Naked Science Forum
General Science => General Science => Topic started by: Peter Perkins on 03/02/2004 03:14:49
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Make me a car.
At the big bang, when we might as well believe everything was created from nothing in a million millionth of a millisecond. When all this stuff rushed out, there was NO iron to make you a car. There was just Hydrogen, Helium, and a little bit of lithium for hearing aid batteries.
Over a damn long time, agglomerations of this gas formed stars and they were, and still are, the super-forges of the universe. The stars bubbled and heaved and shrunk and sometimes blew up. At their deaths creating the cosmic spray of elements
for the creation of the Ford Escort. Also by the way the constituents for us.
The Solar system was formed from this space crap and Earth has a tutti frutti composition of it. After some messing about, there are about 100 different ingredients of which every thing is made.
We are going to make a car and we need Iron. (AKA Effie) It is in the dirt of the earth in many places. Three thousand years ago we, mankind, smelt it out. Not with our noses but with furnaces. We forged it and wrought it and cast it and with a bit of a recipe, carbon and air, we make super-iron known as steel.
That's what our car is mainly made of, steel. (We have not disintegrated stars in super novae to make a Reliant Robin.) New steel for our car is now made partly from iron ore and partly from scrap iron, remelted and reused. You have noticed that car scrap yards do not get bigger and bigger. Now and again a tall filthy lorry full of crushed and cut up cars trundles off to start it all off again. Modern smelters use virtually 100% scrap to make new steel, no ore at all. Steel is the most recycled material on Earth.
The interesting speculation is, this procedure having grown this century, what is in the metal of our car today? Let’s look back, say, four or five recycles......
Last recycle..Ford Escorts, Allegros, Fiat Pandas, Folding shopping bicycles.
Last but one recycles....Hillman Avengers, Sunbeam Rapiers, Citroen 2CV’s
Last but two recycles....Austin Princess, Singer 1500, gasometers. Francis Barnett motorbike and Cyclemaster motor wheel. The Dome of Discovery.
Last but three recycles...Austin 10. Bren Gun Carrier. Morris Commercial lorry. Steel narrow boat. Levis motorbike. A bedstead from Buckingham Palace.
Last but four recycles... Triumph Gloria. the Battleship Kronprinz Wilhelm, floated upside down from Scapa Flow by Mr Cox. Brough Superior Motorbike. Sopwith Camel.
Imagine the pots and pans in all this lot, the broken knives, ploughshares, gas pipes, bikes, horseshoes. Mixed as thoroughly as school plasticine. They are all in your car, made from a star.
Regards Peter Perkins
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I have some questions? I hope you answer it. What is Fiat Pandas, Hillman Avengers, Citroen 2CV’s, Austin Princess, Singer 1500, Francis Barnett motorbike, Cyclemaster motor wheel, The Dome of Discovery, Austin 10, Bren Gun Carrier,Morris Commercial lorry, Triumph Gloria, Battleship Kronprinz Wilhelm, floated upside down from Scapa Flow by Mr Cox, Brough Superior Motorbike, Sopwith Camel?
Excellent!!!
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I just found this way back in the archives... am i missing something because i don't get it...
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quote:
Originally posted by Exodus
I just found this way back in the archives... am i missing something because i don't get it...
DITTO....I must be missing ' it' too !!
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