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From: wildbill@ucbvax.ARPA (William J. Laubenheimer)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Request for Solar Sailing stories
Message-ID: <5603@ucbvax.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 19-Mar-85 03:46:29 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.5603
Posted: Tue Mar 19 03:46:29 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 19-Mar-85 08:11:51 EST
References: <971@topaz.ARPA> <514@lsuc.UUCP>
Reply-To: wildbill@ucbvax.UUCP (William J. Laubenheimer)
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
Lines: 22
Summary: 

>This is also in the Asimov/Greenberg/Waugh anthology "The Seven Deadly Sins
>of Science Fiction".  "Sail 25" is the only story I've read for quite some
>time where something called a "computer" can be put out of action by a
>damaged bearing...

>Mark Brader

OK. Why don't you take a few shots at the bearing on your main system
disk someday and see how long you can keep the system up. Admittedly this is
more likely to cause a total head crash than the problem described
in the story (direct quote: " 'The bearings which suspend the data-separation
disks have broken. The shaft has several millimeters play and as a result
there is total confusion in the data presented to the analyzer.' "), but
when you think about the rpm's involved in disk drives, it's not surprising
that a damaged bearing could produce a large amount of grief. Now as to
how Captain Belt was able to open up the drive, slip the bearings out,
put everything back together, and realign the system without any of the
trainee crew noticing, that's a bit tougher...

                                        Bill Laubenheimer
----------------------------------------UC-Berkeley Computer Science
     ...Killjoy went that-a-way--->     ucbvax!wildbill