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Comparitive sizes of airborne particles such as dust, pollen, bacteria, virus and many more have been compiled by Engineeringtoolbox. Industrial examples found are coal, carbohydrates, tobacco smoke and many more. Among the numerous natural substances are pollen, virus and carbohydrates, etc. Why mention carbohydrates? Read-on.
Clean Rooms-High Standards - :
Tough Acts to Meet - particulate standards!
Some Back-ground to Dust Control:[Link]
One small thing leads to another, not just a neurological fact, a synapse.
In fact, I had recently been working on a problem entitled "Dust Control," carbohydrates actually.
However as I delved into the subject, I found that a much more appropriate term, is "dust confinement". The latter, not only satisfies both the difference in interpretation between french and english (anglo-saxon) of the word “control”, but also specifies, in this particular case, the client's aim to increase yield by putting all the material into the product or at least into the packaging.
I had given, myself an excruciating delay, and my industrial past appeared to be catching up with me. "Déja vu".
“Déja Vu!” from metallurgical dust and fumes during my 12years at the local factory here, “Les Acieries d'Imphy”; part of the Euro-Group of special alloys and stainless steel melting and refining plants”, supplemented more recently by car exhaust beneath my window from the local bypass. Now to crown things, a coal reserve found locally, 250MT no less, has come up for exploitation!
Carbohydrate powder confinement?: I had submitted a pretty off-focus (poor) piece of work to a pretty poorly defined question (i.e. one for insider specialists rather than for a general process engineer & scientist) but had the satisfaction of having made a contribution, on time and had learned in the process, although not enough to my liking.
Motivated by calm resolution after the intellectual storm, the brainstorm, to which I had subjected myself, motivated by residual dissatisfaction, by perception, a glimpse of some growing need, like an ominously dark cloud gathering, I set out to put some value on my initial effort to ramp –up, from scratch may I add.
I headed off to the local library, equipped with my hand calculator intending to get some orders of magnitude straightened out: surfaces, volumes, ratios of surface to volume for heat and chemical kinetics; aerodynamic (aerosol) particle terminal velocities etc.
We have the Berkeley 1970's lecture series; mechanics, physics, waves & optics, statistical thermodynamics and quantum mechanics in 5 Volumes, great stuff, and a competitor to Feynman’s famous series. For my purposes, the micron particle range 10-500 microns were to be “confined”. This took me back to my high school and early university mechanics.
In the back of my mind I felt this could also be a useful prelude to the more fashionable nano-family. Laziness or intelligence whichever one prefers, led me to head for the Internet terminal section of the library. Eureka, I was rewarded far beyond my expectations, ashes to ashes; let me share this lucky strike with you:
Micron Particles.
-Volumes, surface areas table, orders of magnitude, Surf./Vol. etc.
:[Link]
-The Aerodynamic particle:[Link] Solved Problems :[Link]
-Terminal Settling Velocity:[Link] Solved Problems :[Link]
Particle Formation:
(Grinding, Fossil-Fuel-Fired Boilers, Municiple and Medical Waste Incinerators):[Link]
Environmental Science Main Reference, more?:[Link]
(Acknowledgement to the US Environment Protection Agency (US-EPA) for the clear simplicity of their contribution to some basics of Environmental Science, thanking them for their continuing interest and wishing them all sucess in their efforts in practice and practise, in essence, Innovation )
((CARBOHYDRATES:I have opened this parenthesis due to my chance (serendipidous) reminder of an interesting link to my previous entry on photosynthesis. Carbohydrates are the main energy source for the human body. Chemically, carbohydrates are organic molecules in which carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen bond together in the ratio: Cx(H2O)y, where x and y are whole numbers that differ depending on the specific carbohydrate to which we are referring.
The chemical metabolism of the sugar glucose is shown below:
C6H12O6 + 6O2 --> 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy
which is the opposite reaction to that of photosynthesis refered to in my previous post. "Photosynthesis is an endothermic reaction very roughly:
6CO2 + 6H20 + energy --> C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6O2
Energy is supplied in daylight from the Sun with the further help of a catalyst, namely, chlorophyll.
Acknowledgement and link is visionlearning )) Close the carbohydrate/photosynthesis parenthesis.
CSE - Customised Search Engine - Conversations on Innovations
Innovation network making progress
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Dust-up your act, From Coal to Flour, And All things Small & Beautiful.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Photosynthesis - The Endothermic PhysChem Reaction-In Reality "A System - Nature at her Best". (Wedge a War on Deforestation)
I have been very busy addressing various scientific and technical challenges, surprisingly, corresponding badly with the Xmas & New Year festive season, hence my lack of entries since 31 0ct.06!
Back "on the Air", I have chosen to share my introduction to a challenge which I found in the field of endothermic chemical reactions. These are reactions which absorb heat as opposed to releasing heat. As I found, it is a highly topical and even more so a highly relevant tropical theme!
Introduction:
Firstly I wish to thank Innocentive for drawing my attention, anew, to the field of Endothermic Chemical Reactions. A rapid search reminds the chance solver of the global importance of such reactions, especially under the current climate findings, in the form of Photosynthesis. I would have enjoyed delving further into this common but highly complex issue. For memory photosynthesis is an endothermic reaction very roughly:
CO2 + H20 --> C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6O2
Energy is supplied in daylight from the Sun with the further help of a catalyst, namely, chlorophyll.
Unfortunately it became rapidly apparent that I could not within the current challenge remotely hope to use this as a realisable solution.
I put the idea aside, for future reference.
The year 2006 ended with the publishing of the highly acclaimed Stern Report on the economics and financial implications of climate change and the year 2007 began with the first of the series of IPCC-UN reports on change reports and Paris conference Feb. 07.
Monday, October 30, 2006
WEDGE-A-WAR: Corrosion- Nothing lost nothing gained?
Corrosion:
"Nothing lost nothing gained?
A degrading, dissipative world
or a slice of cake to take?”
Once again, the topic of corrosion has been brought to my attention.
Of course most people are familiar with the macroscopic sort in the form of common rust.
Some of us, who were privileged, to live near the seaside, coupled with an important industrial and research employer the nearby chemicals & research plant, -ICI's Nobel Division no less, have early experience of corrosion in other materials than steel.
However it was upon reading news in the field of nanotechnology size comparison between atoms and common objects-Link ) and more specifically nano-corrosion that I finally retained an indicator for the magnitude of the cost involved
"The effect of corrosion has an impact on about 3% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). From a positive point of view, however, chemical attack of metal surfaces may result in surface nano-structures with very interesting technological applications such as catalysts and sensors. Therefore, a better understanding of corrosion processes is required to both prevent it and make the most of it." quoted from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) based in Grenoble, France.
Previously I had learned that such was the loss of durability that whole industries have grown around this field. One must do a thing or two to generate a 3% world GDP. In fact I probably knew this for a long time, but since variety is the spice of life, I may be pardoned for some forgetfulness. )More on Economic Impact of Corrosion
It is common today either in the specialised technical or business or in the main general, economic and financial press to enquire whether this fight is being won or lost?
This is not just a philosophical question. It has a particular significance when the question in the technological, innovative sense:
"Can this industry; from research to market, constitute-or contribute to, a Wedge (in the Socolow sense?) This is a timely question since now infamous, CO2 is known to contribute to rust, corrosion in iron and steel.
(So too does the elder infamous, brother sulphur dioxide [SO2 forming sulphuric acid of notorious for its acid rain, referred to earlier in the poem "Open sky coal mine")
Now, one may wish to ask the "Who, how, why, when and where?" that classical unbeatable holistic search series.
The last question is particularly pertinent. Where?
Murphy’s law (entropy-exergy analysis) will tell you that places of most concern will be those which are difficult to get at and therefore costly.
We are not in outer space though!
If this was a marginal issue one could sort of live with, it is mostly not lethal. But when it concerns the worlds most used metal in terms of tonnage; carbon steel and some of the important things “wrapped in it” carbon steel corrosion, cannot be brushed aside.
Yes, I do mean common ordinary rust, hidden in some structure, which we know will rust sooner or later!
We can do some smart modelling to allow us to buy time. We can calculate and even measure thickness change, which allows us to estimate if there is safe structural strength left.
How on earth can it be detected, reliably, precisely, preferably without taking the "set-up" to pieces? We want it to be a NDT, a non-destructive test, as non-intrusive as possible.
For want of a catch phrase we could call it the "Wee-wiki peek Spy-Shy method"
I am not talking about some mineral on Mars.
No, just that common physico-chemical compound called rust: Ferrous, or Iron Hydroxide, Fe2O3.xH2O, where x is variable. [If x=3 Fe2O3. 3H2O is equivalent to 2Fe (OH)3.]
Yes, even common rust can be a real bugbear to detect when it is in some difficult to access-costly to repair place!
From Macro - to nano to macro &....? Link
Nothing lost nothing gained?"
A degrading, dissipative world
or a slice of cake to take?”
Serious, but not vulgar, even amusing, for innovative; comments, questions or suggestion very welcome, but "don't be evil" (In French or English.)
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
WEDGE-A-WAR follows from Theory to Practice
I wish simply to draw the chance visitor's attention to my additions "Socolow Wedge Best Practice" in my field of Metallurgy, Materials & Processing cf. also Links Section. The processes (1st one) invented by Fray-Farthing-Chen (FFC) known as the Cambridge Process [UK] following its University Start-Up Co., has produced two full companies, * BTi-British Titanium and, for a full range of metals and alloys, Metalysis and, (2nd one) Geopolymer Institute, Davidovit's cement, work at 1/3 to 1/2 the temperatures used by more classical routes (promising energy economies). Lets add to the previous two initiatives: process-product-market, approaches, a stricly process oriented "inventions & innovations" that of the recently created Thermokin ,by the inventor, J. Haiun. Thanks to it's; "blade-less turbine"-thermokinetic-compressor which controls, heat and speed, using and canalising the propeties of gases during reversible -forced transitions; subsonique to supersonic and back. Thermokinetics is the name coined for this field. Thermokin announces considerable potential energy saving of about 10% at low investment and maintenance costs.
I found these developments to be encouraging therefore I shall be pleased to help readers (at least among the less specialised) formulate any comments or questions to the people directly involved.
*PS. since 1st post, I have learned, cf.link BTi, that a conflict has arisen between BTi and Metalysis together with major Tech. backer QinetiQ.
.Je souhaite, simplement, tirer à l'attention des visiteurs mes additions: "Cales de Socolow - Meilleures Pratiques" dans mes domaines de spécialisations Métallurgie, Matériaux, Procédés cf. Links Section. Les procédés (1) inventé par Fray-Farthing-Chen (FFC) nommé le FFC Cambridge Procédé [UK] (électrolyse avec sels fondus comme électrolytes ) et après ses débuts comme un "start-up" universitaire, à conduit à la création de deux sociétés; BTi-British Titanium et, pour une large gamme de métaux et d’alliages, Metalysis puis (le 2ème) , Geopolymère: par l'ingénieur chimiste distingué Davidovit's - ciments, béton ; travaillent à températures 1/3 à 1/2 des températures de fabrication classiques. Ajoutons aux inventeurs-innovateurs précédents et leurs sociétés: "procédés – produit - marché", la société Thermokin, récemment crée par J.Haiun, dans le domaine des procédés. Grâce à sa "turbine (sans pales) - compresseur thermocinétique" exploitant et canalisant les proprietés des gazes lors des transitions "réversible forcée" ; subsonique=>supersonique=> subsonique (nommé thermocinétique). Thermokin annonce des économies d’énergie potentielles, importantes de l'ordre de 10% pour un investissements en équipement et maintenance relativement modeste.
Ces développements méritent encouragement. Je serai heureux de vous aider (les moins spécialisés entre vous, tout au moins) à formuler commentaires, suggestions ou questions à destination des intéressés.
Enjoy your visit.
Lire avec plaisir.
Monday, October 16, 2006
WORK in HAND & Glenn MacDonald's from Theory to Practice June06 post
The image (left) was taken by ESA managed satellite Proba under the Earth Observation programme.Earth Observation programmeI have tried, specifically, to avoid the topic of Coal,almost the most used energy source on earth. and have concentrated on much needed weblog clean-up & crawling, if not ramping-up the weblog learning curve. This led me to acknowledge the pertinence of Adsense and in so doing justify at more length my decision to recommend it, throught the referral plan. I posted this further down the the WLog, under the heading "Innovation - Firing on all Cylinders started in June 06. (Downs & unders; not to be confused with the Aussie's "down-under."-with the World Cup Rugby, France 2007 approaching difficult to avoid refs. to southern hemisphere, one step from the Antartic and its importance in the climate engine ! ) I also added more thought reminders to the "Pensieve", Thought-recipient or Block Note, for later sifting. cf earlier post -SCROLL -DOWN.
"The European Union must maintain its leading position
in combating climate change, ensure global
competitiveness for European industry, and deliver
long-term security of the energy supply. The European
Technology Platform for Zero Emission Fossil
Fuel Power Plants has been set up to play a crucial
role in enabling Europe to fulfil this commitment,
with the development and deployment of new competitive
power plant options over the next fifteen
years." (ref. A vision for zero emission fosil fuel power plants
As a man afraid of "facing" the dole
Money, monies the man on this payroll,
China! Aussie's too, what's the toll?
Coal,
In much of our blue planets territory,
Mine, down-under, beneath our feet,
Coal!
Not for long, in this Newfoundland
Sounds of Nova Scotia-Caledonia's band
Wash the Pug! Close the rail-carriage window,
Children, Tunnel ahead! Heads in, bow!
Getting nearer, nearer, to our chosen home yard
Open-sky mine project, -Jeune Garde.
Route 58, from. Sancerre's vineyards scene
Silly cause or Silicoses? Cossaye
Glasgow-black and Auld Reeckie lang gone
The cities fathers ruled Sulphur out-right
Crying -"Grime's a Crime,
against Humanity"! , prose?
Shaking-off smog’s mildew -as a rose.
(The song continued long after, "Acid rain, acid rain"
At the time this was a well known refrain
Today from space 5 tonnes of Sulphur, let's sprinkle
Over carbon dioxide concentrations, a grave to kindle)
Victor Hugo, Dumas & Zola would be proud
No Persian Letters these, Alexander endowed.
Buildings, monuments, sandblasted bright
No gas candles for them, but LED- light.
from Coal!
Working mines as in bygone days, the long way.
Or shall innovation & invention,make their mark,
In some sophisticated scientific way, as the quark?
Through some subtle eco mix, a trail
By non-friction super-conductive rail, race
Or pneumatic closed dust-confining tube-ace
Bring temptation's call, this coalface
To the devils melting-place
I did not mention at any time before
Our devils burning desire is therefore
Some thermal combined harvester's drum
For Heat & Electricity to make a planet turn
Coal,
Land of "the waters still"
s' Nuclear & Coal alike.
-As the friendly greeting goes, in the heydays & hay days of coal,
"Lang may yur lum reek!" -meaning long-life and good health, ce qui signifie en français; longue vie, bonne santé. The tradition of welcoming a New Year first footer with a lump of coal as a sign of good wishes also is more debateable with regard to the global performance of coal exploitation and effective use in the current context of climate change and cheap & and easy access to energy sources.
(I shall try to remain as poetic as possible in "our project" of the century Open-Sky Coal mine with Thermal powered combined thermal electric power "plant" 1st draft 16 Oct. 06 ) and needless to say as helpful as possible eg. =>
PS. Add to mining: "Re-Investment in Renewables" & "Carbon Chemistry" with the usual ramifications, socio-cultural-economic... to use a bio/agro analogy.
TECHNICAL FIRST:
NB. FROM "BLACK to GREEN" CLEANING COAL -How it works.
"The European Union must maintain its leading position
in combating climate change, ensure global
competitiveness for European industry, and deliver
long-term security of the energy supply. The European
Technology Platform for Zero Emission Fossil
Fuel Power Plants has been set up to play a crucial
role in enabling Europe to fulfil this commitment,
with the development and deployment of new competitive
power plant options over the next fifteen
years." (ref. A vision for zero emission fosil fuel power plants, Aug. 2006 )
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
CARBON NEUTRAL & THE HOTTEST FROM THE "AGE-DOT"
Object & Food for Thought:
"This survey, [the Economist's recent contribution to the Climate Change Debate] which generated about 118 tonnes of carbon dioxide from flights, car journeys, paper production, printing and distribution, has been carbon-neutralised through the Carbon Neutral Company. The cost was £590; the money was spent on capturing methane from an American mine." from The Economist, Sept. 7th 2006
Conclusion -Commentary:
I'll start my comment by applying my own advice to readers of this "The Economist" report, free introduction on the Climate Change Debate. Start with the conclusion, start at the bottom of the page (cf. above for ease of study).
There (cf.above) you will find some data on their Carbon Neutral Approach: Carbon Costs of this specific activity(Climate Dossier) and the monetary cost of mitigation £590.
If such activity costs so little to mitigate (roughly the lowest salary rate-could there a Zero or Two..missing?) if not why so much squabbling over policy? Or is there nothing here upon which to base an economy, and hence provide useful, meaningful,worthwhile jobs, and not just provide employment, stagnation?
Blog -Comments in full:
I did not mean to blog today,as you may see from the rest of these pages there is much page,links,lay-out cleaning-up (optimisation?) to be done. Add to this considerable paper reading material & renewed access to professional online journals, about 20 peer-reviewed journals via the Institute of (Metallurgy)Materials,Minerals and Mining to be specific. Even broader scientific news arrived on my desk from the EU-RTD (European Union-Research & Technical Development) Lads.
However,probably motivated by the radio news reporting the Hottest year it history or something (dot-age or age-dot?). I'll check the reference. There will no doubt,& fortunately so-trust a canney,concerned Scot- be good coverage of these events. One liveable planet, n'est ce pas, some liveable countries still!
I ran through some Webzine Alerts, noteably The Economist, who feature a full report on Climate Change & Free intoduction to their report 7 Sept.O6, which I am commenting on now.
I'll start my comment by applying my own advice to readers of this "The Economist" report, free introduction on the Climate debate.
Start with the conclusion. Start at the bottom of the page. There, cf.above, you will find some data on their Carbon Neutral Approach: Carbon Costs of this specific activity(Climate Dossier) and the monetary cost of mitigation.
If such activity costs so little to mitigate (roughly the lowest salary rate here & Twice minimun subsistance re-insertion rate) why so much squabbling over policy? Or is there nothing here upon which to base an economy and hence provide useful jobs, meaningful,worthwhile jobs, and not just provide employment, stagnation, stagflation?
Naturally the introduction is well written, comes to some extent after the main Climate Change Frontline "Storm(s)": IPCC-Intergoverment Panel on Climate Change 2001 building up "Steam" & Other Gases 2004-5. Economy(ies) "oblige"? The Economist although proud of it's radical tradition, attempts to remain balanced.
NB. The Economist Article was written before the Royal Society Petitioning Letter "accusing" Exxon-Mobile of biased & excessive funding to discredit good, often exellent, scientific work and conclusions on Climate Change, last week, I believe. It was also written before weekend 24-5 Sept.06 reports of Al Gore asking and being heard by (adequation) Sir Richard Branson to help by investing in Business(es) Fighting Global Warming or better expressed Fighting to Master Global Climate Change (& foreseeable Disasters?).
Post Add-on 061003: Critics have raised doutes as to the quality of R.Bransons response as "rapid scribling" on the back of [coffin nail] packet during a train journey, latter at least being more environmentally friendly reference than the equivalent (carbon) car journey!
PS. This Blog has generated almost no CO2 emmisions other than those shared by all PC, users, in particular the "no-printer-paper-ink office"s, dear to Bill Gates, who of course, can afford to annoy one or two big industrial outfits and their lobbyists.
If YOU READ THIS FAR YOU WILL FIND YOUR Patience Rewarded at Ecobusiness
Thursday, September 21, 2006
INNOVATION -THE WORTHWHILE PROJECT-Conversational styled, review of science's powerful tool "The Experimental Method" in politics and humanities
of Innovation - Reward Systems. By J. Alexander.
(First published online via ChemWeb 2004)
“The difficult, I can do immediately.
The impossible may take a little time.”
A favourite, joked by A Great Teacher.
“Let knowledge grow from more to more
and thus be human life enriched”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, founded 1768.
ABSTRACT - SUMMARY.
A fresh, and hopefully refreshing, conversational styled, review of science's powerful and indispensable tool in humanities search for truth and knowledge, namely the experimental method.
ChemWeb preprint-Science Direct Achive ref. chemistry 0303001.
What others say about the Method Kiss: 1. In The Art of Effective Training,
2. In Engineering. and 3. In Business & Sales.
INTRODUCTION.
Bruno Latour in “How to evaluate innovation” (2) develops a fairly simple well argumented procedure based upon the experimental sciences which may prove valuable to those involved in making things work as best as possible. Difficult?
In industrial terms such approaches may be better recognised as being within Total Quality Control or Management System Frameworks.
Currently- the list is long whatever evaluation yardstick is chosen surpassing strictly industrial concerns. In the present case, I was referring to long-standing calls for proper practice in corporate governance, cf. also Footnote 1. We shall come back to this below (11).
Notions of innovation and experimentation may not always be of popular appeal, judging from jobs and salaries. There are no such job titles in the boardroom or in government, in spite of the abundant managerial press reports and book titles. Perhaps these two words have appeal in management circles but still remain too cerebral and fearful for widespread application and acceptation?
Latour by defining Innovation, simply as a new and worthwhile project, goes a long way on the path he set, to determine a powerful protocol for effective action and as a consequence on any path designed to make things work as best as possible (routine project) or to make things work for the better (a continuous project ever in need of new projects-innovation).
Why such knowledgeable disdain of –‘Le changement dans la continuité’? - ‘ Change through continuity’ or more commonly ‘ the more the change the less.’
(4) included in Harvard Business Review’s Fifteen Key Concepts (5). Strategy, and wait for it, the currently much discussed Sustainability, are defined by Porter also in Key Concepts (5) Project managers and IT candidates please read on. (IT remember stands for Innovation Team and not the more restrictive Information Technology).
PRE-MODEL DESCRIPTIONS.
According to Prof. Latour, the basic problem that all innovators must face is known as “The Innovators Dilemma” which goes something like this: “When you know you can’t and when you can you don’t know!”
“At the start of the project, the Project Manager knows nothing or next to nothing
of the reactions of the public, the financial people, suppliers, colleagues, all of whom together with machines must be brought together in order that the project may take shape. He can, however, very quickly modify, from A to Z, the nature of his plans in order to respond to his new found clients requirement.”
Latour continues, “at the end of his project, he will know all he should about the resistance of materials, the reliability of components, the quality of sub-contractors, the loyalty of bankers and the passion of his clients, but he can no longer change his plans: Too late, they are moulded in bronze.” The relevance of the situation struck me; pardon the metallurgical references, I am a metallurgist & physical chemist, like the work piece by the forge master to such an extent that the innovators dilemma is again hammered home in Poster 0 – A ‘Zeroth Law’–taking the temperature.
So true! Then I got my wits back.
This dichotomy (two opposing mutually exclusive propositions) is typical of what E.F. Schumacher (3); author of "Small is Beautiful", calls divergent (or open ended) problems.
The best-known divergent problem concerns educational methods of common knowledge to everyone but the most unfortunate under developed regions deprived of this experience:
By opposition, convergent problems can be solved, the more intelligently one studies them the more the answers converge, whoever you are, according to the physical and chemical laws of inanimate nature (3).
The conflicting opposites (an understatement if ever there was one), Knowledge and Ignorance are obviously in the divergent category. Other examples are:
Authority, discipline and obedience versus freedom
Freedom versus order
And relevant to our models:
Growth versus decay.
But lets see, it may be instructive to liken the project manager to the young candidate seeking his first job? He has been confronted from a tender age with parents, family and relatives, friends, relations mostly teachers- not real people-to which most youngsters, at least in adolescence, will readily testify.
At this point it is worth recalling that, teachers apart, this is the very group singled out as ‘THE’ life-long, high priority group of people; Family, Friends and Relation, by management Guru, Stephan R. Covey. Covey is a Harvard graduate and Founding-Director of the Covey Leadership Centre in his very well structured, well illustrated, full of common sense, book (6). By the way, Covey is a teacher.
If this sounds bad for the professional classes, Latour’s world of “financial, industrial, commercial people” not to mention the anxiety confronting the project manager, for the candidate job seeker, this is a disaster.
Funnily enough and perhaps a trifle cynically, salvation for both project manager and the job seeker, may have similar roots. Fortunate the enterprising youngsters, who have within their family circle some or all of the necessary experienced professionals with the necessary power and inclination!
Now we could be accused of failing in our aim of setting up and evaluating projects which make things work for the better, individually and collectively. The latter when elevated to the level of a strategy is known as a WIN/WIN strategy – a dichotomy in disguise.
MODEL TAKING FORM
In the model just outlined:
“The innovator is faced with two intersecting paths or curves, one rising, representing knowledge acquisition, the other descending, representing the degrees of freedom or number of options open to the innovator. Naturally a good environment for innovation consists of a rapid learning curve of the world awaiting the innovator, as rapidly and as inexpensively as possible while closing the options available as tardily as possible.”
Fortunately this is likely to correspond to the natural human desire for freedom and a rewarding life. “The inspired innovator will try to learn as much and as fast as possible while maintaining all options open as far and as long as possible.”
On the basis that a picture is worth a long speech, it is fairly easy to draw up a universal framework (model) for the ideas exposed in (2).
Thanks to Pareto, now over 150 years of age who bequeathed us the 80/20 Rule and Napier et al’s early worker on ‘Natures natural logarithmic processes’ (400 years ago!) it is possible to draw up the first ideas approach to innovation shown in,
From this it would appear that innovation is distinctly a young persons game. To a large extent this may be true and if so further exaggeration –such as Bell shaped normality- is likely to increase the incandescent nature of the human existence (7) or dare I suggest, experiment?
However either the desire for eternal youth or the pleasure of seeing things work “for the better” would induce one to graph a more “Ideal Innovators Economy” (Graph-Model 2.) whereby all one’s ‘Faculties for Learning’ together with one’s Freedom are conserved throughout.
Wishful thinking or a programme - political objective and agenda? Answers to such questions in fact constitutes the central theme of Latour’s well-referenced exposé.
The ‘Life – Long’ time scale extrapolation in Model 1, may be restated as; How can one make a good thing last? And as such is the sole responsibility of this author’s, dare I say it, ‘Inventive –Unconsumed- Spirit’ further encouraged by selected refs. (3 – 7)
To ensure a steep learning curve (freed from the excessive pressures of and complimentary to…the modern education system) Latour proposes the experimental method. Latour recalls that “this is not as easy as it sounds since it goes against ‘common sense’ embodied in the concept: ‘know before you act’ –not to be confused with the still highly relevant ‘look before you leap’!
“So the good project manager is one who puts into action with the least deviation a plan prepared in the most minute detail. In fact the latter method can only be applied in the most routine cases rarely encountered in real project management. One does not acquire ‘confirmed’ knowledge without action, one acts in order to gain knowledge, preferably in a profitable manner as he justifiably recalls for the benefit of Apprentice Sorcerers”
If I had read the book, I would use the Harry Potter (HP) analogy. I am deeply ashamed of this omission. (corrected since & confirming my intuition)Harry Potter books are an undoubted source of new (universal) models and (global) project ideas by all media reports including financial statements.
“The experimental scientist confronted in permanence with the requirement of confirming or infirming theory and improving upon models (idealised or simplified representations of real phenomena including some witch craft difficult to attribute exclusively to HP) resolves the Knowledge versus Ignorance dichotomy by designing and carrying out an experiment. This is the true sense of the word DO (an experiment) in what is known by industrial engineers, project managers, quality practitioners and administrators as the ‘Deming Circle or Virtuous Spiral’: PLAN => DO =>CHECK=>ACT repeat continually.
Deming was one of the early statisticians who brought quality to the Japanese Economy (8).
A First Law – Post. 1 underscores the “Knowledge vs. Ignorance Dichotomy & presents a modified Deming-Latour Circle,” to include Latour’s protocol.
Cf. Footnote 3-Cautionary note: Four principles of Do-Ing.
(Cultural note: ‘Ing’. is the french abbreviated equivalent of ‘Eng.’ short for engineer)
“Between Ignorance and Knowledge everyone in the laboratory knows the value of an unsuccessful experiment. It can be bungled. It can be non-representative. It can force us to abandon a research route” or even a whole discipline. “Nevertheless it would never cross any one’s mind to act (experiment) without reporting according to a carefully pre-established protocol, the effects of the difficulties encountered,” cf. 2nd Law Post. 2 & 3, Wrong 1st Time, Deming-Latour energy conservation – car-not cycle Then, as if to give unwanted substance to my allusion to thermodynamic entropy in my playful poster title, the Bell Labs. scandal loomed to mind - a unique case? I knew it would be difficult to avoid the Bell shaped curve:
The Bell Shaped Curve:
Not the one of dreams, actually,
With all its ring of normality,
And background skewed tonality,
Neither justifiable of necessity,
Trying so to avoid all criminality,
Oft’ far from proper musicality.
copyright © J.A.
Prof. Latour continues to enquire:
“ Where, in administration, in government or in large companies, are the experimentalists designated to report continually on the results positive or negative of the difficulties encountered by projects in progress, difficulties to which projects are subjected?”
“Who defines the protocol?” “In military terms, who defines the mission debriefing?”
To answer these questions can I tell you that I was one of these experimentalists and my superior(s) carried out the debriefing. It is a delicate task. Like the Mediator(s) on the French TV channel (A2) which offers such a service, the only one of the big 6 in fact, it requires strong, firm and fair support (6) of senior management.
It is wise to let negative results speak for themselves as far as possible and rather to seek cooperatively the ‘elementary facts’ - scientific policing distinguishing facts from personalities and highlighting the positive.
For the still unconvinced, Latour enquires rhetorically:
“Can one imagine a research scientist who never learns any lesson from his mistakes”?
I… often ask myself?
And less unequivocally: “a laboratory which never records it’s results,” unless…?
The crimes of Bell Labs, extremely serious as they were, did not take place in the medical field, I trust?
“Stranger still, what does one do when one does not know, when the certitudes are lacking? Will we design a protocol for ‘serious fiddling and fumbling’?
Fiddling and fumbling with variations,
Mixing and muddling and even juggling
With Time and Temperature and Space,
In order to learn, bit by bit.
Adapted from “From Entropy to Poetry” © J.A. 2002-3
If I may use such technological – terminology as, ‘bit by bit,’
“By working on reduced models, carrying out pilot studies, simulations, representative samples, how can one anticipate the results of future actions?” “No”, concludes Latour, thoroughly disgruntled, “We shall take a decision, a surgically clean cut, a surgical operation.”
Here I add my voice to Latour’s,
Surgical action often costs a bomb, big spender.
Your attitude is ever present, 2003 still tender.
The situation calls for a Life Saver
Could this perchance be a banker?
I do not mean cash hoarding, I thunder,
You looting, plundering, warmongering murderer.
(Notice the curves dreams are made of? “Bell shape curve” rotational transformation, gyrations) Copyright © J.A. Dolphins@) ADA Grp.
In the surgical approach, common sense cumulates both inconveniences: it imagines an engineer who knows before he acts and a politician who decides without knowing. From any ensuing results, nothing is learned. And a new combination of the Innovating Team (IT) will recommence without the necessary cumulative experience. And time goes by, nothing sustainable or durable is achieved.”
Does entropy’s ∆ quantum wave(s),
Universally durable by its very Nature
Require sustainability, my brave(s)?
One can just imagine Dirac's conjecture
Fully realising the requirement for speed in “ fumbling” ones way forward my very brilliant and literally poor sighted, boss for many of my formative years, frequently would pull a coin from his pocket and addressing the protagonists in our admittedly more stressful (for costly) industrial situation. “Heads or tails?” he would calmly enquire.
Left to my own more modest capabilities, I became an adept of the laboratory experimental approach (3) as tentatively exposed herein.
Oh! I must tell you this story. The same chap, my boss, was about 6 feet tall. His short sight gave him naturally enhanced microscopic vision when he removed his spectacles. Well, I shall let you imagine the scene when he stuck a sample, 1cm. distant from his eye, but at least 25cm. above the rest of the team’s heads, then pointing a finger to the sample and exclaiming it’s obvious, look! Then, satisfied of his comprehension of some strange feature was gone before anyone knew what we he had observed. (Footnote 2.)
Scaling up has always been a considerable problem in engineering.
Latour proposes “the creation of a new power which is no longer defined by knowledge, or aptitude for incisive decision making but rather by it’s capacity to follow experimentation underway and to judge the value of the exercise by the quality of learning” In sort of new observer capable of effective management, pragmatic not as a principle but in practise, when need be?
I hope I got that OK.
In this system “a bad (poor) experiment, is not one which fails but one in which nothing is learned (& if possible gained –reported to re-invest) for the next one. Conversely a good experiment is one in which the difficulties appear early on disturbing the apparent evidences upon which the project is based.”
Cf. 1st & 2nd Laws Posts 1 & 2. (TBD)
Latour calls upon a higher authority to support his proposition in the form of Karl Popper according to whom “the search for falsification is not the prerogative of the laboratory but should be extended to all collective experiences (experimentation) in which one is seriously engaged.”
“This power does not constrain one by decree (laws and orders) to do this or that but by documenting obstinately the learning and which one accepts voluntarily.”
I can add my own strong preference for Auto-discipline, then I am a veteran tried and tested as the aerospace ad-age goes:
Latour hazards “where angels fear to treadv”, adding his voice, to others, criticising the “Techno-crane” a variation on the Techno-c-rat, “capable of cumulating political ills with scientific and administrative ones with no apparent virtues ”
Latour rightly considers that “there is something intolerable in seeing such capacity to ignore! Technocrats neither pay the price of popular representation nor that of the difficult process (abnegation) of scientific research nor the uncertain follow-up of the evaluation process”.
“However this techno-corporatism, in France at any rate, has the enormous advantage of being powerful. Latour recommends we discard this strange view of the engineer as someone who knows and the politician as someone who disposes and in doing so perhaps forge ourselves a master tool to reform the State.”
BATH - TUBS, CORNED – HATS and CHIP – POKES.
PRELUDE TO MODEL 3:
It strikes me that Model 3, the Bath-Tubs Model of failure rate for integrated circuits (IC’s) taken from the semiconductor industry, (9) and inversely, the Corned – Hat model of success rate images rather vividly many of the ideas just expressed. Should anyone feel over offended, I hasten to add that in earlier times in Scotland, I too wore something similar. It was familiarly was known as a ‘chip poke’ hat, from the shape of the carry-out recipient for French fries, word discouraged by a certain ‘Oh so certain America.’
Until now he concludes “the French,” Latour is French (and from all reports much of the European Union) “have been inspired by the certitudes of science. It is time that we all find inspiration in the uncertainties of research.”
May I repeat something, which is obvious for the scientific community and the scientifically aware?
The century which has come to a close is one in which a major revolution in science took place; that of quantum physics and chemistry synonymous to some extent, with the famous Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.
The word uncertainty was out, but paradoxically it brought certitude despite it’s name – certitude through Nature’s lower (nano) limitation around Planck’s Universal constant (h) added to the Speed of light (c) more certitude in the form of an upper limit.
Theory and incredible powers of prediction came from experimental verification and widespread indispensable product manufacturing and much gadgetry.
To add slick oil to the fire, quite mature information technology has produced exponential acceleration and shows no sign of any serious technical obstacle.
The innovation team, through information technology and communication is more global, apprenticeship still rife with corporate fear, arrogance and in some instances some megalomania.
Cf. 3rd Law –Crystal Clear Post 4,
“Last year we were at the edge of a precipice!
This year we shall take a large step forward.”
–An imaginary punch line from a Presidential address in an some fictitious,
poorly-developed country or region.
Or worse become the source, the epicentre of some explosive front- a chemical view whose symbol has become, Sept 11. (9/11) and suicide bombers, so despairingly mislead, misguided. -Alfred Nobel must turn in his grave.
And a nuclear one!
“N” as in Nu-clear?
The highest state of strong order, dawning
“et de ce jour bacteries et champignons
jailirent à l’existance pour dissoudre
et un nouveau champignon est né”
(3 lines from J.Updike, Facing Nature, trad.Alain Suid “Ode à la Décomposition”)
Such is Nature – reviewed.
From ‘Entropy to Poetry’ copyright © J.A.
The increasing orders of magnitude for mechanical, chemical and nuclear reactions alluded to in poetic terms, above, are given in ref. (10).
This exposé has reach deep waters, egos perhaps over-inflated, fatigue gaining ground, confusion gaining over clarification (dichotomy a-gain!), but no going back.
MODEL 3: THE BATH-TUB AND IT’S COROLLARY THE CORNED –HAT FORMS
Please believe me, I had hoped to avoid the Bell Shapes Curve recalled in Model 3. It came to mind early on suggested by rising and falling exponential curves of our simplified idealised smooth curve Life-Long and Career Wise cycles.
–« La vie n’est pas un long fleuve tranquille,» was the title of a film,
And serious questions concerning the quality and limitations of these system conversations are only too obvious.
But would life today without a bathtub be worth living?
Graph 3 the now classical so-called “bath-tub” model for component reliability especially relevant to semiconductors and integrated circuits (IC’s) recalls our shared shaky start in life.
With the so called highly expressive infant mortality phase, the burn-in phase, representing initially poor reliability, survivors enjoying a long steady state until dropping-out or burn-out.
We have touch upon one recipe for turning failure into success imaged by flipping around a Yield and Reliability Model and complained of the residual cost involved.
This also may serve as a caution to our Innovating Team (IT).
Neither to pretend we collectively did not know… for want of an experiment. Nor to be content with easy to express pictures in guise of serious models not of reality but to help us live, experiment for the better, to enjoy, philosophise, and to share.
PRIOR – CONCLUSION.
No engineer, with the knowledge of experience can be satisfied by high infantile mortality (high burn-in loss), for example highlighted, dramatically, here in France at the moment by the issues such as Road Safety, much of which is of an apparently avoidable suicidal unnaturel("contre nature") candidate- unconsciousness,’ and neglect by the most influential members of the Innovation Team.
“Silence like a Cancer grows.”
From the song “The Sound of Silence” by Paul Simon.
For if these are serious issues in IC’s they must surely be even more so in life. So, “”Moore”” projects and candidates to meet the challenges. While introducing “Silence» in guise of an ‘Au revoir’ I have just received an invitation to a National Physical Laboratory, NPL (UK) to their workshop on electromagnetic noise measurement theory and applications. On the programme; Noise standards, radiometers, care of connectors, repeatability, amplifier noise, and phase noise. I wonder if phonons with photons are the good vibrations of interest in cancer care and cure? With Armstrong, Lance and Wilson, Matt’s both cyclists in the 2003 tour vanquishers of cancer, Latour de France, Centenary edition is well…on the way to success. (∆S sort of less than zero, Negentropy ?)
Dare I edit Britannica’s Motto?
“Let knowledge grow from ‘Moore to Moore’
and thus be human life (health, environment…) enriched.”
Probably not.
Gordon Moore & Associates, brilliant (IT) experimentalists in their specialised field of semiconductors and integrated circuits-rich in materials science, may find synergy with the encyclopedic approach more adapted to the needs of Latour.
.
“Let knowledge grow from more to more
and thus be human life enriched.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, founded 1768 (11).
P. -S. Additional Refs (12, 13) from “Les Echos” FT Grp. 10 July 2003. & (14) indebted to.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
The tram is largely inspired by a short essay in a series of articles “Amateur de Science” by B. Latour in La Recherche. The unusual layout for science is from Alistairr Cooke’s Letters from America (1947 to Date) on BBC available for consultation, sharing and discussion via the BBC website, http://www.bbc.co.uk/ Cooke’s letter is also a thread to the History of the immense power and influence of Ralph Nader already mentioned in Encyclopaedia Britannica, acknowledged throughout and especially in Poster 4. Not forgetting J..E. Harris for his monthly entertaining and instructive column ‘Material Matters’ in Materials World or Bob (R.W.) Cahn in Materials Today and to all committed to the sustainable and durable development of individuals and society through science and engineering, proper business practice and governance.
REFERENCES.
1). De la Conversation, Theodore Zeldin, Translation en Fraçais, E. Diacon, Ed. Fayard, Original Title in English-Conversation - How it can change peoples lives. Ed. Hidden Springs / Paulist Press.
2). “How to evaluate innovation / Comment Evaluer L’Innovation” by Bruno Latour, Amateur de Science, La Recherche, No 314, 1998.
3). “A Guide for the perplexed”A Guide for the perplexed E.F. Schumacher, Ed. Jonathan Cape 1977 reprinted Abacus 1978 and 1980.
4). “The Balanced Scorecard-Measure that Drive Performance” R.S. Kaplan, D. P. Norton
HBR. Jan-Feb. 1992. (More on the Balanced Score Card?),”More on the Balanced Score Card
6). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey, Ed. Simon & Shuster NY. (1989) French Edition Les 7 Habitudes Ed.. Lavoisier -Tec & Doc First general (1996).
7). L’Incandescent, Michel Serres, Ed Le Pommier, (2003 in French).
8). Many good references to Deming (1900- Univ. Wyoming 1921-), his US and British contemporaries, and the battery of tools built up the by excellent Japanese pupils of the time and since. Shewart (1891-UCLA 1914 -), Juran (1904-Romainian emigrated USA –1914- ) .
The Japanese School- Ishikawa et al.
my lectures in Cross Cultural Management and Total Quality Control, The European University in Toulouse, (1992). Well researched using available local resources.
A good book in french, “La Qualité outils et methods” Patrick Lyonnet,
Ed. Lavoisier Tec & Doc (1997).
9). “VLSI Technology” Ed., S.M. Sze, (Bell Labs), McGraw-Hill Series in Electrical Engineering McGraw-Hill International (1983) In fact this is a book on materials science, materials processing (Si refining , crystal growth, wafer preparation, epitaxy, dielectric and polysilicon thin film deposition, oxidation, diffusion, ion implantation, lithography, dry etching, metallization, process simulation, VLSI process integration, diagnostic analysis and control techniques, assembly & packaging, yield and reliability) all technologies used for manufacturing and control of very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuits.
10). “Skyscrapers need strong legs,” Material Matters, by J.E. Harris, Materials World, Oct-Nov. 2002 .
11). References to Innovation in the Encyclopaedia Britannica Ed. 1985.
12). “L’ Eurosclerose est de retour,” Euro-Sclerosis is back by Erik Izraelewicz, Les Echos 10/07/2003. themes related to the present Conversations. Cf. footnotes 5.
13). “Patrons, cultivez votre jardin / Bosses should tend to their own back garden” by Xavier. Mesnard and Laurent Chevreux, A.T. Kearney, Les Echos 10/07/2003. themes related to the present Conversations cf. footnote 6.
14). The 5th Discipline The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization by Peter M. Senge – Systems approach
FOOTNOTES 1 to 6.
Footnote 1:
Yardsticked as abusive corporate governance practice has been boastingly estimated as high as 66% in France, not known to be an innovator but a follower in this field. The boardroom circle still appears disjoint from accepted quality control circle yardsticks and assurance practise?
Footnote 2:
When the late Y. Honnorat left to manage materials for a leading aero-engine manufacturer, it was a challenge and an honour to defend many of the highly contested programmes initiated under his direction.
Footnote 3:
Most Scientists and Engineers: Physicists, Chemists, Metallurgists, Thermodynamicists will recognise elements of phase diagrammes, departures from ideality and much else, whether true or false, stretched, twisted and turned, hopefully it will prove thought provoking
Footnote 3 - Cautionary note:
1.Classical & Biblical- ‘Do unto others, as you would they do unto you. ‘ Security?’
2. The so called Business principle: ‘Do them before they do you’. ‘Commercial?’
3.The so called Management Model ‘Do it to them before they do it to you.
4.The ‘no-no’ Model ‘Do them in before they do you in! ‘Totally unlawful but…’
Footnote 4: Confusion possible between Brute force and Intelligence.
Footnote 5: Translated exerts related to the present work.
1“Old Europe doubts in herself again. She neglects to spend for the future; on education and research and development and in so doing increases her lag on USA”. Izraelewicz reports on a conservative similarity of the recent European Managers Forun in Helsinki with the EMF in 1980. (I used as a yardstick Britannica’s 15th Edition 1974-1985). And concludes that in an ageing society the elderly impose their will in a decisive way against all spending which designed to prepare for the future “money goes to old age homes not to maternity wards & kinder garden” Decision makers today being closer to the 2nd than the 1st category this is not surprising. Also for the same reason managers and researchers flock to USA to the detriment of European Institutions. EU spends (3% PIB on future) 1.5% of PIB on Universities & 1.5% on R&D. whereas USA spends twice these rates (6%) 3% Univ. & 3% R&D.
Criticism: cf. my graphs concerning early age and formative years a period which is longer than that inferred by a quick reading of Izraelewicz. 20/80 at the very least and perhaps 80/20 is a more modern life-long approach. Model 3 is a very rough 1st approach to defining two areas where special attention is required. This needs refinement and differentiation not ammunition supply for a general conflict of generations. There is much consensus on the abusive power and unwarranted rewards practised at senior management
Footnote 6: All is in the title “ Bosses should tend to their own back garden” so too should they; the competitive advantage theme even if significant (HBR Key Concepts-ref 5 above) is incantation no longer creation and innovation. As for the quality of execution, not a popular word at this time of detestable reintroduction of military tribunals by the current US admin, (ref. written in 2003-4, even more relevant to-day when some estimates consider torture on/in IRAQ higher than during Sadam's reign)
”A Guide for the perplexed
jas.alexander.monsite.wanadoo.fr
