The term “lively arts” is often attributed to American writer and poet James Thurber. It was popularized in the mid-20th century as a way to describe various forms of performing arts, such as theater, dance, music, and other creative expressions.
Curtain for the Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet
“What art is, in reality, is this missing link, not the links which exist.
It’s not what you see that is art; art is the gap”
— Marcel Duchamp
Today we refresh our understanding of the literature that guides the safety and sustainability goals of lively art events in educational settlements. Consortia have evolved quickly in recent years, leading and lagging changes in the content creation and delivery domain. With this evolution a professional discipline has emerged that requires training and certification in the electrotechnologies that contribute to “event safety”; among them:
ASHRAE International
Standard 62.1: This standard establishes minimum ventilation rates and indoor air quality requirements for commercial buildings, including theaters and auditoriums.
Standard 55: This standard specifies thermal comfort conditions for occupants in indoor environments, which can have an impact on air quality.
RP-16-17 Lighting for Theatrical Productions: This standard provides guidance on the design and implementation of lighting systems for theatrical productions. It includes information on the use of color, light direction, and light intensity to create different moods and effects.
RP-30-15 Recommended Practice for the Design of Theatres and Auditoriums: This standard provides guidance on the design of theaters and auditoriums, including lighting systems. It covers topics such as seating layout, stage design, and acoustics, as well as lighting design considerations.
DG-24-19 Design Guide for Color and Illumination: This guide provides information on the use of color in lighting design, including color temperature, color rendering, and color mixing. It is relevant to theater lighting design as well as other applications.
Dance and Athletic Floor Product Standards: ASTM F2118, EN 14904, DIN 18032-2
Incumbent standards-setting organizations such as ASHRAE, ASTM, ICC, IEEE, NFPA have also discovered, integrated and promulgated event safety and sustainability concepts into their catalog of best practice titles; many already incorporated by reference into public safety law. We explore relevant research on crowd management and spectator safety.
“I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk
that keep the darkness at bay.”
— J.R. R. Tolkein
Tolkien, author of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit,” completed his studies at the University of Birmingham in 1915. He graduated with first-class honors in English Language and Literature. After graduation, Tolkien went on to serve in World War I before embarking on his distinguished career as a writer and academic.
“ I think that the theater is the initial glamorizer of thought; where it can be told – without too much disguise but without too much directness either – the secrets, and thereby its antipathies and sympathies – the secrets and the knowledge of the human heart…
…I think that makes the art of the theater as important as the doctor or the psychologist or the Minister…
…I think it’s vitally important that the world knows itself and I think the theater is one of the most immediate means of expression towards that end…”
Set design model by Marcel Jambon for an 1895 Paris production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello
Demand for live events in college towns — what is now called”entertainment content” — is gathering pace; owed somewhat to an older demographic that prefers expanded social interaction to the online entertainment offerings that the younger demographic prefers*. We see an expansion of the market in the construction of architecturally astonishing buildings; though the circumstances of pandemic has changed everything.
Today our interest lies in the complex safety and sustainability characteristics of the physical infrastructure — with particular interest in the fire protection, environmental air and electrotechnologies required to make them safe and sustainable. This facility class is far more complicated technologically and operates at significantly higher risk than, say, classrooms or office space.
The Entertainment Services and Technology Association is one of the first names in trade associations that support the ‘business of show business’ through networking, safe practices, education, and representation. We follow the standards making activity of its technical committees and monitor public commenting opportunities. ESTA releases markups of its consensus products for public comment at a fairly brisk pace on its standards development landing page:
Consultation on several titles run from March 25 through April 4.
You may obtain an electronic copy at the link above, along with a comment form. Send your comments to Karl Ruling, (212) 244-1505, standards@esta.org with an optional copy to psa@ansi.org). We encourage our colleagues in school districts and in colleges and universities large and small; with responsibilities for the safety and sustainability of cultural resource properties, media centers, performance venues to participate in the ESTA technical standards development program.
Glorya Kaufman School of Dance / University of Southern California
We keep the ESTA suite on the standing agenda of our Lively Arts colloquia; open to everyone. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting.
Since the electrotechnologies for the lively arts have evolved into complex, interoperable systems we also collaborate with the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee on technical specifics. That committee meets online four times per month in European and American time zones.
Issue: [Various]
Category: Electrical, Infotech, Lively Arts,
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Christine Fischer, Mike Hiler, Nehad El-Sherif
“View from the Ancient Theater in Taormina to Mount Etna” c. 1880 Carl Wuttke
Safety and sustainability for any facility begins with an understanding of who shall occupy it. University settings, with mixed-use phenomenon arising spontaneously and temporarily, present challenges and no less so in square-footage identified as performing arts facilities. Education communities present the largest installed base of mixed use and performing arts facilities. A distinction is made between supervised occupants that are in secondary schools (generally under age 18) and unsupervised occupants that are in university facilities (generally above age 18).
First principles regarding occupancy classifications for performing arts facilities appear in Section 303 of the International Building Code Assembly Group A-1. The public edition of the 2021 IBC is linked below:
Each of the International Code Council code development groups A, B and C; fetch back to these classifications. You can sample the safety concepts in play with an examination of the document linked below:
Each of the foregoing documents are lengthy so we recommend using search terms such as “school”, “college”, ‘”university”, “auditorium”, “theater”, “children”, “student” to hasten your cut through it.
We find continuation of lowering of the lighting power densities as noteworthy. Technical committees assembled and managed by the International Code Council, the American Society of Heating & Refrigeration Engineers and the Illumination Engineering Society are leaders in developing consensus products that drive the LED illumination transformation.
The revision schedule for the next tranche of ICC titles that are built upon the foundation of the IBC is linked below:
We encourage experts in education communities — facility managers, research and teaching staff, architectural and engineering students — to participate directly in the ICC Code Development process at the link below:
The popularity of Georgia pecan pie can be attributed to several factors:
Abundance of Pecans: Georgia, particularly in the southern region of the United States, has a favorable climate for pecan trees. Pecans have been grown in Georgia for centuries, and the state has a long history of pecan cultivation. With such abundance, pecans became a staple ingredient in many traditional Southern recipes, including pecan pie.
Southern Culinary Tradition: Southern cuisine, known for its comfort foods and indulgent desserts, heavily features pecans in various recipes. Pecan pie is a classic Southern dessert that has been passed down through generations, becoming deeply ingrained in the culinary heritage of the region. Georgia, as a quintessential Southern state, plays a significant role in promoting and preserving these culinary traditions.
Cultural Significance: Pecan pie is not only a delicious dessert but also holds cultural significance in the South. It is often served during holidays and family gatherings, evoking feelings of warmth, nostalgia, and tradition. The act of sharing a slice of pecan pie with loved ones is a cherished tradition for many families in Georgia and throughout the South.
This content is accessible to paid subscribers. To view it please enter your password below or send mike@standardsmichigan.com a request for subscription details.
We need to re-scale and re-organize our approach to the mobility topic generally — responsive to most best practice discovery results — as recorded in technical literature and landing in regulations at all levels of government. The size of the domain has expanded beyond our means. We need to approach the topic from more angles — distinguishing among land, air and space mobility — following market acceptance and integration.
Throughout 2024 our inquiries will track relevant titles in the following standards catalogs:
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
International Code Council
National Fire Protection Association
ASHRAE International
We will maintain priority wherever we find user-interest issues in product-oriented standards setting catalogs (ASTM International, SAE International and Underwriters Laboratories, for example). Agricultural equipment standards (were Michigan-based ASABE is the first name) will be place on the periodic Food (Nourriture) and Water standards agenda. Each organization contributes mightily to the “regulatory state” where we are, frankly, outnumbered. When their titles appear in interoperability standards that affect the physical infrastructure of campuses we will explore their meaning to our safer, simpler, lower-cost and longer-lasting priority. (See our ABOUT)
Join us today at the usual time. Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
The command issued by the character Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the television series “Star Trek: The Next Generation” finds its way into the archive of photographs of Nobel Laureates consorting with politicians at the University of Michigan and elsewhere.
Attendees of the Theoretical Physics Colloquium at the University of Michigan in 1929.
…”There’s not good math explaining forget the physics of it. Math explaining the behavior of complex systems yeah and that to me is both exciting and paralyzing like we’re at very early days of understanding you know how complicated and fascinating things emerge from simple rules…” — Peter Woit [1:16:00]
Since 1936 the Brown Jug has been the ancestral trough of generations of University of Michigan students and faculty — notably. Donald Glaser (inventor of the bubble chamber) and Samuel C. C. Ting (Nobel Laureate) whose offices at Randall Laboratory were a 2-minute walk around the corner from The Brown Jug. As the lore goes, the inspiration happened whilst watching beer bubbles one ordinary TGIF Friday.
Today we refresh our understanding of the discovery and application of the mathematical constant π. The Greek letter π was chosen because it is the first letter of the Greek word “periphery” or “circumference” (περιφέρεια in Greek). It was a natural choice to represent this mathematical constant, which is fundamental to geometry and many other fields of mathematics and science.
Its value was not determined by any one person or organization. Rather, it is a convention that developed over time through the work of many mathematicians; starting with Archimedes. The earliest known use of the symbol π for the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter was by Welsh mathematician William Jones in 1706. However, it was the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler who popularized the use of π in the 18th century. Euler used π in his numerous mathematical publications, and his influence helped establish the use of the symbol as standard notation.
e^(i*pi) + 1 = 0
The Euler equation is a mathematical equation that is widely used to analyze the behavior of electrical circuits and to calculate the complex power and reactive power. The complex power of an electrical circuit is a complex number that represents the total power in the circuit, including both the real power (which represents the energy that is actually consumed by the load) and the reactive power (which represents the energy that is stored and released by the circuit’s reactive elements).
The Euler equation is used to represent the complex power in polar form, where the magnitude represents the total power in the circuit, and the phase angle represents the relative contributions of the real and reactive power. By using complex power analysis, engineers can calculate the real power, reactive power, and apparent power (which is the magnitude of the complex power) of the circuit, as well as the power factor, which is the ratio of the real power to the apparent power.
Power factor is an important parameter in AC circuits, as it represents the efficiency with which the circuit is delivering power to the load.
Overall, complex power analysis provides a powerful tool for analyzing the behavior of AC circuits, and it is used extensively in the design and analysis of electrical power systems, shown in the polar form phasor calculation below.
From “Electrical Power System Protection and Coordination” Michael A. Anthony, McGraw-Hill Book Company 1994
Today at 15:00 UTC we will examine this calculation specifically, but also expand upon how the value of π shows up in nearly every other engineering discipline. Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
More:
There are several physical constants that are considered to be important in the known universe. These constants are fundamental properties of nature and do not change over time or space. Here are some of the most important physical constants:
Speed of light (c): This constant represents the speed at which light travels in a vacuum. Its value is approximately 299,792,458 meters per second. This constant plays a critical role in our understanding of the universe and is the fastest speed that anything can travel in the known universe.
Planck constant (h): The Planck constant is a fundamental constant of nature that appears in almost all quantum mechanical equations. Its value is approximately 6.626 x 10^-34 joule-seconds. It plays a crucial role in the description of the behavior of subatomic particles and is used in calculations involving quantum mechanics.
Gravitational constant (G): The gravitational constant represents the strength of the gravitational force between two objects. Its value is approximately 6.674 x 10^-11 newton-meters squared per kilogram squared. This constant plays a crucial role in the study of gravity and is used in calculations involving celestial mechanics.
Boltzmann constant (k): The Boltzmann constant relates the average kinetic energy of particles in a system to its temperature. Its value is approximately 1.381 x 10^-23 joules per Kelvin. This constant is important in statistical mechanics and is used in calculations involving the behavior of gases, liquids, and solids.
Avogadro constant (NA): The Avogadro constant represents the number of particles in one mole of a substance. Its value is approximately 6.022 x 10^23 particles per mole. This constant is important in the study of chemistry and is used in calculations involving chemical reactions and the properties of materials.
Electron charge (e): The electron charge represents the fundamental charge of an electron. Its value is approximately -1.602 x 10^-19 coulombs. This constant is important in the study of electromagnetism and is used in calculations involving electric fields and electric currents.
These constants are critical to our understanding of the universe and are used in a wide variety of fields, from physics and chemistry to engineering and technology.
Happy Birthday!!
Albert Einstein, 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955.
What else could you say about this great genius?
His works and ideas revolutionized our way of looking at the nature of spacetime. pic.twitter.com/OGljdrrYe8
New update alert! The 2022 update to the Trademark Assignment Dataset is now available online. Find 1.29 million trademark assignments, involving 2.28 million unique trademark properties issued by the USPTO between March 1952 and January 2023: https://t.co/njrDAbSpwBpic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T