Wednesday 29 September 2010
Irresistible East Kilbride!
East Kilbride is one of Europe's top emerging destinations! Why could this be? I bet it's because of Ravi Singhal's free, "Science for All" talks on Saturday mornings. The next series of six talks will take place on Saturday mornings, 11.00 - 12.00, starting 23 October and they're held in the James Watt Building (E.K, Technology Park, G75 0QD). Ravi's topic, always an enticing one, will be "Einstein and the Theory of Relativity". More details at http://ektalks.blogspot.com/
Tuesday 7 September 2010
A bad omen for Astronomy?
Sales of alcoholic drink have fallen dramatically. Could this be bad for Astronomy? Maybe not now - although astronomers enjoy a drink as much as anybody and their general morale may suffer - but it might once have been.
The Liverpool brewer William Lassell (1799-1880) was one of the major figures of British Astronomy in the "Golden Age of Amateur Science". Brewing was good to him. Huge teams of "navvies" were engaged in digging canals, building railroads: heavy, thirsty work. To discourage them from just downing tools and heading to the pub, their employers supplied them with ten to twelve pints of ale a day. Beer apparently was one of the fuels of Empire and Lassell was lucky enough to gain contracts for its supply. With the resulting wealth he indulged his true passion: Astronomy. The 24 and 48 inch telescopes he constructed were among the biggest in the world in the 1840s - 1860s. He discovered Neptune's moon Triton and pioneered the use of the equatorial mount (which simplifies the business of following celestial objects as the sky appears to rotate in the course of the night). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the ultimate accolade for UK scientists and pretty good going for a brewer.
Lassell belonged to that time when gentlemen of means, however acquired (and yes, they were gentlemen) could pursue their interests and make real contributions to knowledge. What would it have meant for 19th century Astronomy if beer sales had plummeted as they have recently? Perhaps Lassell would have had to pursue the solution of his friend the Rev. W R Dawes, whose astronomical activities were funded by his wife. "Eagle Eye" Dawes was famous for visual acuity, however, and only needed smaller telescopes for his pursuits. Would a wealthy widow have been adequate support for Lassell's enthusiasms? Fortunately he never had to face plummeting beer sales.
What will falling booze sales mean for 21st century Astronomy? Probably not much. Even if Paul Theakston, say, were a fanatical astronomer, most new discoveries now demand facilities far beyond the resources of most brewers: huge telescopes, space missions, Large Hadron Colliders. No doubt this was one of the factors that brought the Golden Age of Amateur Science to an end.
Who can be scientists? What sort of science are they able to do? What sorts of questions are they likely to ask? We can't answer questions like these without paying attention to the culture and big currents of the times. They remind us of the human face of science.
I don't think beer lubricates the wheels of capitalism as it did in Lassell's time. Money from Paul Allen's Microsoft riches has funded the Allen Telescope Array, however. Once again money flows from the major drivers of the age through personal enthusiasm to pure science. Maybe Lassell's time was not so different after all.
Hmm, that was longer than I meant these blog stories to be. And there's still much more that could be said - maybe some of it will come out through any responses.
The Liverpool brewer William Lassell (1799-1880) was one of the major figures of British Astronomy in the "Golden Age of Amateur Science". Brewing was good to him. Huge teams of "navvies" were engaged in digging canals, building railroads: heavy, thirsty work. To discourage them from just downing tools and heading to the pub, their employers supplied them with ten to twelve pints of ale a day. Beer apparently was one of the fuels of Empire and Lassell was lucky enough to gain contracts for its supply. With the resulting wealth he indulged his true passion: Astronomy. The 24 and 48 inch telescopes he constructed were among the biggest in the world in the 1840s - 1860s. He discovered Neptune's moon Triton and pioneered the use of the equatorial mount (which simplifies the business of following celestial objects as the sky appears to rotate in the course of the night). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the ultimate accolade for UK scientists and pretty good going for a brewer.
Lassell belonged to that time when gentlemen of means, however acquired (and yes, they were gentlemen) could pursue their interests and make real contributions to knowledge. What would it have meant for 19th century Astronomy if beer sales had plummeted as they have recently? Perhaps Lassell would have had to pursue the solution of his friend the Rev. W R Dawes, whose astronomical activities were funded by his wife. "Eagle Eye" Dawes was famous for visual acuity, however, and only needed smaller telescopes for his pursuits. Would a wealthy widow have been adequate support for Lassell's enthusiasms? Fortunately he never had to face plummeting beer sales.
What will falling booze sales mean for 21st century Astronomy? Probably not much. Even if Paul Theakston, say, were a fanatical astronomer, most new discoveries now demand facilities far beyond the resources of most brewers: huge telescopes, space missions, Large Hadron Colliders. No doubt this was one of the factors that brought the Golden Age of Amateur Science to an end.
Who can be scientists? What sort of science are they able to do? What sorts of questions are they likely to ask? We can't answer questions like these without paying attention to the culture and big currents of the times. They remind us of the human face of science.
I don't think beer lubricates the wheels of capitalism as it did in Lassell's time. Money from Paul Allen's Microsoft riches has funded the Allen Telescope Array, however. Once again money flows from the major drivers of the age through personal enthusiasm to pure science. Maybe Lassell's time was not so different after all.
Hmm, that was longer than I meant these blog stories to be. And there's still much more that could be said - maybe some of it will come out through any responses.
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