Author: David J. Kent

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler, scientist, and Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of books on Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, and Abraham Lincoln. His website is www.davidjkent-writer.com.
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Ash from Chilean volcano blankets Bariloche

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I’m still out science traveling in Argentina with access by iPhone only. Yesterday I toured around the lake in Bariloche. One of the more interesting aspects was the remnants of the big 2011 volcanic eruption from Chile (the border is only a few kilometers from here).

See that sand alongside the stream? It’s not sand. It’s pumice from the volcano.

The ash was so thick it raised water levels for months. The water covered the roots of the stream side trees, hence the dead trees in the picture below.

On the lake itself the pumice, volcanic rock that is lighter than water, floats.

The beach of the lake is more pumice, at least 10-20 cm of it. That’s my host hopping across the ash/sand. And yes, there’s a story behind the broken leg. I’ll cover that when I get back to the states.

That’s all for now. Keep in mind these photos are all from my iPhone; the best photos are on the other two cameras. So much more to come.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His next book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, is scheduled for release in summer 2017.

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A few places in Argentina this past week

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Before the trekking, we needed sustenance.

Mount Fitz Roy (think, Darwin). Hiked up to this place. Quite an adventure. Turns out coming down was an adventure too. More on that when I return.

Then the Perito Moreno glacier. And there is much more. Will check in when have access again.

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First views of Buenos Aires

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Well, I’ve arrived in Buenos Aires. Here is my first view coming in on the plane.

As you can see, the weather isn’t exactly cooperating. Overcast yesterday afternoon when I took this photos. Today is something out of Noah – flashes of lightning, huge crashes of thunder, and rain that fluctuates between steady light and demonstrable deluge.

From yesterday, a monument in Plaza de Mayo.

So far the city is more European than South American. First it seemed like Greece or Rome.

The Casa Rosada (Pink House) is where Evita made her famous song (or was that Madonna).

A cool bridge that is supposed to capture the sweeping arms and legs of tango dancers. You have to have a good imagination here.

Other locations had an obelisk that looked like the Washington monument in an intersection that looked like a mini Times Square. Then a pedestrian shopping street with people constantly hawking “cambrio,” which reminded me so much of Nanjing East Road in Shanghai I wanted to reply Bu Yao.

More when I can get access.

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Science Traveler and Science Traveling

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Candied hawthorns in Olympic Park, Beijing

Candied hawthorns at Olympic Park, Beijing

I call this site Science Traveler. And I’m currently out science traveling. So, what is science traveling? I’m glad you asked. Though the answer isn’t as clear cut as it might seem.

I’ve been a scientist for many years, and as a result have done a little bit of travel. Emphasis on “little” and “bit.” Besides the many wonderful days spent in luxurious locales such as oil refineries, sewage treatment plants, and mud bogs, I regularly attended scientific conferences in cities around the United States and Canada. A delightfully drenched week in Vancouver spent entirely inside a convention center epitomizes the excitement of that annual opportunity. For the last 15 years, however, travel has became a lot more interesting.

I’ve been lucky enough to live overseas on three different occasions, in St. George’s, Bermuda; Edinburgh, Scotland; and most recently, Brussels, Belgium. I’ve been to Asia several times, tootled around a good part of Europe, and currently am trekking through a couple of countries south of the equator. Now that I’m writing books and freelancing full time, my travels will become more frequent and more adventurous. They will also become story lines. And those story lines will usually contain some science angle.

Science traveler. Like asking whether Galileo actually did drop balls from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and if he did, was someone at the bottom to catch them? Like, how is it that I could carry on a conversation with an elderly (and slightly inebriated) Japanese gentleman when neither one of us spoke the others language? Like, how many Argentinian students does it take to get a visiting scientist to wade into a stream alongside an electroshock fisherman?

Of course, science traveling can also mean simply appreciating the ephemeral beauty of a sinking sunset over a Mexican beach, the astonishing talent of a renaissance artist in the Vatican, or the portentous river of water sluicing down a melting glacier in Chile. It might also include crawling through caves in Tennessee after overlooking one of the Civil War’s most infamous battle sites, admiring the orchids of Tenerife, or visiting the latest in a long list of aquariums.

Science traveling most definitely includes photographs. Thousands of photographs. And with each photo comes a story…or many stories. Science traveler will tell those stories.

So while I’m out science traveling I’ll post some photos, some stories, and hopefully some scientific insights that will bring the world closer to everyone.

David J. Kent is an avid traveler and the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.

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Nikola Tesla Seeks to Harness the Power of Nature

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Nikola Tesla was for renewable energy before it was cool to be for renewable energy.

“It seems that I have always been ahead of my time.”

From a young age he sought to harness the power of nature. He used the natural energy of June bugs to power his stick windmill. As a child he designed his first water wheel, then as an adult he fulfilled his dream by harnessing the hydroelectric power of Niagara Falls with his alternating current motors and transformers. Today he stands overlooking one of his greatest achievements.

Tesla statue overlooking Niagara Falls

Nikola Tesla overlooking Horseshoe Falls, on the Canadian side. Photo by David J. Kent

Tesla often spoke of harnessing the energy of the sun, stating that fossil fuels were wasteful. As far back as 1891 he argued that “nature has stored up in the universe infinite energy.” To Tesla, “the eternal recipient and transmitter of this infinite energy is the ether.” That particular idea did not hold up to scrutiny, but he continued to look to nature.

One of the most thought-provoking documents of Tesla’s numerous writings was an article he wrote for The Century Illustrated Magazine, June 1900, which was edited by Robert Underwood Johnson. In a long and sometimes mystical treatise called “The Problem of Increasing Human Energy (with special references to the harnessing of the sun’s energy),” Tesla leaped ahead a hundred years by anticipating the need for renewable sources of energy to power our planet. He noted that “besides fuel, there is abundant material from which we might eventually derive power” and suggested that “an immense amount of energy is locked up in limestone, for instance, and machines can be driven by liberating the carbonic acid through sulfuric acid or otherwise.” He even claimed to have constructed such an engine and that “it operated satisfactorily.”

Terrestrial power

Tesla was so far ahead of his time that, while others at the turn of the twentieth century were busy exploiting coal, iron, aluminum, and drilling for oil, he was already recognizing the limits of those endeavors. He was into conservation. “Whatever our resources of primary energy may be in the future,” Tesla wrote, “we must, to be rational, obtain it without consumption of any material.” He believed that natural sources of energy could “eliminate the need of coal, oil, gas or any other of the common fuels.” One way was to harness the power of the wind.

“It is difficult to believe, but it is, nevertheless, a fact, that since time immemorial man has had at his disposal a fairly good machine which has enabled him to utilize the energy of the ambient medium. This machine is the windmill.“

[The above is adapted from Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. I explored more of Tesla’s adventures in renewable energy in my 2014 e-book noted below.]

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His next book is on Abraham Lincoln, due out in 2017.

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Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina

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Argentina has come a long way since the days of Eva Peron (aka, Evita), though in which direction is perhaps up for debate. The silverless country whose name is derived from the Latin word for silver is an enigma. And I’m headed there.

This trip is long overdue. In fact, an Argentinian friend from college has been inviting me to visit for the last, well, ahem, um, a long time. I was all set to go several years ago but then my (now former) company sent me to Brussels for three years. I know, it was a tough assignment, but someone had to do it. In any case, I’m finally going to Argentina.

I’ll have a lot more information after the trip, but the basic plan is to fly to Buenos Aires, then two days later fly to Bariloche. A small city of about 100,000, Bariloche sits comfortably between beautiful Nahuel Huapi Lake and the Andes mountains.

Argentina regions

From there we’ll head south on the eastern side of the Andes, stopping in some of the most pristine and beautiful parts of Patagonia (the pinkish part in the map above). There will be plenty of stops for hiking, kayaking, and, depending on my friend’s patience, maybe I’ll even learn to fly fish. At this point it looks like the southern terminus will be just below Argentina’s Glaciers National Park, though there is still a slight chance of making it to Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia. Then back to Bariloche where I will likely join in some field sampling fun (the hazards of having a host who is a fisheries biologist and university professor).

Not much chance of me learning how to tango. But, who knows.

It’s summer down there so I expect Buenos Aires to top out in the mid 90s F. Bariloche will be more like 60 F. I’m not even going to guess the temperature by the time we reach the glaciers (which is roughly the equivalent of southern Canada in reverse latitude). During the trip I’ll write as much as I can. There may even be another book in the works by the time I return.

I have another week before I leave, so don’t count me gone yet. Much more before that happens.

More travel related posts here.

David J. Kent is an avid traveler and the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

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Book Review – Lincoln’s Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers’ Home by Matthew Pinsker

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Lincoln's Sanctuary by Matthew PinskerWhen most people think of Abraham Lincoln, they think of him toiling away in the White House, occasionally making his way to the adjoining War Department to check telegraph news from the front.  Few know that Lincoln and his family actually spent much of the summers of 1862, 1863 and 1964 living at the “Soldier’s Home” and commuting daily to the White House.

Matthew Pinsker writes a charming book about the Soldiers’ Home, or what many refer to as the Lincoln Cottage.  It was one of a few cottages next to what was originally known as the Military Asylum, a institution for disabled army veterans who could not support themselves.  By commuting the 3 miles or so to and from the “cottage” Lincoln could get away from the hot, smelly swampland not far from the White House and reconnect with his family in a more pleasant atmosphere.  The book goes beyond simply reiterating the major themes of most Lincoln biographies and puts those weighty events and decisions in the context of his surroundings.  As with the White House, Lincoln was extremely accessible to the public, not uncommonly shuffling down the stairs in his slippers late at night to confer with members of his cabinet, Congressional leaders, or just friends of friends who wanted to meet him.

The book is well written and a pleasant change from the normal Lincoln biography. It provides stellar insights into Lincoln’s well being and thinking on some of the critical issues facing him during the long and difficult war.  Proceeds from the sale of the book, which was published in 2003, go to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the organization responsible for renovating and reopening the Lincoln Cottage in 2009.

David J. Kent is an avid Lincolnophile and the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.

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Science Traveler to Sponsor Chesapeake-Potomac Regional Chapter of SETAC in 2014

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CPRC logoFor the second year in a row Science Traveler (i.e., this website) will be an Associate Sponsor of the Chesapeake Potomac Regional Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. I have been involved with SETAC for more than 25 years, the last 22 of which have been as a member of CPRC. In fact, I’ve just completed my second term as President of CPRC and will continue as immediate Past-President during 2014.

CPRC “provides a professional forum for individuals from private industry, academia, and government agencies who are engaged in the study and analysis and solutions for environmental problems, management and regulation of natural resources, and/or research and development.” It represents the area surrounding Washington DC, including all of Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, the District, and parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware and beyond. SETAC is a renowned international scientific organization.

You can find their websites by clicking on the links above, or even better, clicking on the really cool logo at the top of the article.

The timing couldn’t be better. CPRC has two huge upcoming events that members are going to want to be a part of. [If you’re not a current member, it’s easy to become one right here, right now.]

The first event is a February 20th dinner at Adele’s in the University of Maryland Student Union in College Park. We’ll have tons of food and drink, along with a distinguished guest speaker – Dr. Donald C. Weber of the USDA, who will talk about “Pesticides and Alternatives for our Region:  Lightening the Load“.

The other major event is our annual spring meeting, which will be held at the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center (CBEC) on April 27-28, 2014. You can read all about last year’s event at CBEC in this recap. The meeting will feature an optional Sunday guided bird hike, kayaking, and picnic on the grounds, followed by a full Monday of presentations and posters (and some of the best catering on the Eastern shore). The location is beautiful so be sure to watch for updates on the CPRC website.

As an Associate Sponsor, Science Traveler plays a key role in helping CPRC foster interaction among its members, sponsor scientific meetings and social events, produce a biannual newsletter, maintain a website, and, perhaps most importantly, sponsor student awards “that encourage and promote the research and professional development of our student members.”

CPRC Science Traveler

More about CPRC and SETAC.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.