Post #8,214
9/11/01 8:47:38 AM
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What is coltan?
[link|http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/5/21580.html|http://www.theregis...5/21580.html]
I've never heard of coltan before and I consider myself educated in science. Are there any good, electrical conductors other than metals and graphite? Why do manufacturers favour this rather than aluminium or copper?
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Post #8,234
9/11/01 10:10:09 AM
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But tantal(-um, -ium?) *is* a metal; used as alloy in steel.
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Post #8,242
9/11/01 10:26:02 AM
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It's tantalum. That makes sense.
Tantalum is good at withstanding heat. I don't remember it having any decent electrical properties. I don't remember it being black. Or is that just the ore?
This now becomes a question of economics, why bother with such an unusual and not particularly useful metal?
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Post #8,464
9/11/01 10:27:53 PM
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Tantalum oxide capacitors.
That seems to be the main use of tantalum in electronics. They allow you to make very low loss, very high quality, small, capacitors - which is difficult to do with normal silicon IC processing.
Tantalum is a "refractory" metal - it has a very high melting point. It's often used in vacuum chambers for heating elements for furnaces and the like. Its oxide is also being investigated for use in things like high density RAM (because its dielectric constant is much higher than SiO2's).
More [link|http://ugandagold.com/tant-back.html|here].
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Scott.
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Post #9,601
9/18/01 9:10:42 AM
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Coltran is similar to Forbol
COBOL + FORTRAN = Coltran
FORTRAN + COBOL = Forbol
A hybrid language.
What do you mean that is not the answer you had in mind?
________________
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Post #9,642
9/18/01 6:27:46 PM
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Just because you CAN post...
...doesn't mean you SHOULD.
--
Peter
Shill For Hire
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Post #10,113
9/21/01 1:05:14 PM
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Let's take a vote
How many found it amusing, semi-amusing, or not-amusing?
Just because you did not like it, does not mean that nobody else did.
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Post #10,114
9/21/01 1:09:23 PM
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Thumb down
Jay O'Connor
"Going places unmapped
to do things unplanned
to people unsuspecting"
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Post #10,123
9/21/01 2:41:07 PM
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Semi.
Imric's Tips for Living- Paranoia Is a Survival Trait
- Pessimists are never disappointed - but sometimes, if they are very lucky, they can be pleasantly surprised...
- Even though everyone is out to get you, it doesn't matter unless you let them win.
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Post #10,126
9/21/01 3:02:03 PM
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Semi
There have been tasteless things in the past, but this isn't one of them.
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
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Post #10,135
9/21/01 4:13:05 PM
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Not tasteless, certainly.
But not particularly amusing either.
Doesn't mean you shouldn't post it if it strikes your fancy.
Regards,
-scott anderson
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Post #10,172
9/21/01 9:12:37 PM
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Quite funny IMO, actually
Not that it needed the body; explaining the "Subject" punch-line is... Well, explaining the punch-line.
But for once, Peter is way off about you shutting up.
Christian R. Conrad
The Man Who Knows Fucking Everything
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Post #10,177
9/21/01 10:08:38 PM
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Silly'd better be fine or,
many posts will be blank.
Let's confine whack-a-mole to truly mole-asses behavior, OK?
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Post #10,334
9/24/01 8:14:00 AM
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I thought it was okay.
"All around me are nothing but fakes
Come with me on the biggest fake of all!"
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Post #10,335
9/24/01 8:25:13 AM
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Unoriginal, unfunny
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Post #10,724
9/27/01 11:03:27 PM
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You've seen it before somewhere?
________________
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