The Kopp–Etchells Effect

I’d never heard of it either. But now I have.

It’s the light produced when dust or sand particles strike the abrasive hard edge of a helicopter rotor blade: an example of a pyrophoric effect. And it’s quite spectacular:

Like sparks from a grindstone:

When a speck of metal is chipped off the rotor, it is heated by rapid oxidation. This occurs because its freshly exposed surface reacts with oxygen to produce heat. If the particle is sufficiently small, then its mass is small compared to its surface area, and so heat is generated faster than it can be dissipated. This causes the particle to become so hot that it reaches its ignition temperature. At that point, the metal continues to burn freely.

Add a dark background and some long exposure, and you can get some amazing images:

Named for two soldiers killed in Afghanistan, the phenomenon might be nice to look at, but can cause problems in the field. Erosion of the rotor blades is a serious issue, and the light produced can not only affect pilots’ night vision, but can also alert the enemy to the exact location of a helicopter or base.

The Hidden Melodies of Subways

Tying into to this nerdy post:

The New Mexico Rail Runner’s door chime is the “meep meep” sound that the Looney Tunes roadrunner makes!

…here’s another nerdy post!

But I’m relying on the New York Times to do all the work for me here.

With this link.

I mean, they’re not very hidden at all, in that they are all warning sounds for closing doors and PA system announcements, but still, it’s (sort of) interesting to hear what the different cities and countries choose to use for what is ostensibly exactly the same purpose.

And it’s also really disappointing to hear how awful London’s effort is.

Public Transport Easter Eggs

A lovely video by blogrollee The Tim Traveller in which he heads to Stockholm to catch a metro, and then proceeds to find the seven different easter eggs

Easter eggs are secret messages hidden in computer games, movies, and advertisements. They help content creators bring new meanings to ideas or add a dash of humor to a creative concept. Someone edits a favorite character into a clip, or embellishes a story with cultural references. Some additions gain cult status.

…built into the ventilation grids next to some of the windows on the train.

Niche? Yes.
Nerdy? Absolutely.
Actually pretty cool? 100%.

His videos all have easter eggs of their own as well, usually involving the music (which he records himself). In this one, you have ABBA’s Dancing Queen when he sees the crowns, The Wannadies’ (another Swedish band) Might Be Stars for the stars, and he returns to ABBA for the wholly appropriate Another Town, Another Train to finish.

But it was when he asked if anyone else knew of other easter eggs on public transport that things got serious.

Well. Sort of.

Because there was this comment:

The New Mexico Rail Runner’s door chime is the “meep meep” sound that the Looney Tunes roadrunner makes!

WHAT?!?!? NO WAY!

OK, but first things first. The New Mexico Rail Runner is:

a commuter rail system serving the metropolitan areas of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

And it looks pretty cool:

But it’s the doors we want to see hear. Because there’s no way that they would have actually used the “meep meep” sound that the Looney Tunes roadrunner makes, is there?

Of course there is:

Why? Well, why not? I mean, apart from the fact that it might attract coyotes.

Like the Stockholm metro air vents, there’s always a reason to tie into the local history or environment.

You’re going to need a sound to warn people that the doors are closing, so why not make it quirky, fun, and a feature? And since the Rail Runner is named for the New Mexico state bird – the Greater Roadrunner – what better sound was there to choose?

I’ll likely pop back to that comments section at some point to grab some more amazing public transport easter egg facts, but this one is going to be tough to beat.

Rubbing it in

An incoming email from famous neo-classical composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi:

Spring is coming!
As we reconnect with nature and the world around us, Spring represents a time of looking forward; as we plant the seeds for our year ahead.
To celebrate the changing of the season, I’ve released a collection of songs inspired by the coming of Spring and it’s yours to enjoy at the link below.

And yes, he provided the link as promised. And even a countdown to the Vernal Equinox (not the meteorological one).

The thing is, he’s forgotten all about his Southern Hemisphere listeners here. Spring isn’t coming for us. In fact, if Spring is coming for them up North, we’re headed straight for Autumn. Goodbye sunshine and long summer nights, goodbye crippling heat, goodbye days on the beach, blue skies, and fresh, new growth.

Hello winter storms, roaring fires, copious red wine, and (apparently) disconnecting with nature and the world around me. Oh, and the 2024 Euro Championship.

Of course, those of you who know me will also know that I have no issue with any of this. Because why on earth would I?

Happy Spring (or Autumn) to each and every one of you.

SANBI announces new garden access membership scheme

Indeed. Now that (almost) a year has passed since SANBI (who run the Botanical Gardens in SA) called time on BotSoc members (who are people interested in plants generally, and/or people who wanted “free” access to the Botanical Gardens in SA) getting “free” access to the Botanical Gardens in SA, SANBI has launched its own “free” access programme.

“Free”, because it’s not free at all, but does offer a huge discount on their day to day pricing.

Previously, by being BotSoc members at R562 per adult, and R90 per child, we could (and did) have access to all of the Botanical Gardens in SA. Unlimited access for a whole year, nogal. That was a really good deal. But then SANBI told BotSoc that it wasn’t going to continue, and… well… it ended with any membership that expired after 31 March 2023.

The good news is that – as you may have noticed in the title of this post – SANBI has now announced a new garden access membership scheme.

It’s basically the same as the old BotSoc one, but more expensive (because of reasons, obviously). Adult memberships are now R600 (up 6.76% – ok) [thanks for the correction, Anita B!] R800 (up 42.35%) and kids are R400. That’s a very reasonable 344.44% increase.

And yet it still represents decent value for money, with a day pass to Kirstenbosch R100 for adults and R40 for kids. So six eight adult visits and ten kids’ visits and already you’re ahead of the curve.

The new tickets are available (and valid) from 1st April 2024.