23 November 2019 | New Scientist | 27the so-called dwarf planets.
The sun is, after all, a dwarf
star – a term coined in 1906 by
the Danish astronomer Ejnar
Hertzsprung to distinguish it
from giant stars that are brighter
than normal stars of the same
colour and surface temperature.
Dwarf stars are the ordinary
objects in our galaxy, just as dwarf
planets are the ordinary objects in
our solar system.
Several ways that power
lines may make big berries
Letters, 26 October
From Bryn Glover, Kirkby Malzeard,
North Yorkshire, UK
Claire and Greg Sullivan recount
finding bigger and juicier
blueberries under power lines.
I recall a report that cereals grown
under electricity pylons were
bigger and better than in the rest
of the fields (23 August 1997, p 28).
Several explanations were
offered. I recall a suggestion
that rain on the wires would be
warmed, and plants beneath
would benefit from warmer water.
From Richard Miller, London, UK
Whether or not electric fields
directly influence plant growth
isn’t clear to me. But I am
interested by a study that suggests
that birds and mammals that are
able to see ultraviolet light are
scared off by it emanating from
power lines (Conservation Biology,
doi.org/ddw7). Perhaps more
berries were able to grow larger
by the time Claire and Greg found
them because there were fewer
animals around to eat them.
Do we know that the brain
generates consciousness?
Leader, 21 September
From Peter Calviou,
Amersham, Buckinghamshire, UK
You say that we have been unable
to explain how our brains create
conscious experience. Do we know
that our brains create conscious
experience? What if the brain is
merely the organ through which
conscious experience manifests?
The other side of that
whale of a tale, Moby-Dick
19 October, p 28
From Derek Till,
Bedford, Massachusetts, US
Chris Simms reviews Ahab’s
Rolling Sea: A natural history of
Moby-Dick. The sinking of the
Nantucket whaler Essex by a large
whale in the Pacific in 1820 is
generally regarded as inspiration
for Moby-Dick. Its author, Herman
Melville, was friendly with the
first mate, Owen Chace, and
knew the skipper, George Pollard.
Those interested in the
survivors’ stories can read In the
Heart of the Sea: The tragedy of the
whaleship Essex by Nathanial
Philbrick, which won the US
National Book Award for
Non-fiction in 2000.Surely giraffes’ necks must
confer some advantage
Letters, 14 September, p 27
From Anthony Wheeler,
Mackay, Queensland, Australia
Derek Bolton mentions Daniel
Milo’s assertion that giraffes’
long necks have no significant
advantages. On the contrary, the
length of their necks allows them
to drink water on the ground, but
only just. Giraffes have to splay
their front legs to get their mouth
low enough to drink, which could
hinder their escape should a
predator be nearby.
In this context, giraffes’ necks
are very short. Their defining
adaptation as a prey animal is
their long legs, allowing them
to run away from predators.Use and prefiguration of a
steered aerial bathyscaphe
12 October, p 15
From Bernie Hanning,
Calonge, Girona, Spain
I have been following for someWant to get in touch?
Send letters to New Scientist, 25 Bedford Street, London
WC2E 9ES or [email protected]; see terms at
newscientist.com/letterstime the progress of Alan
Handley’s Varialift project,
reported by Donna Lu. The
Varialift is an aerial bathyscaphe,
able to perform highly accurate
and maintainable altitudes. I
believe the most important use
for it will be in disaster relief.
Delivering basic supplies in
meaningful quantities across
areas whose infrastructure has
been destroyed is currently
very difficult.
Imagine a Varialift fleet
paying its way when parked on
the ground by generating as much
solar power as a field full of solar
panels. When a disaster strikes,
it could pick up containers from
strategic locations and deliver
the relief required. Its first drops
might be mini field hospitals,
powered from the Varialift itself.
All this could be delivered in a
single flight.From Sandy Henderson,
Dunblane, Stirling, UK
Lu mentions exploiting the
buoyancy of an airship to propel
it by storing compressed air andusing it for thrust. Your columnist
Daedalus (David E. H. Jones, 1938-
2017) had a more elegant solution
with his thermal “glidoon”
(17 February 1972, p 400). He
proposed effecting buoyancy
change through the condensation
of ammonia. Some drones at sea
now use this technology.
Some of your other recent
reports also touch on things he
discussed. For example, Jones
prefigured your story on a
generator that runs on heat
escaping to the sky (21 September,
p 17), describing it as an “anti-
greenhouse” (3 March 1966,
p 562); and also discussed the
effect of electric fields on crops
(24 August, p 42, prefigured on
15 January 1981, p 192). It would
be nice if you gave him a bit more
recognition. ❚For the record
❚ Among heat pumps, only the
air-source variety uses a fan in
collecting energy (9 November, p 18).
❚ Gluten may be present in many
parts of wheat grains, as well as
in some other grains (Feedback,
12 October).
❚ Alexei Poludnenko and his team
ignited a mixture of hydrogen and
air to track the evolution of its
explosion (9 November, p 17).An apology
In the 16 December 2017 issue
we ran a diagram accompanying
a story on stereotyping that,
without appropriate context
about the research it was drawn
from, actually perpetuated the
harmful stereotypes it was meant
to debunk. Unacceptably, it listed
“Jews” among groups that could
be considered “high status
competitors”. When this appeared
in print, our readers swiftly let
us know this was wrong and
offensive, and we amended
the diagram online, apologised
to readers and reviewed our
editorial procedures.
Unfortunately, due to an error
in our archiving process, werecently republished the original
version of the diagram in an
issue of The Collection, a digest
publication of New Scientist
content. We want to take this
opportunity to make clear that
we reject antisemitism in all
its forms and apologise for
republishing this material.
The notion that Jewish people,
as an ethnic group, are generally
high status or affluent belies the
long history of poverty, exclusion
and persecution that many
members of this community have
faced, and continue to face. We
are keenly aware of the harm that
insidious stereotypes can cause.
We offer our sincere apologies.