To dissipate the heat produced by its hundreds of thousands of microchips, the ensemble was bathed in a heat conducting and insulating liquid cooled by water. Its very compact C-shaped architecture minimized distances between components and increased calculation speed. It used the vector processing principle, via which a single instruction prompts a cascade of calculations carried out simultaneously by several processors. A year after the Russian ‘M-13’, it was the second computer to break the gigaflop (a billion operations per second) barrier. The Cray-2, designed by American engineer Seymour Cray, was the most powerful computer in the world when it mas first marketed in 1985. The pilot was provided with foot pedals to control both the rudder and the rear wheels… – A steam-powered bat plane that really flew! Its boiler supplied two 20-horsepower steam engines driving four-bladed propellers that resembled gigantic quill feathers. Like his earlier ‘Ader Éole’, Avion no.3 was the result of the engineer’s study of the flight and morphology of chiropteras (bats), and his meticulous choice of materials to lighten its structure (unmanned it weighs only 250 kg) and improve its bearing capacity. He eventually donated his machine to the Conservatoire in 1903. The ministry withdrew its funding and Ader was forced to abandon his aeronautical experiments, despite being the first to understand aviation’s military importance. The aircraft took off intermittently over a distance of 300 meters, then suddenly swerved and crashed. Further tests were carried out on the Avion no.3 on Octoin windy overcast weather. The success of this trial, witnessed by only a handful of people, won Clément Ader -the machine’s inventor- a grant from the French Ministry of War to pursue his research. On Octoa strange flying machine, christened ‘Avion no.3’, took off for a few dozen meters from a property at Armainvilliers. “You enter and are stunned by a conspiracy in which the sublime universe of heavenly ogives and the chthonian world of gas guzzlers are juxtaposed.” – (Umberto Eco, Foucault’s Pendulum, 1988) An aeroplane suspended in mid-flight above a monumental staircase, automatons springing to life in a dimly lit theatre, an omnibus beneath the gothic vault of a church, and a Sinclair ZX Spectrum… These are just a few of the sights and surprises that make The Musée des Arts et Métiers one of Paris’ most unforgettable experiences.Ī picture is worth a thousand words. So, let’s catch a glimpse of the museum through a bunch of photos that we took… The museum is HUGE! Scattered across 3 floors, I assure you that at the end of the day dizziness awaits you, thanks to the mind-blowing 2.400 inventions exhibited. “… an omnibus beneath the gothic vault of a church!” Founded by anti-clerical French revolutionaries to celebrate the glory of science, it is no small irony that the museum is partially housed in the former Abbey Church of Saint Martin des Champs. Not a religious faith for sure a faith in contributing to the betterment of society through Science. An extraordinary place where science meets faith. It has certainly been an initiation ceremony for a tech guy like me!įounded in 1794 by Henri Grégoire, the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, “a store of new and useful inventions”, is a museum of technological innovation. During my first visit in 1999, I have noticed that the Chapel has sculpted my heart and mind in an irreversible way leading to a more open-minded vision. Something more than an ordinary science museum a temple of science, actually. If I were to summarize what Musée des Arts et Métiers has always meant to me, it would simply be the fact that it is a Chapel for Arts and Crafts that houses marvels of the Enlightenment. After 17 years of having a yearning desire to visit the Musée des Arts et Métiers (Paris) once again, I have finally managed to arrange an opportunity for a second encounter.
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