J Day +13 A Japanese Poisson d'Avril....

After a seven hour drive from Shikoku, via Kobe, we've arrived at our next hotel. It's a lovely hotel in the mountains with a Mt Fuji view, which I know you will all be wanting to see...

A bridge in Kobe. 

It rained for most of the journey, but as we've had excellent weather for the past couple of weeks we shouldn't really complain. We just hope the weather clears up in the next three days and we get to see Mt. Fuji in all it's glory...

Two posts in one day, but ...

I don’t usually manage two posts in one day. Apologies for the mix of metaphors but something is on my mind and I need to get it off my chest - immediately!

Why does time pass more quickly when I’m at Le Pre Vert?

Ever the scientist I have been searching for a factual explanation rather than one related to my joy at being in France. I recall an interesting factoid about the space missions which found that astronauts are younger after a space mission than if they had remained on terra firma. At a constant angular velocity, the relative speed of Le Pre Vert is greater than that of the Old School due to  Le Pre Vert being at a lower latitude because it is further from the Earth's axis of rotation. This faster surface velocity means that time passes more quickly.

QED

So to take this to the extreme time will pass very quickly at the equator and not at all at the poles. Perhaps this is why there is a proliferation of Health Spas springing up all over the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

I gather there is now a vacancy at Cern to lead the team looking for the Higgs boson particle. Do you think I should apply?