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Old 05-24-2020, 01:15 PM   #1
Kfireblade
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Default Nitroglycerin invention date and TL

So basic says TL 6 starts at 1880, Nitroglycerin was invented almost 40 years prior, and the process of manufacturing it was fairly easy by the 1860's. Should it not (and dynamite for that matter) be late TL 5 then?
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Old 05-24-2020, 01:31 PM   #2
johndallman
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Default Re: Nitroglycerin invention date and TL

TLs are a matter of trying to put a general framework over a very messy history, and are not sharp-edged.

It can be argued that nitroglycerin didn't become a widely used technology until dynamite was invented, and that that event, in 1867, was one of the early stages of the transition to TL6.
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Old 05-24-2020, 01:44 PM   #3
Kfireblade
 
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Default Re: Nitroglycerin invention date and TL

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Originally Posted by johndallman View Post
TLs are a matter of trying to put a general framework over a very messy history, and are not sharp-edged.

It can be argued that nitroglycerin didn't become a widely used technology until dynamite was invented, and that that event, in 1867, was one of the early stages of the transition to TL6.
Huh, seems like there are some other things marked TL 5 that came about pretty late that might also be better considered TL 6 then. Like the Marine Chronometer or the Mauser IG71.
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Old 05-24-2020, 01:52 PM   #4
johndallman
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Default Re: Nitroglycerin invention date and TL

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Originally Posted by Kfireblade View Post
Huh, seems like there are some other things marked TL 5 that came about pretty late that might also be better considered TL 6 then. Like the Marine Chronometer or the Mauser IG71.
Chronometers are mid-1700s, and hence definitely TL5. The Mauser is arguable, but the usual opinion is that TL6 small arms use smokeless powder.
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Old 05-24-2020, 02:17 PM   #5
Kfireblade
 
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Default Re: Nitroglycerin invention date and TL

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Originally Posted by johndallman View Post
Chronometers are mid-1700s, and hence definitely TL5. The Mauser is arguable, but the usual opinion is that TL6 small arms use smokeless powder.
Ya, I super misread that as 1860s instead of 1760s. I mean, the action on the Mauser is certainly more advanced, same could be said for the mechanical machine guns, Gatling gun was invented just a few years before dynamite. The first modern load baring gear was invented in 1877, over a decade after dynamite, but is TL 6. I mean, it just dose not seem to make sense to have access to things like the Mauser, Gatling gun, and fabric webbing LBE, but not Nitroglycerin or Dynamite.

Last edited by Kfireblade; 05-24-2020 at 02:27 PM.
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Old 05-24-2020, 03:25 PM   #6
Imbicatus
 
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Default Re: Nitroglycerin invention date and TL

Tech level and dates is an approximation. It’s not like only TL 5 gear is available until Dec 31, 1779 and on January 1, 1880 you can suddenly buy All TL6 gear. There is often an blended area before and after that date where some TL 6 gear may be early and some TL 5 gear is still common well into the 1900s
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Old 05-25-2020, 11:42 AM   #7
Flyndaran
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Default Re: Nitroglycerin invention date and TL

To put my (unnecessary) two cents in as well,
Tech level is the broad stroke brush you use for when you don't have or don't wish to use real dates for real technology.
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Old 05-25-2020, 07:58 PM   #8
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Default Re: Nitroglycerin invention date and TL

It doesn't matter when it was invented. It is classed as TL6 because that is when the technology matures and becomes ubiquitous. You can have nitro at TL5 but it would be a lot more expensive and should probably be treated as experimental.
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Last edited by DanHoward; 05-25-2020 at 08:03 PM.
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Old 05-25-2020, 08:06 PM   #9
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Default Re: Nitroglycerin invention date and TL

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Originally Posted by johndallman View Post
Chronometers are mid-1700s, and hence definitely TL5. The Mauser is arguable, but the usual opinion is that TL6 small arms use smokeless powder.
When James Cook set out in the Endeavour, one of his missions was to test a cabin full of different chronometers.
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Old 05-25-2020, 08:08 PM   #10
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: Nitroglycerin invention date and TL

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Originally Posted by Kfireblade View Post
So basic says TL 6 starts at 1880, Nitroglycerin was invented almost 40 years prior, and the process of manufacturing it was fairly easy by the 1860's. Should it not (and dynamite for that matter) be late TL 5 then?
<shrug> If you want. But the reason it's classed as TL 6 is because more advanced explosives than gunpowder typify that TL. There is no particular problem with introducing early TL 6 technologies at the end of TL 5. It's how the transition happens.
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