Interstellar

This was originally written for the Tamworth LitFest site last year.

Interstellar, the movie, and gravitational slingshots

The major motion picture Interstellar has had one of the most eminent scientists of our generation, Kip Thorne, as advisor. He classifies the science of Interstellar in three ways, known, barely feasible, but based on known science, and speculative. This makes Interstellar that unusual creature, a science fiction story which is science based. Most so-called science fiction is more properly science fantasy introducing elements which we are rather sure are impossible in reality.

Much of the fantasy genre is based on unexplained magical techniques. However we have to allow the creative imagination of the writer to flow. It was eminent science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke who said “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. However the boundary between science fiction and science fantasy may be drawn in a rather blurred way between those which don’t contradict known laws and those which ignore them.

One of the features employed in the film is gravitational slingshots. This is a phenomenon actually employed in space missions. Space is very, very big. Even the solar system is huge and interstellar distances are vast. The distances are so large that they are often measured in relation to the time taken by light to traverse them. Thus the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is about 4.22 light years away ie. at the massive speed of 186,000 miles per second it would take light 4.22 years to cover the distance. It is convenient to label the speed of light c, and nothing can travel faster. Mars is about 15 light minutes from Earth.

The distances even within the solar system are so large that rockets simply cannot carry enough fuel to travel fast enough to cover the distance in a reasonable time. The solution is to use gravitational assistance. As planets orbit around the sun they have massive kinetic energy. The spacecraft is directed behind the planet at an angle so it is pulled by the planets gravity speeding it up but sending it off an angle to the original direction. Effectively a minute part of the planet’s kinetic energy is passed to the spacecraft.

This technique was employed for the first time with the Voyager missions to explore the outer planets. The mathematics was developed in time to take advantage of this complex manoeuvre and the planets were aligned in the right configuration. Voyager ( there were two ) was not intended to slow but to fly by the outer planets. Voyager is about to pass out of the solar system into deep space. Thorne illustrates the gravitational slingshot by the later Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn. Cassini flew by Earth once, Venus twice and Jupiter once on its way to Saturn and then slowed by a slingshot around Saturn’s moon Io. The illustration below is taken from the book Thorne has written about Interstellar.

The image hasn't translated.  The Cassini trajectory can be found at the site address given.

Cassini Interplanetary Trajectory – Image courtesy of NASA – http://www.nasa.gov

These craft were far too slow for interstellar travel. Even at c/3 the journey takes 12.5 years. To reach this colossal speed Thorne postulates a slingshot around a black hole. A black hole has such massive gravity that even light cannot escape hence it is black. By comparison the gravity of a planet is puny. A slingshot around such a gigantic gravity could provide the spacecraft with the energy to achieve interstellar speed. On arrival it would need another black hole slingshot to slow down.

This method suggested by Thorne and used in the film, while speculative, is based on physical reality. This, and much other advanced science, is detailed by Thorne in his book “The Science of Interstellar”.

Goths Galore

Walking down the street I meet a man with a skull head and green eye sockets. Added to which the man is closely accompanied by a woman in bridal wear also with a skeletal head. Not a nightmare but Goth weekend at Whitby.

The bride is soon resolved to be a sort of full sized model carried on his arm; although it would have been quite in character if she had been a real woman. On a Saturday afternoon along the main streets probably fully 20% are in costume.

The costumes are many and various; mostly black although some women wear bright colours; many with skulls and other ghoulish ornaments although equally many are simply what I think of as Victorian dress. For men this was mainly an old fashioned suit with a top hat. For ladies more varied with quite a number of corsets worn outside the clothes.

Having attended the steampunk market earlier in the year I can identify some as steampunk costumes which I know by goggles worn on the hat. The most ingenious idea was a couple in Victorian safari gear complete with pith helmets. The man was carrying a glass jar containing fairy figures suspended by threads from the lid. From any distance it looked remarkably like the fairies were flying around trying to escape. To complete the costume the couple were carrying butterfly nets. Lindsey took a photo of Ellen with them.

Before we went out Martin had remarked he was embarrassed to stare. I think he was too squeamish. The whole point was to see and be seen in an informal costume parade.

This is particularly a Whitby event because of the association with the vampire story “Dracula”. This features a shipwreck at Whitby and was written by Bram Stoker during a stay in the town.

The folks in costume are quite self regarding with many taking photo’s of each other. This is particularly so by Whitby Abbey ruins which dominate the cliff on the south side of the town. This is accessible by 199 steps from the town up the cliff side. I didn’t feel equal to this climb so Ellen and I stayed together while Annette and the others climbed. Ellen is very cute and immediately suggested we retire to an ice cream parlour to wait. She insisted she knew of this from going there with her mother although Lindsey later told me that Ellen had wanted to go there but had been refused. Anyway the visit cost me just an ice cream and a slab of cake- well worth it to keep her happy.

The next day we visited the James Cook museum.  Cook learned his sailing and navigational skills as a young man in Whitby before moving to London and joining the navy. After various exploits in Canada for example he was commissioned by the navy on his three great voyages of discovery. These were all in modified Whitby ships of which the “Endeavour” is the most famous.

The voyages were absolutely fantastic taking years and travelling into unknown waters. There was thought at the time to be a great southern continent; a combination of Australia and Antarctica. Although the initial objective was to make astronomical observations in the southern ocean Cook actually also landed in Australia ( at Botany Bay )  and also sailed up the east coast. This was a marathon as his ship was nearly wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef and he had to put ashore and make major repairs. Along the way he compiled charts of such accuracy that they were used in places up until WW11.

I hadn’t realised that New Zealand was relatively well known at this time as was some of the east coast of Australia. Cook’s voyages carried scientists who explored the entirely new flora and fauna and also artists to record visual features.

Whitby could hardly have more diverse claims to fame than Cook and Dracula.

French Grand Prix

I was very interested in motor racing as a young man. Firstly motor cycle grass track racing, where I went with my parents, but later in motor racing of all sorts, rallying, saloon cars and of course Grand Prix racing cars.

We had planned a holiday to France and it seemed opportune to choose a date which coincided with the French Grand Prix. That year ( it was 1967 ) the race was held at Le Mans. This was not on the famous 24 hour race circuit which was much too long and anyway was partly on closed public roads. Rather the race was the Bugatti circuit which was much smaller and incorporated some of the larger circuit with all the stands, pits and paraphernalia of the modern circuit.

We had a rather difficult journey.  En route we crossed an area with long descents and long climbs. My Hillman Imp was dragging oil into the cylinders on descents, fouling the plugs and then misfiring on the ascents. The engine was well past its best and had worn valve stems. Still we arrived and camped a little way from the circuit.

The razza-ma-tazz was well under way, fairground and all. I don’t recall if there were minor races- probably they were. The Grand Prix got under way with my heroes such Graham Hill, Denny Hulme, John Surtees - all except Jim Clark who had been killed in testing earlier that year. Clark had a wonderful persona and was a natural driver like Stirling Moss.

It was a hot day and I was thirsty so wondering amongst the many stalls there was one selling cold drinks. Showing off my limited French I asked for an eau minerale quite forgetting in my pride that this was literally a mineral water and not lemonade as I fondly imagined ( that is limonade ). So I got what I asked for and quite revolting it was, stinking of hydrogen sulphide  The drink was also much more expensive than I expected and I was just short of the money to pay. This would have been embarrassing at the best of times but I couldn’t explain and apologise in French. Eventually I just slunk away, got the extra cash and paid up on my return. The stall holder just looked exasperated with the whole affair.

During the race a helicopter circled overhead. I later found they were filming the crowd for use in the film Grand Prix. I’ve always boasted that I was an extra in the film - which I was along with thousands of others.

With the problems with the car and the heat also, we diverted from our intention to drive south and headed for the nearest coast. We finished up on a camp site at Bretignolles which is near Les Sable d’Olonne. This is on the Atlantic so there were big waves. The beach lifeguards were the paramilitary Police ( the CRS ). They took no nonsense and if they advised no bathing nobody did.

When we arrived in early July the camp was only a third occupied. After Bastille day on the 14^th it filled up overnight. It was very windy and we had difficulty with the tent until a friendly Frenchman helped out. I felt like the traditional farcical beginner and he did look mildly amused.

While we were at the camp site the Renault travelling circus visited. While this was partly advertising Renault cars it was much more a fun PR exercise. I was in the crowd understanding perhaps one word in ten but it was mainly light hearted games which didn’t require knowing the language.

I was fascinated by some of the unusual brands and their car stickers. I managed to get one for Antar petrol which featured Asterix the Gaul

I’ve visited France quite a few times since but nothing surpassed the foreignness of that first visit.

Q What do you get if you cross a lion with a canary?

A I don’t know but if it sings you’d better listen

Going to the races

I’m not interested in horse racing. I’m not a gambler and that seems to me to be the main interest. However I have been to one meeting which was the Grand National at Aintree. I went with a group from Unilever Research figuring if I only ever go to one horse race this was the one to attend.

The group was called the Delta Group which was a Unilever Research Laboratory idea to foster greater socialising outside working hours. The Unilever social club already organised and paid for an outing once a year but Delta was more of a grassroots affair.  It was open to all, scientific staff and non scientific alike. The idea was to organise a wide variety of events to be attractive to a cross section of interests. It flowered briefly in the mid sixties before folding.after a few years. The scientific staff were predominantly young people. It now sounds ( and was ) very sexist to say but the scientific staff were almost all young men while the supporting laboratory technicians were mainly young women. I suppose the idea was in part to bring them together in a social context.

In addition the centre was a scientific research centre but about half were support staff only indirectly involved, and another part of the intention was to integrate them more closely. The support staff demographic was rather different mainly male but spread across the age range. Membership included spouses.

Thinking back the only other event I positively remember was a film about Fangio the motor racing driver. My colleagues knew of my motor racing interest and I was urged to go. The laboratory had a large lecture theatre which was also designed for film shows.

Anyway on a fine spring day we set out to Aintree from Port Sunlight  in an open topped double decker bus hired for the occasion .Going through the Mersey Tunnel  on top of the bus was an eerie sensation. We arrived in late morning and the gamblers set about placing their bets. We were parked by a jump but I can’t recall which, if I indeed I ever knew.

It seemed a long time before racing began. We had a picnic which I vaguely recall was supplemented by champagne. The actual racing I thought was pretty dire. The horses raced past once( twice for the National ) and disappeared from view even from the top deck. Then a 30 minutes wait and the procedure repeated. I’m sure the colours meant something to fans but were meaningless to me. All I saw was a procession of horses and riders which all jumped successfully.

I was quite ignorant about betting. I remember I did bet with a trackside bookmaker and in my ignorance I somehow managed to bet purely on a place. I lost.

As the afternoon wore on I was increasingly bored. Annette and I walked around the track which is immense; we only covered about a third. I’m interested in cars and I remember seeing a NSU Ro 80 with its revolutionary Wankel engine. I had fond memories of the Wankel rotary engine as it had featured in my A level General Studies paper in a question I could answer very completely. It turned out that the Wankel suffered from sealing problems which were never overcome and it disappeared from production not long afterwards. Nevertheless on that day I felt I had seen the future.

As for horse racing I’ve never been since and never had the slightest wish to do so.

Pottering in the garden

These days I only potter in the garden. In the recent sunny days it has been good to be outdoors. Although it is early yet things are coming into bud. We have daffodils and primroses in full bloom. Our vegetable growing is fairly restricted; hopefully a row of climbing beans and a few of peas supplemented by potatoes in tubs.

Annette is hoping for tomatoes in our cold greenhouse. At present the seeds are planted out in the kitchen with seedlings to go out a lot later.

I’ve been trying to get rid of all the dead stuff and also to root out all the brambles. It is amazing how these have spread to most parts of the garden. I presume birds transfer the seeds when they eat the fruit. I have an area devoted to blackberry plants; thinning this is a chore- cutting out last years growth.

Several years ago we succumbed to buying gooseberry plants of a new variety, Un-named they were grown by a Cumbrian horticulturalist who spoke at the garden club when we went with George and Brenda. They were quite vigorous, very spiky and gave a lot of fruit. The problem was the fruit was very small, maybe a third to half the size of normal cultivars. They had to go after several years struggle,

One fruit we have had no joy with is rhubarb. Why I’m not good with this simple plant I don’t know. Part of the problem is that even when grown Annette is very unenthusiastic about eating it. I suppose I’ve persisted only because I remember the delicious rhubarb and blackberry pies my mother made when I was a boy. Thinking about this they are so far apart in fruiting time I wonder if my memory is playing tricks. Certainly we had blackberry and apple. All the blackberries when I was a boy were wild as father wouldn’t give them garden room.

Mother enjoyed a blackberrying expedition. Armed with container and walking stick she would happily set off for a few hours,.The walking stick was to grasp those tantalising fruits otherwise just out of reach. My mother was quite small, only just over five feet, and with a correspondingly limited reach. I was a reluctant participant sometimes although I fear I was more of a whingeing nuisance that a help.

Plums are a puzzle. I have one tree which usually gives a fair crop but another identical a few yards away never fruited in about ten years. I finally lost patience and cut it down recently. I fear that some others will also be complete duds. These are the (in)famous Victoria variety, nice to eat but tricky to grow.

We inherited several apple trees and I have planted a lot more. Some of our inherited trees are the old fashioned types not on dwarfing rootstocks. These trees are choked with ivy which isn’t much loss as they are impossible to pick. Only the low hanging fruit are ever accessible.

To my slight surprise and chagrin my stylish triangular arch blew down in one of the very few storms this winter. I’m left with a stump with clematis and a wisteria looking shall we say rather wistful. In truth the wisteria never did well as I planted too quickly not clearing the ground of pre existing roots well enough. We have clematis growing up  one of the large conifers. For a couple of weeks when it is in flower it makes a lovely sight.

Battle of Btitain Memorial Flight

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight ( BBMF ) is an RAF contingent of old aircraft particularly concerned to remember the RAF in WW11. Although called the Battle of Britain flight and containing a Hurricane and Spitfire it also has the only flying Lancaster bomber in the UK. The Hurricane and the Spitfire were the two main types used by the RAF during the Battle of Britain. The Lancaster came into service much later in the war and was the backbone of the bomber attack on Germany.

The three aircraft appear at ceremonial events and at some selected air shows. For example commemorating 70 years since the war’s end they flew over Buckingham Palace.

The BBMF actually contains several Spitfires and Hurricanes so that they are fairly sure to have flyable ones available. The BBMF also uses a Dakota as transport which was also a WW11 aircraft. The Dakota isn’t used for display but acts as a support aircraft when the BBMF is away from their base. The Lancaster is the only flying one in the UK although at least one other is in good enough  condition to give taxi demonstrations but not to fly.

While a Spitfire is small and elegant with its elliptical wing the Lancaster is a brutal ugly aircraft. With gun turrets at the front, middle and aft it is far from streamlined. It can only be a machine for war.

I visited the BBMF base at RAF Coningsby quite a few years ago. Coningsby is an active base but the BBMF hangar is on the edge of the airfield and open to the public.  I went as part of a Flypast magazine group but I’m fairly sure the BBMF is open generally to the public.

As it happened the flight was in residence with a Spitfire being flight tested. Through much of my visit therefore the sound of the Spitfire’s Merlin engine echoed around. In a way I was surprised how crude some of the Hurricane attachments were. To trim the elevators small patches were stuck on much as one might on a model aeroplane. The Hurricane used a fabric skin at this stage of its development. The Lancaster was having an engine change and was posed at the end of the hangar with one propeller off while the work was undertaken.

Outside the hangar were examples ( dummies I hope! ) of the bombs used. The massive Tallboy and Grand Slam were particularly used by the Dambusters after the dams raid.

There is of course the obligatory gift shop. Our party actually went there first as there is a control on numbers in the hangar at any one time. As I said Coningsby is an active base and is was incongruous to see modern fast jets on the hard standing while looking at these vintage aircraft.

On the same trip I also visited East Kirby, a WW11 base, which is now a museum devoted to the bomber campaign and featuring Just Jane, the taxi capable Lancaster mentioned above. The sound of four Merlins together is quite mind blowing. One can only imagine the wall of sound given by a squadron forming up on the taxiway. Touchingly East Kirby ( called the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre ) was set up by Fred and Harold Panton in tribute to their elder brother, Christopher, killed on a raid in March 1944.

The East Kirby runway has been taken up but the perimeter track, control tower and much else is preserved. There is a current effort to return Just Jane to flyable condition which is a massive task. When I visited I was told it was badly corroded.

During my visit to the area I stayed at the Petwood Hotel, Woodhall Spa which was the officers mess for 617 squadron ( the Dambusters ) during the war. The hotel makes a feature of 617 squadron memorabilia. Woodhall Spa features a sculpture of a dam bursting and the squadron motto , Apres moi le deluge.

A Lancaster