Tuesday 22 July 2014

What would today's 'Temeraire' be fighting?


"The fighting 'Temeraire' tugged to her last berth to be broken up" by William Turner (1839) has some great imagery that sums up timeless social acceptance issues. It shows the sailing ship 'Temeraire' at the end of her service. It is no co-incidence that she is being brought in by a 'modern' vessel: a coal-fired paddle tug. We are witnessing not just the end of one sailing ship, but the era of wind-powered ships, which is being drawn to a close by the advent of steam-powered vessels. The dramatic sunset (a sunrise would be most inappropriate; it is clearly the end of the day for the 'Temeraire') serves to emphasize the poignancy of this moment.

Sunday 6 July 2014

Comparative tank test challenges: Part II - Reducing systemic errors & bias


Part I discussed some of the inherent difficulties with comparing different concepts of wave energy converter using tank tests. Some of these problems we are stuck with; others can be avoided if we know about them in advance.