Since atom smasher systems include PCs and networks...

Post #150,413

4/7/04 11:17:41 AM

4/7/04 11:36:50 AM

Consider the complexity of the [link|http://lhc-new-homepage.web.cern.ch/lhc-new-homepage/|Large Hadron Collider at CERN] versus a computer network [hardware and software] (recalling that CERN is highly networked and the LHC will generate [link|http://pcstats.cern.ch/icfa-scic/20030711-ICFA-HN.ppt|10s of pentabytes to exabytes of data] (see, e.g. slide 7 of the .PPT))....

Edit: Just in case my point isn't clear:
Yes, one can build a cyclotron with simple technology. After all, Lawrence started the first one in [link|http://www.aip.org/history/lawrence/first.htm|1930]. But some of the first PC networks were built in the 1960s, so comparing a farm-built cyclotron to a modern PC network, or vice versa, probably isn't a fair comparison... :-)

Cheers,
Scott.

Edited by Another Scott April 7, 2004, 11:36:50 AM EDT

Since atom smasher systems include PCs and networks...

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Post #150,414

by imric

4/7/04 11:33:29 AM

Well, they CAN include PCs and networks, of course...

I was wondering if someone would bring that up!

They don't have to, though - and I don't think a 'single user' accelerator (like the one I worked on in HS) has to be more complex than a PC+network.

Heheh. I was just having fun with the analogy. *grin*

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.

Nothing is as simple as it seems in the beginning,
As hopeless as it seems in the middle,
Or as finished as it seems in the end.

Post #150,415

by Another Scott

4/7/04 11:37:32 AM

See my edited post above. :-)

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