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INTERNATIONAL
JUST IN TIME
How many times do you find yourself rolling your eyes, when you're behind the wheel and your kid asks one of life's greatly dreaded questions - "Are we nearly there yet?"
Well, there is good news for you if your kid constantly nags you about being tied to the seat in the car. A mathematician has answered parents' prayers and put a stop to the question for good. Professor Dwight Barkley, Department of Mathematics at the University of Warwick, has formulated an equation to calculate the exact time into a journey it takes for a child to ask `Are we nearly there yet?'
The equation takes the form in the diagram, where:
T is the exact time at which a child first asks "Are we nearly there yet?"
TO is the time you left the house
C is the number of children in the car
A is the number of activities to do
The equation was commissioned by Skoda to help its customers prepare better for long car journeys and works by taking into account the length of time since leaving the house, the number of activities available and the number of children in the car. It illustrates how the length of time until a child asks the question will increase with the number of activities on offer and the number of children in the car.
Professor Dwight Barkley, delighted by his success, explained "Mathematics can help answer many of life's questions and this equation can be a fun way to think about the problem of keeping children entertained on a family car journey."
A PANDA IN WATER
Soon a new breed of nautical Panda will be clambering into the sea at Folkestone, Kent. Not merely to escape England's heatwave by taking a dip in the water, but with the intention of reaching the French coast and then driving all the way home to Italy. The Panda, crafted and created by Milan-born Maurizio Zanisi, an independent, former engineer, is self-built and the Panda Terramare 4 is based on a regular Fiat Panda 4x4 chassis, but has been modified extensively with an inflatable flotation belt and waterjet propulsion driven off the rear axle.
Panda Terramare 4, no stranger to water, has already been spotted frolicking in the great Italian lakes, (Como and Maggiore), the River Po, and the Mediterranean off Sardinia. Its longest sea journey so far has been a return trip from Naples to Capri - a journey of around 25 miles. The English Channel, however, stands to be the greatest challenge to date.
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