A Comment On The Obituary Of Sir Archie Lamb In The Times
In The Times today, there is an obituary of diplomat; Sir Archie Lamb.
This is one of the comments.
My husband comments: ‘When Lamb was knighted, he said to the Queen “may I ask something, Ma’am?” She replied “as one of my ambassadors, you may ask me anything” “ in that case, may I be knighted as Archie Lamb? I hate my given name, Albert.” “Ah,” said the Queen, “though you can change your family name, you cannot change your given name. But I can. Arise Sir Archie.” Archie told me the story, long long ago. Se non e vero, e ben trovato.’
Priceless!
RMT Head Office Closed Due To Strike Action
The title of this post, is the same as this article on ITV.
Looks like a case of the biter bit!
Alison’s Last Mountain
I’m putting this BBC video up on the blog, for various reasons.
One of which is that it going to be deleted soon.
It is the story of the death of Alison Hargreaves on K2 and the trip by her family back to the mountain.
The Diamond Light Source And PETase
When I was writing Diamond Synchrotron Sparkles And Shows Its Value To UK Economy, I came across a reference to PETase, in an article in Chemistry World, where this was said about the Diamond Light Source.
‘It is the facilities in the UK that really make the difference and make us a world leader,’ comments John McGeehan, professor of structural biology at the University of Portsmouth.
His team has used Diamond to study the bacterial enzyme PETase, which digests plastic. ‘Diamond’s I23 [long-wave macromolecular crystallography] beamline is unique in the world. It allowed us to solve the 3D structure of the PET-degrading enzyme, first found in plastic dumps in Japan in 2016. Three years ago it was the highest resolution image of the enzyme measured and remains so today. Having this information allows us to understand how the enzyme works, and how to make it work faster and better.’
As a result, the team has been able to visualise the active site of the enzyme and how it consumes plastic. The researchers discovered that the active site was slightly wider than cutinase, a similar enzyme that bacteria use to break down natural plant polyesters. ‘The technology leading from this research means plastic waste can be broken down and put back together into bottles (infinite recycling), or can be made into higher value products such as resins for wind turbine blades,’ says McGeehan. Patents are pending.
Note, that PET is polyethylene terephthalate, which is a very common plastic used to make fabric (Terylene/Dacron) and packaging.
Now that is what I call recycling!
Diamond Synchrotron Sparkles And Shows Its Value To UK Economy
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Chemistry World, which is a monthly chemistry news magazine published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
This is the first paragraph.
Diamond Light Source, the UK’s synchrotron, has generated a ‘fantastic return on investment’ since it became operational in 2007. That’s according to a new study that values its socio-economic impacts at around £1.8 billion with each taxpayer contributing £2.45 a year towards it.
If you read the article about the Diamond Light Source, you will find example applications where the synchroton has been used.
- Non-destructive testing of materials and structures. Some have been over a metre in size and a tonne in weight.
- Drug discovery and development.
- A team from the University of Portsmouth has used Diamond to study the bacterial enzyme PETase, which digests plastic.
- Rolls-Royce has used Diamond to examine the stresses in fan-blades.
The article also states that it has hosted 14,000 users.
With an energy of only 3 GeV, Diamond is not the most powerful synchrotron, but it is certainly one of the most sophisticated.
Related Posts
I have written about the Diamond Light Source in these posts.
- Moonshot Is The Spanner In The Covid-19 Works The Country Needs
- The Diamond Light Source And COVID-19
- The Diamond Light Source And Ebola
- The Diamond Light Source And Malaria
- The Diamond Light Source And PETase
The Diamond Light Source is a serious scientific tool, that ranks with the best in the world.
How To Build A Liverpool-Style Optical Bench
When I worked at ICI in Runcorn, one of the guys had developed a very accurate instrument for measuring trace chemicals in a dirty process stream. I remember one of these instruments was used to measure water in parts per million in methyl methaculate, which is the misnomer or base chemical for Perspex.
All the optical components needed to be mounted on a firm base, so a metre length of nine-inch C-section steel beam was chosen. The surface was then machined flat to a high accuracy.
In the end they found that instead of using new beams, old ones decades-old from the depths of a scrap yard gave better accuracy as the steel had all crystallised out. Machined and spray-painted no-one knew their history.
But they were superb instruments and ICI even sold them abroad.
20 Ropemaker Street – 13th October 2021
I pass this building every time, I go to Moorgate.
I took these pictures today.
The architects have put up this video.
I shall be following this twenty-seven story building as it reaches for the sky.
Chemistry Nobel Awarded For Mirror-Image Molecules
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Two scientists have been awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on building molecules that are mirror images of one another.
Strangely, I was involved in a project, when I worked at ICI, where I was trying to sort out how a reaction could be persuaded to only produce one form of a chemical. So I do understand, something about what the two scientists were trying to achieve.
The involvement in that project has left me with a belief that chemical catalysts could be one of the routes to a greener and better world.
I have invested in one company, that is developing new catalysts.
A Basset Hound On Pointless
This basset hound appeared on Pointless.
How did Alison hold it thee for the whole game?
The basset hound got eliminated in the head-to-head.
Property Buyers Want Train To Take The Strain, Says Rightmove
The title of this post is the same as that of this article in today’s Times.
Aooarently people are buying houses within an hour’s commute to London, with Chelmsford, Crewe and Sittingbourne being especially popular.
Note.
- Chelmsford will soon be served by a new train fleet.
- Sittingbourne is served by Southeastern’s HighSpeed trains.
- Crewe is served by fast services and will be on High Speed Two, earlier than many places.
Liverpool and Birmingham City Centres are also popular according to the article.
The Anonymous Widower 