Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!usc!apple!oliveb!orc!bu.edu!buengc!bph
From: bph@buengc.BU.EDU (Blair P. Houghton)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Urban Myths again
Message-ID: <5663@buengc.BU.EDU>
Date: 13 Apr 90 19:11:40 GMT
References: <1209@gtx.com> <14306@lambda.UUCP> <1646@rsiatl.UUCP> <8830@pt.cs.cmu.edu> <6798@ae.sei.cmu.edu> <13085@ucsd.Edu>
Reply-To: bph@buengc.bu.edu (Blair P. Houghton)
Followup-To: sci.electronics
Organization: Boston Univ. Col. of Eng.
Lines: 20

In article <13085@ucsd.Edu> brian@ucsd.edu (Brian Kantor) writes:
>consider that the product was costed at about $1,000 of raw material and
>$5,000 of electricity each, you know it's a lot of power.
>
>We're talking 3-inch cylinders of pure ruby or sapphire, about 15
>inches long, BTW.

Um, excuse me, but I'll buy the $5k in energy cost, but
there isn't any way you're going to convince me that the
"raw materials" for 106 cubic inches of solid ruby or
sapphire are going to cost $1000.  I'd still be leery if
you said $1000000, but it's a little closer to the
ballpark.

Perhaps you included the materials for the processing, but not
the actual minerals, eh?

				--Blair
				  "And if you didn't, where did
				   you say this place was?"