Alan wrote:
Rachel Garrett wrote:
I wonder: what is the optimal ratio of computing power to coffee machines? E.g., for an ISP with 500 servers, how many coffee makers does it take to sustain the required number of technicians at an appropriate level of alertness?
One, but it has to be one of those $5000 dollar stainless steel and bronze Italian ones with more dials and gauges than the reactor room of a nuclear sub.
Do you mean the control room (also called the Enclosed Operating Station) or the Reactor Compartment, where the reactor itself is kept?
If you mean the former, you can find a good picture of one here: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/images/rand.jpg
The caption reads: Scientists from RAND Corporation have created this model to illustrate how a "home computer" could look in the year 2004. However the needed technology will not be economically feasible for the average home. Also the scientists readily admit that the computer will require not yet invented technology to actually work, but 50 years from now scientific progress is expected to solve these problems.
Just in the interest of accuracy, the mockup in the picture is actually the area of the submarine known as "maneuvering," The station on the left controls the propulsion turbines, the center station controls the reactor, and the right station controls the electrical turbine generators.
There are very few dials and guages in the reactor compartment itself, since no one can enter the compartment while the reactor is running without receiving a lethal dose of radiation. Even with the reactor shut down, it is only safe to be in the compartment for a short period of time, thus maintenance must be done in shifts.
Maneuvering is located aft of the reactor compartment. The control room is located forward of the reactor compartment and is where the steering and fire control (weapons) systems are located. The Captain usually hangs out here.
The picture is obviously a mockup, since no actual sub would have anywhere near that much open space. The operating systems themselves look pretty accurate, as best I can remember (it's been almost 30 years).
Robert Stickney
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