Has technology stagnated

[Bignate603]

Back in world war 2, the carburetor powered planes could not hang with the fuel injected planes on dives and climbs. Once the fuel injected planes started doing climb and dive maneuvers in a dog fight, the carburetor planes would stall out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire#Carburettor_versus_fuel_injection

The link you provided makes it clear that the fuel injection system was used to help the plane operate during extreme maneuvers, which cars do not have to go through. There's nothing there that shows any advantage for cars.

Another link

http://news.carjunky.com/fuel-injection-versus-carburetors-abc496.shtml

There's a few problems with this article:
1. It's a lousy article, no real explanation of anything or any indication of who wrote it.
2. Its comparing carbs to fuel injection as we know it now, with the computer controlled systems that make it work. Computer controlled fuel injection works very well and have many advantages, the earlier mechanical fuel injection that was competing against carbs back around WWII did not. The idea of fuel injection was decent but the rest of the technology to actually make it work well would take decades to arrive. It only became possible after the electronic systems to control it were created.

 

[Rubycon]

When you think about it, it does seem silly that we still use a machine that weighs ~1500 kg to move a person weighing ~55kg! 😀

 

[ShawnD1]

When you think about it, it does seem silly that we still use a machine that weighs ~1500 kg to move a person weighing ~55kg! 😀

I'd be perfectly ok with riding a motorcycle IF everyone else were required to. Currently, you have a 90% chance of getting pwned by a soccer mom in an SUV or angry dad in a pedovan when you are on a motorcycle.

I love how you only weigh 55kg. You're what a normal person should look like.

 

[Fayd]

Back in world war 2, the carburetor powered planes could not hang with the fuel injected planes on dives and climbs. Once the fuel injected planes started doing climb and dive maneuvers in a dog fight, the carburetor planes would stall out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire#Carburettor_versus_fuel_injection



Another link

http://news.carjunky.com/fuel-injection-versus-carburetors-abc496.shtml

i already explained that, but you apparently didn't see it. carburetors are affected by orientation, so it makes sense to have fuel injection on a plane. HOWEVER. fuel injection wasn't necessary on cars, and early fuel injection performed worse than their non-fuel injected cousins.

 

[jhansman]

What are the kids of today supposed to look up to?

Erm, talentless celebrities, drugged-out 'entertainers' and overpaid, ego maniacal athletes?

The fact that, in your pocket, you can carry around a computer masquerading as a phone that is probably many times more powerful than my first one (1988) is proof enough that technology is advancing. Also, remember that such advances are market driven.

 

[mizzou]

This is definitly the dark ages second coming. We have plenty of better things to spend money on then R&D and we have reached a point where religious views are blocking progress in medical advancements.

Most great innovations came out of the defense industry ( internet/jets/etc) given that there is no real impending threat from a technologically superior enemy, we have little to no reason to drive for the moon

 

[epidemis]

I'd be perfectly ok with riding a motorcycle IF everyone else were required to. Currently, you have a 90% chance of getting pwned by a soccer mom in an SUV or angry dad in a pedovan when you are on a motorcycle.

I love how you only weigh 55kg. You're what a normal person should look like.

What? 55kg is only normal if you are below 160cm and are a female

 

[Aikouka]

I'm a bit perplexed. You seem to have a negative view toward technological advancements, but multiple times throughout the thread, you keep mentioning advancements that have taken place over the last two decades. 😵

Also, sitting there looking at gigahertz is what got us into the "gigahertz wars" in the first place. Amusingly enough, I'd be willing to state that your idea of "advancement" in CPUs is actually what hindered them back then. There's a reason why Intel dropped Prescott (Pentium 4) for Dothan (Pentium M), and it wasn't gigahertz... it was efficient architecture.

As others have mentioned, we're also seeing advancements in small-scale areas as well. Don't you remember Intel's Tri-Gate announcement a couple months back? You won't physically see the advancement, but based on the provided numbers, we should certainly see the results!

But I think the one thing to keep in mind is this... R&D is expensive. Especially when you consider that you can sink a lot of money into it, and it ends up not being useful for some reason or another. I would assume that making small changes to existing technology is probably "safer" from a monetary stand-point compared to coming out with some radical new type of technology.

That's why I wish they government would focus more on providing grants for R&D purposes rather than providing tax breaks to push fledgling technologies (e.g. electric cars). In regard to electric vehicles, we need to work on our battery and charging technology.

 

[ShawnD1]

What? 55kg is only normal if you are below 160cm and are a female

55kg is 121lbs. 160cm is 5'3".
I say BS. My gf's cute friend is 120lbs and 5'7" and she's unbelievably hot. She's solid muscle too.

Women are trying to say 160lb is normal and I say screw that. There's no way being super weak and softer than jello is normal.

 

[Rubycon]

55kg is 121lbs. 160cm is 5'3".
I say BS. My gf's cute friend is 120lbs and 5'7" and she's unbelievably hot. She's solid muscle too.

Women are trying to say 160lb is normal and I say screw that. There's no way being super weak and softer than jello is normal.

170cm @ 55kg (on Earth) here.

My elders tell me I'm too thin, younger crowd don't complain. Go figure. 😀

 

[gaidensensei]

55kg is 121lbs. 160cm is 5'3".
I say BS. My gf's cute friend is 120lbs and 5'7" and she's unbelievably hot. She's solid muscle too.

Women are trying to say 160lb is normal and I say screw that. There's no way being super weak and softer than jello is normal.

It's genetics that probably accounts for the most disparities in height/weight ratio. You can look chubby but actually weight normal. Some things are just uncontrollable.

Oh, welcome back Ruby. 😀