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We got a late start today, partially because of the weather. It was by far the worst we had experience yet. It was rainy and miserable. The main reason we left the hostel later than normal was because of “the quiz”. We took the dreaded quiz on the exergy and energy equity handouts. It actually wasn’t that bad and sparked some interesting conversations during our study session the night before. We then left the hostel in Penzance to drive down to Lands End in Cornwall, a tourist area at the very southwest most tip of England.

This is a small cartoon of what the area looks like. Although we saw the view from the cliff, mostly what we saw was a lot of horizontal rain and fog.Well, at least we can all say we were there even if we don’t have the breath taking pictures to show for it. Lands End, Cornwall. Then we were off to the Levant Beam Engine and the Cornish tin mines. 

We learned that the beam engine was used to pump out water from the mineshaft. The area that they mined would have been below sea level so the beam engine was crucial to the mining. It is similar to the Newcommen Steam Engine but was built a little later. We also learned that arsenic was used in the mining process. The arsenic then came out during the smelting of the mined tin.

After our Cornish tin mining lesson we traveled to a quaint fishing town call Mousehole. However, after an argument with Dr. Matthews about its pronunciation we Americans decided it should really be spelled Muszel because that’s how it sounded. Even though it was raining the town was very picturesque. We were there to learn about the Pilchard Press. Pilchard is a type of fish whose oil was used for lighting and heat. Even though it smelled like fish, it was a nice energy source for the people of Mousehole who, being fishermen, were already used to the smell. At this point in the day it was still raining so we were given the rest of the day off. Luck would have it that it cleared up as soon as we were all off on our own. Most of us spent a relaxing day in the city of Penzance. Some toured St. Michael’s Mount; others spent the day shopping and walking the streets enjoying the atmosphere of being in a different country.

Lauren Ziatyk is a Senior in Environmental Systems Engineering.