Bridge of love: knowledge and sound ecologies in the Atlantic ocean

The Lisbon neighborhood of Alto da Cova da Moura is an immigrant community consisting mainly of Africans from former Portuguese colonies. Referred to by residents as, “Kova M”, it is home to the performative practices of the Kola San Jon. This performative practice from Cape Verde assembles music, dance, voice and artifacts with a distinctly religious flavor. The religious devotion to St. John Baptist is illustrated by the prevalence of religious iconography and attendance at masses and pilgrimages. For centuries, the Atlantic Ocean represented an interstitial space that linked Africa to Europe. The Kola San Jon is an expressive practice which, in contrast to the Morna, helps to build and strengthen this link. The sea as both a living entity and a metaphorical concept that challenges traditional concepts of boundaries contributes to an inclusive sound ecology that predominates the performative practices and cultural traditions of the Kola San Jon and are suggestive of a “space” where identities are constructed and dialogue takes place through emotions such as love. Drawing on extensive ethnography both in Cape Verde and among the communities in “Kova M”, I discuss the applicability of new epistemological concepts that have grown out of my dialogical encounter in the “field”

Investigations on the effect of the nozzle material on the interruption capability of a medium voltage load break switch

In the process of substituting sulphur hexafluoride in medium voltage load break switches by atmospheric gases, the inferior arc quenching capabilities of possible substitutes have to be compensated. By introducing a polymer nozzle into the switching gap of a load break switch, the interruption capability can be enhanced as the ablated nozzle material changes the composition of the arc plasma. In this contribution the interruption capability of a model load break switch is investigated using different nozzle materials. The results show a good interruption capability when using polypropylene and polyamide 6.6 for high blowing pressures. Polytetrafluorethylene  shows good results across a wide blowing pressure range. Polylactide has the lowest interruption capability among the polymers in this work