By Sterling “Chip” Camden
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

While manipulating the French Revolution for his own ends and conquering Europe in his spare time, Napoleon Bonaparte was first and foremost a geek at heart. He was passionate about science and math.

Napoleon remembered his early school days like many of us: “every one said of me: that boy is no good except at geometry. I was not very popular. I was dry as parchment.” Translation: math nerd.

In his early twenties, Napoleon would develop a love of astronomy that would last for the rest of his life. Even after becoming Emperor, he remained an active member of the prestigious Institut de France, First Class (science). He promoted and rewarded advances in the sciences during his reign — including an annual prize for new work in the emerging field of electricity.

Early in his miltary career (campaigning in Italy in 1796) Napoleon wrote:

Whenever I am able to render a service to science, I gratify my own feelings and am sure I am acquiring honour. Among all sciences astronomy is the one which has rendered the greatest services to reason and to commerce. To share the night between a beautiful woman and a lovely sky; to spend the day checking observation by calculation, — that is happiness on earth.

And that’s one world-conqueror who knew that geeks are sexy!

Quotations taken from The Corsican: A Diary of Napoleon’s Life in His Own Words, translated and edited by R.M. Johnston.

British engineers are exploring the possibility of a real-life sonic screwdriver.

Bruce Drinkwater, professor of ultrasonics at Bristol University, doesn’t expect to make a working model particularly soon. But he’s working on at least proving the concept is possible.

The idea is to build on existing work using ultrasonic forcefields to separate out diseased cells from healthy cells. Engineers are also already experimenting with using ultrasonic waves to move small objects.

The theory is that ultrasound could be used to simulate the mechanics of a real screwdriver. A rotating forcefield could perform the function of a head, while spinning ultrasonic waves at high speed could create a tornado-like force to turn the screws.

As is often the case with physics, it seems the logic behind the system is sound (so to speak), but generating the necessary force might be more troublesome.

In the TV series, the sonic screwdriver was initially portrayed as a sound wave-based tool for opening locks, along with some other sonic-based functions such as remotely detonating landmines. In later years it became more of a multi-function device, often without a clear connection to soundwaves. This prompted some debate about the sonic screwdriver’s role as a literary rather than engineering tool.

Drinkwater hopes the Doctor Who connection will encourage young people to get more interested in science and engineering. He was talking about the sonic screwdriver experiments to promote The Big Bang, a major interactive science fair for young people in London next March, which starts the UK’s National Science & Engineering Week.