(Towards) A Dependency Graph for Creating Fundamental Technologies

(Towards) A Dependency Graph for Creating Fundamental Technologies

Formerly: Rebooting Society from Ground Up

Table of Contents

1 The Foundation

As human beings, our capabilities are limited by three factors: access to or possession of resources, information describing these resources, and the intelligence or mental faculties to use together these things. Theses three components thus define the boundaries of our freedom. The objective of this work is to discern low hanging fruit for affording people freedom in each of these three areas. Towards a resource which describes the necessity and procurement of raw materials, and how to build the simplest effectie forms of the world's most impactful technologies, such as paper, metallurgy and wire, magnets, electric generators, batteries, plastic, and glass. The importance of each of these components will be justified and each of their dependencies on other inventions will be recursively specified. The result of this work is a curriculum of co-dependent instructions, information, and resources for implementing from raw/naturally found materials the most significant technical achievements of humanity.

1.0 Goal

The ultimate goal of this project is to create a type of dynamic community wiki where people can publish and interactively link together modular recipes for creating foundational technologies. For instance, once a module exists which recursively, axiomatically defines a flow for building an electric generator, one could mark this as a dependency (a requirement) for, for instance, a toaster.

1.1 Inspiration

This concept is loosely based on:

  1. The Foundation Series, a science fiction series by Isaac Asimov.
  2. Dr. Richard Feynman's talk on Electricity
  3. Thomas Thwaites: "How I built a toaster — from scratch" (TEDSalon London 2010)
  4. Open Source Blueprints for Civilization
  5. From NAND to Tetris (Coursera)
  6. Open Source Blueprints
  7. Tesla, Mendeleyeev, Voltaire, Maxwell, Farday, and others

1.2 On Method

This section is an attempt to document the process by which this research experiment was conducted.

1.3 Index of Raw Materials

As an aside, here's a neat map of the etymology of the elements.

Wikidata IDMaterialRecipes / ProcessesRequires
Q753Copper (Cu)Gather Malachite, Smelt OreQ479257, Q164411, Q40558
Q677Iron (Fe)Gather Meteoric Iron or (Gather Iron Ore, Smelt Ore)Q479257, Q40558
Q663Aluminium (Al)Gather Bauxite, Smelt OreQ479257, Q40558, Q102078
Q40558ForgeBuild ForgeQ753, …
Q131877Polyisoprene [Natural Rubber] (C5H8)Coagulate using Formic Acid, Vulcanize using Sulfur (cross-link)Q987767, Q161233
Q987767ContainerBuild a Wood ContainerQ753, Q479257
Q102078BauxiteMine BauxiteQ479257
Q164411Malachite (Cu2CO3(OH)2)Mine MalachiteQ479257
Q682Sulfur (S)Mine SulfurQ479257
Q1370714Lumber (Timber)Harvest LumberQ479257
Q479257Stone ToolGather Metamorphic (Hard) Rock, Build a Stone ToolQ753
Q161233Formic Acid (CH202)Extract Woodland Ant AcidQ148769
Q3196FireCreate FireQ4115364, Q753
Q4115364Bow DrillCreate a Bow DrillQ753, Q2566155, Q160066
Q2566155Rope (Cordage)Cordify plant fibresQ160066
Q160066StrawMake StrawQ11577
Q103517Alpha ParticleFind UraniumQ1098
Q47069Metamorphic (Hard) RockGather Metamorphic (Hard) Rock(Q53754 / Q237883 / Q43338 / Q1070438)
Q753WoodGather Wood
Q116269Silicon DioxideGather Sand
Q11577Hordeum vulgare (Barley)Harvesting
Q674Phosphorus (P)
Q407258Calcium Sulfate (CaSO4)
Q208451Calcium Chloride (CaCl2)
Q745127Soda-lime-silica GlassQ190227, Q23767, Q116269
Q190227Sodium Carbonate (Soda Ash) (Na2CO3)
Q23767Calcium Carbonate (Limestone) (CaCO₃)
Wikidata IDProcessRecipesRequires
Q3595335Rubber Tapping
Q12185286GlassblowingQ116269, Q40558

1.4 Recipes

1.4.2 DONE Mine Sulfur (S)

Extreme Caution! Mining sulfur is often accompanied by the release of Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) in gas form, which is toxic, and the release of Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), which is so toxic, very short exposure could cause death. See: BBC Documentary.

  1. Sulfur (S) deposits are found naturally in areas



1.4.3 DONE Mine Bauxite

Bauxite's Composition is gibbsite Al(OH)3, boehmite γ-AlO(OH) and diaspore α-AlO(OH), mixed with the two iron oxides goethite and haematite, the clay mineral kaolinite and small amounts of anatase TiO2. Locating Bauxite Can be found in Arkansas

Aluminium Extraction Holyhead Wales, UK How it's made - it comes from bauxite (in tropical countries) aluminium bonded to oxygen. Bonds broken by electrolosis.

1.4.4 DONE Mine Iron Ore

http://www.explainthatstuff.com/ironsteel.html http://quatr.us/chemistry/atoms/iron.htm Re: Medieval Iron Production

  1. Locating Iron Ore

(Africa) . There are 3 main types: 40-70% Iron (Fe) (difficult to find, best quality), 40-65% Iron (Fe) Brown Hematite, aka 40-60% Iron (Fe) (easy to find).

Wikidata IDMaterialAvailabilityRequires
#Q181395Magnetite (Fe3O4) {Lodestone}https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetite#Distribution_of_deposits, CA, NZ#Q479257
#Q103223Hematite (Fe2O3)Often near hot springs; England, Switzerland, Italy, Australia, Brazil + Lake Superior (MI)#Q479257
#Q193565Limonite (Fe2O3NH2O) {Bog Iron}Austria and England#Q479257
See also Taconite, Pyrite, or Siderite.

1.4.5 DONE Mine Malachite

The History and Production of Copper.

  1. Acquire Malachite (Cu2CO3(OH)2)

(Copper carbonate hydroxide) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OrBw4L490Y Location: Jordan

  1. Locating Copper Ore: The largest copper mine is found in Utah (Bingham Canyon). Other major mines are found in Arizona, Michigan, New Mexico and Montana. In South America, Chile, the world's largest producer, and Peru are both major producers of copper. It can also be aquired from Malachite.
  2. Mine Copper Ore

1.4.6 DONE Gather Fibrous Plants

Many fibrous plants are candidates for making cordage, including:

Wikidata IDMaterial
#Q145707Typha (Cattail Leaves)
#Q145707Tulip Poplar Bark

1.4.8 DONE Cordify plant fibres

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liriodendron_tulipifera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQlXXeHs3wY

  1. Dampen the Bark or Leaf with Water.
  2. Create a Cord using Reverse wrap method.
  3. Combine 2 Cords using Reverse wrap method.
  4. Tie off the lose end of the completed Cord.

1.4.9 DONE Build a Stone Tool

  1. Shape an lithic stone flake #Q332028 (axe head) using other rocks as hammerstones
  2. Grind Stone against a wet rock
  3. Find suitable stick for handle
  4. Create Cordage for securing the Stone to the handle
  5. Follow Stone Adze or Stone Tool Axe

1.4.10 DONE Rubber Tapping

  1. Harvest Polyisoprene (C5H8)

Polyisoprene (C5H8) using Formic Acid (CH2O2)

1.4.11 DONE Gather Woodland Ants (Formica Rufa)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp8b1nQSY It is native to Europe and Anatolia but is also found in North America in both coniferous and broad-leaf broken woodland and parkland. See: southern Britain, North to Mid Europe, Pyrenees and Siberia.

sources: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/8645/0 Robinson, William H. (2005). Urban Insects and Arachnids: A Handbook of Urban Entomology. Cambridge University Press. p. 247. ISBN 0521812534. http://antark.net/ant-species/wood-ant-formica-rufa/

1.4.12 DONE Extract Woodland Ant Acid

Formic acid was first extracted in 1671 by the English naturalist John Ray by distilling a large number of crushed ants of this species (Charles Earle Raven (1986). John Ray, naturalist : his life and works. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-31083-0.) The process is described here.

Alternately, you can get a some sort of absorbant material and aggitate the ants, forcing them to spit the formic acid on the material and then later extract the solution from the material by applying pressure / squeezing.

1.4.13 DONE Smelt Ore using a Forge/Furnace

A Furnace / Foundry / Smelting pit is necessarily for extracting many elements from their ores.

  1. Break down / Grind material as finely as possible
  2. Fire up the furnace
  3. Melt the material (refer to the melting point of your material for the time / temperature)
  4. Remove material while still red-hot (to shape) or as an ingot, once cooled

1.4.15 DONE Gather Wood

  1. Locate a candidate Branch or Tree
  2. Inspect wood for rot
  3. Build a Stone Tool
  4. Chop downc Tree using Stone Tool.
  5. Harvesting Bark (optional)

1.4.16 DONE Create a Bowd Dill

  1. Obtain a ~1.5ft bow shaped stick
  2. Obtain flat piece of dry Softwood tree-branch ~2"x4"x6"
  3. Make ~1ft of Cordage
  4. Follow Bowdrill Specification

1.4.17 DONE Create Fire

  1. Make a Bowdrill
  2. Collect dry kindling (e.g. cedar bark)
  3. Collect small sticks and logs
  4. Prepare a Fire pit using the logs and small sticks
  5. Apply Bowdrill to produce an ember
  6. Carefully transfer the ember into the kindling
  7. Blow gently until kindling set aflame
  8. Place flaming kindling in Fire pit and feed fire using small sticks

1.4.18 DONE Gather Barley

Or any of several cereal plants (e.g. barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat) Because barley is such a highly adapted cereal grain it can be grown in climates that range from sub-Arctic to subtropical. The European Union-27 is the largest barley producer followed by Russia and Ukraine. The U.S. is recognized as the world's seventh largest barley producer. (http://www.barleyfoods.org/facts.html)

1.4.19 DONE Make Straw

http://www.primitiveways.com/cordage.html (using straw as cordage) Straw is the by-product, the dry stalks grain and chaff have been removed. Straw is different from Hay – here is http://knowledgenuts.com/2013/12/11/the-difference-between-straw-and-hay/][how the two relate]] and http://www.usaforage.org/products/straw-vs-hay][proof of the difference in classification]]. Separate Stalk from Barley

1.5 TODO

1.5.1 Dynamo {Electric Generator} "Q131502"

1.5.3 Wood Puzzle Piece

  1. Cut down tree
  2. Stone Tool
  3. Follow "Wood Puzzle Piece"

1.5.4 Magnet

Joseph Henry on "Method of Making Magnets" William Gilbert and ‘Magnetization by Percussion’ Deprecated by Electromagnetism.

The obective is to produce a slab or billet shaped Iron (Fe) Ferromagnet (hard ferrites).

Barium ferrite, BaFe12O19 (BaO·6Fe2O3)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=midVu1Xd2LY Backup Ground Battery Earth Battery Powers LED http://www.explainthatstuff.com/magnetism.html

1.5.6 Inductor

Inductor basics - What is an inductor? A passive analog component which temporarily generates a magnetic field (e.g. electromagnets) from electrical energy. Depending on the Core material (e.g. if it is steel) it may be turned into a permenant magnet. Otherwise, while there is current through the inductor, the Core will behave as an temporary electromagnet.

  1. Create Copper (Cu) Insulated Wire whose length and thickness is determined by Calculating inductance of solenoid.
  2. Coil Insulated Wire around a Slab shaped Steel () Core according to Calculating inductance of solenoid.

1.5.7 Insulate Wire

In production, "electrical wires [are] insulated with polyethylene, crosslinked polyethylene (either through electron beam processing or chemical crosslinking), PVC, Kapton, rubber-like polymers, oil impregnated paper, Teflon, silicone, or modified ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE). Larger power cables may use compressed inorganic powder, depending on the application".

This process can be substituted with thermoplastics or rubber. This may include polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinylchloride (PVC), Polyvinylidene Chloride (PVDC), polystyrene, polyethylenetheraphthalate and polycarbonate. Note: chloride degrades from electricity, not a great candidate for wire insulation. These options are complex to make, invovle carcinogen, and require catalysts. If you did have some something like polyvinyl chloride (saran wrap) you could follow this tutorial. Otherwise, the best approach, in the wild, is using natural rubber:

1.5.8 Wire

  1. Mine ore of desired Metal

1.5.9 TODO Adobe Bricks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q451eExJlfw Homemade Bricks Commerical Production

Making Clay Brick in Africa

  1. Follow Homemade Bricks to locate 7 parts sand Silicon Dioxide (SiO2)
  2. Follow Homemade Bricks to locate 1 part Clay.
  3. Add 2 parts Water Hydrogen Dioxide (H2O)
  4. Add Straw as a binding substitute in place of cement.

1.6 Experimental

1.6.1 Electroplating / Galvenizing

How to galvanize metal (for rust protection)

Author: root <root@debian>

Date: 2015-12-17 02:38:58 PST

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