Connections 1 – Eat, Drink and be Merry

The Technological Journey:

From Plastic Credit Cards to the Dukes of Burgundy:

1. Plastic Credit Cards:

1. • Represent modern systems of credit, a cornerstone of the global economy.

1. The Dukes of Burgundy:

1. • Among the first to institutionalize credit as a means to fund their luxuries and military expansion during the late medieval period.

The Pike Square and Military Expansion:

1. The Pike Square:

1. • Developed by Swiss forces to counter the heavily armed soldiers of Burgundy.
   • A tightly packed formation of soldiers wielding long pikes, it revolutionized medieval warfare by making infantry more effective against cavalry.

1. Impact of the French Revolution:

1. • The revolution democratized warfare, leading to the conscription of large peasant armies.
   • This shift necessitated feeding increasingly massive, ill-trained forces.

Feeding Armies and Bottled Food:

1. Napoleon and Food Preservation:

1. • To solve the logistical problem of feeding large armies, Napoleon’s government incentivized innovation in food preservation.
   • Bottled food: Initially stored in champagne bottles, later transitioning to tin cans, became a staple for military supplies.

1. Spoilage and “Bad Air”:

1. • When some bottled food spoiled, it was attributed to “bad air” (or swamp air), sparking further investigations into air quality and disease.

“Bad Air,” Malaria, and Refrigeration:

1. Malaria and “Bad Air”:

1. • Research into the causes of malaria led to understanding the role of mosquitoes, as well as innovations in controlling air quality.

1. Refrigeration and Air Conditioning:

1. • Early attempts to combat “bad air” influenced the development of refrigeration and air conditioning, creating systems to cool and purify air.

Sir James Dewar and the Thermos:

1. The Dewar Flask (1892):

1. • Dewar’s invention of a double-walled vacuum container could keep liquids hot or cold for extended periods.
   • This breakthrough in thermal insulation laid the groundwork for storing volatile substances like rocket fuel.

Thermal Flasks and Rocketry:

1. Tsiolkovsky, Goddard, and Oberth:

1. • These pioneers in rocketry adapted Dewar’s vacuum flask principle to store liquid hydrogen and oxygen or other fuels under extreme conditions.

1. Rocket Propulsion:
   • Their innovations culminated in the development of:

1. • • The V-2 rocket, the first long-range guided ballistic missile.
     • The Saturn V rocket, which powered the Apollo missions and landed humans on the Moon.

Themes and Connections:

1. Economic Systems Drive Innovation:

1. • Credit, originating with the Dukes of Burgundy, facilitated advancements in military and societal infrastructure.

1. Military Necessity as a Catalyst:

1. • Challenges in warfare, such as feeding armies and preserving food, spurred innovations like canning and refrigeration.

1. Technological Convergence:

1. • The leap from thermos flasks to space exploration demonstrates how principles developed for one purpose can be transformed into groundbreaking applications in another domain.

1. Interdisciplinary Linkages:

1. • This story connects economics, military strategy, food science, medicine, and physics, highlighting the interplay of human ingenuity across fields.

From Credit Cards to the Moon:

This chain of innovations showcases how a seemingly mundane concept like credit eventually influenced the technology that propelled humans to the Moon. By illustrating the interconnectedness of human progress, Burke reveals the remarkable web of history that underpins our modern world.