bearing race individually, etc.), and can apply up to 1200 pounds of force to mirror. No living person fully understands these devices."

This is Cal Tech we're talking about here. Nobody understands them? That's f-ing complex. No power source save channeling gravity runs them. This is WWII era engineering.

The Norden bomb sight was pretty damn complex but likely has some electrical gyros, I dunno for sure.

OneForTheMel

03-08-2006, 10:00 PM

This is on the border of qualifying/not-qualifying because it creates electricity, but doesn't use it (or maybe I'm totally wrong, it was the first thing that came to my head, I really xon't know anything about the subject). The hydro-electric dam, it puts out a great deal of eletrical energy from the natural kinetic energy of the waters running through it. It's truly an amazing structure in both construction and use.

billygrippo

03-08-2006, 10:14 PM

[ QUOTE ]
This is on the border of qualifying/not-qualifying because it creates electricity, but doesn't use it (or maybe I'm totally wrong, it was the first thing that came to my head, I really xon't know anything about the subject). The hydro-electric dam, it puts out a great deal of eletrical energy from the natural kinetic energy of the waters running through it. It's truly an amazing structure in both construction and use.

[/ QUOTE ]

the principle of the hydro-electric damn is actually quite simple.

AceofSpades

03-09-2006, 12:16 AM

[ QUOTE ]
This is on the border of qualifying/not-qualifying because it creates electricity, but doesn't use it (or maybe I'm totally wrong, it was the first thing that came to my head, I really xon't know anything about the subject). The hydro-electric dam, it puts out a great deal of eletrical energy from the natural kinetic energy of the waters running through it. It's truly an amazing structure in both construction and use.

[/ QUOTE ]

I wouldn't say it's really that complex though, although quite amazing. My vote is for that mirror thingy.

mostsmooth

03-09-2006, 12:22 AM

does that old dude that created that coral courtyard stuff count? he made a revolving door from a huge piece of coral that cranes were having trouble lifting. wait, was it coral or granite? maybe it was granite.

John Cole

03-09-2006, 07:59 AM

From Babbage's original design (http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/babbage/PopUp5.asp) .

John Cole

03-09-2006, 08:07 AM

Oops; posted in the wrong place. See above for the engine that was built.

P Chippa

03-09-2006, 02:17 PM

http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/1786/contactlens8pv.th.jpg (http://img490.imageshack.us/my.php?image=contactlens8pv.jpg)

Silent A

03-09-2006, 02:59 PM

[ QUOTE ]
The brain. Though strictly speaking, these are made by women only.

[/ QUOTE ]
Uses electricity, therefore disqualified.

To me, the "no electricty" criterion kills almost all of the truly complex devices except the difference engines and mechanical clocks/watches.

Rduke55

03-09-2006, 03:31 PM

Well Bison, what is it?

bisonbison

03-09-2006, 04:49 PM

Well Bison, what is it?

Well, obviously the babbage machine is pretty cool. I'd love it if someone could post a link to the mechanics of self-winding watches.

Carl_William

03-09-2006, 04:56 PM

I have not read any of the many replies; but my guess is a machine called "women." AMEN

Carl_William

03-09-2006, 05:05 PM

DNA

billygrippo

03-09-2006, 05:07 PM

how a self-winding watch works. (http://science.howstuffworks.com/question285.htm)

bisonbison

03-09-2006, 08:38 PM

DNA

No nuclear power.

$_DEADSEXE_$

03-10-2006, 02:16 AM

the yo-yo

Borodog

03-10-2006, 02:03 PM

The self-winding pocket watch my wife gave me.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c153/Borodog/PocketWatch.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c153/Borodog/PocketWatch2.jpg