What made a super high-tech home in Victorian England? Hydroelectric witchery, for starters Imagine an ageing magnate in his private retreat, and you might picture English industrialist William – first Baron – Armstrong in the luxurious wood-panelled library of his Northumberland pile: Cragside. Sitting at his desk, Armstrong gazes out at acres of private forest. An onyx-and-marble-surround fireplace to his right, in …
I'd recommend visiting when the rhododendrons are in bloom at Cragside (stunning; I know that wasn't the focus of this article, but I'm still a bit surprised I didn't see a mention), and the seabirds are nesting on the Farne Islands (via boat trip out from Seahouses, an unforgettable experience).
Nah, Britain was quite nice and fluffy by that point. If Johnny-Continental cut up rough then Britian wouldn't do anything so expensive ungentlemanly as to invade - but simply nick a few of their colonies and impose a naval blockade, until they jolly well stopped.
British foreign policy was aimed at making sure no European alliance got too strong in comparison to any of the others - while doing as little as possible. So that Britain could float down the river in splendid isolation occasionally sticking out a paddle to steer (to misquote Lord Salisbury ten years later).
No we weren't. The danger then that the line of your noble ancient European dynasty would be contaminated by yet another of Queen Victoria's children or, by then, grandchildren marrying into your family. For many World War I was viewed as essentially a family squabble over who got left what, or didn't left what they wanted, in Queen Victoria's will ... played out at a horrendous level.
That would be a rather odd view of history. Settling a war with a royal marriage had gone out of fashion a hundred years before. The politicians had started becoming the main movers of European history in the 18th Century - a process that was accelerated by the Napolenoic wars and especially the revolutions of 1848.
Only the Tsar was fully in control of government by WWI - and the Russians were considered to be out of date, or even backward. Kaiser Bill was one of the reasons the war happened, but he also wussed out at the last minute and tried to avoid, then limit, German mobilisation in order to avoid fighting on two fronts. Had he been fully in charge, he might even have stopped the war - although equally he might have changed his mind again.
France was a republic, and the British royal family had influence, but little actual power. Edward VII did quite a bit of the spadework for the entente with France - but that was as a diplomatic schmoozer, not the architect of the policy. He was sent to do it.
"[...] so the total power would be about 0.5 - 1kW."
That sounds about right for a 6bhp engine. In the 1960s - our radio club's HF "field day" 240vac generator used an Austin 7 engine mounted on a trolley. That would probably have been the later model of 10bhp. It supplied power for a KW2000A transceiver.
>>>controversial arms dealer (it was acceptable in the 1880s – Ed)<<<
It was a patriotic duty to provide the greatest empire on Earth with the tools to show jonny foreigner we're not to be messed with! As our chaps are far better than theirs we can sell jonny the same tools because we'll win on a level playing field - hurrah!
That thought process went a bit titsup in 1914
(Total Inability To Survive Unforseen Prussians)
>Yeah, a thought process totally relegated to the past...https://www.rt.com/uk/424392-may-husbands-capital-group/
Ah Russia Today, that bastion of truth with all the authenticity of a Grimm's fairytale.
Ever read Clive James's "Unreliable Memoirs" ?
I wonder if Alex Salmond will review it on his show there.
Sadly, bastions of truth are up there with pie in the sky in the rather rare stakes.
The best way I've found of getting some credible version of what the F is going on is to plough through accounts from diametrically opposed sources and interpolate. Even sources I find 90% vomit inducing sometimes come up with clear truth.
Better than most, with what seems to me an honest take on US law enforcement, you can do worse than look at Donut Operator on Youtube, who dares to use the dangerous phrase "Critical Thinking". He also has a fine moustache.
I think it should be pointed out that we weren't really arming Johnny-Prussian in 1914. Although there were a few embarassing things that it turned out only they supplied (when they suddenly stopped), such as khaki dye for uniforms. Admittedly almost everybody else who had dreadnoughts seems to have got them from us, such as Austria-Hungary (so good they named it twice).
So it wasn't so much the arms dealers, as the governments buying so many that caused that. Plus a horrible miscalculation on what modern war would be like. And a German (and Austro-Hungarian) political leadership who were both hilariously incompetent and dangerously belligerant. With dishonourable mentions to the pisspoor diplomacy of Grey for Britain and the Russians.
On the other hand, Britain did rather insist on its right to arm the South in the US Civil War - because just because they were fighting to retain slavery was no reason not to take their money obviously...
I believe that according to Christopher Clark one driver of WW1 was actually the French banks,who loaned lots of money to the Russians and Serbs to buy arms (made in France), and then when they couldn't afford the repayments suggested that a nice little war might loot enough of Austro-Hungary to pay the instalments.
But, armaments makers and the politicians they buy with the proceeds do seem to be the main cause of modern wars. The key driver is that you have to sell arms to foreigners to get the balance of payments right.
I believe that according to Christopher Clark one driver of WW1 was actually the French banks,who loaned lots of money to the Russians and Serbs to buy arms (made in France), and then when they couldn't afford the repayments suggested that a nice little war might loot enough of Austro-Hungary to pay the instalments.
That doesn't tally with the history of WWI as I learned it. Though I admit my knowledge is 20 years out of date, so new sources may have been discovered.
But it wasn't Serbia and Russia pushing for war. It was Austria-Hungary and Germany. I believe the Serb nationalists who killed Archy Duke did have links to the Serbian army - but it wasn't an authorised/planned operation, and Russia were certainly not in a position to give immediate support.
Also the Russian army simply didn't have any plans for war with Austria-Hungary that didn't also involve fighting Germany as well. As the Tsar found out when he ordered a partial mobilisation (only the units on the Austria-Hungary border) and it turned out they couldn't do it after 3 days of trying and had to fully mobilise.
That military planning inflexibility was part of the cause of the war. The Kaiser found the same thing when he tried to change his mobilisation to only being on the Eastern border and avoid threatening France.
My understanding was that Austria-Hungary were being reckless, because Germany had given them guarantees of support. And that the German military were pushing for action because Russian military reforms and rearmament meant that they expected the Russian military to be much more effective by about 1916.
The Schlieffen plan had already been updated to move forces from the French border to the Russian, because the Russian army were more effective and faster mobilising than they had been ten years before. And the German military were horrified by the idea of a two front war, hence wanting to knock France out quickly - which is why they only had 8 corps (16 divisions) in Poland to stop the Russian army and 7 armies (over 100 divisions) on the French border. And why the plan demanded the invasion of Belgium - despite the risk that would bring Britain into the war - as it was the only way to get room for a knock-out blow on France.
In Newcastle, a bit further south, you'll find the Discovery Museum, which is well worth a visit. It's free (although you'll have to pay if you want to get married in the shadow of Armstrong's Turbina).
The Discovery Museum is indeed well worth a look. Actually the ship there is the Turbinia, and was built by Parsons rather than Armstrong.
There's also a good sized sectioned steam turbine generating set, again by Parsons, who along with Armstrong was one of quite a few industrial pioneers based in the north-east.
Possibly more than anywhere else on earth, Tyneside was the cradle of early engineering and the industrial revolution, with railways originally being called Tyneside Roads.
However, the contrast with the region's present day fortunes is quite sobering .
"Wasn't the first railway on Teeside, (Stockton-Darlington), rather than Tyneside."
Yes, but built by the Geordie George Stevenson. Speaking of which, engineering geeks visiting the area might also like to visit the George Stephenson Railway Museum in New York, North Tyneside to see Killingworth Billy, the 3rd oldest surviving steam engine (older than Rocket!), and a trip over to Wylam where he was born
Geordie beer is shite too
Piss off! (And anyway, Newcastle Brown is now brewed by John Smiths in Tadcaster, Yorkshire so naturally the quality has dropped sharply.)
I'll not rise to the dig at our ale, but if you're referring to Newcastle Brown (as indicated above) it isn't brewed on Tyneside any longer nor indeed has it been for a considerable amount of time. Mind it was always a little bit grim even in its heyday, although better than Double Maxim 'what they made down the road'.
There are several very good breweries in and around Newcastle that continue to produce delicious beers, so I suggest you try some of those instead, quite a few of them are walking distance from the city centre and can contribute to a great beer crawl.
And I really need to start taking my kids to the same places my dad took me as a child (Cragside, electric mountain, other hydro electric dams, various nuclear power stations in various states of working order... That kind of thing.)
lf only the wife wasn't so fond of cities instead.
I'd second it is definitely worth a visit, they've also got some really well presented science exhibits that were a delight to see. The NT have done a real good job at blending both a historic house that is great in its own right, with a really interesting story about history and science.
I can understand that, having spent lots of time with family there before the older generation fell prey to old age and its ills (I have worse memories of Scartho Road than of any other hospital in the country).
Grimsby can be readily missed, in a way that unfortunately the Luftwaffe didn't.
Managed to make it there as much of the NE countryside was closed with the national Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak. The horizon was just a series of evenly spaced out smoke-trails from the pyres of burning livestock. 2001 I think. It felt positively futuristic and idealistic compared to the morbid dystopian reality going on outside the grounds. It was rumored at the time that the F&M outbreak was just a ruse to eradicate Mad Cow Disease from the National Herd, and that the MOD had been calling lumber merchants about wood stocks in advance of the outbreak. I don't believe any proof ever emerged. Irish special forces were employed along the border with NI after an outbreak in Country Louth, to snipe wild animals such as deer that could carry the disease across, with their national herd counting for a much more significant proportion of their GDP. We were all walking across disinfectant mats at railways and airports for most of the year.
I'm puzzled about the Archimedes screw. The picture caption says "Taking water uphill with an Archimedes screw", which is what you'd expect it to be used for. Later on the text says "When working, the screw powers the LED lights in the house's showrooms".
So it both raises water and generates power?
I think it's a weight thing rather than a pressure or flow thing. The big advantage of a screw is that it is completely safe for fish, who can pass through it either way without harm.
just the first example I turned up.
M.
As a science loving child of the North-East with NT card carrying parents, it was always a good day when Cragside was chosen as our day out destination, so reading this brought back a flood of happy childhood memories. The passing reference to Bamburgh Castle also reminded me that, as a member of the 19th Newcastle scout group (Lord Armstrong's Own), we were treated to a guided tour of the castle one year.
Also of note to anyone wanting to visit Armstrong-related sites is Jesmond Dene and the adjacent Armstrong Bridge in the Jesmond/Heaton suburbs of Newcastle - the Dene was landscaped by the Armstrongs as their private gardens and later donated to the city, and the bridge is a rather fine example of early ironwork. Meanwhile, in the heart of the city down on the river you'll find another of Armstrong's creations, the Swing Bridge. Not quite as internationally renowned as Tower Bridge, but it holds a special place in the hearts of locals.
Two thoughts:
the vase would be the return side of the circuit, so there may well be zero potential between the floor you're standing on and the vase you're lifting.
a gentleman does not extinguish his own lamps, the butler would extinguish the lamp, and any decent butler would be wearing (nonconductive) gloves.
More likely - though I don't know for sure - the system was probably ground-isolated. A reason mains is dangerous is that the "neutral" is earthed, at least at the transformer and in some systems at multiple locations between there and your house. Therefore it's possible for your body to short out the "live" to earth and create a return path. If the conductor is not earthed, there's no return path unless you happen to hold both conductors at the same time.
We had a similar discussion regarding shaver sockets recently.
Free Mercury though, with current flowing through probably causing it to heat up?
M.
>Free Mercury though, with current flowing through probably causing it to heat up?
A pool of mercury with a wire in it is a very low resistance source. it's also a good heat conductor so you aren't going to heat it up noticeably.
Mercury at room temperature has bugger-all (ISO unit) vapour pressure and its health risks are wildly over blown (organic mercury compounds on the other hand are real fsckers)
"This was a time before health and safety laws." Heh.
Arc lamps have another property: they generate scads of UV. Which is not particularly good for eyes and skin.
However, props to Armstrong for being an "Early Adopter", and for knowing how to live the good life. You just can't get good help anymore, and perhaps, overall, that's a good thing. But it's fun to pretend, just for a while. And good to preserve some relics of the old way of life.
IIRC British neurologist Oliver Sacks - in his autobiography "Uncle Tungsten" - mentions that his relative had a lucrative patent on tungsten filaments for incandescent light bulbs.
In the early 20th Century there was a brief craze for Radium toothpaste. Because who wouldn't want a glowing white teeth? Ah, the good old days.
For anyone on the other side of the world there is another of Armstrong's products near Dunedin in New Zealand. In response to an 1886 scare about an invasion by the Russians they installed a "disappearing gun" at Taiaroa Head, at the end of the Otago Peninsula (there are a few others that are since lost). It is held just underground with a set of gas springs that will push it up in order to fire. The recoil will then push it back into its hidden position.
One for the Geek's Guide to New Zealand, maybe....
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearing_gun.
This is the one I've visited. I note from the wikipedia article that there are others in various locations, some in working order - the one at Taiaroa Head isn't.
“But Armstrong was no nerd, toiling for the sake of creation: his inventions were intended to simply make Cragside work better and ..”
A nerd is by definition someone who wants to make things work better and there would be quite a few hanging round here.
With Family in the area I have visited the house a number of times. Recommended! Can get very busy. Rhododendron time is special.
Tip: At £19 per adult it’s pricey. If you are an Aussie National Trust member you get free entry under reciprocal rights. Minimum membership time applies.
"Tip: At £19 per adult it’s pricey. If you are an Aussie National Trust member you get free entry under reciprocal rights. Minimum membership time applies."
Ditto for National Trust Scotland members and other too.
(I'll also mention, for anyone local enough to be on a day trip or staying self catering, there is an excellent, award winning butchers in Rothbury. Apart from the usual selection of meats being good quality, thay can also sell you zebra steaks, wild boar, ostrich, reindeer etc. (I still can't get my wife to try that last though. Probably because I insist on calling them Bambi Burgers - all the more for meeeeeee!))
Quite a lot of similar organisations have reciprocal arrangements. English Heritage has one with Cadw (the Welsh equivalent) so you can get into each others' castles at free or reduced rates. The Museums Association has an interesting one where employees of MA member institutions (as well as individual members) get in free to other MA member institutions, though this only applies to the employee themselves and not to family. Also many museums are free entry anyway these days :-)
M.
Quite a lot of similar organisations have reciprocal arrangements. English Heritage has one with Cadw (the Welsh equivalent) so you can get into each others' castles at free or reduced rates.
Does this explain how Edward I managed it?
Walks up to portculllis. "Yep, there's 1,000 of us and we're all English Heritage members, so should get in free. We'll have the afternoon tea later though... What? Those 2,000 scruffy guys over there with the bows? Oh they're our butlers."
Disappointed the article didn't mention the place was shown on the premier UK television documentary Escape to the Country, which (along with crime documentary Midsomer Murders) is how most people in the US learn anything about the UK. (Obviously the Harry Potter media extravaganza is no help, since it is an utter fiction.)
Escape did a bit on Seahouses, too, as mentioned in the first comments thread.
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