Hanging Gardens of Babylon
I decided to put this sketch here. I was trying to work out a way of getting my little fountain to work with both solar power and 'overshot mill' gearing, using snail shells as the water wheel.
It always intruigued me how the Hanging Gardens of Babylon worked. I know the water was raised using huge bronze screws. However I wondered where they got the power from to turn the screws.
When I came to Jersey, I saw the Overshot Mills used with tiny little streams. There is a fabulous Working Mill at 'Greve de Lecq'. You used to be able to go in and buy a pint or lunch to see it working on a Sunday. The National Trust 'Moulin de Quettevel' (I think I spelled that correctly) Is another Working Jersey Mill. You can buy stone ground flour there too.
Right below this is the old cooling plant for the German batteries. They had to cool them down once they had got them charged. (I think they used these for the searchlights). Now you bang a heat exchanger in with the tadpoles and off you go....
Anyway, I thought if the water was raised up by the screws to the top of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, then on the way down it could pass through a series of overshot mills to provide the gearing for raising the water. It would need a sump at each level, and a water supply from a river, or underground resevoir.
And you only need a few buckets of water to get it going!
Now I also love Canals. They are brilliant for transporting goods without the huge impact on the motorways.
Transit time is not important these days, as we have computer 'stock in hand' systems. If you know it takes three weeks for stock to arrive, you order it three weeks before you need it.
Next the whole infrastructure of canals is already there.
If when emptying the lock, an overshot mill wheel (or turbine) is used, it's surprising how much electricity can be generated with the hydro- electric stuff about now. Also Canal boating is a huge leisure industry.
There are so many people who need work, and would love to be 'free' from the rush of our modern world.
A Canal boat is also a home, and modern ones are well insulated. The Lock keepers houses are still there too, and sadly not enough lock keepers to manage them.
You get fish and eels in Canals. And those crayfish things that shouldn't be in the UK! Yum.
I sometimes wonder if 'faster' simply means 'every time you put your foot on the throttle you tighten the noose round your neck'.
My Dad was a Marine Engineer. He also explained how to build piers and breakwaters, and how they affect tidal flows.
We have a very long breakwater at St Catherine's in Jersey. The turbulance at the end of this breakwater has to be seen!
I would stick a fandango of some description at the end of that to get some energy. I like the idea of growing seaweed on large mats, and pinning them to the bottom of the sea bed with bolts. Nice eco friendly way of getting some giga-jules.
I liked Jules Verne too.
I was just hanging out the washing, and another fantastic little gadget is a Spring! Ha!
Anyway a Spring works on reverse pressure. I have a pair of hand made Miraki scissors which have a reverse Spring action.
I was begining to get carpal tunnel syndrome, so I decided to buy myself a pair of these to 'swap' with, when I was cutting hair.
That gave me a chance to work opposing muscles, so the problem went away.
Besides a pair of 'Samuri Scissors' is a joy to own. No I never get them out unless I am going to do a haircut, and yes I can take the counter-sprung scissors apart to clean and put them back together again.
Anyway a good spring is a great gadget. You can put overshot mills in sequence under one. You can make sure your washing stays on the line, although my wooden ones have a habit of falling apart, so I put them back together.
I love the old fashioned gypsy hand made ones, because they don't slip. I don't know if it's even possible to buy them any more. There is an art to making them. When the wood is still young enough, and it is turned or 'whittled', you can get something called a 'cock-up'.
This is where the wood continues to season and creates a 'stress' that gives a 'spring' action. The old fashioned wood turners used to make chair legs in the forrest from pollarded trees. When the leg went wonky it was called a 'Cock-Up' for obvious reasons.
Anyway springs remind me of paperclips. I use paperclips and pegs as bookmarkers when I want to hold a thought, or keep pages under 'lock down' when the wind is blowing.
I like reed beds too, I would like a reed bed.
However, when we were young we made all sorts of models out of balsa wood, and used elastic bands to power them.
Matchsicks were good for architecture. Plastic washing up bottles were a joy to be creative with. Submarines, floatation tanks, bouyancy calculations... There is a wonderful maritime museum in Jersey, where you can play with floatation tanks. You have to match the right Masts and riggings to the hull of each boat, so that they don't capsize. I like stuff you can play with. The Jersey Museum is brilliant. I have not been for ages. The National Trust house next to the back of De Gruchy was the last visit I made for mince pies and mulled wine. What a fantastic restoration.
It strikes me that the distance between most locks is no more than a kilometer. I can't see why a tension spring can't be loaded during the lock change, and have 'wind up' barges. It just takes a bit of maths to work out the energy loss, and on water you don't get much. Well not as much as driving on a road, or trying to get an airplane off the ground.
What a peaceful idea...
It always intruigued me how the Hanging Gardens of Babylon worked. I know the water was raised using huge bronze screws. However I wondered where they got the power from to turn the screws.
When I came to Jersey, I saw the Overshot Mills used with tiny little streams. There is a fabulous Working Mill at 'Greve de Lecq'. You used to be able to go in and buy a pint or lunch to see it working on a Sunday. The National Trust 'Moulin de Quettevel' (I think I spelled that correctly) Is another Working Jersey Mill. You can buy stone ground flour there too.
Right below this is the old cooling plant for the German batteries. They had to cool them down once they had got them charged. (I think they used these for the searchlights). Now you bang a heat exchanger in with the tadpoles and off you go....
Anyway, I thought if the water was raised up by the screws to the top of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, then on the way down it could pass through a series of overshot mills to provide the gearing for raising the water. It would need a sump at each level, and a water supply from a river, or underground resevoir.
And you only need a few buckets of water to get it going!
Now I also love Canals. They are brilliant for transporting goods without the huge impact on the motorways.
Transit time is not important these days, as we have computer 'stock in hand' systems. If you know it takes three weeks for stock to arrive, you order it three weeks before you need it.
Next the whole infrastructure of canals is already there.
If when emptying the lock, an overshot mill wheel (or turbine) is used, it's surprising how much electricity can be generated with the hydro- electric stuff about now. Also Canal boating is a huge leisure industry.
There are so many people who need work, and would love to be 'free' from the rush of our modern world.
A Canal boat is also a home, and modern ones are well insulated. The Lock keepers houses are still there too, and sadly not enough lock keepers to manage them.
You get fish and eels in Canals. And those crayfish things that shouldn't be in the UK! Yum.
I sometimes wonder if 'faster' simply means 'every time you put your foot on the throttle you tighten the noose round your neck'.
My Dad was a Marine Engineer. He also explained how to build piers and breakwaters, and how they affect tidal flows.
We have a very long breakwater at St Catherine's in Jersey. The turbulance at the end of this breakwater has to be seen!
I would stick a fandango of some description at the end of that to get some energy. I like the idea of growing seaweed on large mats, and pinning them to the bottom of the sea bed with bolts. Nice eco friendly way of getting some giga-jules.
I liked Jules Verne too.
I was just hanging out the washing, and another fantastic little gadget is a Spring! Ha!
Anyway a Spring works on reverse pressure. I have a pair of hand made Miraki scissors which have a reverse Spring action.
I was begining to get carpal tunnel syndrome, so I decided to buy myself a pair of these to 'swap' with, when I was cutting hair.
That gave me a chance to work opposing muscles, so the problem went away.
Besides a pair of 'Samuri Scissors' is a joy to own. No I never get them out unless I am going to do a haircut, and yes I can take the counter-sprung scissors apart to clean and put them back together again.
Anyway a good spring is a great gadget. You can put overshot mills in sequence under one. You can make sure your washing stays on the line, although my wooden ones have a habit of falling apart, so I put them back together.
I love the old fashioned gypsy hand made ones, because they don't slip. I don't know if it's even possible to buy them any more. There is an art to making them. When the wood is still young enough, and it is turned or 'whittled', you can get something called a 'cock-up'.
This is where the wood continues to season and creates a 'stress' that gives a 'spring' action. The old fashioned wood turners used to make chair legs in the forrest from pollarded trees. When the leg went wonky it was called a 'Cock-Up' for obvious reasons.
Anyway springs remind me of paperclips. I use paperclips and pegs as bookmarkers when I want to hold a thought, or keep pages under 'lock down' when the wind is blowing.
I like reed beds too, I would like a reed bed.
However, when we were young we made all sorts of models out of balsa wood, and used elastic bands to power them.
Matchsicks were good for architecture. Plastic washing up bottles were a joy to be creative with. Submarines, floatation tanks, bouyancy calculations... There is a wonderful maritime museum in Jersey, where you can play with floatation tanks. You have to match the right Masts and riggings to the hull of each boat, so that they don't capsize. I like stuff you can play with. The Jersey Museum is brilliant. I have not been for ages. The National Trust house next to the back of De Gruchy was the last visit I made for mince pies and mulled wine. What a fantastic restoration.
It strikes me that the distance between most locks is no more than a kilometer. I can't see why a tension spring can't be loaded during the lock change, and have 'wind up' barges. It just takes a bit of maths to work out the energy loss, and on water you don't get much. Well not as much as driving on a road, or trying to get an airplane off the ground.
What a peaceful idea...