"Forgotten" technologies
Aug. 3rd, 2020 10:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kengrFor folks writing or gaming in situations where people might encounter long forgotten (or hidden) installations there are several technological bits that would make fun additions.
First off, our old friend TIMMs. Thermally Integrated Micro Modules.
These were blocks of ceramic and high temp metals. They were developed after EMP was discovered as something that could survive EMP bit still not be much bigger than the then current gear that used printed circuits with individual transistors and the like.
They were tube based, but the tube were the size of a dime. and the units were a solid block of metal and ceramic except for the cavities that were the vacuum inside the tubes or the filling of capacitors.
The didn't have filaments for the tubes, so that eliminated one common source of failure in tube based equipment. Instead the blocks were placed in what amounted to a well insulated oven and heated to a dull red heat which got the cathodes hot enough to work.
These would be great for gear in the stereotypical volcano lair or around a big nuclear reactor.
Next, if you encounter a *really* old installation (say 1890s to 1920s) you may encounter radio transmitters (morse code only, not voice) that don't use tubes. Instead they use an alternator (a sort of AC generator) to generate the signal.
Another fun thing are radon bulbs. Used for emergency lighting, they are glass globes or other shape, The inside is coated with a phosphor much like the ones used in fluorescent lights. They are filled with radon gas, and the particles emitted by the decaying radon strike the phosphor coat and produce light.
You could probably make some something similar with other radioisotopes, but radon is what was used in the ones I've read about.
"Gee, how are these lights still working? They're a bit dim, but..."
"Wait a sec. Look at how they are mounted. There aren't any wires..."
Just the thing to creep out the radiation averse. :-)
(added later)
Oh yeah, refrigeration gear. Before freon was invented commercial refrigeration used 3 different easily liquified gases as working fluid: Chlorine, ammonia and sulfur dioxide.
all of these are toxic. and they meant leaks were a *really* bad thing. Which is why home refrigeration didn't take off until freon came along.
Note that they are *still* used to some extent in commercial plants.
First off, our old friend TIMMs. Thermally Integrated Micro Modules.
These were blocks of ceramic and high temp metals. They were developed after EMP was discovered as something that could survive EMP bit still not be much bigger than the then current gear that used printed circuits with individual transistors and the like.
They were tube based, but the tube were the size of a dime. and the units were a solid block of metal and ceramic except for the cavities that were the vacuum inside the tubes or the filling of capacitors.
The didn't have filaments for the tubes, so that eliminated one common source of failure in tube based equipment. Instead the blocks were placed in what amounted to a well insulated oven and heated to a dull red heat which got the cathodes hot enough to work.
These would be great for gear in the stereotypical volcano lair or around a big nuclear reactor.
Next, if you encounter a *really* old installation (say 1890s to 1920s) you may encounter radio transmitters (morse code only, not voice) that don't use tubes. Instead they use an alternator (a sort of AC generator) to generate the signal.
Another fun thing are radon bulbs. Used for emergency lighting, they are glass globes or other shape, The inside is coated with a phosphor much like the ones used in fluorescent lights. They are filled with radon gas, and the particles emitted by the decaying radon strike the phosphor coat and produce light.
You could probably make some something similar with other radioisotopes, but radon is what was used in the ones I've read about.
"Gee, how are these lights still working? They're a bit dim, but..."
"Wait a sec. Look at how they are mounted. There aren't any wires..."
Just the thing to creep out the radiation averse. :-)
(added later)
Oh yeah, refrigeration gear. Before freon was invented commercial refrigeration used 3 different easily liquified gases as working fluid: Chlorine, ammonia and sulfur dioxide.
all of these are toxic. and they meant leaks were a *really* bad thing. Which is why home refrigeration didn't take off until freon came along.
Note that they are *still* used to some extent in commercial plants.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-04 12:21 am (UTC)And of course there were spark-gap transmitters as well. Other amusing items:
no subject
Date: 2020-08-04 06:48 am (UTC)I've got a 256 byte core plane not 5 feet from me. It's the same size as a 5.25" floppy (in fact, it's stored with some)
It'd take a massive EMP to effect the core plane. More likely to have problems from the induced currents in the rest of the computer.
I also have a magnetic bubble "experimenters kit" that Intel used to sell. I think it's 256k or so.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-04 07:03 am (UTC)Also magnetic core memory is easy to shield from EMP... aluminium foil and a ground wire. That's where the idea of tin foil hats came from.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-04 02:21 pm (UTC)These are fun. One variant is the homopolar generator:
https://www.google.com/search?q=homopolar+generator&oq=homopolar+generator&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l7.6651j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
no subject
Date: 2020-08-04 05:13 pm (UTC)Since there are ways (using coils carrying difference phases of a multiphase power source) of getting a rotating magnetic field from a stationary set of coils, this could make an interesting motor design.