Difference between revisions of "Talk:2694: Königsberg"
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::Aluminium was very valuable - methods for its extraction from ore didn't exist in any useful form until much later. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.146.80|172.68.146.80]] 03:55, 5 November 2022 (UTC) | ::Aluminium was very valuable - methods for its extraction from ore didn't exist in any useful form until much later. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.146.80|172.68.146.80]] 03:55, 5 November 2022 (UTC) | ||
::: Would scarcity be enough to make it valuable? Since nobody had this material back then, there wouldn't be any known applications for it. Compared to bringing e.g. a simple pocket calculator, a flashlight, a solar-powered e-book reader, etc. If an alien landed in my house and brought me some weird, shiny material that would be unable to build on earth, I wouldn't be too interested. But if they had some cool gadget or books full of alien information, I would immediately see its value. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.88|172.71.142.88]] 04:05, 5 November 2022 (UTC) | ::: Would scarcity be enough to make it valuable? Since nobody had this material back then, there wouldn't be any known applications for it. Compared to bringing e.g. a simple pocket calculator, a flashlight, a solar-powered e-book reader, etc. If an alien landed in my house and brought me some weird, shiny material that would be unable to build on earth, I wouldn't be too interested. But if they had some cool gadget or books full of alien information, I would immediately see its value. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.88|172.71.142.88]] 04:05, 5 November 2022 (UTC) | ||
| + | :::: At the time, there were few chemists who could have recognized what it was, but the Mayor of Königsberg would plausibly have been able to commission one. It likely would have taken months if not years, though. I guess if you have a time machine msuch details don't matter. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.173|162.158.166.173]] 04:11, 5 November 2022 (UTC) | ||
Revision as of 04:11, 5 November 2022
- Aluminum foil
Why would aluminum foil be valuable? I can see how it would be hard to produce at the time. But how would it be used and why would people of the time see a lot of value in it? 172.71.146.65 03:42, 5 November 2022 (UTC)
- Good question, but I'm persuaded the novelty and scarcity of metallic aluminium would have made it plenty valuable among those already wealthy enough to recognize what it was. Prussia was wealthy and Königsberg was its largest port city back then, so probably the mayor would have been able. 172.70.206.205 03:49, 5 November 2022 (UTC)
- Aluminium was very valuable - methods for its extraction from ore didn't exist in any useful form until much later. 172.68.146.80 03:55, 5 November 2022 (UTC)
- Would scarcity be enough to make it valuable? Since nobody had this material back then, there wouldn't be any known applications for it. Compared to bringing e.g. a simple pocket calculator, a flashlight, a solar-powered e-book reader, etc. If an alien landed in my house and brought me some weird, shiny material that would be unable to build on earth, I wouldn't be too interested. But if they had some cool gadget or books full of alien information, I would immediately see its value. 172.71.142.88 04:05, 5 November 2022 (UTC)
- At the time, there were few chemists who could have recognized what it was, but the Mayor of Königsberg would plausibly have been able to commission one. It likely would have taken months if not years, though. I guess if you have a time machine msuch details don't matter. 162.158.166.173 04:11, 5 November 2022 (UTC)
- Would scarcity be enough to make it valuable? Since nobody had this material back then, there wouldn't be any known applications for it. Compared to bringing e.g. a simple pocket calculator, a flashlight, a solar-powered e-book reader, etc. If an alien landed in my house and brought me some weird, shiny material that would be unable to build on earth, I wouldn't be too interested. But if they had some cool gadget or books full of alien information, I would immediately see its value. 172.71.142.88 04:05, 5 November 2022 (UTC)
- Aluminium was very valuable - methods for its extraction from ore didn't exist in any useful form until much later. 172.68.146.80 03:55, 5 November 2022 (UTC)
