Romans on the moon

[LeedsRhinos]

Why wasn't it possible for the Romans to put a man on the moon? Before you laugh it is meant as a genuine question? All the chemicals and minerals available in the 1960's were around in the Roman times so why weren't they as technically advanced? Was man's brain not as well developed back then?

[LazyGun]

They did... they built an entertainment park round the back, which is where Elvis lives and entertains nightly ,driving around in a specially adapted London Routemaster

[rojash]

It was the accumulation of knowledge that took the time.

[bob_builder]

They still hadn't got to the steam engine, do you honestly think they had got their head around flying? Let alone leaving this planet! Possibly stupidest question I've seen here, or was it supposed to go in 'history & myths"

[rojash]

There's really no need to beat about the bush bob_builder - why don't you just come straight out and say what you think?

[kempie]

What's that about the Romans not having a steam engine?...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_of_Alexandria

[bob_builder]

He was Greek, Kempie. That's different to Roman.

[kempie]

I was expecting your response!

Alexandria was formally under Roman jurisdiction for more than 100 years prior to the invention of this steam engine, and had Roman influence for the 100 years before that.

[bob_builder]

Pity they didn't capitalise on it then. They'd of been on the moon before we got chance to watch to watch it on telly - Oh don't tell some guy from Troy had a primitive version of TV in some century bc and oops it was actually under minoan rule - so it was the minoans who invented the TV! Gosh it really is a tenuous world! ;-)

[kempie]

Your mockery is a testament to your understanding. You need to choose your words more carefully.

Nowhere is it said the Romans invented the steam engine but they were certainly aware of its existence, and this is in direct contradiction of your very first sentence.

[bob_builder]

Look, there is a wink at the end of my post. I was having a jest at the whole thing.

But if you want to be serious there is no record of the Romans making use of the steam engine.

[kempie]

OK let me rephrase my last statement...

Nowhere is it said the Romans made use of the steam engine but they were certainly aware of its existence, and this is in direct contradiction of your very first sentence. ;-)

[bob_builder]

Anyway, if the Romans had made use of the steam engine we probably would have escaped the dark ages!

[kempie]

...Only if we escaped in a steam train travelling slower than the speed at which the passengers would suffocate.

[LeedsRhinos]

Bob builder thanks for your very grown up response but you have totally missed the point of the question. I know they hadn't got their head round flying or leaving the planet but that was the context of my question. I f their brains (as has been suggested) were as advanced as now why couldn't they think of putting some wings on a fuselage and getting it off the ground as they had all the materials available to them.

If you can't get your head around a question don't just dismiss it as stupid!

[ll_billym]

As rojash states it was the accumulation of knowledge that took the time. To build a space rocket you need to know a million things that the Romans didn't.

If you had given a space rocket fully built and ready to go to the Romans they wouldn't have known what it was or what to do with it.

[jake-the-peg]

There are three main reasons.

The first is science the second technology and finally economy.

In terms of science The Romans would not have understood properly what the moon was, they would not have known how far away it as. Yes Aristarchus and Hipparchus got good estimates. Put together with Eratosthenes' estimate of the size of the earth you get a fair approximation - but that's all. They had no theory of Mechanics or Gravity which you would need to calculate trajectories (that is if they could even calculate them mathematically) - the list goes on substantially

Secondly, technology. No appropriate materials. No steel, no fuel, no liquid oxygen (or even knowledge of what oxygen is). No parachutes (it's a long way down) no electricity for lights heating (it's cold up there -very!). Again a big big list.

Finally cost Apollo cost 25 Billion dollars in 1969 -A huge amount and Romans were quite cost sensitive a surprising amount of the empire was run on a shoestring I very much doubt that they would have been able to afford a global project that ate up the same proportion of their GDP that Apollo ate up of the US GDP for such a venture. After all if Scotland was not cost justified in invading what chance the moon!

[Booby Hopkin]

I read somehere that St. Puffa Puffa chugga chugga IV was the roman god of trains.Apparently to aid the fall of platform 3 he divised a plan whereby an intercity train was left outside the station gates and when curious ticket inspectors shunted it inside the walls of the station an announcement was heard over the tannoy saying "cacg thrree perbbommm diggerred shtooolll diiinnn pleeeessee." and as the inspectors looked up in pained suprise the concrete hardened crust, of a stale pork pie caught them in he eye and the buffet was shut

[Loosehead]

"Standing on the shoulders of giants" it's written around the edge of a 2 pound coin. Look up what it means and who said it.

[Booby Hopkin]

It was Isaac Newton, who by standing on a giants shoulders was able to nick apples off his fathers apple tree.Unfortunatley for Newton, his dad saw him doing this and as he sat underneath the tree eating his stolen fruit, his dad threw a cox's pippin at him hitting him on the swede.Newton looked up and the rest is history.