The way time has come to be measured has evolved over the ages. Actually the way we ‘look’ at time is not only a measure of technological advancement but also a measure of the distance between us and nature. From looking up at the sun, to having giant constructions whose shadow would indicate the hour, to having sand pass through fine apertures, all showed the silent progress of time. Until things turned mechanical then time began to tick and tock. But technology came full circle with the advent of the digital clock which is as silent as the passage of time.
But the question is what makes these instruments tick? Do they understand their relevance; do they know how much they have impacted our language? Do they want us to show our gratitude; if yes, how? If only they could tock! They would answer questions like whether they appreciate being used in terms like ‘sands of time’, whether they like to be linked to unknown people, tide for example - ‘time and tide wait for no man’. Or whether they like to be used as a threat ‘ - - - the clock is ticking’.
Strangely, time which denotes a passage is used for a beginning or an end – ‘its time to - -’, ‘its high time’. But what is worse is this instrument, its working and measure which has never asked anything of anyone, is extremely unassuming and whispers past us is being used to suggest future calamities and potential threats. A ‘population time bomb’, ‘AIDS time bomb’ or ‘xyz is a ticking time bomb’ all signify a potential future peril which has got nothing to do with time per say except for the fact that things could have been better if ‘we went back in time’ or ‘stopped the progress of time’. However, man in his ingenuity has been able to transform a potential threat into an instrument of death and destruction. A ‘time bomb’ uses an explosive that detonates ‘when the clock strikes - - -’ thus life which is a linear natural progression of time from birth to old age suddenly becomes a pawn in the unwilling hands of time. The phrase ‘when your time comes - -’ which is supposed to alleviate the suddenness of an incident or to give courage before an act gets a whole new meaning.
There is one clock that is quite undecided where it wants to go; the ‘doomsday clock’ has gone back and forth between 11.43 pm and 11.57 pm since its inception in 1947, the only instance where a clock can tick forward or backward depending on mans activities.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Indian Nuclear Plants Secret Fuel
Now the secrets can be unveiled
Buried underground, for years sealed.
Indian nuclear power plants use a different matter
Not ending in an ‘ium’ but still a heat generator.
It looks no different and thus comes as a shock
Containment dome et al, but what is, is not.
Renewable energy it is touted to be
Tis true it is mined and harnessed differently.
The containment dome protects the energy source -
Windbags that generate hot air in variable force
Dr Homi Bhaba was the first when he did decree
8000 MW of Nuclear energy by Nineteen Eighty.
43500 MW by 2000 predicted the AEC
That was in 1969 without a nuclear plant generating energy.
The nuclear power plants now produce electricity
On windbags that promise 20,000MW by 2020.
Buried underground, for years sealed.
Indian nuclear power plants use a different matter
Not ending in an ‘ium’ but still a heat generator.
It looks no different and thus comes as a shock
Containment dome et al, but what is, is not.
Renewable energy it is touted to be
Tis true it is mined and harnessed differently.
The containment dome protects the energy source -
Windbags that generate hot air in variable force
Dr Homi Bhaba was the first when he did decree
8000 MW of Nuclear energy by Nineteen Eighty.
43500 MW by 2000 predicted the AEC
That was in 1969 without a nuclear plant generating energy.
The nuclear power plants now produce electricity
On windbags that promise 20,000MW by 2020.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Understanding nuclear parlance
One could say that the advance of technology has lead to the progress of language. Language has had to evolve, learn new forms of contortions to accommodate what science is discovering and technology is developing. Language has happily explained the origins of the universe with just two words ‘Big Bang’, while technologies like email, SMS are now used as verbs.
Every industry generates words, terms and phrases that identifies it. The Nuclear Industry is no different, terms like ‘going critical’, ‘heavy water’, ‘light water’, ‘fission’ paint a picture of a monster straining to break free.
Besides these terms there are some phrases that are used on specific occasions – like a nuclear accident. These expressions are used by nuclear experts and people in power when there are demands for information and a call for clarification, not that the phrases provide information or clarify the situation. They obfuscate, are patently constructed to ensure that no information can be sourced though it all with the hope that by not enlightening the public things will settle down to blissful ignorance.
Usually when a nuclear accident occurs there is deathly silence from the nuclear power plant operators and the government. This is because they not only are grappling with the situation but also are trying to put together words that will ‘make everything seem all right’. However even though no two nuclear accidents are the same the phrases and quotes that are given during this period have remained constant over time and place.
The first peep that comes out from an official is that ‘everything is under control’. This could be an obvious attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of everyone; it could also be an expression of shock and incredulity of those unwilling to accept the situation. The nuclear operator would have also informed the local authorities and the Emergency Control Room operated by the Department of Atomic Energy (in India). The operator and government get into the act now. When they begin to realize the gravity of the situation the next statement is bandied out which is ‘radiation is minimal’ which in fact acknowledges the gravity of the situation but attempts to play it down. The second day of the incident would have got the press a little more interested and there would be reporters snooping around the area. The PR department of the nuclear facility or agency hired would now be working overtime in damage control - the next statement would be something to indicate that there is actually no risk and that everyone knows the drill, so the press statement would have the term ‘exposure was within safety limits’ . The value of this statement lies in that there are no radiation figures, the information actually gives out nothing except an acknowledgement that there has been a leak and some people have been exposed. There would be reports by now about risks to workers, environment and people unfortunate enough to be living in the vicinity of the nuclear power plant which would result in statements like ‘risk is slight’ and ‘no immediate cause for concern’. This is as near a confession as one is going to get from the government and nuclear operator. The next step after this would be evacuation.
Fission is not an easy thing to control, research has found that more complex the technology more is the chances of accidents. There have been innumerable articles and books that correlate complexity of technology to accidents. Charles Perrow in his book Normal Accidents: Living with High Risk Technologies has argued that normal engineering approach to safety fails because the complexity of a system makes failures inevitable.
In almost every country the nuclear industry is the spoilt brat that has grown into an indolent uncaring adult living off others. If society asks the parents about the adult everything is done to protect the brat lest their method of parenting is questioned. With such incidents the government stands exposed of endangering the lives of its people and wasting tax payers money; therefore does everything it can to hush things up.
However, there are times when such incidents reach the Parliament and a question is asked about the safety standards in nuclear power plants. Agence France Presse in November 21, 2002 quoted Vasundhra Raje, the Junior Foreign Minister’s as saying in the Parliament ‘There is absolutely near total compliance by all these plants... There is no question of compromising (the) safety of workers at nuclear plants." There couldn’t have been a greater attempt at obfuscation than this, that too in the hallowed halls of the Indian parliament. What does ‘near total compliance mean? And why is there ‘near total compliance’ and not full compliance?
Today there is a search for new symbols words and phrases that would warn people 5000 years hence not to approach entombed nuclear waste and facilities. This is because language would have changed to a great degree. This search is an obvious recognition of the longevity of the problems that nuclear energy creates. With the current numbers of nuclear reactors and the promise for more it is certain that one will get the opportunity to hear these phrases at regular intervals. The symbols that will be placed for future generations will not tell the story of generation that used a dirty technology as vividly as the piles of highly dangerous radioactive waste it leaves behind.
(I sent this for publication and got silence - thats why i have a blog)
Every industry generates words, terms and phrases that identifies it. The Nuclear Industry is no different, terms like ‘going critical’, ‘heavy water’, ‘light water’, ‘fission’ paint a picture of a monster straining to break free.
Besides these terms there are some phrases that are used on specific occasions – like a nuclear accident. These expressions are used by nuclear experts and people in power when there are demands for information and a call for clarification, not that the phrases provide information or clarify the situation. They obfuscate, are patently constructed to ensure that no information can be sourced though it all with the hope that by not enlightening the public things will settle down to blissful ignorance.
Usually when a nuclear accident occurs there is deathly silence from the nuclear power plant operators and the government. This is because they not only are grappling with the situation but also are trying to put together words that will ‘make everything seem all right’. However even though no two nuclear accidents are the same the phrases and quotes that are given during this period have remained constant over time and place.
The first peep that comes out from an official is that ‘everything is under control’. This could be an obvious attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of everyone; it could also be an expression of shock and incredulity of those unwilling to accept the situation. The nuclear operator would have also informed the local authorities and the Emergency Control Room operated by the Department of Atomic Energy (in India). The operator and government get into the act now. When they begin to realize the gravity of the situation the next statement is bandied out which is ‘radiation is minimal’ which in fact acknowledges the gravity of the situation but attempts to play it down. The second day of the incident would have got the press a little more interested and there would be reporters snooping around the area. The PR department of the nuclear facility or agency hired would now be working overtime in damage control - the next statement would be something to indicate that there is actually no risk and that everyone knows the drill, so the press statement would have the term ‘exposure was within safety limits’ . The value of this statement lies in that there are no radiation figures, the information actually gives out nothing except an acknowledgement that there has been a leak and some people have been exposed. There would be reports by now about risks to workers, environment and people unfortunate enough to be living in the vicinity of the nuclear power plant which would result in statements like ‘risk is slight’ and ‘no immediate cause for concern’. This is as near a confession as one is going to get from the government and nuclear operator. The next step after this would be evacuation.
Fission is not an easy thing to control, research has found that more complex the technology more is the chances of accidents. There have been innumerable articles and books that correlate complexity of technology to accidents. Charles Perrow in his book Normal Accidents: Living with High Risk Technologies has argued that normal engineering approach to safety fails because the complexity of a system makes failures inevitable.
In almost every country the nuclear industry is the spoilt brat that has grown into an indolent uncaring adult living off others. If society asks the parents about the adult everything is done to protect the brat lest their method of parenting is questioned. With such incidents the government stands exposed of endangering the lives of its people and wasting tax payers money; therefore does everything it can to hush things up.
However, there are times when such incidents reach the Parliament and a question is asked about the safety standards in nuclear power plants. Agence France Presse in November 21, 2002 quoted Vasundhra Raje, the Junior Foreign Minister’s as saying in the Parliament ‘There is absolutely near total compliance by all these plants... There is no question of compromising (the) safety of workers at nuclear plants." There couldn’t have been a greater attempt at obfuscation than this, that too in the hallowed halls of the Indian parliament. What does ‘near total compliance mean? And why is there ‘near total compliance’ and not full compliance?
Today there is a search for new symbols words and phrases that would warn people 5000 years hence not to approach entombed nuclear waste and facilities. This is because language would have changed to a great degree. This search is an obvious recognition of the longevity of the problems that nuclear energy creates. With the current numbers of nuclear reactors and the promise for more it is certain that one will get the opportunity to hear these phrases at regular intervals. The symbols that will be placed for future generations will not tell the story of generation that used a dirty technology as vividly as the piles of highly dangerous radioactive waste it leaves behind.
(I sent this for publication and got silence - thats why i have a blog)
Thursday, April 16, 2009
L K Advani and footwear
Sitting on pedestal, enroute to his cherished seat
Advani looked down and saw no shoes on his feet
‘How unclean,I put my foot in the mouth frequently’ said he
‘From Babri to Jinnah to kandahar that’s what I leave to posterity’.
There was no glass slipper for he was no Cinderella
But in the crowd there was one kind fella
Who though luckless and ignored by the BJP
Threw L K Advani a slipper for free.
Advani looked down and saw no shoes on his feet
‘How unclean,I put my foot in the mouth frequently’ said he
‘From Babri to Jinnah to kandahar that’s what I leave to posterity’.
There was no glass slipper for he was no Cinderella
But in the crowd there was one kind fella
Who though luckless and ignored by the BJP
Threw L K Advani a slipper for free.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Financing climate change
Twill get cold in summer
And rain clouds will fill desert skies
Fingers then point at things like the Hummer
As people mouth plaintive why’s.
Money does Pandora’s Box open
tis cause of climate change too
Sippin’ a coke with bags full of shoppin’
Energised by coal, but out of view
The high incomes and easy loans,
through energy created by subsidised coal
Fuel larger cars and bigger homes
And on the climate they take their toll.
And rain clouds will fill desert skies
Fingers then point at things like the Hummer
As people mouth plaintive why’s.
Money does Pandora’s Box open
tis cause of climate change too
Sippin’ a coke with bags full of shoppin’
Energised by coal, but out of view
The high incomes and easy loans,
through energy created by subsidised coal
Fuel larger cars and bigger homes
And on the climate they take their toll.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Air travel
Promise hangs heavy in the air
In a space where people mill, sit or stare
Conversations between departures and arrivals now on hold
Raising latent desires to break from the fold.
Announcements collide and fill the room
Resulting in emotions of relief, hope, joy and gloom
Time trickles by, everyone seems aware
A 2 hour trip is becoming an unending nightmare
A confident voice guides people to gate number three
I leave the sorry faces who ask ‘why not me?’
I promise my return is going to be by train
Waiting is what makes speed all in vain.
In a space where people mill, sit or stare
Conversations between departures and arrivals now on hold
Raising latent desires to break from the fold.
Announcements collide and fill the room
Resulting in emotions of relief, hope, joy and gloom
Time trickles by, everyone seems aware
A 2 hour trip is becoming an unending nightmare
A confident voice guides people to gate number three
I leave the sorry faces who ask ‘why not me?’
I promise my return is going to be by train
Waiting is what makes speed all in vain.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Indestructible
The prognosis was not very good
I staggered out, dying for a cigarette
I am indestructible
I have lived a full life
Killing different parts of me
I am indestructible
I never saw a glass half empty or half full
I always had a bottle at hand
I am indestructible
The future was never of interest
I never heard of a tomorrow
I am indestructible
My circle of friends is large
It is true that ‘all the world is a stage’
I am indestructible
I staggered out, dying for a cigarette
I am indestructible
I have lived a full life
Killing different parts of me
I am indestructible
I never saw a glass half empty or half full
I always had a bottle at hand
I am indestructible
The future was never of interest
I never heard of a tomorrow
I am indestructible
My circle of friends is large
It is true that ‘all the world is a stage’
I am indestructible
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