Category Archives: America

Visiting Mount Palomar

Last weekend I was part of a group making a visit to the Mount Palomar Observatory.

When I was in school (voraciously sucking up astronomy books), Mount Palomar seemed to me like a place of magic and wonder. From its opening in 1949, and until 1992/93, the giant 5.1 m (200 inch) Hale Telescope was the largest and most important telescope in the world. (Actually, there was a larger Soviet telescope of a later design, but it is often omitted because it never functioned quite well).

The compound on the Southern California mountaintop also encompasses several smaller telescopes. Together, they account for most of the groundbreaking discoveries in the entire history of astronomy.

Here are some pictures. (Click to enlarge).

In front of the Hale Telescope dome, Mount Palomar. From left to right: Jed Laderman, Dave Yantis, Robert Lozano, Reinhard Kargl.

Standing under the massive, 200 inch primary mirror of the Hale Telescope.

Looking up to the secondary mirror, toward the top of the dome. In the old days, this is where the observer would have sat in a cage all night long, handling photographic materials. Today, the instruments are photo-electronic. Human observers no longer ride the elevator to the top).

The old control panel, preserved in a perfect vintage look. Doesn't it seem like something from Star Trek? (Today, the telescope operator sits in a heated cabin, insulated from the dome interior. This being on a mountain top, it gets extremely cold in the winter).

View from the Hale dome's circular catwalk. In the distance is the dome of the historic 18 inch Schmidt telescope. Beginning in the 1930s, Fritz Zwicky did his first surveys of supernovae here. The dome is no longer in use today.

More on Fritz Zwicky and the 18 inch Schmidt telescope.

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The Abandoned Railroad

I have a fascination with hidden, forgotten and deserted places. Sometimes, one can find them even in the busiest of places. Here is a picture of an abandoned railroad track in the middle of Los Angeles. I accidentally found this site by following some stray cats in a park. Not far from this place are residences, freeways and traffic jams.

Railroad Tracks. Photo: Reinhard Kargl, 2009. Click to enlarge.

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The Menace of Air Conditioning

America is suffering from a heat wave this summer. No wonder.

Americans are completely addicted to air conditioning. According to a 2010 piece in the Washington Post, the energy required to air-condition American homes and retail spaces has doubled since the 1990s. Stan Cox, the author of “Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World” and “Finding New Ways to Get Through the Summer” is offering interesting views on why this trend is harmful.

In much of the United States, air conditioning is one of the greatest power hogs. It needs so much electricity that every time there is a heat wave, utility companies and the power grid do not even manage to keep up with the demand. Power shutdowns, service reductions or full outages are frequent and make the situation even worse. Because in many buildings, it is not even possible to open the windows.

Utility companies are now asking (or forcing) Americans to “conserve power”. This reminds me of Third World countries. (In Pakistan, they even have a term for it: “Load shedding”. They do this at scheduled intervals — and I suspect, more frequently in the poor areas where only “unimportant” people live).

The greatest problem with air conditioning is that is has enabled poor planning, wasteful policies, speculation with otherwise worthless land and dreadful architecture. Many areas in the American Southwest (such as Las Vegas or the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles) would never have grown to their unsustainable size, had it not been for air conditioning. Insult to injury: the power consumption of these places is subsidized by utility rate payers who live in more temperate areas.

The continuing idiocy in urban planning is hard to fathom. Knowing what this has led to — why are still allowing developers to erect massive housing projects in areas way too hot and too dry for human comfort? And why do we continue to allow gigantic hotels, retail- and office projects without opening windows, balconies, patios and natural air circulation?

Yet at the same time, we are good at window dressing. We are forbidding incandescent light bulbs, which consume only a tiny fraction of residential power. And when consumers save energy, some developer builds another air conditioned outlet malls in the desert. Or adds another megahotel in Las Vegas.

As long as this is rampant, power conservation by consumers makes little sense.

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Please Don’t Ruin The Anthem!

Dear Americans:

It gives me the creeps when you shamelessly violate and mangle the national anthem. Yes, going over one and a half octaves, it is a challenging song to sing. But it is the national anthem, and creative interpretations of its written notes are uncalled for. Altering it is as offensive as abusing the national flag to make a personal statement.

So here is a tutorial, inspired by bass violinist Jenny Hersch.

[Land of the] free is exactly the same note as [rock-ets’ red] glare! Look at the sheet, if you don’t believe it!

And both these words are about the same length! So for God’s sake, it’s not “freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee”!  No, no, no!!!! It’s simply “free”!

And one more thing: the lowest note is right at the beginning: [oh] say [can you see]. And it is the same note as gleam-ing and stream-ing and [whose broad] stripes [and bright stars].

If you are like me (not tone deaf but at the same time incapable of singing in tune) just do what I do: Stand with pride — but shut up.

In the name of those equipped with good ears but lacking a singing voice, I thank you.

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Pit Stops

Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500 auto race. I followed it on TV and was astounded by the many mishaps in the pits. They were all caused by the driver taking off before the crewmen had completed their tasks. This is how races are lost. Sometimes, lives are put in jeopardy as wheels and other parts turn into projectiles, or racing fuel catches fire.

One question bugs me: why is there no “lollipop man” — like in Formula 1? This is a crew member whose sole job consists of monitoring the pit crew to make sure everyone is done. While they work, he holds a “stop” (or “brake”) sign on a long stick (the “lollipop”) in front of the driver’s eyes. Once all crew members signal “clear”, the lollipop man turns the “stop” sign to “go” and jumps out of the way as the driver guns the engine.

This would be a simple solution to an old problem. I can’t figure out why Indy 500 teams are not employing it. Overall, it seems to me that pit stops in Indy racing are by far not as sophisticated compared to what happens in Formula 1.

Watch this clip from a BBC documentary:

http://youtu.be/TUBvt98uTTQ

 

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Ethanol Fuel: How America Should Proceed

I have been interested in ethanol as a motor fuel for years. I came to the conclusion that much of the myth about the so-called inefficiency of ethanol as a motor fuel has been planted by the oil industry.

Technically, ethanol makes an excellent fuel — one that is superior to gasoline in many ways. Is it far less toxic, less explosive and less volatile than gasoline. It does not form sticky goo when stored for a long time. When spilled, it can simply be flushed away with water. If spilled into waterways or ground water, it will easily disperse. It is biodegradable. Ethanol does not require toxic additives to prevent “gunking”, or to increase the fuel’s octane rating (a measure for the fuel’s resistance to premature detonation).

Engines specifically designed to burn ethanol can achieve much higher compression ratios than gasoline engines. This can minimize one disadvantage of ethanol: its energetic density is less than that of gasoline, which means that an engine will burn more ethanol to achieve the same power output of a gasoline engine. However, an engine designed to burn ethanol runs a lot cleaner and cooler than a gasoline engine with the same power output.

Unfortunately, the inefficient way by which ethanol is handled in the U.S. is just plain stupid. It is the result of foul politics and lobbyism. Today, almost all ethanol is made from corn. It is true: this is not efficient. But it does not have to be that way.

Instead, three things should happen:

Continue reading →

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Daylight Saving Time Makes No Sense

This Sunday we will again do the crazy switch: “Daylight Savings Time”. But the assertion that Daylight “Saving” Time “saves” energy is bunk. It is simply a stupid and anachronistic idea. It serves no documentable purpose and should be done away with.

Not only have the positive effects of DST never been conclusively documented. On the contrary! In recent years, there has been a growing body of scientific evidence showing an increase in energy consumption during DST.

The idea behind DST was that more daylight in the afternoon would reduce the need for artificial lighting, thus cutting down on energy costs.

But as it turns out, more light (and heat) in the afternoon also means an increased demand for air conditioning, which results in a net increase in energy usage. These are the findings of a 2008 study by two University of California, Santa Barbara researchers. “I’ve never had a paper with such a clear and unambiguous finding as this,” said lead researcher Matthew Kotchen.

Studies conducted in Japan, Australia and the State of Indiana have reached similar conclusions.

In the U.S., the situation is rather bizarre: some states switch to DST, others don’t. In the State of Indiana, some counties have DST. Others don’t. So if one drives though the state, the time jumps!

There is similar confusion around the globe. Some countries switch to DST, others don’t. Some (just to top everyone else in terms of absurdity) switch only one half hour forward and back.

Here is a world map showing DST usage:

Legend: DST implemented (blue), DST not implemented (red), DST formerly used but now abolished (orange). Click to enlarge.

Of course, this impacts telecommunications, the travel industry, navigation and international business.

It is idiotic (to say the least!).

By the way: another false myth about DST is that Benjamin Franklin suggested it. Not true! Franklin merely suggested that getting up earlier (with the sun) and going to bed earlier would be more efficient – considering that most illumination in his days came from (expensive) candles and oil lamps.

Franklin is said to have remarked: “Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”. In 1784, he also published an anonymous letter, which satirically suggested taxing shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells and firing cannons at sunrise. Of course he was not serious. And he never suggested to move the clocks back and forth.

Here is an organization with the goal of abolishing DST for good: http://www.standardtime.com/

(Adapted from my blog post of 03/07, 2008)

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The Los Angeles Air Raid

The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as ‘The Great Los Angeles Air Raid’, is the name given by contemporary sources to the rumored enemy attack and subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which took place from late February 24 to early February 25, 1942 over Los Angeles, California.

Read more details here.

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