EPRI Color Books

Just heard about Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)'s color books series. They refer to various fields of electrical power transmission and are exorbitantly priced. The Red book is listed at $4750! No wonder people go for pirated copies. Why information should be kept at a premium is hard to understand. The following are the full list of publications in this series.

1. Olive Book - HVDC Transmission Reference Book (2010)
2. Copper Book - Power Transformer Guidebook (2014)
3. Green Book - Underground Transmission Systems Reference Book
4. Red Book - AC Transmission Line Reference Book: 200 kV and Above (2005)
5. Orange Book - Transmission Line Reference Book: Wind-induced Conductor Motion
6. Yellow Book - Overhead Transmission Inspection and Assessment Guidelines
7. Blue Book - Transmission Line Reference Book: 115 - 345 kV
8. Light Blue Book - Power System Dynamics Tutorial
9. Teal Book - Best Practices and Life Extension Guidelines for Substations
10. Maroon Book - Fault Current Management Guidebook (2008)
11. Platinum Book - Increased Power Flow Reference Book (2008)
12. Bronze Book - Underground Distribution Systems Reference Book (2009)
13. Gold Book - Power Electronics based Transmission Controllers Reference Book (2009)
14. Grey Book - Overhead Transmission Grounding Guide (2009)
15. Tan Book - Live Working Reference Book (2009)

Books 10 to 15 have not been published yet.

Ode to an Antenna

The 6m-long antenna pole for television was finally brought down today at home. Though it was inoperational for a long time due to the advent of satellite TV, it was a relic of the past, a vibrant reminder of several years of entertainment, which is totally new to the children of today. How we enjoyed the Hobson’s choice of Doordarshan (India’s state-owned telecasting organisation) with relish even though not a soul would care to switch to any of their numerous Hindi-language programmes now!

More than the entertainment aspect, the antenna-pole marked a phase of my life. It was installed in August 1986 and after nearly a quarter-century, it is finally removed. As in history where the middle ages are considered to begin with the burning of the library at Alexandria in 415 CE and that of the modern era with the fall of Constantinople in 1453 CE, the installation of the pole marked my transition from adolescence to youth while its removal today might signify the transition from youth to middle ages! Abhorrent is the thought of aging, but there is no way out!

Thinking of the antenna-pole, I am pulled back to nostalgic reveries of those times. TV transmission in Kerala was still in its infancy and we had decided to buy a colour TV set in 1986. Even though it was very costly by today’s standards, our family decided not to look at black-and-white sets, but a decent colour set seemed to be unaffordable. Enquiries were made at Coimbatore and a firm, M/s Vimal Videos agreed to sell a set for Rs. 11,900 at an EMI of Rs. 515 for 36 months. The instalment amount was straining our resources when I was in the 10^th standard, but we made up our mind to purchase it to fulfill our long felt desire. When the money was collected and we reached the shop, there was some last minute bargain resulting in coughing up the last rupee we had. Hiring a taxi or vehicle was out of the question and we chose a late-night train running from Trichy to Ernakulam. The TV set reached home early next morning. The real problem cropped up then. There was no antenna and we had no cash to spare. Borrowing from some friends, a quick run to a hardware shop brought the 6m long pole and antenna kit which was immediately assembled and hoisted. Even though I don’t remember the first program we watched on this set, the euphoria and the waiting for 6’o clock (that was the time when the daily transmission started) unexplainably fills a feeling of sadness in me. The set was Teltronix make, a startup company at Thrissur which manufactured sets in collaboration with Toshiba. The company doesn’t exist now. This was in 1986 when I was 14 years old and now, this pole is brought down and removed.

In a sense, the diminishing role of the antenna can be compared to that of Doordarshan also. In an era when it reigned supreme over the Indian skies, the choice and quality of the coverage was poorest among the poor. Doordarshan began its operations in 1959, which became a daily black-and-white service in 1962 in Delhi. By 1965, it was extended to Mumbai and Amritsar (why Amritsar is anybody’s guess!). The transmission changed to colour along with 1982 Asian Games held at New Delhi. Towers and production studios also multiplied, with Malayalam service commencing in 1984 from Thiruvananthapuram.

The smooth sailing of the national airwaves monopoly faced rough weather in 1991 when Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao’s economic liberalisation movements catapulted the nation along a trajectory of steep economic growth along with inevitable changes in all aspects of public life. Private companies were allowed to broadcast and the age of satellite television arrived. The number of channels burgeoned and we found the original eight channels in the Teltronix set too few to receive the numerous channels, most of which didn’t make any relevance to us. But since they are broadcast, it would be too bad on our part not to be able to receive it! Hence, the sets were changed and the new era arrived. By recent estimates, it is known that there are 417 private TV channels operating in India at the end of 2009.

It was not just a length of galvanized-iron pipe that we removed today, but a whole lot of memories and experiences that shaped and highlighted my youth!

Trip to Bangalore (Apr 2010)

Since my routine is more or less sedentary, any travel out of the ordinary is noted and remembered for a long time. A trip to Bangalore is nothing to write home about, since thousands do it on an almost weekly basis. This was an official visit – inspection of an electric panel in a prominent firm in Peenya Industrial Area, and I was reluctant to go at the very outset. The matter was informed to me by my boss on April 16, and upon enquiry it was seen that there is not much chance of getting a seat in train for almost two weeks. All I could manage was a third AC ticket on Garib Rath Express which was running at a very inconvenient time, reaching Aluva at 00.45 hrs! There was not much choice, so the ticket was reserved online. At Rs. 449, the cost is only 70% of the normal fare. However hard I tried, there was no possibility of getting an AC ticket for the return journey, so I contented with a sleeper ticket on the Intercity Express to Ernakulam leaving Bangalore at 6.15 hrs.

First day (Apr 27, 2010)

The Garib Rath was right on time, though the number of passengers to board from the station was meagre, owing to the call for a hartal on that day by the ruling party in Kerala. The communists’ farcical strikes on the flimsiest of reasons and the arrogance and violence-filled way in which they enforce them is to be noted by Amnesty International for the way in which they hold the populace to ransom. The all-India strike call was by the Marxists, so after leaving Kerala, there were no signs of any protest either in Tamil Nadu or Karnataka. The journey was not good, in the company of some Keralites settled in Bangalore who had lost all touch with Kerala and who seemed to have even forgotten their mother tongue! Irritating these skunks really were, and it wa nauseating to listen to their conversations and chit-chats in English. Each one had a huge luggage with them which caused them great hardships while alighting. Travelling light doesn’t occur to them and the baggages were as strong as their heads. Reached Yeshwantpura station at 12.00 hrs, 30 minutes behind schedule. Hired an auto to hotel and the first pangs of the unruly autorickshaw drivers in Bangalore became apparent. This hoodlum exacted Rs. 80 from me, whereas the meter showed only Rs. 65. All visitors should be beware of these nasty lot and as far as possible should avoid them. Checked in to Hotel Lucky Inn in Cottonpet Main Road near Majestic bus stand. Ordered a plate of vegetable fried rice in room and a pathetic sample of the dish arrived which was an ordeal to finish. Never in my life I have experienced a worse plate of fried rice. Thus refreshed, I set out to Peenya Industrial Area for the inspection.

At about 6.30 pm, the day’s work was over and returned to city centre by public transport. There was a heavy gale and rain at that time and I was almost drenched. Several trees were uprooted and the traffic jam was unbearable. It took 1 hr 45 min to travel a distance of 12 km! At 8.45 pm, reached Majestic and it was already uncomfortable. Went straight away to hotel room and went to bed after ingesting a cup of sugarcane juice and a packet of orange cream biscuits.

Second day (Apr 28, 2010)

Early next morning visited the company again to complete the official formalities and returned at 4.30 pm back to city. This time, the travel was smoother even though it crawled at a number of places. More than the number of vehicles, the narrow passage ways caused by construction work of elevated metro rail and elevated highways was the main source of traffic congestion. We may hope that once these megaprojects are over, the journey would be smoother. Took a sumptuous dinner from a nearby restaurant and retired for the day, with all official business over.

Third day (Apr 29, 2010)

Vacated the hotel at 5.30 am and walked to City railway station for the Intercity Express to Ernakulam which was scheduled to leave at 6.15 am. But the train was not in the platform even at 6.05 am and there was a large crowd there. As the train was coming into the platform, a person hurriedly came to me and asked whether that train would go to Ernakulam. When I said yes, he enquired whether I am a Malayalee and introduced himself as ‘Clever Thomas’ and presented a photo ID to prove the claim. One quick look at the ID was enough to convince anybody that it was a hoax and the man didn’t seem to be so clever! He said that his baggage, including money was on a bus to Ernakulam which left station as he alighted it for relieving himself. As he had no money, he wanted Rs. 98 to purchase a ticket so as to reach Ernakulam to get his baggage back. As I had fallen victim to such a hoax in Vijayawada 16 years earlier, and the memory of the incident still fresh in my mind, I at once refused to pay him anything. Having thus despatched him off, I boarded the train which left Bangalore at 7 am, 45 minutes late.

It was so hot and the journey was not at all comfortable. When it reached Coimbatore, the crowd was eased and reached Aluva at 5.10 pm after an eventless journey.

Shashi Tharoor Quits

Shashi Tharoor stepped down, at last, when it was apparent that the Congress core committee wouldn’t take him at face value again. A brief stint, which lasted only 11 months, has ended, rather ignominously for a famed former international civil servant.

He was one of the under-Secretaries-General and an able guy in Kofi Annan’s team. His track record at the U.N was impeccable and the nation’s hopes rested on him when he unsuccessfully tried to be in the race for U.N Secretary General when Annan retired. Tharoor’s chances were dim, right from the start in a skewed scenario where China exercised the power of veto. It soon became clear that China will fulfill the wishes of its bosom-friend, Pakistan to oppose Tharoor and he backed down and left the U.N.

Every one thought that Tharoor will go back to the one activity he cherishes, which is literature. We expected more novels from him and was surprised (shocked, rather) when he lobbied and obtained a seat to contest from Thiruvananthapuram parliamentary constituency in the 2009 General Elections. Congress appealed to vote for the future Foreign Minister of India while the opponents wanted to reject the ‘new guy’ who was not in touch with the common man and the way the politics was handled in the country. Tharoor got elected by a thumping majority of nearly one-lakh votes. He was in for a little disappointment when the Prime Minister appointed Mr. S M Krishna, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka as the boss of Tharoor who was made only a Minister-of-State for External Affairs. From the attitudes of both stalwarts, it was clear that Krishna didn’t give Tharoor any leeway in conducting the business of foreign relations.

The first strike came when the media projected the news that Tharoor and his boss was staying in five-star hotels at government cost, when it was calling for austerity measures in the wake of the global economic crisis. Tharoor responded that he was paying his own money for the stay, but it didn’t sink in well with the public. Tharoor was very fond of publishing tweets in Twitter. It could be seen that he was tweeting even while on the move. There were two or three unfortunate incidents when his tweets were construed to be against the government’s stated policy and caused much embarrassment to the party bosses. As part of the government’s cost cutting procedures, every minister was expected to travel in economy class, which he likened to ‘Cattle class’ in one of the tweets. This caused an uproar and even his followers got the first hint that he’s not identifying himself with the ‘common man’ which was Congress’ mantra for the elections. He properly apologised.

Tharoor’s tweets again created PR nightmares when he offered Saudi Arabia the status of an interlocutor for the vexed Kashmir issue with Pakistan. At the ministerial level, it was becoming evident that this former U.N heavyweight was underperforming as he miserably failed to make any impression at all as a Minister-of-State!

Tharoor met his Waterloo in the IPL auction. The managing committee of the Indian Premier League had decided to add two more teams to the lineup and many states campaigned actively to form a team. It is beyond the comprehension of mere mortals like us to know what was happening behind the screens of these ‘deliberations’. Tharoor virtually pulled a rabbit of the hat when a startup firm ‘Rendezvous Consortium’ was awarded the opportunity to form a team at Kochi, Kerala. Many of the directors were not even acquainted with each other and suspicions were aroused at every level regarding the role of the minister in these murky deals and who was behind the assemblage of this motley crowd. Matters suddenly gained momentum when it was known that Sunanda Pushkar, a business-woman from the Middle East would be allotted equities worth Rs. 70 crores for her efforts in inking the deal. Rumours appeared that Tharoor was going to marry her after divorcing his second wife who was an American.

Even though Tharoor bravely rejected all accusations against him and denied the rumours connecting him with Ms Pushkar, the Congress was finding it difficult to accommodate such a man who was proving to be a magnet for controversies. When the opposition put up a combined protest against the Minister, his fate was sealed. As the government was anxious to prevent any tie-up among the prominent opposition parties, it had no choice, but to ask him to put in his papers, which he did on Sunday, April 18, 2010 ending the ministerial career which lasted a little less than 11 months.

The people are waiting for new gambits from him, as he has declared that he won’t give up the position of the Member of Parliament. Tharoor, being Tharoor can’t stay idle for long and we can rightfully surmise that he’d soon appear again with another card up his sleeve!

Silence of our friends!

On the Monday morning of March 29, 2010 at 7.56 am local time, the commuters on the busy Moscow metrorail service were in for a nasty shock. A female suicide bomber exploded a bomb tied to her body. 40 minutes later, another suicide attack on the same line in the same fashion woke Moscow to a terrible day of shock and dismay. Estimates confirm that 38 people died and more than 60 badly injured, to say nothing of the mentally injured, those innocents who’ll carry the memories of that fateful day to the rest of their lives. In exactly 42 minutes, another crime against humanity was committed adding another page to the thick and growing book of Islamic terror. Muslim Chechen rebels claimed responsibility which was anyway suspected by Russian authorities. What shocked the people with conscience all over the world was the photograph released by Russia portraying the innocent looking female suicide bomber. Jannat Abdurahmanova, aged 17 was already a widow of another Chechen terrorist. What prompted this baby faced girl to commit such an atrocity on the scores of women and children against whom she presumably didn’t have a grudge? What ideology, what religious principle, what social pressure made her do it? The world must sit and take notice.

Victims of terror










Proponents of terror

It is totally unacceptable and erratic to accuse the entire Islamic community as the cause of terror. Some people do, and they are as much misguided as the terrorists themselves. The silent majority of Muslims are against terror which disgraces their religion as well as themselves. But, we are struck by their silence. Practically no outrage against such violence is raised from that community, making people suspect that they too are in connivance with the extremists. Remember what Martin Luther King once said – “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends”. Yes, why our friends are silent? The Muslim clergy, which is notorious for issuing Fatwahs for the elimination of people who insulted the religion (whether true or imagined) are breathtakingly silent on this issue. There is death warrant in the form of fatwah against Salman Rushdie (for writing a novel), Taslima Nasreen (for writing a novel), Kurt Westergaard (Danish cartoonist) and several others, but none against Osama bin Laden, Aiman al Zawahiri (Second in command in Al Qaeda), Doku Umarov (Chechen terrorist leader) and hundreds of others. Failure to oppose may be construed as condoning by the unsuspecting public.

Silence of the moderates are indeed alarming. Why are they so?

Blood-thirsty Mughals

The mughal dynasty was notorious for its blood-thirstiness. Being a military state, it was always engaged in wars of conquests and collecting brides and revenue from the conquered states. Whenever a reigning monarch passed away or fell ill, a bloody war of succession commenced in which the axiom of ‘Winner-takes-all’ prevailed. The losing princes lost, in addition to the empire, their eye-sight and more probably, their lives too. Blinding by gouging out eyes was a common pastime enjoyed by the victorious princes on their unlucky brothers, nephews or sons. The following is a list of such occurrences obtained from ‘The Mughal Empire (New Cambridge History of India)’ by J F Richards.

Sl.No	Killer/Torturer	Victim	Relation and cause
1	Humayun	Kamran	Humayun’s brother who ruled north-west provinces. When Humayun returned from Persian exile, he was arrested and blinded.
2	Akbar	Adham Khan	Akbar’s foster brother. Killed for insubordination. He was thrown down from the palace terrace by Akbar himself. Whe he didn’t die, he was again pushed from the terrace and killed.
3	Jahangir	Khusrau	Jahangir’s eldest son. Blinded in war of succession.
4	Shah Jahan	Khusrau	Shah Jahan’s brother (same person as above). Killed by Shah Jahan’s troops to wipe off all opposition
5	Shah Jahan	Parvez	Shah Jahan’s brother. Died of alcoholism, even though allegations of poisoning were prominent
6	Shah Jahan	Shahryar	Shah Jahan’s brother. Blinded in war of succession
7	Shah Jahan	Dawar Bakhsh	Shah Jahan’s nephew (son of Khusrau). Killed by Shah Jahan
8	Aurangzeb	Dara Shukoh	Aurangzeb’s brother. Killed in war of succession by Aurangzeb and Raushan Ara Begum for apostasy from Islam and idolatry.
9	Aurangzeb	Sipihr Shukoh	Aurangzeb’s nephew (Dara Shukoh’s son). Killed in war of succession by Aurangzeb and Raushan Ara Begum
10	Aurangzeb	Murad Bakhsh	Aurangzeb’s brother. Killed on a trumped-up murder charge.
11	Bahadur Shah	Azad Shah	Bahadur Shah (Muazzam)’s brother and son of Aurangzeb. Killed in war of succession.
12	Bahadur Shah	Mohammed Kam Bakhsh	Bahadur Shah (Muazzam)’s brother and son of Aurangzeb. Killed in war of succession
13	Jahandar Shah	Azim-ush-Shan	Jahandar Shah’s brother and Bahadur Shah’s son. Killed by Jahandar Shah
14	Jahandar Shah	Rafi-ush-Shan	Jahandar Shah’s brother and Bahadur Shah’s son. Killed by Jahandar Shah
15	Jahandar Shah	Jahan Shah	Jahandar Shah’s brother and Bahadur Shah’s son. Killed by Jahandar Shah
16	Farrukhsiyar	Jahandar Shah	Farrukhsiyar’s uncle and then Emperor. Killed in war of usurpation.
17	Rafi-ud-Darjat	Farrukhsiyar	Rafi-ud-Darjat’s uncle and then Emperor. Blinded and killed in war of accession

The list is applicable till 1726 only. For the remaining lesser monarchs, the data is being compiled, though it is sure that it is not going to be any less sanguine. We can also notice that the killer in one generation becomes the victim in the next!

It is true that fratricide was practised by all kings at all places in the world. There is not an iota of doubt that power corrupts and lust and greed can surpass all emotions of love and comradeship. Hindu kings also resorted to occasional murders in the family. Emperor Ashoka had killed his half-brother Sushima in the war of succession and Shambhaji, son of Shivaji, killed his step-mother, Sorya Bai (but he spared his brother, Rajaram who was the contender for the throne). But, nowhere in the history of India, fratricide has been elevated to the status of state policy as had been done by the Mughals. Every Mughal’s hand was red with his sibling’s blood.

Here's a good page on Mughal dynasty:

http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/misc/mughal.html

Nobel laureate Engineers

Science and Technology together drive the modern world. But, there is a subtle difference between the two, apparent in the attitudes of the people involved. Scientists make original theories while engineers put into practice. Here are a few engineers who dared to venture into the theoretical aspects and achieved the highest distinction in science, the Nobel! The list shows the name of the person, discipline, year and field of prize, commendation of the Nobel committee, in that order. The list is by no means complete, we hope!


26. John Bardeen
Electrical Engineer
1956 Physics & 1972 Physics

1956 "for their jointly developed theory of superconductivity, usually called the BCS-theory"

1972 "for their researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect"


25. Charles K Kao
Electrical Engineer
2009 Physics

"for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication"




24. Koichi Tanaka
Electrical Engineer
2002 Chemistry

"for their development of soft desorption ionisation methods for mass spectrometric analyses of biological macromolecules"




23. Hideki Shirakawa
Chemical Engineer
2000 Chemistry

"for the discovery and development of conductive polymers"





22. Jack S Kilby
Electrical Engineer
2000 Physics

"for his part in the invention of the integrated circuit"





21. Mario J Molina
Chemical Engineer
1995 Chemistry

"for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone"




20. Paul J Crutzen
Civil Engineer
1995 Chemistry

"for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone"




19. Martin L Perl
Chemical Engineer
1995 Physics

"for the discovery of the tau lepton"






18. Georges Charpak
Civil Engineer
1992 Physics

"for his invention and development of particle detectors, in particular the multiwire proportional chamber"




17. Charles J Pedersen
Chemical Engineer
1987 Chemistry

"for their development and use of molecules with structure-specific interactions of high selectivity"





16. Karl Alexander Muller
Electrical Engineer
1987 Physics

"for their important break-through in the discovery of superconductivity in ceramic materials"




15. Simon van der Meer
Electrical Engineer
1984 Physics

"for their decisive contributions to the large project, which led to the discovery of the field particles W and Z, communicators of weak interaction"




14. Ivar Giaever
Mechanical Engineer
1973 Physics

"for their experimental discoveries regarding tunneling phenomena in semiconductors and superconductors, respectively"




13. Dennis Gabor
Electrical Engineer
1971 Physics

"for his invention and development of the holographic method"





12. Hannes Olof Gosta Alfven
Electrical Engineer
1970 Physics

"for fundamental work and discoveries in magnetohydrodynamics with fruitful applications in different parts of plasma physics




11. Lars Onsager
Chemical Engineer
1968 Chemistry

"for the discovery of the reciprocal relations bearing his name, which are fundamental for the thermodynamics of irreversible processes"




10. Giulio Natta
Chemical Engineer
1963 Chemistry

"for their discoveries in the field of the chemistry and technology of high polymers"





9. Linus Pauling
Chemical Engineer
1954 Chemistry

"for his research into the nature of the chemical bond and its application to the elucidation of the structure of complex substances"




8. Edward Mills Purcell
Electrical Engineer
1952 Physics

"for their development of new methods for nuclear magnetic precision measurements and discoveries in connection therewith"




7. Petrus Josephus Wilhemus Debye
Electrical Engineer
1936 Chemistry

"for his contributions to our knowledge of molecular structure through his investigations on dipole moments and on the diffraction of X-rays and electrons in gases"



6. Paul Dirac
Electrical Engineer
1933 Physics
"for the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory"






5. Irving Langmuir
Metallurgical Engineer
1932 Chemistry
"for his discoveries and investigations in surface chemistry"






4. Nils Gustaf Dalen
Electrical Engineer
1912 Physics
"for his invention of automatic regulators for use in conjunction with gas accumulators for illuminating lighthouses and buoys"





3. Henri Becqurel
Electrical Engineer
1903 Physics

"in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by his discovery of spontaneous radioactivity"




2. Jacobus Henricus van t'Hoff
1901 Chemistry

"in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of the laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions"




1. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
Mechanical Engineer
1901 Physics

"in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of the remarkable rays subsequently named after him"