Tesla

Ever since I was a boy I’ve been interested in cars. My interest has been in the technology; what makes them tick. Most cars on the roads today are fundamentally similar in that they are powered by oil based fuels in internal combustion engines ( ICE ). These engines are sophisticated, inexpensive and fairly refined after over a century of development. They do have one overriding problem that they emit carbon dioxide. It is essential that mankind switches to a non carbon economy. The current consensus is that electric cars are the future. The only alternative being seriously developed is hydrogen which has some attractions but many difficulties. The automotive industry is overwhelmingly choosing electric.

The Tesla car company in America was founded about 15 years ago. It must be coupled with the name of founder, Elon Musk. It took great nerve to start the first major car company for decades. Tesla is now valued on the stock market at more than Ford or General Motors. Tesla is named after Nikola Tesla, a technologist working towards the end of the 18^th century who pioneered much alternating current technology. Tesla cars are all electric. Many other  electric cars are hybrids ie. combining ICE engines with electric. Also Tesla’s use a battery pack of very many small Lithium Ion cells combined together unlike most electric cars which use monolithic batteries.

Under the influence of Musk, Tesla cars are unlike any others in many other respects. Their interior is startlingly minimalistic with most control and instrument functions combined in one large multifunction touchscreen. Much of the car electrics can be modified wirelessly in the same way as computer software over the internet. Tesla is also going heavily down the self driving route. Already the cars use an auto driving mode enabling the driver to supervise.

Tesla started by making high end vehicles, very expensive and have only recently started making vehicles in the medium price range. However these have been very successful and Tesla is ramping up production from the current 350,000 annually. Tesla is building very large factories ( gigafactories ) first in America and then in China and Germany. The factory in China has been built and commissioned at phenomenal speed with start of construction at the beginning of 2019 to initial production expected start of 2020. At present batteries are made in partnership with Panasonic in America but it seems likely Tesla will move to fully in house production

Recognising that charging stations are very important Tesla has built its own chain with increasing charging speeds in N America and Europe.

While Tesla is not alone in all electric cars it seems that it is far ahead of the competition and independent assessments put their technology ahead. It appears that some cunning ensures their motors are more powerful and efficient. Battery packs supply DC electricity which is turned into AC ( called inversion ) for the motor. The battery pack is stored in a flat ( one cell tall ) sled underneath the rest of the car body. This means the vehicle centre of gravity is low and so the car handling is very good. This arrangement also gives a lot of storage room with the under bonnet volume replaced by a “frunk “( front trunk in American parlance )

Founder and chief executive Elon Musk was a rich man through his initial development of PayPal which he then sold. With both technical and business degrees Musk has become a serial entrepreneur. In addition to Tesla, Musk started Space X, the Boring Company and Neuralink. His wealth, ideas and contacts have enabled these companies to do extraordinary things already with the promise of more to come. Musk is a somewhat controversial figure with a tendency to talk about impossible goals and incredible timelines. What distinguishes him from idle dreamers is that he delivers on his promises albeit not always at the time he intends.

Musk is very aware of the climate emergency and that was his motive for founding Tesla.. At its present stage Tesla has 2 upper market products , one middle market with another entering production soon and a pick up truck and commercial vehicle at the prototype stage. Tesla also make and install solar energy equipment including a combined roof tile and solar cell. They have also installed grid scale battery back up for the western Australia electricity grid.

The particular feature of Tesla cars is their extraordinary acceleration. Because electric motors give high torque at zero revs; Tesla cars can approach or surpass supercar performance. While this is a feature in normal driving the cars also have a “ludicrous” mode which draws a high current from the battery but which gives blistering acceleration. While the cars just haven’t been around long enough for real life data Tesla guarantee the battery will retain 70% of capacity for 8 years. After that time it is suggested that batteries may have a further life in electricity grid back up before eventual recycling.

Battery electric in my judgement is still slightly marginal. Batteries are heavy, expensive and not very efficient. We appear to be looking at 250-300 miles range with a fast recharge to 80% capacity taking 10-15 minutes. Battery development is underway with an immense effort by Tesla and many others. We may expect improvements although no basic chemistry to supersede Li –ion has yet emerged.

Apologies

Sorry my post Neo Fascist has been repeated- clearly a d glitch in the system

Neo Fascist

After I graduated one of the places I applied for a job was the Atomic Energy Authority. To get an interview I had to pass the preliminary stage of security vetting. This was just a questionnaire which asked about communist or fascist involvement. At the time ( mid 60’s) I realised that communist leanings were a serious matter. The idea of fascist leanings seemed like a joke just in to counterbalance the leftward questions. I thought then that fascism had died in the WW11 as firstly Italy, then Germany, then Japan had been defeated and their fascist regimes toppled. I now see that neo fascism is resurgent and a source of concern.

I’m not talking about the fringe activities of such as the British National Party. This has never gained traction and I hope never will. I find much more worrying that neo fascist parties rule in Poland and Hungary and have significant footholds in Germany, Sweden, Austria. The one unifying theme is hatred of “foreigners”. To be anti immigrant is not in itself a definition of neo fascist but is accompanied by a wish to eliminate the foreign, impose statist economies, abolish the rule of law and eliminate parliamentary norms. All of this accompanied by the “strong leader” approach to government.

In the UK the UKIP party is clearly sliding into a neo fascist mentality such that it is too much for even Farage to stomach. More worrying is that the majority party, the Conservatives under Johnson were quite willing to step outside parliamentary norms to the extent that it required the Supreme Court to stop. I don’t think any apology has ever been made and indeed the transgression was quite deliberate. Clearly Johnson felt desperate measures were called for in the peculiar circumstances but it is an appalling precedent. He has rightly been reprimanded for the language used in Parliament but this hardly represents fascism.

Donald Trump, surely the worst President ever in the US, slides into racism. This is not always done overtly but by divisive statements and actions. In his case it stops somewhat short of fascism but his contempt for civilised behaviour and the rule of law has considerably coarsened American political dialogue and leaves the way open for others to move towards fascism in future. Regrettably there is a strong streak of anti black racism there which despite advances in recent years readily shows itself.

In Europe the racism is more virulent. Disguised lightly as anti immigrant it may be largely a throwback to earlier times but the popularity of supposed anti immigrant political parties shows where the priority of many people still lies.

It is curious that the UK Labour party which supposedly prides itself on tolerance cannot shake off the anti Semitism within its ranks. Anti semitic racism is by no means confined to the Labour Party and appears to crop up as a feature of most of the supposedly nativist parties in Europe. Although Holocaust denial is still very much a minority opinion it is worrying it exists at all. Deniers are impervious to reason or evidence. This behaviour is all too common in cultish deniers ( flat earthers etc )

The Corbyn leadership of Labour is of great concern. He is not philosophically a democrat and approves of the Venezuelan dictatorship. That such a grotesque individual should lead a major party is disastrous. Under his tenure the Labour Party is sliding into the hands of extremists.

The above focus has been on organised political groups. It is depressingly clear that individuals feel free to indulge in behaviour which ten or twenty years ago would have been unacceptable. Although the murder of an MP was hopefully an isolated incident there is no doubt that the public dialogue has changed such that formerly extreme views are openly declared.
All of the recent political trends have been unhelpful to democracy and an opening to neo fascism. The rise of “populists” is deeply worrying with their contempt for democratic norms, bullying behaviour and tendency to elevate supposedly strong individuals. The cynicism about freedom shown by a significant section of the population is of great concern. The public toleration of extreme behaviour only increases the prospect of worse

Neo-Fascist

After I graduated one of the places I applied for a job was the Atomic Energy Authority. To get an interview I had to pass the preliminary stage of security vetting. This was just a questionnaire which asked about communist or fascist involvement. At the time ( mid 60’s) I realised that communist leanings were a serious matter. The idea of fascist leanings seemed like a joke just in to counterbalance the leftward questions. I thought then that fascism had died in the WW11 as firstly Italy, then Germany, then Japan had been defeated and their fascist regimes toppled. I now see that neo fascism is resurgent and a source of concern.

I’m not talking about the fringe activities of such as the British National Party. This has never gained traction and I hope never will. I find much more worrying that neo fascist parties rule in Poland and Hungary and have significant footholds in Germany, Sweden, Austria. The one unifying theme is hatred of “foreigners”. To be anti immigrant is not in itself a definition of neo fascist but is accompanied by a wish to eliminate the foreign, impose statist economies, abolish the rule of law and eliminate parliamentary norms. All of this accompanied by the “strong leader” approach to government.

In the UK the UKIP party is clearly sliding into a neo fascist mentality such that it is too much for even Farage to stomach. More worrying is that the majority party, the Conservatives under Johnson were quite willing to step outside parliamentary norms to the extent that it required the Supreme Court to stop. I don’t think any apology has ever been made and indeed the transgression was quite deliberate. Clearly Johnson felt desperate measures were called for in the peculiar circumstances but it is an appalling precedent. He has rightly been reprimanded for the language used in Parliament but this hardly represents fascism.

Donald Trump, surely the worst President ever in the US, slides into racism. This is not always done overtly but by divisive statements and actions. In his case it stops somewhat short of fascism but his contempt for civilised behaviour and the rule of law has considerably coarsened American political dialogue and leaves the way open for others to move towards fascism in future. Regrettably there is a strong streak of anti black racism there which despite advances in recent years readily shows itself.

In Europe the racism is more virulent. Disguised lightly as anti immigrant it may be largely a throwback to earlier times but the popularity of supposed anti immigrant political parties shows where the priority of many people still lies.

It is curious that the UK Labour party which supposedly prides itself on tolerance cannot shake off the anti Semitism within its ranks. Anti semitic racism is by no means confined to the Labour Party and appears to crop up as a feature of most of the supposedly nativist parties in Europe. Although Holocaust denial is still very much a minority opinion it is worrying it exists at all. Deniers are impervious to reason or evidence. This behaviour is all too common in cultish deniers ( flat earthers etc )

The Corbyn leadership of Labour is of great concern. He is not philosophically a democrat and approves of the Venezuelan dictatorship. That such a grotesque individual should lead a major party is disastrous. Under his tenure the Labour Party is sliding into the hands of extremists.

The above focus has been on organised political groups. It is depressingly clear that individuals feel free to indulge in behaviour which ten or twenty years ago would have been unacceptable. Although the murder of an MP was hopefully an isolated incident there is no doubt that the public dialogue has changed such that formerly extreme views are openly declared.

All of the recent political trends have been unhelpful to democracy and an opening to neo fascism. The rise of “populists” is deeply worrying with their contempt for democratic norms, bullying behaviour and tendency to elevate supposedly strong individuals. The cynicism about freedom shown by a significant section of the population is of great concern. The public toleration of extreme behaviour only increases the prospect of worse.

Hierarchy and feminism

I started work in 1965. I realise that is something like the dark ages then compared to todays society. I will admit I joined a research laboratory which in the nature of things wasn’t the most diverse of organisations. Neverteless  the hierarchy was absolute. All of the scientific staff were men while almost all the technical assistants were women. There was also  an additional element of difference in that all the technical assistants were local people and mainly young women yet to start a family. In contrast the scientific staff were mostly from different places around the country with several from overseas.. In addition the scientific staff were more varied in age and background but typically youngish married men with families.

In the course of my 15 years working in the same laboratory the mix did start to alter somewhat. A few of the scientific staff were women by the later 70’s while a few of the technical assistants were men. These men were, like the girls, recruited locally and usually post A level. I realise I need to explain my use of laboratory. My employer was Unilever Research Laboratory , Port Sunlight ( URLPS ). This was a massive organisation ( one of the largest non government research laboratories in the country) of some thousand people of which about 250 were scientific staff, roughly the same number technical assistants and the remainder support staff of all sorts. Within this there were many individual laboratories often with a dozen or so people working on various tasks.  The main task was development of soap and detergents but there was also other work supporting company interests  in various areas such as plywood. During my stay I worked in several different laboratories within the whole area.

The laboratory ( speaking of the whole organisation ) was subdivided into three product areas, personal washing ( soaps ), fabric washing ( laundry products ) and hard surface cleaning ( dishwashing, floor and kitchen cleaning ). In addition there were groups concerned with analysis and surface chemical research. I worked firstly as an information scientist for a couple of years them moved to hard surface cleaning for a further 12 years. When I became a little more senior I had a technical assistant working for me. Initially these were students in their holidays, then full time people, firstly young ladies and then a young man, Mike.

I don’t recall any overt sexism. Male technical assistants were treated equally with female. Both had the opportunity for day release for further study. However many females had to give up when they became pregnant. There was no particular policy to take back women after a career break. As far as I recall this was treated with a shrug as “that’s the way it is “; I don’t recall any returning although female parental leave was just being introduced.  I remember vividly when my first child was born phoning HR to ask if male parental leave was available. I was greeted with a chuckle and told “no but it will come”. And it has

I had recruited Mike mainly because his brother had been a big success  but this turned into a very happy decision as Mike was excellent. While I was by no means an excellent scientist myself I was having a particularly productive time with lots of ideas many of which were relatively successful. Mike was a huge help showing great initiative and never just “awaiting instructions”. I had hit on the notion that I wasn’t very good at “selling” my ideas as I lacked the “gift of the gab”. Rather I determined to develop prototypes which I could demonstrate with the demonstration selling the idea without any verbal persuasion..

I’ve said that Mike’s brother , Gilbert had been a big success. Gilbert was one of the first men recruited as a technical assistant. He had bags of self confidence and a rather wicked sense of humour. In keeping with the Merseyside humour this was rather bitter and often used at someone else’s expense. I was a victim once. I didn’t dress very well and Gilbert remarked one day that I was “man from Oxfam”. This was at the time of the “man from… “ ads and it was funny and I couldn’t take offence.

Just along the corridor a girl joined who was very skinny. As Gilbert said “ she’s so thin she wears padded tights”. We never did discover her name but she was thereafter known as padded tights girl.

Morale was quite high and often social occasions would consist of most in any particular lab going out together as a group. It might be thought that the combination of male and female together would be combustible . While there was some flirting I can say I was never aware of any serious hanky-panky. The girls were typically either newly weds or with serious local boyfriends while the males were very career orientated. I think most of the scientists were very aware they could easily be put in a very awkward situation with career damage on the horizon..

One reason most of the scientists were quite young was the company had an unofficial policy of “get on or get out”. The first tier of management was the objective of the ambitious while transfers into the other parts of the company was the route for many. Unilever is a massive business so opportunities were many. After 15 years I was in danger of becoming what our senior manager referred to as his “old lags”. I moved to Unichema, a Unilever chemicals company in nearby Bromborough. This was disaster because shortly after the company closed. This worked out well for me in the long run but at the cost of short term trauma. One result was I spent a year working on Teeside only returning to my family at weekends.

The way we were

Having just given a presentation to the local History Group it has made me think about how things have changed. I was mainly talking about our book which is mainly concerned with the 20^th century. The book gives accounts of two villagers lives; one 1915-1935 and the other 1910 -1982. I view these refracted to my own life 1942 – present day.

One thing which leaps out is the change in dress. When I was young girls wore dresses and boys short trousers. This lasted for boys until 12 or so. Things were starting to change and long trousers became the norm for both sexes. This is far more practical. Annette often bemoans the scars on her knees from childhood incidents while wearing dresses.. The actual material has changed. Nowadays denim is near universal for casual dress. I recall in my industrial year in 1964 thinking a colleague was completely mad to import Levi’s from the USA. This was not just for material but the aura of the brand. I didn’t realise he was a leader of a trend which became universal.

When I was small I wore boots, miniatures of my father footwear. They were stout, hardwearing and reasonably cheap. I didn’t wear shoes until secondary school when inside the building  we had to change into plimsolls. At that time trainers were unknown. I’m not quite sure when trainers became commonplace; I don’t recall buying any for our children in the 70’s and 80’s ( but then they were probably rather deprived ).

It is commonplace to say dress has become more casual. For men wearing a suit has for most become reserved for formal occasions. When I started work it was quite normal to wear a suit, white shirt and tie. This slowly changed so that even in my later managerial position I only wore a suit for important events. Curiously although I wore a cardigan around the office and lab I always changed into a jacket for lunch.

Work has changed completely, especially in location. Up until the fifties most people worked very near where they lived. Jobs in mining or agriculture sufficed in both the village I was brought up and the one I live in now. It is a source of resentment that where I live now has become a dormitory village albeit with lots of retired people. The house prices have become prohibitive for the children of villagers as they reach adulthood.

The nature of work has changed. When I watch quiz shows such as Pointless I am struck by how many have occupations unknown when I was young. It isn’t just the type of work but there is a continual flux of employer. My father always had the same employer all his life after he reached adulthood; it is few who can say the same  nowadays.

Education has also changed. Universal secondary education only dates from 1948. When I started school in 1947 children were still completing their education up to age 14 in the village school. Higher education was very unusual in the village. I became only the second in our family to go to university with the predecessor my cousin only 4 years older. In those days of the  early sixties probably less than 5% had a university education while now it has reached nearly 50%. Where I was brought up I would think only the vicar had a degree. Even teachers had, at best, a teachers certificate. It is only fairly recently that teaching has become an all graduate profession. Indeed a degree has gone from being prestigious to a minimum requirement for many jobs.

Travelling has changed completely. Just after the war when I was a child there were very few private cars. I used to happily play in the road and a vehicle would pass maybe every quarter hour. Country roads were surfaced but edging came later. Even by the forties roads had advanced from tracks to metalled surfaces through the early years of the century. The big increase in car ownership came in the fifties through the eighties. The increase was accompanied by big increases in reliability and reduction in costs.

There has been a reduction in truly communal activities. I see this clearly running down in our present village. It is predominantly older people who go to church, join the Women’s Institute and participate in gardening clubs, book clubs and the like. This has been the subject of a study by Robert Puttnam, an American academic in a book called Bowling Alone.( a refence of US bowling leagues ). He finds that for a vast range of communal activities membership peaked in the sixties and has been falling ever since. He has no explanation for this atomisation of society although TV and the internet must play a part.

Just to mention the internet is to show it is so ubiquitous that it has changed society completely. I have always been in highly technical jobs but microelectronics only started to intrude in the late 70’s. Even a technically advanced company like Castrol didn’t embrace the internet before I left in 1996 although by then I was used to a networked computer on my desk plus a portable for life away from the office. However by the time I retired in 2007 even a small company where I spent my final working life was starting to embrace the internet and mobile phones were then used for communication. I have to confess I haven’t really caught up with the smartphone revolution of recent years..