In my physics there is no such entity as a vacuum. I am a radio ham and my holy grail is to truly understand electromagnetic wave propagation. The explanations given to date are basically the same as they were 50 years ago. I have had to learn plenty of equations when dealing with radio and television transmitting and receiving, many involving the calculus. To pass my Radio Ham Licenses I have had to memorize many equations concerning inductors, variable frequency oscillators etc.,, some of which use C the speed of light to convert frequency to wavelength. For frequencies in Megahertz the speed of light is taken as 300 kilometres per second, therefore giving wavelengths in metres. These calculations are carried out as dimensions on what are electrical voltage waves as if they were particles, and although the calculations are relevant to building an antenna, I have never been able to equate electromagnetic variation in time (seconds), with physical distance (metres). I have just accepted that for the purpose of designing an antenna, youdivide 300 by frequency f in MHz to calculate wavelength Y in metres, and divide 300 by the wavelength to get the resonant frequency.
For the purpose of designing radio antennae it is not critical because when we use 300.00 as the speed of light constant in the equation Y=300/f, we are of course rounding up the speed of light anyway.
However, these calculations, only apply if the radiation, be it visible light or
radio waves are propagated through a vacuum. A dictionary definition of a vacuum is: 'noun. theoretically, an entirely (in practice, a very nearly completely) empty space'.
The fact that certain energy waves can propagate through even the highest vacuum produced in a laboratory confirms that by the Newtonian third law: Action and reaction are always equal and opposite; what we term 'space' is in reality very 'dilute' mass. As observers we will never be able to 'observe' these entities, so smashing the equivalent of neutrinos into even smaller entities is a
fruitless pursuit.
This is what CERN have been trying to achieve for billions of dollars, and are doomed to fail in finding their missing quark or whatever they call it. Some conspiracy theorists insist that like many other high cost global projects (WWW for instance) the CERN operation was initiated by the military and in this case was concerned with potential weapons research.
[Einstein was primarily of interest to the military for his work regarding ballistics for heavy artillery and I would guess the army weren't too fussed about the Theory of Relativity.]
It appears that after failing to find the elusive quick quack quark, fortuitously, CERN can now justify the colossal cost by seemingly re-writing the Physics Books. And about time too.
I look forward to watching Professor Jim Al-Khalli at the University of Surrey, UK, eating his boxer shorts on TV.
Now I only wish people would get to grips with the space/time continuum!
(C) Copyright Sanclare Infosys 2011
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Why I'll probably never fly again
Flight BA 0015 and why I'll probably never fly again!
On May 03 2010 I set out on a trip from the UK to the Far East. The round trip to Singapore, Brisbane, Cairns, back to Brisbane, Auckland NZ, Melbourne, Perth AUS, Tokyo, UK involved flying on a variety of Boeing 7 series jet aircraft.
Total flying time for the 9 flights and 18 takes-off and landings was 58 hours, with the shortest flight 2 hours and the longest 13 hours. The flights were all economy class, with the usual cramped seating in the rear. The final flight was May 22. None of the flights were ‘enjoyable’, but the very first, Heathrow to Singapore was absolutely horrendous. It was in a 777 BA/QANTAS flight BA15.
It was excessively noisy all of the flight, affected by turbulence 50% of the time, and did the worst landing I can ever remember in 60 years of flying in commercial aircraft. On disembarking, and for the rest of the trip I was partially deaf in my left ear and profoundly deaf in the right. I had experienced excruciating pain in both ears during the approach and landing, worse than I had ever experienced before. I had problems with my sight during the rest of the trip, which I dismissed at the time as jet-lag.
On returning to the UK I booked an appointment with my optician because I had detected a great difference in the vision in my right eye, compared to before the trip. The brightness of the image was a lot less than with my left eye and the edges of objects were distorted. This situation was definitely new since the trip. I constantly monitor my sight and hearing, when instructing on health and safety and I know that the only difference between my eyesight before the trip, was the perspective of the individual eyes. My left is dominant and the right sub-dominant.
On June 9 my optician confirmed that irregularities were present, took a retina image and referred me to the Stoke Mandeville Eye Unit for further investigation. On June 15 I had an angiogram/scan which confirmed what the optician had found. An eye specialist/consultant then prescribed Acular(ketorolac trometamol) and Maxidex(dexamethasone) but there was no mention of a detached retina - although ‘peeling’ was mentioned. I was instructed to add drops to my eyes and return on September 7, 2010 for further investigation.
On July 4 2010, I had to discontinue the drops whilst I get my ears sorted - yup my right ear-drum has been perforated! And it seems likely I have a problem with my Eustachian tubes.
I am personally 100% sure, although not able to prove at this time that the damage to my eyes and ears was caused by flight BA15, maybe in conjunction with a dodgy pair of Eustachian tubes, and the cabin pressurization system of that Boeing.
On May 03 2010 I set out on a trip from the UK to the Far East. The round trip to Singapore, Brisbane, Cairns, back to Brisbane, Auckland NZ, Melbourne, Perth AUS, Tokyo, UK involved flying on a variety of Boeing 7 series jet aircraft.
Total flying time for the 9 flights and 18 takes-off and landings was 58 hours, with the shortest flight 2 hours and the longest 13 hours. The flights were all economy class, with the usual cramped seating in the rear. The final flight was May 22. None of the flights were ‘enjoyable’, but the very first, Heathrow to Singapore was absolutely horrendous. It was in a 777 BA/QANTAS flight BA15.
It was excessively noisy all of the flight, affected by turbulence 50% of the time, and did the worst landing I can ever remember in 60 years of flying in commercial aircraft. On disembarking, and for the rest of the trip I was partially deaf in my left ear and profoundly deaf in the right. I had experienced excruciating pain in both ears during the approach and landing, worse than I had ever experienced before. I had problems with my sight during the rest of the trip, which I dismissed at the time as jet-lag.
On returning to the UK I booked an appointment with my optician because I had detected a great difference in the vision in my right eye, compared to before the trip. The brightness of the image was a lot less than with my left eye and the edges of objects were distorted. This situation was definitely new since the trip. I constantly monitor my sight and hearing, when instructing on health and safety and I know that the only difference between my eyesight before the trip, was the perspective of the individual eyes. My left is dominant and the right sub-dominant.
On June 9 my optician confirmed that irregularities were present, took a retina image and referred me to the Stoke Mandeville Eye Unit for further investigation. On June 15 I had an angiogram/scan which confirmed what the optician had found. An eye specialist/consultant then prescribed Acular(ketorolac trometamol) and Maxidex(dexamethasone) but there was no mention of a detached retina - although ‘peeling’ was mentioned. I was instructed to add drops to my eyes and return on September 7, 2010 for further investigation.
On July 4 2010, I had to discontinue the drops whilst I get my ears sorted - yup my right ear-drum has been perforated! And it seems likely I have a problem with my Eustachian tubes.
I am personally 100% sure, although not able to prove at this time that the damage to my eyes and ears was caused by flight BA15, maybe in conjunction with a dodgy pair of Eustachian tubes, and the cabin pressurization system of that Boeing.
Saturday, 1 May 2010
Japan/New Zealand/Australia Tour 2010 Post 3
Just what's needed when 38 hours away from a trip half way round the world. Our local town has allowed, but not permitted, a demonstration by a so-called right-wing organisation. The local paper reports " It is thought that 600 police Officers will be on duty around the Town on Saturday, with teams of detectives set to be on hand to gather evidence against troublemakers." And how about this "Thames Valley Police will be keeping members of the public up-to-date with developments on the day by posting messages on Twitter". "Entertainers and musicians will be in the town centre on Monday (what may be left of it) as the traders try and recoup some of their lost business. Chiefs from local authorities have contributed to pay for children's entertainers and bands between 11am and 3pm." One town council official is quoted " We want to show that this town is still a nice friendly place for shoppers".
Further rather worrying news for local residents (and they will know what I am alluding to), all taxis have been suspended for a 24-hour period from 0600 01-05-2010.
Further rather worrying news for local residents (and they will know what I am alluding to), all taxis have been suspended for a 24-hour period from 0600 01-05-2010.
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Here we are, still at home and waiting to see whether we will be able to leave on our tour. The trip has now been completely reorganised by www.tailor-made.co.uk so that the wedding in Brisbane will be the first stop. We then fly to Cairns on Friday 7th. May to spend 5 nights at www.reefhouse.com.au/ .
Wednesday 12 May we depart Cairns, and fly via Brisbane, to Auckland, New Zealand.
After three nights at the www.citylife.nz-hotels.com/ we travel by coach to Rotorua, stopping to visit the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. www.waitomo.com/New-Zealand
We spend two nights at the Sudima Hotel Lake Rotorua www.lakeplazahotel.co.nz/ , before travelling back to Auckland on the 17th. May. From Auckland we fly to Perth to visit relatives there, with a one night stop-over at the Travelodge Perth Hotel http://www.travelodge.com.au/locations/features.aspx?hid=772
We depart Perth in the evening of 18th May and fly overnight to Tokyo, where we spend three nights at the Metropolitan Hotel. http://www.metropolitan.jp/e/ .
Our final departure will be from Tokyo on Saturday May 22nd, arriving back at Heathrow later the same day.
Wednesday 12 May we depart Cairns, and fly via Brisbane, to Auckland, New Zealand.
After three nights at the www.citylife.nz-hotels.com/ we travel by coach to Rotorua, stopping to visit the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. www.waitomo.com/New-Zealand
We spend two nights at the Sudima Hotel Lake Rotorua www.lakeplazahotel.co.nz/ , before travelling back to Auckland on the 17th. May. From Auckland we fly to Perth to visit relatives there, with a one night stop-over at the Travelodge Perth Hotel http://www.travelodge.com.au/locations/features.aspx?hid=772
We depart Perth in the evening of 18th May and fly overnight to Tokyo, where we spend three nights at the Metropolitan Hotel. http://www.metropolitan.jp/e/ .
Our final departure will be from Tokyo on Saturday May 22nd, arriving back at Heathrow later the same day.
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Japan/New Zealand/Australia Tour 2010
This tour was planned as an introductory visit to Japan, and New Zealand, and also an opportunity not only to visit places we had not been to before in Australia, but to meet up with family for the wedding in Brisbane, Australia, of my niece.
The travel and accommodation booking was carried out by www.tailor-made.co.uk .
Accommodation was booked at the Hotel Metropolitan, Tokyo, http://www.metropolitan.jp/e/ ;
Travelodge Perth Hotel Australia http://www.travelodge.com.au/locations/features.aspx?hid=772
CityLife Auckland New Zealand http://www.citylife.nz-hotels.com/
Sudima Hotel Rotorua Sudima NZ http://www.lakeplazahotel.co.nz/
Sebel Reef House, Palm Cove, Queensland http://www.reefhouse.com.au/
Brisbane Bardon Venue http://www.centralvenues.com.au/
To date the success of the tour has already been compromised by a threatened BA cabin crew strike, for the first flight from Heathrow to Tokyo, and a volcano in Iceland which at the time of posting this blog, has grounded all aircraft in the UK -except for military or other emergencies.
The travel and accommodation booking was carried out by www.tailor-made.co.uk .
Accommodation was booked at the Hotel Metropolitan, Tokyo, http://www.metropolitan.jp/e/ ;
Travelodge Perth Hotel Australia http://www.travelodge.com.au/locations/features.aspx?hid=772
CityLife Auckland New Zealand http://www.citylife.nz-hotels.com/
Sudima Hotel Rotorua Sudima NZ http://www.lakeplazahotel.co.nz/
Sebel Reef House, Palm Cove, Queensland http://www.reefhouse.com.au/
Brisbane Bardon Venue http://www.centralvenues.com.au/
To date the success of the tour has already been compromised by a threatened BA cabin crew strike, for the first flight from Heathrow to Tokyo, and a volcano in Iceland which at the time of posting this blog, has grounded all aircraft in the UK -except for military or other emergencies.
Friday, 10 April 2009
Open Letter to G Pascoe-Watson
Open letter to g.pascoewatson@the-sun.co.uk
The generation of electricity for charging the batteries of all the electric cars allegedly envisaged by Boris Johnson and The Establishment - how eco-friendly will that be - and where will all that power come from?
Dear Mr Pascoe-Watson, just glanced at page 2 of the Sun, and I had to make a quick check that I am in fact living on the same planet as those persons (irrespective of political party they belong to) that are either ignorant of, or choosing to ignore the laws of applied physics.
It's all very well Mr Johnson (presumably still a Tory) declaring his intention to install 25,000 (time span not specified in your article of 09-04-2009) power-points for an unspecified number of vehicles per day, but plainly he like most of the politicians do not have a clue with regard to the logistics of electricity generation and distribution. Or any other kind of Network for that matter - for instance Communications & Data Networks. Which of the power companies are jumping up and saying "Wait a minute you just can't do it like that!"?
Electron powered cars, from rechargeable fuel cells such as Lithium Ion Batteries, may well have zero carbon emissions at the point of power delivery, but what about the electron source required to charge up these cells? What about all the power stations connected to the national grid? What about the extra pollution, carbon based or otherwise (nuclear), from these? Oh I know, we'll just use the oil we save in refining petrol, and burn it to produce more electricity! At least we can centralise the pollution problem to the power generating station sites. Doh!
There is a far more pressing eco-problem than electric cars.
Below is an extract from a letter sent to the Bucks Herald
Dear Editor,
Great breaking news (Saturday March 28) for those like myself in Aylesbury Vale who are concerned regarding the consequences of ‘shoe-horning’ another 20,000 dwellings and at least 50,000 occupants into this area. Apparently, new house building has dropped from 185,000 per year to 60.000 due to the meltdown of the UK economy. And may well drop further in the inevitable depression that will predictably ensue. This may well be bad news for the 5 million reportedly on UK Housing Waiting Lists but can only be good news for those opposing expansion in the Aylesbury area.
There are good logical and practical reasons why the proposed expansion cannot be supported.
Forget about schools, teachers, hospitals, doctors, roads etc., just consider the Water Cycle for example. The daily water requirement of 50,000 persons is about 7.5 million litres or 1.65 million gallons. Which waterworks are going to supply and treat all this extra water?
Where will the extra daily minimum of 1.65 million gallons of sewage and drainage be treated – surely not the local Sewage Works' that allegedly struggle to deal with the current loading?
Or are the Water Companies intending to save enough water by metering ALL properties in The Vale, fixing all the leaks in the aging distribution network and then pricing water high enough to decrease the unit daily consumption by at least 50%? Incidentally, doing this would decrease the resulting volume of sewage, but the biological pollution loading would still be the same at any sewage treatment plants.
What about gas and electricity supplies for 20,000 homes?
My 1976 3-bedroom property in Aylesbury Vale, with two occupants, has double-glazing and wall and roof insulation, with cooking using electricity, and water heating and central heating by gas. Our peak usage of electricity is roughly 10 kW hours (Units) per day in winter, and includes power for tumble dryer and the electric oven. Assuming the new houses would be of similar design and with the same thermal efficiency as mine we would be looking at an extra peak daily electricity demand of 200,000 kW hours. Would the National Grid and the local electricity distribution network have the capacity to cope? Let us not forget that by 2025 the big PFB Data Centre at the old Molins site (as featured in the Bucks Herald Business News) may possibly be gobbling up enough electricity to power 78,000 homes - where’s all that coming from?
Gas is even more problematic when one considers that recently the UK had reportedly just 4 days’ worth of gas reserves in hand. The total gas consumption for our house during January 2009 was the equivalent of 1754 kW hrs to give a daily average for that month of about 56 kW hrs – nearly six times that of the electricity. For another 20,000 homes like ours we would be talking about 1.12 million extra gas equivalent kW hrs. No wonder the energy companies won’t bring down the price of gas!
Although I guess I know the answer, apart from the so-called ‘key workers’, and military personnel exactly who are these 5 million entrants in the House Waiting Lists? And what mix would the 50,000 Aylesbury Vale Settlers consist of.
Name and address supplied.
The generation of electricity for charging the batteries of all the electric cars allegedly envisaged by Boris Johnson and The Establishment - how eco-friendly will that be - and where will all that power come from?
Dear Mr Pascoe-Watson, just glanced at page 2 of the Sun, and I had to make a quick check that I am in fact living on the same planet as those persons (irrespective of political party they belong to) that are either ignorant of, or choosing to ignore the laws of applied physics.
It's all very well Mr Johnson (presumably still a Tory) declaring his intention to install 25,000 (time span not specified in your article of 09-04-2009) power-points for an unspecified number of vehicles per day, but plainly he like most of the politicians do not have a clue with regard to the logistics of electricity generation and distribution. Or any other kind of Network for that matter - for instance Communications & Data Networks. Which of the power companies are jumping up and saying "Wait a minute you just can't do it like that!"?
Electron powered cars, from rechargeable fuel cells such as Lithium Ion Batteries, may well have zero carbon emissions at the point of power delivery, but what about the electron source required to charge up these cells? What about all the power stations connected to the national grid? What about the extra pollution, carbon based or otherwise (nuclear), from these? Oh I know, we'll just use the oil we save in refining petrol, and burn it to produce more electricity! At least we can centralise the pollution problem to the power generating station sites. Doh!
There is a far more pressing eco-problem than electric cars.
Below is an extract from a letter sent to the Bucks Herald
Dear Editor,
Great breaking news (Saturday March 28) for those like myself in Aylesbury Vale who are concerned regarding the consequences of ‘shoe-horning’ another 20,000 dwellings and at least 50,000 occupants into this area. Apparently, new house building has dropped from 185,000 per year to 60.000 due to the meltdown of the UK economy. And may well drop further in the inevitable depression that will predictably ensue. This may well be bad news for the 5 million reportedly on UK Housing Waiting Lists but can only be good news for those opposing expansion in the Aylesbury area.
There are good logical and practical reasons why the proposed expansion cannot be supported.
Forget about schools, teachers, hospitals, doctors, roads etc., just consider the Water Cycle for example. The daily water requirement of 50,000 persons is about 7.5 million litres or 1.65 million gallons. Which waterworks are going to supply and treat all this extra water?
Where will the extra daily minimum of 1.65 million gallons of sewage and drainage be treated – surely not the local Sewage Works' that allegedly struggle to deal with the current loading?
Or are the Water Companies intending to save enough water by metering ALL properties in The Vale, fixing all the leaks in the aging distribution network and then pricing water high enough to decrease the unit daily consumption by at least 50%? Incidentally, doing this would decrease the resulting volume of sewage, but the biological pollution loading would still be the same at any sewage treatment plants.
What about gas and electricity supplies for 20,000 homes?
My 1976 3-bedroom property in Aylesbury Vale, with two occupants, has double-glazing and wall and roof insulation, with cooking using electricity, and water heating and central heating by gas. Our peak usage of electricity is roughly 10 kW hours (Units) per day in winter, and includes power for tumble dryer and the electric oven. Assuming the new houses would be of similar design and with the same thermal efficiency as mine we would be looking at an extra peak daily electricity demand of 200,000 kW hours. Would the National Grid and the local electricity distribution network have the capacity to cope? Let us not forget that by 2025 the big PFB Data Centre at the old Molins site (as featured in the Bucks Herald Business News) may possibly be gobbling up enough electricity to power 78,000 homes - where’s all that coming from?
Gas is even more problematic when one considers that recently the UK had reportedly just 4 days’ worth of gas reserves in hand. The total gas consumption for our house during January 2009 was the equivalent of 1754 kW hrs to give a daily average for that month of about 56 kW hrs – nearly six times that of the electricity. For another 20,000 homes like ours we would be talking about 1.12 million extra gas equivalent kW hrs. No wonder the energy companies won’t bring down the price of gas!
Although I guess I know the answer, apart from the so-called ‘key workers’, and military personnel exactly who are these 5 million entrants in the House Waiting Lists? And what mix would the 50,000 Aylesbury Vale Settlers consist of.
Name and address supplied.
Sunday, 8 February 2009
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