[QUOTE=lavalamp;235807]No, but close.

That's all 20, anyone else want to have a guess before I reveal?[/QUOTE]

it's nothing I know in my computer that's for sure.

is it a game console ? lol just joking it's not.

I already guessed magnets, but I guess not... :-p

[QUOTE=Zeta-Flux;235837]I already guessed magnets, but I guess not... :-p[/QUOTE]

I'm guessing diodes.

Maybe a NAND or inverter gate, or some other type of logic gate?

[QUOTE=retina;235842]Maybe a NAND or inverter gate, or some other type of logic gate?[/QUOTE]DING DING DING DING![code]<?php
echo sha1(sha1(sha1("A NAND gate."))); // 670d6661f375878426e6240f77d6fc1588d67d96
?>[/code]

Hmmm... So the bit about "they're bloody everywhere" -- are you sure that modern electronics uses NAND, and not something like NOR? :smile:

I'm sure they're both regularly used, but as far as I am aware, NAND is the do-everything gate of choice. I realise that combinations of NOR gates can also be used to replicate all other gates, but as I say, NAND is the most popular I beileve.

Perhaps they are indeed, both bloody everywhere.

A NAND gate is a logical item. While it can be constructed in a physical form as electronic, they have also been built in mechanical forms.

[QUOTE=http://www.nanomedicine.com/NMI/10.2.1.htm]In 1990, University of Minnesota engineers fabricated a complete family of micromechanical digital logic devices, including electrostatically-actuated linear-sliding ~30 micron mechanical logic elements confined to a one-dimensional track, forming NAND and NOR gates suitable for low-speed radiation-hard digital functions "in environments hostile to electronic devices."[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic_gate]Charles Sanders Peirce (1880) showed that NAND gates alone (or alternatively NOR gates alone) can be used to reproduce the functions of all the other logic gates, but his work on it was unpublished until 1935.[/QUOTE]

[url]http://goldfish.ikaruga.co.uk/ornand.html[/url] an example manufactured of Lego's.

This video demonstrates that they can be constructed of Kinex [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vXlQZvS-nM[/url]

They can be electromagnetic as well.

I dispute (mildly) your answer that they are electronic.


BTW: maybe Retina should take the next round.

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;235850]I dispute (mildly) your answer that they are electronic.[/QUOTE]I strongly rebut your mild dispute.[QUOTE=Uncwilly;234831]The CM RCS has 1/200th the power of the SPS. And the CM RCS is used for less than 1/600th of the flight. It is not used to move it from the course, only to rotate the position.[/QUOTE]Are you suggesting that mechanical or electromagnetic can operate at greater than 1/200 the frequency that NAND gates on VLSI circuits can, or that they are used for more than 1/600 the applications in the real world?

With your answer that the object was not capable of moving itself I ruled out all forms of space craft, because they must all be capable of moving themselves to some degree. At least, I am not aware of any that are not (other than dead satellites).

With my answer that the object was electronic, did you seriously rule out all logic gates because of a very few specialised purposes? All electronic devices could be replaced entirely with mechanical processes, it's just very impractical and difficult.

NAND gates are certainly the most seen gates used in my experience. Also, there are more types of NAND gates available than there are AND, XOR, XNOR, OR or NOR gates (in discrete componentry anyway, FPGAs/CPLDs might be different).[QUOTE=Uncwilly;235850]BTW: maybe Retina should take the next round.[/QUOTE]I don't mind trying to run one of these. But I screwed it up at the last question so I don't really deserve it. Unless lavalamp wants to take break then it is lavalamp that should start the next one. This current one was certainly very entertaining.

You specifically mentioned the exact answer, I'd consider that a win, go for it.

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;235850]I dispute (mildly) your answer that they are electronic.[/QUOTE][QUOTE=lavalamp;235853]I strongly rebut your mild dispute.[/quote]
If you meant "an electronic NAND gate" you should have put that as the input into the hash. :) But then, this is me -> :deadhorse:

An item that is part of a computer (in the chips), isn't "connected" to it, it is it. I think some of the questions that lead up to that are the problem, directing thoughts.

[quote]With your answer that the object was not capable of moving itself I ruled out all forms of space craft, because they must all be capable of moving themselves to some degree. At least, I am not aware of any that are not (other than dead satellites).[/quote]The Ranger block II craft had a major sub-craft that was unable to move by itself. Solar sail craft can't move by themselves. Echo I could not move by itself. The Apollo [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_16#Subsatellite"]sub-satellites[/URL] could not move by themselves. From everything that I could find, Huygens could not move by itself.

[QUOTE=lavalamp;235859]You specifically mentioned the exact answer, I'd consider that a win, go for it.[/QUOTE][url=http://mersenneforum.org/showthread.php?t=14167]Okay. Here 'tis.[/url]

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;235860]An item that is part of a computer (in the chips), isn't "connected" to it, it is it. I think some of the questions that lead up to that are the problem, directing thoughts.[/QUOTE]Sure it is, the alternative is not connected, and they are not not connected. I did however say "connected" to imply that it was perhaps misleading to characterise them as such, but I couldn't exactly spell it out without giving too much away. Nevertheless, I'm sure there are some quad NAND chips soldered onto motherboards somewhere.

[QUOTE=lavalamp;235843][code]<?php
echo sha1(sha1(sha1("A NAND gate."))); // 670d6661f375878426e6240f77d6fc1588d67d96
?>[/code][/QUOTE]I needed to check my SHA-1 was giving correct results so I verified your result:

A NAND gate.
SHA-1 :ee2c72fd22d5b7720d928d346a246eb83250b39c

ee2c72fd22d5b7720d928d346a246eb83250b39c
SHA-1 :8659e55998835077da0c3ea6e213561a5d12bf3b

8659e55998835077da0c3ea6e213561a5d12bf3b
SHA-1 :670d6661f375878426e6240f77d6fc1588d67d96

And my original text: "Is it a transistor?" (which turned out to be wrong :sad:)

Is it a transistor?
SHA-1 :598d24122d527b4812953a9c59cc8e4b70223d2c

[QUOTE=retina;235881]I needed to check my SHA-1 was giving correct results so I verified your result:

A NAND gate.
SHA-1 :ee2c72fd22d5b7720d928d346a246eb83250b39c

ee2c72fd22d5b7720d928d346a246eb83250b39c
SHA-1 :8659e55998835077da0c3ea6e213561a5d12bf3b

8659e55998835077da0c3ea6e213561a5d12bf3b
SHA-1 :670d6661f375878426e6240f77d6fc1588d67d96

And my original text: "Is it a transistor?" (which turned out to be wrong :sad:)

Is it a transistor?
SHA-1 :598d24122d527b4812953a9c59cc8e4b70223d2c[/QUOTE]

Strange, I got (see post #92):

Is it a transistor?
SHA-1 (single pass): 2edfdc43187793a8574d3815a75e0f174b117409

[QUOTE=jyb;235883]Strange, I got (see post #92):

Is it a transistor?
SHA-1 (single pass): 2edfdc43187793a8574d3815a75e0f174b117409[/QUOTE]You have a LF at the end. I don't.

[QUOTE=retina;235884]You have a LF at the end. I don't.[/QUOTE]

Indeed. Thanks.