Sep 02 2007

Uphill Water Travel?

Category: Amsterdam,FriendsChrisM @ 3:44 am

I have just sent a message to Alex and ChrisD, asking if they fancy visiting the Escher museum whilst in Amsterdam. Although I do intend to get thoroughly relaxed whilst in the smokers’ haven, I would like to check out a couple of places of cultural interest. I’m not sure if we will make it to all of these, but I would also like to check out the Anne Frank hidey hole, if we can arrive when the majority of other tourists are not causing a log jam, as well as going on a boat trip around the canals. Rather than using one of the tours organized by the big three companies, I found a charity that runs a trip on a different type of boat, where drinking, smoking and eating is welcomed, and there is no fixed charge. If the trip turns out to be a waste of time, all we will have lost is a little time and gained a fresh perspective on the city. Hopefully it will go well. I intend to write posts on points of interest following our trip, though it may need to wait until mid-October, when I get back to Kazakhstan. Anyway the catalyst to me writing this post was a garden designed by the inventor of the famous Dyson hoover (James Dyson), who came up with the concept of a water feature that had water travelling uphill.
Dyson Escher Design James Dyson

I have to admit the photos got my attention… Although obviously water can not naturally travel against gravity by going up hill, my first couple of assumptions did not hold up to any sort of analysis… Vacuums and mere optical illusions that involved having the hills not actually inclined in the way they appeared not would be too easily noticed by the public. Anyway, check below for a diagram of how it actually works…
Escher Dyson Water Feature How It Works

Ps If you have not figured out what Escher has to do with this, either look at your average student’s poster covered wall, or Google it 😉

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