The prompt for this was a what if science were different and there was no combustion. So no fire, no steam engine as we know it, no combustion engines. I though about the things we might not have. Then I thought again, why not. Humans are too creative for a little thing like no fire to have stopped them.
Lo
by
J. Smith Kirkland
Lo
stood at the gates of the university, about to begin his studies in
engineering, but dreaming of becoming an artist. As far back as he
can remember, he loved to create things, bring his imagination to the
real world using pencils, pens, wood, paint. He was constantly
drawing ideas of things he could create in his notebooks. He was born
an artist. But his father wanted him to be an engineer, because they
make more money. Lo didn't care about the money, but he was good at
math, and science, and he could do the job. So he was here to learn
how to be an engineer.
On
the first day of the introductory class, the professor told the
students they would learn about magnetic and sonic propulsion that we
use in transportation, and they will study hydrogen fuel cells that
provide us with heat and light. They would learn of solar and
hydraulic power, but first they will learn of the great inventors that
led civilization to these advances in science.
“We
have come a long way from when our prehistoric ancestors created the
first batteries for heat. Great inventors, or today we would call the
engineers, helped get us to this place. Let's talk about Leonardo Da
Vinci.
Lo
only knew of Da Vinci as an artist, and was fascinated to learn of the
machines Da Vinci had designed. Before the Europeans knew of sonic
propulsion, Da Vinci had designed a self propelled cart. It worked
much on the same concept as a geared clock. It was powered by two
symmetric springs. The force provided by the springs drops
significantly when they unwind. So he included a balance wheel,
just as in clocks. It could even follow a per-programmed path like a
robot. While such old technology is useless compared to the fuel cell
robots that move us from place to place, Lo was amazed to learn
someone had designed such a contraption using just the power from
clock springs.
Lo
also learned Da Vinci made a great kite and an aerial screw for
flight long before John Stringfellow created his fuel cell plane, or
Charlie Taylor added a sonic propulsion machine to the Wright
brother's glider. Da Vinci conceived of inventions long before they
could be created. And he drew them in his notebooks, just like Lo
recorded ideas in his. All in all, Lo's first day of class led him to
believe that his father may have been right about engineering. Not
because of the money, but because it was art.
So
Lo's adventure in education began. He learned about Thomas Savery who
built on the work others had been doing with electrochemical
reactions to heat water and create steam to run machines. He saw a
problem that needed solved, getting water out of metal mines. So he
developed the first crude fuel cell steam powered machine to pump out
the water. And really they owed it all to Hero of Alexander whose
aeolipile was really the first know example of a steam turbine. All
of the technology Lo took for granted growing up, was all because of
people centuries ago having the vision to create something new,
inspired by the ideas of something older. Lo knew this was his path.
Lo
never forgot that Da Vinci was also an artist. He no longer saw the
division between art and science that had led to the disagreements
with his dad about what to do with his life. Every Tuesday and
Thursday, he put the science aside, and he went to drawing class. But
the other days classes were about tidal power, solar power, and
something that fascinated him most, algae. He knows green algae is a
perfect source for creating hydrogen for fuel cells. He is learning
all he can about that because he wants to be like Thomas Savery and
see a problem, and find a way to solve it that has not been done
before. What he really wants is to be like Da Vinci and come up with
amazing ideas that are centuries ahead of their time, but the Thomas
Savory path seems more realistic, and his father would love to hear
him say, would pay the bills.
Lo
continued his education. He continued learning all the science he
could. He also continued with drawing and painting. By the time he
graduated, Masters programs were seeking him out for both. By the
time he was thirty-nine, he had made more money from his paintings
than his job as an engineer, which is not to say he was underpaid in
that field. At forty he started his own company manufacturing algae
powered engines and subcontracting to the space flight industry.
He
died at eight-seven. A couple of years before, he gave a commencement
speech at this very university. He said he may not have invented new
amazing things, but he had followed Thomas Savery's path to find new
ways to solve practical problems using the amazing things others had
done before him.
But
years after he died, his great great niece found his notebooks. She
published the notes as free downloads. The ideas we astonishing,
hundreds of years ahead of their time. His concepts of space
propulsion and dimensional travel are things we are still learning
today. That's why today, on your first day as engineering students, your first assignment is to write an essay on Skylar Lo.
The
Prompt
When
the square-cube law is rescinded, internal combustion becomes
impossible. How is travel impacted? How are daily lives
changed?
(e.
g. What if cars and other engines couldn’t exist? – JD)
Story
A Day Framework
A
young student wants to be an artist
but
his father wants him to be an engineer
because
of that, his father sends him to engineering school
because
of that the student learns of an artist inventor
and
because of that he creates inventions and art
until
one day he creates something beautiful and amazing
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