The Space Walk
Pip often got frustrated by the way that science was conventionally taught and demonstrated. He felt that textbooks and posters were woefully inadequate for conveying the enormity of certain scientific principles, in particular- the vastness of our solar system.
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He therefore conceived and built the 'Space Walk'- a scale model of the solar system- along the Taunton-Bridgwater Canal. The Walk was a joint venture between the Taunton Solar Model Group and British Waterways, with support from Somerset County Council, Taunton Deane Borough Council and the Somerset Waterways Development Trust. Funding for the project came from the Committee on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS), the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) and Sustrans.
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The model is built to a scale of 1:530,000,000,[2] meaning that one millimetre on the model equates to 530 kilometres. The Sun is sited at Higher Maunsel Lock, and one set of planets is installed in each direction along the canal towards Taunton and Bridgwater; the distance between the Sun and each model of Pluto being 11 kilometres (6.8 mi).
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The Walk was opened by British Astonomer Heather Couper on the 9th August 1997. The walk still includes Pluto, as it was still a planet back in 1997!
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The Space Walk is open year-round, is free to the public and set in a stunning location. We would love for you to walk it! For those who don't fancy an 11 kilometre walk, it is possible to park at Maunsel Lock and walk past the inner planets to the Sun in a flat 5 minute walk along the canal path.
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Little Venice
It's fair to say that Pip didn't really do things by halves, so when the council in Taunton, Somerset (where Pip lived for around 15 years with his wife and daughter) were looking for a way to regenerate an area of derelict land by the canal, Pip came up with an idea that not only provided for new housing and businesses, it also provided an in-built flood prevention measure.
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As Pip himself said, his proposal: "...Would be a unique fulfilment of a unique opportunity, something to put the town on the map, something to leave for the future.
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The Little Venice proposal sees the lower level of this site developed as a canal complex, with the higher level largely devoted to a public square overlooking the town, the whole complex giving this growing town a second social centre with a vibrant and civilised ambiance."
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This was his vision for Taunton, beautifully illustrated here by Pip's old friend Beverly Curl-
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'BOBCAT'
BOBCAT stands for Binary Operated Binary Calculator and Tutor. The conception of the BOBCAT was far from straight forward. Pip said:
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"In 1966 I was designing advertising gadgets for 3M's. I
was liv[i]ng a long way from work and so I often stopped off at a friends flat.
These friends had children , the children had LEGO. Lego then was not
technical but they had started the train , Their leaflet said "You can even
build a complete train layout in LEGO. "
I said " Balls, I will build a computer ! " Friends kept me to my promise!
I reme[m]ber[e]d the mechanical logic units, and finally built a multiplying
machine in LEGO.
Cambridge Consultants BV h[ea]rd of it and backed me to design a non [LEGO]
mechanical calculator.
I did so, adding division , addition and subtraction.But fate struck again
when their master company got into difficulties and all new projects were
cancelled. I shoved it under my bed and forgot about it. Come 1969 and
times were hard again. I was living on a boat in the Thames and working as a
lorry driver. Then the Open University started. A friend told them of my toy.
They asked to see it and ther[e] and then decided that they wanted in for
their first technology course. So I gave up my lorry and became a technician
at the OU ( Later to become a Scientific Officer, very posh) Of course the
device had to be complet[e]ly redesigned for mass production ,and it got the
name "Bobcat"."
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The full story is archived but can be found here: http://web.archive.org/web/20090228065606/https://www.computermuseumgroningen.nl/bobcat/bobcat.html
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After Pip's death, the BOBCAT was donated to the computer museum in Amsterdam, which you can read about here http://www.rechnerlexikon.de/en/artikel/Bild:Bobcat8.png, provided you speak fluent Dutch!
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