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!
Category: Science and Engineering
Posts predominantly related to Science and Engineering
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
The Great American Eclipse and harbingers of doom!
With the Solar Eclipse about to hit the USA and a partial eclipse in many other places including the UK, it interesting to note that what is now a special tourist event was once something to be feared. Whilst it is quite well known that comets were once harbingers of doom in days gone by… Continue reading The Great American Eclipse and harbingers of doom!
What type of sleeper are you?
We’re all used to dividing ourselves between Early-Birds and Night Owls depending on our natural predilection for when we get up and are at our best. I’m very much an Early Bird, I don’t own an alarm clock and indeed have never been woken by one. I get up around 5am almost every day and even… Continue reading What type of sleeper are you?
The Vulture Stone at Gobekli Tepe – A monument to a cosmic disaster.
Many of us are familiar with the use of ancient civilisations making monuments that in some way link up to either our calendar, the sun, moon or stars. From the stone circles in the British Isles the Mayan temples in Central America, ancient civilisations often focussed much of their wealth, manpower and engineering to either… Continue reading The Vulture Stone at Gobekli Tepe – A monument to a cosmic disaster.
Stephen Liddell 