Science and Engineering – Page 2

The famous farting lamp of London

Last week I wrote on The Great Stink of 1868. By chance todays post is on a related subject. Many people will be aware that in the Victorian age, much of London was lit with gas lamps and in deed several places still are. Less well known is that some of these lamps were… Continue reading The famous farting lamp of London

The Tale of the Cursed Amethyst at the Natural History Museum in London

Whilst preparing for a tour tomorrow to the Natural History Museum in London, I thought I should do a reconnaisance sortie as well as a bit of research. The museum is a work of art and shows what value Victorians placed on education. Amethysts were used as charms by the ancient Greeks to… Continue reading The Tale of the Cursed Amethyst at the Natural History Museum in London

Petrichor – The sweet smell of falling rain.

It’s a sensation most of us familiar with though if you’re living in much of the Northern Hemisphere then like me, it might not be one you’ve been familiar with recently. The sweet smell of rain or Petrichor. The name was first coined by two Australian scientists Isabel Joy Bear and Richard Thomas in… Continue reading Petrichor – The sweet smell of falling rain.

All about driverless cars!

Today (or yesterday when you read this), I was taking a walk outside Parliament and I had the opportunity to jump in a driverless car! More about that later but it made me think of how in just a few years, autonomous cars have gone from science fiction fantasy to reality or at least very nearly… Continue reading All about driverless cars!

2,000 years on Bath Abbey is set to use the famous hot water that the Romans did!

Long before the Romans, it was the ancient Celts who lived across the British Isles who first noticed the hot waters spewing forth from deep beneath the the surface of the Earth, In fact, they used to pray there. When the Romans arrived, they built a complex of baths and steam rooms to harness the… Continue reading 2,000 years on Bath Abbey is set to use the famous hot water that the Romans did!

RAF Icons of the Jet-Age

Concluding my short series of blog posts on iconic RAF planes to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force we finally reach the period that most of us are best familiar with. The age of the jet engine. Frank Whittle invented the jet engine in 1930 though it was Germany that got the… Continue reading RAF Icons of the Jet-Age

The Brunel Museum and the first tunnel in the world that goes under water

You might be wondering how much more can be squeezed into this relatively short little walk eastwards from London Bridge through Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. I’m sure you’ll agree that there is something for everyone who visits. Today’s post relates to one of the few things I actually knew about before visiting the area recently and… Continue reading The Brunel Museum and the first tunnel in the world that goes under water

Did Babylonians Beat The Greeks To Trigonometry?

We’re all used to learning that it was the Ancient Greeks who invented (or inflicted for those of us who hate Maths) Trigonometry but recent evidence suggests that they may have been beaten to it those canny Babylonians. A 3,700-year-old clay tablet has proven that the Babylonians developed trigonometry 1,500 years before the Greeks and were… Continue reading Did Babylonians Beat The Greeks To Trigonometry?

A walk along the Grand Union Canal

It’s been a very warm and sunny Bank Holiday weekend in London and I managed to wangle it so that I didn’t spend every minute of it working. During a few hours of spare time I decided to go on a 9 mile (15km) circular walk, the majority of which was through parkland and along… Continue reading A walk along the Grand Union Canal

The London fences made from stretchers

Famously many of the iron and steel railings in the U.K. were removed and melted down to help the war effort in WW2. Whether a large city park or a private residence, chances are if there was a traditional style railing or gate then it would have been melted down and recycled into things like… Continue reading The London fences made from stretchers