Digging into Groundhog Day

Last Updated (Sunday, 07 February 2010 19:37) Written by Raymond Nakamura

My daughter was telling me all about Groundhog Day after kindergarten the other day.  I was thinking what a weird tradition it is, though perhaps it is no weirder than other marketing ploys dressed as traditions this month, like Valentine's Day, Lunar New Year, and of course, the Olympics.

Why do we have Groundhog Day?

In the lower Mainland, we are still waiting for winter to begin, never mind when it will end. In other places though, I suspect it has something to do with the February blahs or Seasonal Affective Disorder.

The first groundhog day took place in 1886, as a kind of media stunt. A newspaper editor orchestrated it in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvannia, home of the most famous meteorologically inclined groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. 

In Canada, the most famous is Wiarton Willie, based in Ontario. This media stunt began in the 1950s with a fur hat, which was eventually replaced with a an albino groundhog. The original Willie died back in 1999 while hibernating and has succeeded by other albino groundhogs. Punxsutawney Phil claims immortality.

Why is it on Feb. 2?

February 2, which is halfway between the astronomical start of winter (Dec. 21), the winter solstice when the night is the longest, and the start of spring (Mar. 21), the vernal equinox, when day and night have become equal.

Earlier celebrations on February 2 include the Celtic celebration Imbolc and the Christian Candlemas, which includes predictions for spring depending on the sun on that day. German settlers brought this custom to America. During the winter, if it's sunny, it's probably cold. Similarly, if a groundhog sees its shadow, winter is supposed to last another six weeks.

Why a Groundhog?

Various animals have been used for weather predictions in Europe including bears, badgers and hedgehogs, often related to their emergence from hibernation. 

Groundhogs (Marmota monax), also known as woodchucks and marmots, also hibernate. They have a wide distribution in North America.

How good are they at predicting the weather?

The accuracy of Canadian groundhogs is about 37% for the past 30 to 40 years. Based on the occurrence of sunny or cloudy days, this did not differ from chance. I could not find any data for paid meteorologists for six week periods. Of course, regardless of whether or not a groundhog sees its shadow, the official start of spring (Mar. 21) is about six weeks away.

Fuel Cells Rush In

Last Updated (Tuesday, 26 January 2010 10:31) Written by Raymond Nakamura

A silver car covered in bubbles passed me on the Burrard Street bridge the other day. On second glance, I realized the bubbles were decals of water molecules. It was a fuel cell car. I thought they were still the stuff of science fiction, but apparently not.

On the Road

I found out that fuel cell cars are here for the Vancouver Olympics. They are using hydrogen to produce electricity to run the motor. Apparently, other fuel cell cars were tested here before. Ballard, a leader in fuel cell technology based in Burnaby, sold off its car projects to focus on other applications as back-up generators and so on.

What's Old is New Again

The idea for fuel cells has been around for over 150 years. They proved themselves in the space program, providing both electricity and water from hydrogen and oxygen.

More than One Way to Skin a Cation

Various kinds fuel cells are being developed now, based on different fuels and ways of extracting electricity from them. The basic idea is that a catalyst takes the electrons from the hydrogen atoms to produce electricity and hooks up the hydrogen ions with oxygen to make water. This part is clean and quiet. The car I saw had four slots in the back with little wisps of what I guess were water droplets coming out.

Bum Rap

Some people associate hydrogen with the Hindenberg blowing up way back when. This rep is not helped by the big explosion of the fuel cells running the desert hotel in the James Bond movie, a Quantum of Solace. Never mind that. Though they do make for louder balloon demos.

Bright Idea

In practise, a greater concern is the distribution of hydrogen. Although hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, it tends to be connected with other elements. So you need to use energy to get it on its own. Solar power is clean but not always available. Using the sun to create energy to produce hydrogen can be a convenient way to generate electricity on demand. 

Road Blocks

Besides hydrogen distribution, other challenges for fuel cells is their cost, and ability to function in cold weather.

So keep your eyes out for fuel cell cars — you might not hear them. 
And if you've driven a fuel cell car. please share what it was like.

Nice Ice, Baby

Last Updated (Thursday, 14 January 2010 13:39) Written by Raymond Nakamura

When I took my daughter skating over the holidays, I realized how much the new year is like an ice resurfacing machine, scraping away the old and laying down a fresh sheet of possibilities.

You're probably more familiar with these wonders of technology as Zambonis. Technically, that's the trademark of the recession resistant company founded by Frank Zamboni, the inventor. They, like Kleenex, are concerned with losing their trademark to common usage.

The Competition

Their main competitor is Resurfice, a Canadian company, if such things concern you. Turns out the Vancouver Canucks use their Olympia machines. They are also supplying electric ones for the Vancouver Olympics, which are better for air quality.

Origins

It's hard to imagine an ice rink without a resurfacer. One time, I played hockey in Japan at an outdoor rink, which I suppose not well funded. To clean the ice, they had school boys with straw brooms sweep off the snow and then a guy pushed around a barrel filled with hot water in a wheelbarrow and a mop. They repainted the lines by hand.

Frank Zamboni built his first one in the 1940s in his backyard, with surplus Army parts. He used it on the ice rink he owned in southern California, of all places.

Insides

The modern ones all scrape the ice, collect the snow, wash the ice, and resurface it. The blade scrapes off the old ice. I don't think any have gone the double or triple-bladed route of shavers. Sometimes you see the driver turn a wheel so the blade cuts deeper if the ice is rougher. The snow gets collected with a horizontal and vertical auger, also known as an Archimedes screw. They use hot water to resurface the ice so it melts the top and refreezes.

Just a few things to appreciate, the next time you're watching an ice resurfacer go around and around and around.

Thoughts that Count

Last Updated (Tuesday, 29 December 2009 20:19) Written by Raymond Nakamura

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love of science gave to me —

12 Drummers drumming with physiologically significant intensity

11 Pipers Piping mucus from their lungs

10 Lords a-slam dunking 

9 Ladies Dancing a science article

8 Maids a-Milking and avoiding small pox

7 Swans a-Swimming not as monogamously as once thought

6 Geese a-Laying eggs in the nests of other geese as brood parasites

5 Gold Ringswhich probably do not test for iron deficiency.

4 Calling Birds being studied in their sleep

3 French Hens bred for their looks

2 Turtle Doves with less time for their families

and a Partridge appreciating a reduction in predators

in a Pear Tree with improved fruit quality and tolerance to fire blight.

All the best to those of you without untestable beliefs in the supernatural and whoever else is reading. I look forward to sharing more of my so-called scientific life in the new year.

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