MUST-301 Lessons

Welcome students! Please take your seats. I wanted to begin today’s lesson with a word of congratulations -- you’ve completed your first midterm of the course, and I am glad to have given out so many high marks! All in all everyone did extremely well remembering the course material and explaining it within the exam. If you did not receive the grade you wanted, however, let me remind you that good marks only come from a good amount of studying. If you’d ever like to discuss lessons with me, I am always available to do so.

Moving right along though to continue our discussion on Muggle transportation: the last lesson covered ground transportation and things that you likely had not come across before, such as cars or buggies. This second half of transportation will cover modes that you may not have ever used before, but you’ve certainly seen if you live near any Muggles.

Making Waves

If you happen to live near the water, you may have already experienced traveling by boat. Hogwarts students certainly have, as they enter the building as First Years in boats across the Black Lake! About 70% of our planet is covered by water, so it is not a surprise that technology has been created to help traverse it. Rivers separate different countries and oceans separate continents, but there is still plenty of desire to cross them and get to the land on the other side. Traveling by water, also known as water transport, is done for mainly two purposes: boats may either transport goods (called cargo) or passengers. 

Cargo travel is an effective way to transport goods across large expanses of water, and this method is used for the majority of international trade. While travelling by water can be slow, it is often the safest and cheapest way to transport large amounts of goods. Humans have been transporting goods across waterways using boats since at least the 14th century CE, and about 90% of trade in general is still done over the water.

There is also a market for transporting people over the water. In years past, this was the only way for Muggles to transport themselves over the water and into new land, and the practice is still present today. But generally speaking, the main reason for people to go on a boat is for leisure. If you have never been on a boat for fun, I highly recommend it! It’s very relaxing going on a boat in a lake or the ocean, whether you’re going to a specific destination or not.

An interesting development in sea travel is the popularity of cruise ships. Cruise ships are huge boats that generally hold thousands of passengers, taking them to an exotic vacation spot. They are often enjoyed by people wanting to travel to another location, but also by people that simply want to ‘cruise’ along the water and take in the sights. (These are not recommended modes of transportation for those that get sea sick!)

However, the destination is only half of the actual vacation on a cruise ship. The voyage itself may take days, so there is plenty of entertainment aboard. Cruise ships will often provide plenty of food and drink, and will have loads of fun and games (like shows or sport matches) to do while you’re traveling. 

But how does one transport such large objects over the water? Why don’t the boats sink to the bottom due to all of the weight? I’m sure you are all familiar with floating objects, whether it be floating on your back while swimming or playing with rubber ducks in the bathtub as a child. (If you are not familiar with what a rubber duck is, stay tuned for a later lesson where we will discuss them!) These ships work under the same principles. 

The Muggle scholar Archimedes discovered in the 2nd century BCE why certain things float and others do not. We know that gravity keeps us stuck on the ground, and that is also the same force that makes certain objects sink in water. However, there is an opposite force called buoyancy that pushes up. If the buoyancy force is greater and stronger than the gravity pushing itself down on the object, it will actually float! You can actually determine how buoyant an object is based on how much water it displaces - that is, how much water is affected after the object is inserted into it. Ergo, something floats if the amount of water it displaces is greater than its weight. Surprisingly, this is the case with boats; it is a precise science to make sure that they float and displace enough water, despite their massive size and the weight they carry. 

Up in the Air

Transport not only has to be done on the ground, as any witch or wizard that flies a broom would know. The sky is a viable way of moving for both Muggles and magical people alike. While there are many Muggle inventions that allow them to fly in the air (examples include the helicopter or the hot air balloon) none are quite the same as our own broomstick. That said, the airplane is a close comparison. 

An airplane (also spelled aeroplane, and often shortened to simply ‘plane’) is a machine that uses various physical forces to propel itself into the air. Planes these days are often passenger planes and can hold anywhere from just a couple of people to a couple hundred (as planes vary drastically in sizes). These machines, similar to our broomsticks, allow for relatively speedy and traffic-free transportation to other locations.

The inside of a plane is a bit similar to that of a car or a bus; a driver (in a plane’s case, the pilot) is situated at the front of the vehicle while passengers sit in seats behind. In planes, there are also flight attendants that may walk up and down aisles in order to provide everyone with a comfortable journey. If flights are longer, certain amenities are provided such as food, drink, and in-flight entertainment. In order to travel on an airplane, one must buy a ticket for a trip, similar to a train or bus, and then board the plane at the appointed time at an airport (like a bus or train station). 

The way that planes work is nothing short of amazing in and of itself. Brooms fly because they have been enchanted with certain forms, a feat that is not easy either. But without the aid of magical forms, Muggles had to rely on the science of physics to lift these huge machines into the air. 

American inventors Wilbur and Orville Wright are the men credited for developing and flying the first successful airplane in 1903. While there were many Muggles that had formulated plans previously for a flying machine, none had been quite so successful as the powered machine that the Wright brothers created. 

At its core, an airplane utilizes four basic principles to maintain its position in the sky. Gravity tries to push a plane towards the ground (also called “weight”), while its “lift” is used to keep the plane afloat. Planes do not simply go up though, they use fuel in order to make “thrust” which moves the machine forward. Lastly, similar to magical brooms, airplanes encounter air resistance that keep them from moving forward quite as easily - this force is referred to as “drag.” Muggle technology is very precise in making sure the amount of fuel and optimal height is maintained in order to keep the plane afloat amidst these four forces. To be honest, most magic users (even those that are experts on Muggle life!) are a bit baffled on how their technology is able to achieve this feat without the aid of magic!

Another technology that is a bit astounding to witches and wizards is the rocket. Interestingly, it’s a Muggle transportation vehicle that we do not have an equivalent to. It is a machine that is a bit similar to an airplane in that it is used to take passengers up, but instead of merely remaining in the sky, a rocket will transport itself into space!

Muggles, and magical people alike, have attempted to go into space since at least the 13th century CE, and perhaps even further back. For as long as humans have seen stars above us at night, we have wondered what else would be up there… In 1969, American astronaut (a person trained to handle rockets and spacecraft) named Neil Armstrong was the first man to go into space via rocket and step onto our moon. This day was a great and momentous day for humankind as a whole, not simply Muggles.

Interestingly, there have been no recorded successful trips of witches or wizards into space. There are many theories for this, and many proven problems with magic and space. First, we know that the method that Muggles use to enter space would be impossible for us to use, as they are highly technical and electricity-filled machines. In fact, there was a flight in which an American wizard, after being trained as an astronaut, was aboard. This flight was called Challenger and began its ascent in January 1986. However, a mysterious tragedy struck while the rocket was taking off. It is theorized by modern witches and wizards that the presence of a magical person on board affected the Muggle apparatuses and caused the machine to fail. Unfortunately, these astronauts lost their lives and, in fear that it may happen again, no other witch or wizard has attempted to go into space alongside Muggles.

Lastly, no magical person has attempted another way into space simply because no one knows how magic would be affected in another environment other than Earth. Would spells be much stronger without gravity? Would our magic not work while in space? What if going into space altered our magical ability, to the point of making it difficult to cast spells once back on Earth? There has been much speculation but without knowing more information, few magic users have been willing to try. Perhaps someone in your generation will be the first witch or wizard in space and can help answer those questions!

And that is it for today’s class! It was a bit of a lengthy one, so I’ll make the homework light for today. And of course, if you have any questions about the material covered today or the information from any previous lesson, please feel free to reach out.

Sources:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/cruising/74504923/cruising-on-cargo-ships-how-to-be-a-passenger-on-a-cargo-ship 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2358 

https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-do-boats-float 

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2017/10/airline-plans-to-use-electric-airplanes-in-10-years-is-that-possible/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgyQQm4w-zA 

https://www.explainthatstuff.com/howplaneswork.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/space-tourism-one-step-closer-11151359