@helenczerski@fediscience.org
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

helenczerski

@helenczerski@fediscience.org

Physics, bubbles, oceans, hot chocolate and curiosity. Associate Professor at UCL, writer, broadcaster. Author of Storm in a Teacup: http://helenczerski.net/books-writing/ and Blue Machine (out June 1st, 2023) https://www.waterstones.com/book/blue-machine/helen-czerski/9781911709107 #fedi22 #physics #ocean #climate #bikes

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

helenczerski, to random
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Today is the 93rd anniversary of the 1st test of the Bathysphere (May 27th 1930), the first capsule to take humans down into the ocean depths. It was William Beebe’s idea & Otis Barton did the engineering. They were the first people to see deep ocean creatures in their natural habitat, setting a record dive depth of 670 metres in 1932. Beebe described it as “dangling in a hollow pea on a swaying cobweb, a quarter of a mile below the deck of a ship rolling in mid-ocean”.

helenczerski, to random
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Something I learned today: books get trailers now. Blue Machine is out next Thursday (June 1st) and here's the trailer for it.

You can also hear me talk about it at the launch book talk in London at @Ri_Science on publication day: https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/blue-machine-uncovering-oceans-power Do join us!

video/mp4

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@CynthesisToday I don’t know, sorry, but any independent book store (or even a bigger book-focussed retailer) is a good bet. Anything that isn’t Amazon!

helenczerski, to random
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Coming up on Friday, we're back to the @Ri_Science for another night of inspirational science and more. @helenczerski and @robinince
host They've Made Us with special guests @markmiodownik, @jurassicg1rl
, @seis_matters & @kwamedy . Tickets from https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/theyve-made-us

helenczerski, (edited ) to random
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Are you ready for the real story of the ocean - the fascinating watery engine itself? It's just under two weeks until Blue Machine is published, and if you're in London you can join us for the book launch talk on June 1st (publication day) at @Ri_Science https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/blue-machine-uncovering-oceans-power Do spread the word - news about live events seems to spread a little slower without the birdsite, so any help would be much appreciated :)

helenczerski, to science
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Probably unpopular point of view: I hate the phrase “science communicator” & always have. We don’t have history or policy communicators - just historians and policy experts who can share their subject. Saying science needs a “communicator” just serves to isolate it as a weird hard thing that needs special magic powers to access. It implies that communication isn’t a normal part of science, but it is (or should be). Also, it undervalues teachers, who communicate science all the time.

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@Readsalot A science writer. There are loads of them. That’s different, because “writer” is a well recognised profession. And you can be more than one thing - I’m frequently described as both a scientist and a science writer.

helenczerski, to science
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Paul Sen’s book Einstein’s Fridge, on the history of thermodynamics, is brilliant and fascinating and full of insight. This is possibly my favourite new snippet of information, appropriately enough from the final chapter on information thery and how the study of computer bits relates to thermodynamics.

“An E coli uses 10,000 times less energy to process a bit of information than the transistors used in most human-built information processing devices”

helenczerski, to random
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Public service announcement, just in case anyone had forgotten: Covid is still out there and getting it still sucks. I didn’t wear a mask on a busy ferry last week and I am absolutely paying for it now by being stuck inside/sick/frustrated and having to cancel and rearrange all sorts of fun things this week. If you’re in a crowded space, FFP2 or N95 masks are definitely still worth wearing!

distinctlyminke, to random

@helenczerski - do (or have, and I missed it) either you or the Fully Charged Show any comment about the issues discussed in this exchange?
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-04-18/debates/3FEEB6EA-D79D-41BF-BF13-D3BBA2897C08/RenewableEnergyProjectsConnectionToTheGrid

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@distinctlyminke I can’t speak for Fully Charged as a whole, but we’re obviously very aware of the issues around delays on grid connections. I did make an episode about new National Grid infrastructure that went out in Jan/Feb, but it’s not clear to me whether the delay issues are caused by NG or with the DNOs (see here: https://www.edfenergy.com/energywise/national-grid-and-what-it-does). It sounds like at the moment both can blame the other, but I haven’t heard any specifics. Neither NG or the DNOs are super transparent

helenczerski, to random
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

The book talks are coming! Blue Machine (out June 1st) tells the huge story of our ocean. Upcoming talks:

Launch talk, London, 1st June https://shorturl.at/kmuPT
Online, 5th June, https://shorturl.at/rtyBZ
Brunel Museum, London, 5th June https://shorturl.at/jsxQ8
Cheltenham 8th June https://shorturl.at/cflz1
Manchester, 16th June https://shorturl.at/iwMU8
Rotterdam 20th June https://shorturl.at/bFU02
Chalke Valley, 26th June https://shorturl.at/agkwL

Book info here: https://shorturl.at/ikVX1

SuneAuken, to random Danish
@SuneAuken@mastodon.world avatar

Ok so Energy Transition plan. We need to

  1. Decarbonize AND expand electricity production.
  2. Move as much energy consumption as possible on to electricity.
  3. Reduce energy consumption as much as possible concentrating most importantly on the consumption of fossil fuels.

Do I get this right? What am I missing? @sorenhave @Ruth_Mottram

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@SuneAuken @sorenhave @Ruth_Mottram I think we also need to improve the efficiency of energy transmission. A lot of energy is wasted because either it has to be transported a long way, or the methods of transmission are really lossy. That’s also tied up with smart grids and improving the balance of electricity use over the day, so demand is smoothed out. And of course we need far greater openness and accountability about all of that.

helenczerski, to climate
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

I love the idea of “materials as a service” because we only ever borrow atoms from the planet - they will all eventually be returned to a shared pool - and it forces us to face the ridiculousness of the linear model of resource->factory->item->use->”Away”

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/Stories/materials-as-a-service/?mc_cid=642ecf71f0&mc_eid=919725ccb3

helenczerski, to climate
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

I keep thinking back to this Microlino at Fully Charged Live. Reusable water bottles became acceptable, being vegan is now cool, and so is wearing vintage clothes. So who is going to step up to the critical task of making small cars fashionable? The trend towards giant SUVs is ludicrous, incredibly wasteful and dangerous, and bad for our cities. If you must use a car, it should be as small as possible. Where are the micro-car visionaries/influencers? WE NEED YOU.

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@will_shake @albertcardona But if you don’t use it much, wouldn’t it be better (in theory) to use a shared car scheme where you only “had” a car when you were actually using it, and someone else was using it the rest of the time, as well as sharing maintenance etc? That’s the model we need - where a smaller number of cars is in use a far higher proportion of the time, and the roads are free for cargo bikes, normal bikes and walking etc.

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@alexgranford Well, I guess the question is: how often do you go camping? If it’s only a few times a year, it would make more sense (in theory, because the practice doesn’t quite work yet) to have a smaller vehicle that you use every day that’s actually the right size for that, and then on the few occasions when you need a larger vehicle, you borrow one just for that trip.

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@pthane The microlino currently retails for £13,000, which, while not cheap, is definitely cheaper than bigger cars.

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@berkes Well, you should see the number of SUVs in London (and the rest of the UK). It’s definitely not going down…

helenczerski, to books
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

This just went straight into my top ten favourite boat names.

I’m in Guernsey (for the first time) to speak at their literary festival tomorrow on Blue Machine, so if you know anyone on the island, do encourage them to come along.

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@LordWoolamaloo My favourite canal boat name is “Dynamic Inactivity”, spotted on the Bridgewater canal some years ago.

helenczerski, to climate
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

So he spent £6000 instead of £30 by taking a helicopter instead of the train, but he also generated ~1100 kg of CO2 instead of ~10kg per person for the train. (No idea how many people were in the helicopter)

“Sunak uses helicopter for trip that would have taken just over an hour by train”
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/may/09/sunak-helicopter-train-southampton-prime-minister-rail

Helicopter use cannot be casual - it must be a last resort, when there are no other options.

(Back-of-the-envelope calculation based on fuel consumption)

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@Bredroll Here’s how I got there: assumed a Agusta Westland AW149 (just been ordered by gov, but assume similar in use now), which does 0.548 km per litre, 240 km roundtrip journey, 3.15 kg of CO2 emitted per kg of fuel, all from official sources.

helenczerski, to random
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

I am all for vehicle-to-grid technology - it means that car battery capacity can be doing useful things for a far higher proportion of the time - but if we make that a major selling point of cars, aren’t we just pushing people to own a car (aka a mobile battery) when they don’t really need to? All cars having V2G capability is sensible, but I think if we make this a killer argument for owning an EV we’re shooting ourselves in the foot. Fewer cars = better .

https://cleantechnica.com/2023/05/08/california-ponders-v2g-mandate/

helenczerski, to books
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Just finished this, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the UK parliamentary system and UK democracy. It’s a very readable deep dive into what does and doesn’t work at the moment (only published last month), and although it’s depressing along the way, it points to some relatively straightforward fixes at the end. We can change this if we choose. Read it and tell your MP!

FediFollows, to random

Hello new followers! 👋

You don't need to wait for me to randomly post interesting accounts to follow. I have a website which lists these accounts organised into categories:

➡️ https://fedi.directory

If you're not sure how to use the site, click on the "How to use this site" link at the top.

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@FediFollows Hiya. I'm on twitter as @helenczerski and also here, posting mostly about science, oceans and bicycles. Is it possible for me to be added to the directory?

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • provamag3
  • cubers
  • rosin
  • mdbf
  • Youngstown
  • love
  • slotface
  • khanakhh
  • ngwrru68w68
  • kavyap
  • ethstaker
  • thenastyranch
  • DreamBathrooms
  • magazineikmin
  • megavids
  • cisconetworking
  • GTA5RPClips
  • osvaldo12
  • InstantRegret
  • Durango
  • tacticalgear
  • everett
  • modclub
  • anitta
  • tester
  • Leos
  • normalnudes
  • JUstTest
  • All magazines
    •