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[Reply #45 on:]

LOL.  OK, OK.. I withdraw the question.  :-)  I just read about the capitol building in my state that is one little earthquake away from shedding its brick-wall skin and marble pillars.  It's all of 80 years old.

[Reply #46 on:]

Seriously, we have cowsheds older than America

LOL, The phrase "North American culture" is a bit of an oxymoron when compared to most of the rest of the world.

[Reply #47 on:]

Seriously, we have cowsheds older than America

LOL, The phrase "North American culture" is a bit of an oxymoron when compared to most of the rest of the world.

Most, really? I've always felt so very luck to have been born and raised in my part of North America, compared to my admittedly somewhat limited travel experiences I have had experiencing other 'cultures'. But then again it all comes down to opinions I guess, and most people have opinions. 

Lefty

[Reply #48 on:]

Most, really?

Well, I am also a product of NA.  However, I am open to discussion.  Given that the predominant culture in the Americas is well less than 600 years old, can you think of some other place of significance that is also significantly younger?

[Reply #49 on:]

Most, really?

Well, I am also a product of NA.  However, I am open to discussion.  Given that the predominant culture in the Americas is well less than 600 years old, can you think of some other place of significance that is also significantly younger?

So the age of a culture is it's dominate attribute?

Lefty

[Reply #50 on:]

"In Europe, 100 miles is a long distance.  In America, 100 years is a long time."

There are two sets of answers showing up.  One assumes that the device needs power (at least enough for "standby") FOR 100 years, and the other assuming that the device will be completely inactive, and only needs power AFTER 100 years.

BTW, I don't know that modern semiconductors are expected to remain operational after 100 years.  Diffusion of dopants might render PN junctions non-working, and insulating gates non-insulating...

[Reply #51 on:]

So the age of a culture is it's dominate attribute?

Age, type of bacteria, and whether the fruit is at the bottom, or stirred in.

[Reply #52 on:]

So the age of a culture is it's dominate attribute?

Lefty

Well (at the risk for wandering too far off topic), by definition, quite simply, yes.  It takes time to develop culture.

To take things to an extreme for purposes of demonstration, if I created a town tomorrow, how deep would you say it's unique cultural attributes would be, by say, Sunday, when compared to a place like Athens, or Lagos (current name not withstanding), or Alexandria?

[Reply #53 on:]

So the age of a culture is it's dominate attribute?

Age, type of bacteria, and whether the fruit is at the bottom, or stirred in.

Yes, quite! (LOL)

[Reply #54 on:]

Most, really?

Well, I am also a product of NA.  However, I am open to discussion.  Given that the predominant culture in the Americas is well less than 600 years old, can you think of some other place of significance that is also significantly younger?

The Americas have been occupied for tens of thousands of years.  Check your facts.

Tim

[Reply #55 on:]

"In Europe, 100 miles is a long distance.  In America, 100 years is a long time."

There are two sets of answers showing up.  One assumes that the device needs power (at least enough for "standby") FOR 100 years, and the other assuming that the device will be completely inactive, and only needs power AFTER 100 years.

BTW, I don't know that modern semiconductors are expected to remain operational after 100 years.  Diffusion of dopants might render PN junctions non-working, and insulating gates non-insulating...

Just being able to store battery power that can be used in 100 years seems unlikely.  May I suggest a gold record if you want something that will last 100+ years as well as instructions on how to play it.  NASA had this same problem to solve back during the Carter administration.  Was sending a precious metal a good idea on Voyager?  Maybe it's an advertisement?  We have gold, this is where we are, come get it!

Tim

[Reply #56 on:]

Maybe it's an advertisement?  We have gold, this is where we are, come get it!

Battlefield Earth?

[Reply #57 on:]

The Americas have been occupied for tens of thousands of years.  Check your facts.

In fact, don't you have some sort of celebration of the fact that you super-ceded them involving pumpkin pie? 
I first heard the 100 year/100 mile phrase a long time ago and it goes a long way to explain our differences.
I was of course just leg pulling, but some very funny responses

Back to the topic in hand. It's interesting how such a mundane problem can throw up so many problems.
My original idea of a ultra slow mechanical clock that effectively used the moon as a power source, and then activating the electronics at the last moment was intended to keep the electronics turned off until required thus preventing FWAT, this included the power supply.

Someone mentioned redundancy, well, yes of course, but one could take this a stage further and rather than simple majority voting, one could maybe use a learning (repairing) neural net that could "energise" new circuit parts as others failed. For time keeping, again use say a solar event (day) to count.

Power supplies are a problem if self contained, but, since we are in a loft of a house, why not use main power and indeed, every 10 years it could request human intervention to "swap-out" circuity.

A friend of mine has a small (electric) lamp that he keeps burning in memory his mother and is thinking of emigrating to Oz, and wanted to power the lamp during the the move and sea voyage. His requirements were very stringent the light must not fail! And yet when I asked him what currently happened about power cuts, or the bulb blowing, he went quiet and didn't have an answer.

[Reply #58 on:]

Going out on a limb here, but if it's in the loft of a house, why not tap into the house wiring? I've done some math, I think it could work.

I was just about to say that ^

If it's in a house then what's the chances of the house being a) abandoned without electricity and b) somebody being in the house to hear the siren?

Seems pretty small to me.

[Reply #59 on:]

Seriously, though.  It's going in an attic?  Has anyone owned an attic for 100 years?  Maybe I'm just American, but after 60 years or so, houses tend to get remodeled and/or demolished.

Seriously, we have cowsheds older than America The pier I walked on this afternoon was built in 1867, it looks pretty much the same as when it was built. And the pub I visited after has been a pub since late 1700's, it was however  remodelled then as it was formally a place where cider was made. Not everything is pulled down every 60 years. So I reckon, a European loft has a good chance of surviving another 100 years (we gotta keep our chickens somewhere!)

To be fair, a lot American houses are made out of wood.

Maybe it's time we let the "free-thinking" young upstarts in on the secret of the Imperial British brick.