How expensive would a solid piece of metal that size be?
A lot if its platinum.
Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert
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Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert
#32How expensive would a solid piece of metal that size be?
A quick look around the internet[0] gives 6" aluminium square bars at $1,473 for 144".
The monolith is about 141" long, and has sides of about 23.5", so 16 of those bars would neatly fill it.
So if it is solid aluminium, that's about $23,500 in material.
[0]: https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/buy/aluminum/6-aluminum-squa...
Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert
#33A friend suggested that they'll find the name Acme on it and when it's removed there'll be a very flat coyote under it. (American cartoon reference.)
Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert
#34No one seems to have watched 2001: A Space Odyssey. Sad.
It's mentioned in the article. Mr Hutchings speculated that the monolith may have been installed by "some new wave artist", or a fan of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the 1968 film directed by Stanley Kubrick.
New wave artist? Like Devo?
Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert
#35Monoliths are supposed to be made of stone, hence the name...
So lith, from Greek lithos, stone. Problem is there's no straight equivalent for a metal bar - perhaps rávdos/rabdos, meaning ingot/rod.
So, "Monorabd"?
Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert
#36In Spore the video game you send down a monolith to upgrade a planet. I found this to be a very tasteful tidbit that paid homage to Kubrick.
It felt incomplete in some ways but Spore was so cool. I don't think there's been anything like it in the sim genre since tbh
Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert
#37Monoliths are supposed to be made of stone, hence the name...
What is metal, if not refined rock extract?
Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert
#38Fun art installation, but it should be removed now that it's been found.
Why does it need to be removed? I understand not wanting to set a precedent, but I wish more organizations adopted a mindset that the original can stay, but no others are allowed. That leaves space for a little bit of whimsy.
This is a federally protected land, there are no special rules for art unless it was before when such laws were made.
FWIW, I find this piece of trash to be a showoff moment for some wannabe 'artist'. Mimicking a movie prop to me sounds like a low-effort, untalented mindset.
Re: Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert
#39How expensive would a solid piece of metal that size be?
Depends on what type of metal. Tungsten? Very expensive. Steel? Somwhere between $1000-5000
It's also going to be extremely heavy.
Assuming the "monolith" is around 10ft tall with a 1.5ft square base, it would weigh 5 tonnes if it were made of solid steel. Whoever installed it would have needed serious machinery to haul it over there and stick it in the rock.
Thin sheets of metal, either welded or riveted together, would have been much easier to build and install. It could even have been filled with some other material (e.g. sand) before the top was put on.