For path-breaking insights on how prices can guide the efficient allocation of resources and how innovation and investment can spur economic growth, Adam Smith is justly renowned. He was, however, well aware of problems posed by market dominance—specifically in banking and, more generally, wherever getting to the scale that delivers increasing returns leads to monopolistic behaviour. For the historical record, we draw on the recent wide-ranging survey by Acemoglu and Johnson on how the benefits of innovation have been spread across society since the Industrial Revolution. We also consider these issues in the context of geo-political competition.

Populist responses to matters of social concern are considered in a framework like that of Acemoglu and Robinson’s ‘narrow corridor’ that supports liberty and justice. We discuss the risk that such responses could result in a country being pushed out of this narrow corridor—and, if so, with what long-run consequences. We conclude that a political system of ‘checks and balances’ can play a key role in keeping the society within the narrow corridor; but it is incumbent on the existing political system to confront the issues of populist concern so as to come up with creative solutions.

The variety of configurations for vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) make the development of universal scaling relationships for even basic performance parameters difficult. Rotor geometry changes can be characterized using the concept of solidity, defined as the ratio of solid rotor area to the swept area. However, few studies have explored the effect of this parameter at full-scale conditions due to the challenge of matching both the non-dimensional rotational rate (or tip speed ratio) and scale (or Reynolds number) in conventional wind tunnels. In this study, experiments were conducted on a VAWT model using a specialized compressed-air wind tunnel where the density can be increased to over 200 times atmospheric air. The number of blades on the model was altered to explore how solidity affects performance while keeping other geometric parameters, such as the ratio of blade chord to rotor radius, the same. These data were collected at conditions relevant to the field-scale VAWT but in the controlled environment of the lab. For the three highest solidity rotors (using the most blades), performance was found to depend similarly on the Reynolds number, despite changes in rotational effects. This result has direct implications for the modelling and design of high-solidity field-scale VAWTs.

Laboratory experiments were performed on a geometrically scaled vertical-axis wind turbine model over an unprecedented range of Reynolds numbers, including and exceeding those of the full-scale turbine. The study was performed in the high-pressure environment of the Princeton High Reynolds number Test Facility (HRTF). Utilizing highly compressed air as the working fluid enabled extremely high Reynolds numbers while still maintaining dynamic similarity by matching the tip speed ratio (defined as the ratio of tip velocity to free stream, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}R/U$) and Mach number (defined at the turbine tip, $Ma=\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}R/a$). Preliminary comparisons are made with measurements from the full-scale field turbine. Peak power for both the field data and experiments resides around $\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}=1$. In addition, a systematic investigation of trends with Reynolds number was performed in the laboratory, which revealed details about the asymptotic behaviour. It was shown that the parameter that characterizes invariance in the power coefficient was the Reynolds number based on blade chord conditions ($Re_{c}$). The power coefficient reaches its asymptotic value when $Re_{c}>1.5\times 10^{6}$, which is higher than what the field turbine experiences. The asymptotic power curve is found, which is invariant to further increases in Reynolds number.

We report on the EPICA Dronning Maud Land (East Antarctica) deep drilling operation. Starting with the scientific questions that led to the outline of the EPICA project, we introduce the setting of sister drillings at NorthGRIP and EPICA Dome C within the European ice-coring community. The progress of the drilling operation is described within the context of three parallel, deep-drilling operations, the problems that occurred and the solutions we developed. Modified procedures are described, such as the monitoring of penetration rate via cable weight rather than motor torque, and modifications to the system (e.g. closing the openings at the lower end of the outer barrel to reduce the risk of immersing the drill in highly concentrated chip suspension). Parameters of the drilling (e.g. core-break force, cutter pitch, chips balance, liquid level, core production rate and piece number) are discussed. We also review the operational mode, particularly in the context of achieved core length and piece length, which have to be optimized for drilling efficiency and core quality respectively. We conclude with recommendations addressing the design of the chip-collection openings and strictly limiting the cable-load drop with respect to the load at the start of the run.

Low aspartic acid d:l ratios and modern collagenlike concentration values indicate that amino acids in bones from the Rancho La Brea asphalt deposit, Los Angeles, California are better preserved than amino acids in bones of equivalent age that have not been preserved in asphalt. Amino acids were recovered from 10 Rancho La Brea bone samples which range in age from less than 200 to greater than 36,000 yr. The calibrated rates of aspartic acid racemization range from 2.1 to 5.0 × 10−6yr−1. Although this wide range of rate constants decreases the level of confidence for age estimates, use of the larger rate constant of 5.0 × 10−6yr−1 provides minimum age estimates which fit the known stratigraphic and chronologic records of the Rancho La Brea deposits.