2023 年7 月 21日
An advertising agency contacted me recently. Could I record this English text? It was for Lufthansa, who were doing a promotion about their worldwide ticketing operation. I duly recorded an extract🎙️ , sent it back, and then..........heard nothing. Usually in these cases the recording studio or the agency get back to you pretty quickly to say " When can you come in for a take ?" or......"sorry, the company have decided on a woman's voice..." or something similar. But this time......silence.
🎬 Eventually I heard back from them. It was none of these reasons. "Sorry, Lufthansa have decided on a voice produced by AI (artificial intelligence)....however.... (by way of condolence) ........we think it sounds awful".
Luckily I am not dependent on voice-overs for an income. But if I was in the film or acting business....well, just read the news. Hollywood is striking, and one of the main concerns is the regulation of AI. Anyway, now you can say that you know someone who lost a job due to AI (or KI as the Germans call it).
英語のナレーションアーティストとしての仕事では、私の声は使われませんでした。 代わりに、ルフトハンザは AI を使用しましたとにかく、今では、AI (ドイツ人で言うところの KI) のせいで職を失った人を知っていると言えるでしょう。😒.
What is this in the next picture? it is water. 水.
Water that I can spray on my face when out walking. And why do I need it? Because things are hotting up. And we are loath to admit it. Who wants a Wimbledon Tennis centre court 🎾 match disrupted because of pink confetti and a slogan? Who wants their office filled with smelly gas 😮💨? Who wants their flight delayed because someone has glued themselves to the tarmac? None of us. But social change never came without uncomfortable disruption.
I'm talking about the groups fighting climate complacency such as "Just Stop Oil" (UK) "Letzte Generation" (Germany) and "Disrupt Burrup Hub" (Australia) , who are trying get the message across: the planet is warming now 🥵, "wake up".
So, hello Wimbledon, how can you be proud of receiving financial support from a bank which still invests in fossil fuels? "
According to UN secretary general António Guterres “climate change is out of control”. He warned that if the world persisted in delaying key measures needed to limit fossil fuel emissions, it would move “into a catastrophic situation”. I think these people who protest are prophets. Prophets are never listened to in their own country. However for "country" you could now read "planet".
地球は温暖化しています。 これはハイキング中に顔を冷やすための水です.
A young `cellist came into my workshop a while back needing a better bow. It transpired that her real passion was composing, 🎵 and she subesquently concentrated on this in her studies at Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium in Frankfurt. Before I knew it, she was graduating, preparing to continue her studies in Vienna. So here I am at the music college in Frankurt at her last concert before moving to Austria....
私の友人は作曲を勉強しています。 これはウィーンに移る前の彼女のフランクフルトでの最後のコンサートでした。 彼女はオーケストラを指揮した.
......listening to the orchestra she founded only last year: The Ascensus Orchester Frankfurt. She conducted. We were treated to Chaminade's Concertino for Flute, played by Yaiza Fenollar Baeonos, a symphony from Saint Saens, and Beethoven's 3rd Piano concerto, played by Leonie Wiegel. At the end of the Beethoven, conductor and pianist took the applause together on stage. Marisa (left) held this group of musicians together with wonderful poise and elegant concentration. It was fun to be there - thank you Marisa.
ありがとう魔理沙.
My hiking colleagues come from all walks of life - as you have no doubt noticed from last week's blog 🐚 ! This week I was invited by Phe to see her world of research physics. Physics? have you ever associated Nigel with physics? probably not 😂.
But here I was at the weekend, at the GSI in Darmstadt. Let's get a website in before I go any further......
This is heavy stuff (excuse the pun). It's in the woods south of Langen, and they are building an international accelerater facility there, a project called FAIR.
So, what is an accelerator?
An accelerator propels charged particles, such as protons or electrons, at high speeds, close to the speed of light. They are then smashed either onto a target (as in Darmstadt) or against other particles circulating in the opposite direction (as in Cern, Switzerland). By studying these collisions, physicists are able to probe the world of the infinitely small. When the particles are sufficiently energetic, a phenomenon that defies the imagination happens: the energy of the collision is transformed into matter in the form of new particles, the most massive of which existed in the early Universe.
Still with me? no. Well don't worry. How about something more down to earth. Ok, you normally get water bubbling when you heat it up right? what if you put it in a vacuum?..(vacuums are an integral part of this whole accelerator business...).......well, water starts to "boil" and later even freeze when the vacuum increases. Phe showed us how, with a wine glass of water. She then tipped the contents into my hands - ouch - the ice was real enough!...
私のハイキング仲間は皆違う仕事をしています。 Phe はダルムシュタットの物理学研究センターで働いています.
I also went on a tour of the underground accelerator facility....don't ask me to explain everything.....
I had to wear a funny hat and a yellow vest......We walked through part of the service tunnel, which runs alongside the tunnel where all the action takes place........
This is still being built, and runs 50 metres under the ground in a big circle....Note the flags of the partner countries on the poster. The exclusion of Russia has been a real blow to research co-operation. 粒子加速トンネルは地下50mにある.
I wish I could remember what this vast thing was...some sort of cooling compressor perhaps? It was built in Switzerland, floated down the Rhein to Aschaffenburg, then hauled at 10km/hr to Darmstadt/Wixhausen......quite a undertaking...
gleaming bolts.......ピカピカ ✨ の新品ボルト
The mind boggles at what they are doing here...........これが何なのかは分かりませんが、印象的でした 😮
Frankfurt Opera should take a look at the staging here......This is the part of the ring (excuse the pun!) where the "matter" is redirected to be analyzed........フランクフルトのオペラの舞台に似ている..
........and they have indeed discovered new elements here, several of which have been added to the official periodic table..., including Ds (Darmstatium, Nr. 110).......and Hs (Hassium, Nr. 108) - named after the Roman name for Hessen. Here Vladimir, Phe and myself pose in front of the Periodic Table of Elements. げんそしゅうきりつ 元素周期律. Dsは新しい要素です!
another picture, deep underground........
......learning about particles being "guided" by super electronic magnets......and colliding with each other .....
これは洗濯機ではありません !
Did you know that you can make ice cream with liquid nitrogen? Well here you go......Physicists can also have fun.......
👉 1. first concoct a powerful mix of Yoghurt, cream, sugar etc, then
👉 2. add liquid nitrogen.....
液体窒素を使ってアイスクリームが作れることをご存知ですか？ 😊
The liquid flows out of the cannister and immediately wants to revert to its normal state - ie a gas........
No doubt you have seen this at a rock concert or maybe in an opera.......
conveniently, it instantly cools the ice cream mixture into a solid state that can be scooped out and then........well.....eaten! Oh wonder of wonders.........😋. Edible physics.
食べる物理学.
Here is what the local Hessen news reported......https://www.hessenschau.de/tv-sendung/tag-der-offenen-tuer-am-forschungszentrum-gsi-in-darmstadt,video-185532.html
According to sources close to the writer, it was 17°c in Northern Ireland last week and raining......this is a genuine picture inside a friend's house in Portaferry last week......What would happen if, on fleeing the rising temperatures, the worldwide Irish diaspora would return to the homeland? Would Ireland sink into the sea?
アイルランドの気温はわずか 17°C です。彼らは幸運です。
Meanwhile we are savouring a short respite in central Germany this weekend, with temperatures reaching a modest 27°c.........allowing us to hike in the Spessart forest......
スペサートの森でハイキング
Carefully avoiding the molluscs on our path......
カタツムリに気をつけて!
....and enjoying the shade of the Bavarian woods........(it feels odd walking over the border into Bavaria, you sort of expect to meet jolly huntsmen in hats wearing Lederhosen, but it's not quite like that. In Bavaria, walkers just say "Gruss Gott" instead of "Hallo".
私たちはバイエルンにいます.
It's not all gentle forest. Craggy rocky outcrops appear, covered in moss and lichen.....This is the Rückersberger Schlucht......
It's funny how quickly you change your behaviour in this heat. On one of the carriages on the homeward train the air-conditioning was not working properly. I immediately got up to move to the next carriage, 🚆 relinquishing my seat in the process, but for the rest of the journey enjoying the cool of the corridor next door. Likewise on walking to my house later on I instinctively walk on the shady side of the road.
The air conditioning also broke down on the car recently. I'm not joking. You simply cannot drive in this heat without AC 💦. Is it still worth keeping this old Audi running? These days they all say it is better to keep an old crate running than buy a new one. I'm waiting for the electric cars to come down in price.......🏎️
車のエアコンが壊れてしまった……電気自動車がもっと安くなればいいのに……
💥Thank you for reading "...🍨 + Physics..."
「.🍨 + ぶつりがく ...」を読んでくれてありがとう
💥Feel free to share the blog with friends.
よろしければ、リンクを友達と共有してください
💥And I welcome feedback...!
そしてコメントしてください...
THE END
👨🔬
終わり