WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

In this career series write-up, you will find out more about the different types of professions and the skillsets that are required. Hopefully, through reading this series, you will have a better idea of the skillsets that you should start building today to fulfil your dream. 

What does an Engineer do?

Find a solution to a problem. 

 

Let’s dive into The Story of an Engineer in Ladakh, India to find out what it takes to be an engineer. 

你长大后想从事什么行业呢?

从这份职业系列文章中,你能了解有关不同类型的专业和所需的技能。希望通过这一系列文章,你可以朝你将来的志愿,开始建立新技能和学习新知识, 以实现你的梦想。 

工程师的工作是…

寻找解决方案。 

让我们深入探讨印度拉达克的《工程师的故事》,以了解成为一名工程师所需的条件。

https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/ice-stupa-sonam-wangchuk/index.html
Climate change is making Ladhak even drier, leaving farmers without water in the crucial planting months of April and May, right before the glaciers start to melt in the summer sun. Photo Credits: Rolex/Stefan Walter, CNN

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/04/explore-desert-glaciers/The inventor of ice stupa, Sonam Wangchuk, had a problem which he wanted to solve and help his community. 

Problem: Farmers in  Wangchuk’s hometown were facing water shortage during farming season due to climate change. 

Inspiration: While pondering on this problem in 2013,  Wangchuk observed that ice, even at a low altitude and the peak of summer in his hometown, stayed frozen in the shade of a bridge.

Solution: This gave rise to the Eureka moment when  Wangchuk realised that he could help villages freeze water in winter for use in spring by erecting a cone shape ice stupa with steep sides that has minimal exposed surface area of contact with the sun. 

Science Concepts Applied:

  1. Exposed Surface Area of contact
  2. Fluid Dynamic: A fluid in a system always wants to maintain its level. 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/04/explore-desert-glaciers/冰塔的发明者 索南·旺楚克(Sonam Wangchuk) 为了帮助他的社区解决春天缺水的问题,发明了冰塔。 

困境:因为全球气候暖化,导致冰川数量减少。在耕种季节,索南·旺楚克家乡的农民遇到了缺水的困境,因为农夫们主要的水源是来自冰川融化的水。 

灵感来源:在2013年思考这个问题时,旺楚克观察到,即使在海拔低,家乡夏天盛行的冰块中,冰块仍在桥的阴影下保持冻结。 

解决方案:这启发了一个想法。旺楚克意识到,他可以通过竖立一个圆锥形的冰塔来帮助村庄在冬天冻结水以供春季使用。由于圆锥形塔的陡峭侧面使与太阳接触的暴露表面积最小,该塔能慢慢融化几个月,给农夫在春天能享用足够的水。 

应用的科学概念:

  1. 接触面积
  2. 流体动力:系统中的流体总是要保持其液位。 

The Science behind the Ice Stupa:

The ice stupa is created using no power or pumps, only physics: “the ingredients are a downstream, an upstream and a gradient,” says Wangchuk.

冰塔背后的科学原理:

发明者旺楚克指出,冰塔的奥妙是它不需要任何动力或抽水机来建造,仅使用物理学原理,分别是下游,上游和梯度。

First, a pipe is laid underground, connecting a stream of water and the location where the ice stupa is required, usually next to a village. The water must come from a higher altitude, usually around 60 meters or more.
首先,将管道铺设在地下,连接水流和需要冰塔的位置,通常坐落在村庄附近。水必须来自更高的海拔,通常约60米或更高。

Because a fluid in a system always wants to maintain its level, water from 60 meters upstream will spray 60 meters into the air out of the downstream pipe, creating a fountain.The freezing air temperature does the rest, immediately crystallizing the water droplets into ice that falls right below, forming a cone.

“A cone is very easy to make with ice, because any dripping naturally forms a cone underneath — icicles are inverted cones,” says Wangchuk.

由于系统中的流体总是要保持其液位,因此上游60米的水会将60米的水从下游管道喷到空气中,从而形成喷泉。在寒冷的气温下,水立即结成冰,往地面降落,形成一个圆锥体。

旺楚克说:“ 冰很容易形成冰锥形,因为任何滴落自然会形成锥形,冰柱是倒置的锥形体。”

The Math behind the Ice Stupa:

But a cone has more desirable properties: “It has minimal exposed surface area for the volume of water it contains.”

That means it melts very slowly: the prototype, 20 feet tall and containing 150,000 liters of water, lasted from winter until mid-May, just when water is needed for irrigation, while all the surrounding ice on the ground had gone by the end of March.

冰塔背后的数学概念:

圆锥体也具有理想的特性。旺楚克说:“对于所容纳的水量,圆锥体具有最小的暴露表面积。”

这意味着它融化的速度非常缓慢。比如,一座高20英尺的冰塔,装有15万升水,从十二月冬天一直持续到五月中旬,恰好提供农民所需的水来灌溉农田。而周围地面的冰,在三月左右都融化了。

The Engineer’s Magic:

工程师的魔力:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2020/07/one-way-to-fight-climate-change-make-your-own-glaciers-perpetual-feature/
This 80-foot-high stupa is in Gangles, near Leh. Photo Credits: Ciril Jazbec, National Geographic

 

Now you know what it is like to be an engineer! If you aspire to be one, you need to pay extra attention during Science and Math lessons because you will need them to find solutions to the engineering problems in future!
现在你知道成为一名工程师须具备的能力了!如果你渴望成为一名工程师,你要认真学习数学和科学知识,因为将来他们会派上用场!

Sources

1. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2020/07/one-way-to-fight-climate-change-make-your-own-glaciers-perpetual-feature/ 

2. https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/ice-stupa-sonam-wangchuk/index.html

3. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/05/20/the-art-of-building-artificial-glaciers

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