Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: mk378
Tesla did all his stuff before the three fundamental subatomic particles were discovered, and Einstein after. Neither one thought about the parts of an atom very much. It is possible to design electrical machines without knowing the exact physics of the electron. Einstein's famous equation relating mass and energy predicted that an atomic bomb, if one was ever built (and he hoped it wouldn't), had the potential to be extremely powerful.
Knowledge is forgotten a lot more than it is "suppressed". For example the Romans made a lot of things out of concrete. After their empire fell, no one knew how to make concrete until it was re-discovered hundreds of years later.
Great post...and I think the pyramids before that was another great example of ancient concrete with the technology lost.
Pozzolans is a side hobby of mine, and the Roman stuff will be standing long after our major cities have crumbled, as "Portland Cement" chemistry is different to what the Romans employed.
My Group Executive Manager is a Roman History nut (and aerospace engineer), and we had a great coffee machine discussion the other day about how close the Romans were to an industrial revolution bar one or two ideas merging.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ai...3950678/?no-ist
What about the Aztec's? They had some pretty interesting architecture as well that has managed to stick around.