the-BA : Cool the tube

Tunnels in the London Underground – some of which lie 60 metres below London and were built more than a hundred years ago – regularly hit temperatures of 30°C in the summer. Following surveys in 2003 LibDem MP, Tom Brake, said: “if the rush-hour trains travelling through such temperatures were crammed with sheep – rather than sweating human commuters – such conditions would break European livestock regulations!” So Ken Livingstone, The Mayor of London, offered £100,000 to anyone who could solve this hot-problem.

Have you ever wondered how fresh air is brought in to the underground?

You might like to …

• test some small fans, to see how much air they can move through a plastic pipe
• investigate how hot it gets on the tube
• find out how air cooling systems work
• investigate the air pressure changes that occur when the tube train goes through a tunnel
• investigate what happens to the pressure difference when two tube trains pass each other. How could this be measured safely?

Further links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/photo_gallery/
3088051.stm

Image courtesy of www.Freeimages.co.uk

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