Posted on 12/17/2019 12:40:01 AM PST by Swordmaker
I agree. This is pretty much what the researchers at Duke University are proposing.
The irony is that the Wright Brothers (understandably, for their time) thought that a flying machine merited a “super patent” - a concept which had arisen in US law, a patent which was so super that it would never expire. Ironic, because nothing of what the Wrights thought to patent is now still used in aviation.If you’ve ever played with a model airplane powered by a wound-up rubber band, you have probably noticed what is, interestingly, the Wright Brothers’ invention: the twisted shape of the propeller. That twist isn’t used in powered aircraft, because its virtue is only applicable in low powered, low speed flight. By twisting the propeller blades, the Wrights arranged that the angle of attack of the blade was constant from root to tip even tho the tip moved so much faster than the root did.
But it didn’t take long for that Wright advantage to be mooted by advances in engine design.
The Confederacy had extreme difficulty in making any industrial metal products, such as firearms and heavy equipment. I picked up what I believe is one of their more successful attempts to manufacture handguns during the Civil War a few months ago, a Dance Brothers .44 revolver from an auction selling Chinese ceramic antiques for a song because no one bidding on their items knew what it was. They had it listed as “an old gun”. . . But I looked at it and said “Oh, my God, that’s a Dance Brothers Dragoon!”
That’s neither here nor there, but in it’s entire existence, Dance Brothers, were able to turn out less than 500 guns, despite having some of the most sophisticated Confederate machine tools and forging equipment. (Mine is Serial #460, the highest Dance Brothers surviving number known, which causes me some concerns as to authenticity).
Of the other companies in the Confederacy which tried to produce firearms, only one was able to produce more than Dance Brothers. . . And it sold the majority of its product out the backdoor to private buyers rather than sending them to fulfill it’s contract with the Confederacy, before declaring bankruptcy on its $10,000 contract.
Never the less, the Confederacy did do some amazing innovation, including the building the CS Hunley, a submarine, re-building USN Merrimack as the CS Virginia, the first ironclad ship, and innovating Torpedos, using balloons as firing platforms, etc. The Confederacy was very creative in finding ways to leverage what it did have.
Its wartime production included the iron plating for the first Confederate ironclad warship, the CSS Virginia which fought in the historic Battle of Hampton Roads in March 1862; credit for approximately 1,100 artillery pieces during the war, about half of the South's total domestic production of artillery between the war years of 1861–1865, including the development of the Brooke rifle;[4] a giant rail-mounted siege cannon. The company also manufactured railroad steam locomotives in the same period.
See my post 44, the south did manufacture steam locomotives during the war.
That’s true. . . And between those locomotives and other train equipment and heavy ordnance, those priorities absorbed most supplies of iron available for other lighter firearms.
“Manpower wins infantry engagements. The North had manpower, the South did not”
If this were true, General Lee would not have won a battle.
“Equal manpower resources, and the South would have won quickly and decisively”
“If Lee and Johnson had remained in the United States Army the North would have won quickly and decisively
Both are preposterous statements, neither situation existed.
The Confederate Ordnance department did a stellar job in providing the tools of war for the Confederate Army.
But it was maxed out, Southern access to the raw materials and manufacturing capacity would have an impact on the Confederate war effort. The longer the war dragged out, the worse the situation became.
Also note the advanced stoneworking methods evident in Fred’s wall.
ROTFLMAO!
Especially if it falls from a high altitude at a high rate of speed. . .
There was someone in Grass Valley, California, who flew a heavier than air, gasoline powered aircraft, three weeks before the Wright brothers flew their plane at Kitty Hawk. . . but it did not get publicized as much as the Wright brother’s flight except locally in the weekly newspaper in Grass Valley. The Grass Valley flight was for a longer distance as well.
It is a truism when a technology’s time is ripe, it will be invented, usually by several people within a short time of each other. It becomes inevitable.
“had a much more advanced submersible than the “Hunley” in the “Intelligent Whale”
That might count if the Intelligent Whale had been launched during the war, but wasn’t finished before the war had ended. It was laid down in 1863 but not completed until 1866.
By contrast the Hunley not only was finished, it sank the USS Housatonic.
Good post. Engineering and its analytical formulas and tools are essential to practical applications of science and technology.
It is generally true. Lee gave the Confederates leverage they would not otherwise had, and he and a few others made their smaller forces more effective than the larger forces which opposed them.
Even so, had the North simply pressed it's manpower advantage, they would have likely lost fewer men on both sides and attained victory much faster.
I had never heard of this. Seems like they should be given credit over the Wright brothers.
It is a truism when a technology’s time is ripe, it will be invented, usually by several people within a short time of each other. It becomes inevitable.
Stuff like this makes me wonder if there is far more order to the Universe than is readily apparent.
There’s a copy of the Grass Valley paper in the museum up in the town with the date and information on the flight, but it was not publicized further than that. Big hoopla in the local area in the gold country of the Sierra Foothills when it occurred but no one did anything about it. By the time anyone thought much more about publicizing it, the Wright brothers had headlines in big papers on the east coast and were being lionized. Not much attention was going to be given to someone claiming priority with little proof other than a weekly newspaper from a small town in the boonies. The Grass Valley builders and pilot may someday get the kudos in a footnote but likely little more. . . I won’t hold my breath until it happens.
As for the inevitability of technology, it’s merely the advance of science being applied by engineers and tinkerers wondering “What can I do with this development and that discovery?” Some things become obvious at the same time to smart people when the basic research is spread freely and widely.
a manpower advantage is little use unless in the hands of a capable leader. The battle of Antietam is a very good example. The Army of the Potomac had almost a 50,000 man advantage in strength. McClellan managed to eke out a drawn battle, even with that advantage. Had someone like Grant or Thomas commanded the Army of the Potomac at the time, I could see the outcome to be very different.
Sheer numbers of soldiers do not win battles. The must be properly lead and equipped to be effective.
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