Done with a slide rule

« Back to blog

Edit
Delete
Tags
Autopost

Done with a slide rule

via punditkitchen.com

Posted

Views

10 responses
Like
Comment

11 months ago Firstmate responded:

Actually it was done with an IBM 360/85 and an IBM 360/75 and a custom made landing computer built for and programmed at MIT. The calculations were done in advance and the descent was helped by the on-board computer in real time.

Your argument is facile.

10 months ago Fred responded:

Have you seen the performance stats on the IBM 360/85 and an IBM 360/75 ? They're utterly pathetic by today's standards, even if they were supercomputers once upon a time. I wouldn't be surprised if a phone DOES have more computing power. 1969 happened a very long time ago.

10 months ago Maverick responded:

even NASA engineers agree that today's cell phones have more capabilites than he computers then.

10 months ago Lauri responded:

IBM 360: 0.0018 to 0.034 MIPS
Original iPhone: 740 MIPS
iPhone 3Gs: 1257 MIPS

10 months ago FrankBarducas responded:

This is all missing the point of the issue here. Although 8th graders wield the power of technology advanced as today's current calculators they simply are just too immature to come up with something like the lunar expeditions.

10 months ago Colin responded:

The 2010 Apple iPhone has double the computing power / memory / hard drive space of the 2000 Apple iMacs.
While the trip was made by computers, I wouldn't doubt that a lot of engineering was done with slide rules.

10 months ago Bob responded:

Neat pic, but of course eighth graders won't "come up with something like the lunar expeditions," because they are eighth graders and not middle-aged dudes and dudettes working for NASA. In all reality, everyone is a child at some point and with young age comes, I don't know, not NASA stuff. But! As minds develope, and time progresses we get new ideas that surpass anything thought of by the crew that first stepped on the moon. We are currently planning manned-trips to asteriods, have rovers on mars, orbiters at mercury, observer going towards pluto and the solar system limit, plans for observers for two of saturn's moons. Space is getting cooler everyday guys, I can't wait until our current eighth graders are nasa execs looking for the next frontier.

10 months ago Chrono responded:

The main idea is that we are falling into a passive era, where people prefer playing and having fun than thinking... I could write a whooooole essay about this situation but is out of this post's scope...

Congrats for the post!

5 months ago Max responded:

Obviously Mrs. Johnson's 8th grade class felt it necessary to point out there were computers back in the 60's...point is the design of the equipment, the Staurn V , the Command Module and LEM were largely done with drawings and yes a slide rule.

Suck it kiddies, go back and play on your XBox now...least you got THAT going for you.

5 months ago Liam Wescott responded:

One of my favorite scenes in the movies is a scene in "Apollo 13" where Cmrdr. Lovell (Tom Hanks) does some quick math on a notepad about some needed calculation and asks Mission Control to "check my math."

You then see five or six guys break out their slide rules and check his calculations and all agree with him.

Posterous theme by Cory Watilo.

Internotes

Navigation

Archive

Done with a slide rule