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25 Problems for STEM Education
25 Problems for STEM Education

Valery F. Ochkov
Moscow Power Engineering Institute
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
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In memory of Alexey Ochkov
Contents

Acknowledgment, xiii
Author, xv

INTRODUCTION, XVII

STUDY 1 ◾ Formulas for Calculations Or: Chekhov’s Gun 1

ABSTRACT 1
REFERENCES 8

STUDY 2 ◾ Swan, Crayfsh and Pike Or: Scalar and Vector in Computer Calculations 9
ABSTRACT 9
REMARK 10
AFTERWORD 13
CONCLUSIONS 16

STUDY 3 ◾ The Gold-Bug Or: Roman-Arab Cryptography 17

ABSTRACT 17
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 24

STUDY 4 ◾ Solvers Or: The Mathcad Magnifcent Seven 25

ABSTRACT 25
INTRODUCTION 25
PROBLEM 1 26
Solve 26
root+root 27
Polyroots 31
Find 31
PROBLEM 2 31
lsolve 33
Minimize and Maximize 33
PROBLEM 3 33
Minerr 34
CONCLUSIONS 35
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 35
vii
viii ◾ Contents

STUDY 5 ◾ Guess the Image Or: The Matrix Game 37

ABSTRACT 37
GUESSING NOT THE IMAGE BUT MELODY 40
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 41

STUDY 6 ◾ How Much Or: The Old Problem in a New Way 43

ABSTRACT 43
PROBLEM 1 47
PROBLEM 2 49
PROBLEM 3 51
REFERENCE 52

STUDY 7 ◾ Catenary Or: The Fifth Element 53

ABSTRACT 53
SQUARE WHEEL 67
CONTINUING STUDY 7 67
Also about a Chain (Circles), but Electrical 68
ELECTRICAL COMMENTARY 71
AND THE LAST 75
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 78

STUDY 8 ◾ Live Kinematic Schemes Or: Arm of Hella 81

ABSTRACT 81
THE ARM OF HELLA 89
JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF SCIENCE AND ART ON THE PLANTIGRADE MACHINE 90
LET’S MOVE AHEAD 95
AND FINALLY 96
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 98

STUDY 9 ◾ Celestial Mechanics Or: Kepler’s Watch 99

ABSTRACT 99
LAWLESS COMET 109
And Last but One for the Most Curious and Meticulous 114
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 119

STUDY 10 ◾ Recursion Or: A Knight’s Tour 121

ABSTRACT 121

STUDY 11 ◾ Yes–No in Mathcad Or: Boole’s Origami 127

ABSTRACT 127
BOOLEAN FUNCTIONS OF ONE ARGUMENT 127
 Contents ◾ ix

BOOLEAN FUNCTIONS OF TWO ARGUMENTS 128

FUNCTIONS OF MANY ARGUMENTS 137
A SAD NOTE 137
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 138

STUDY 12 ◾ Fuzzy Sets Or: Optimal Fire Bucket 139

ABSTRACT 139
PROBLEM 1 141
PROBLEM 2 143
And at Last 150
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 150

STUDY 13 ◾ The Journey of a Circle in a Triangle, and of a Triangle in a Hollow Or: A Self-
Directed Computer Director 151
ABSTRACT 151
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 160

STUDY 14 ◾ Interpolation, Extrapolation and Fitting Or: Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics 161
ABSTRACT 161
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 178

STUDY 15 ◾ Go There, Knowing Where to Go Or: New Swiss Watches 179

ABSTRACT 179
LET’S START WITH THE CLOCK 179
PROBLEM 1 187
PROBLEM 2 187
PROBLEM 3 188
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 191

STUDY 16 ◾ Heads or Tails Or: A Three-Way Duel in Monte Carlo 193

ABSTRACT 193
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 199

STUDY 17 ◾ Geese Are Flying Or: The Problem of Fishermen and Fish 201
ABSTRACT 201
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 204

STUDY 18 ◾ Alphabetical Puzzle Or: Help Yourself So That the Computer Helps You! 205
ABSTRACT 205
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 208
x ◾ Contents

STUDY 19 ◾ Seven Computational Curves Or: Apollonius Bicycle and Apollo Guitar 209
ABSTRACT 209
BUG OF THE SECOND-ORDER 223
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 224

STUDY 20 ◾ Journey from Home to School on the Fermat Route Or: The Second Optical
Property of Hyperbola 225
ABSTRACT 225
MAGNIFIER FOR READING PHYSICAL AND MATHEMATICAL REFERENCE BOOKS 233
THE THEOREM OF FERMAT AND MATHCAD 235
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 235

STUDY 21 ◾ Optimization of Potential Energy Or: Curves of the Second-Order in Statistics 237
ABSTRACT 237
NEW YEAR’S MATHCAD-POSTCARD OR NEW MATHEMATICAL CONSTANT 240
VI POINTS, VII POINTS, VIII POINTS, IX POINTS, ETC. CONSTANTS. CONCLUSION 243
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 243

STUDY 22 ◾ Parallel Computing Or: Put Yourself in Order! 245

ABSTRACT 245
TWO “RANDOM” MATHCAD FUNCTIONS 249
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 249

STUDY 23 ◾ How to Calculate a Ship Or: How You Name a Boat, Is How it Will Sail 251
ABSTRACT 251
CENTER OF MASS, CENTER OF GRAVITY 256
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 257

STUDY 24 ◾ How to Calculate a Rocket Or: “… and on Mars Will Blossom Apple Trees” 259
ABSTRACT 259
ASSIGNMENT FOR READERS 263

STUDY 25 ◾ Hybrid Calculations on the Computer Or: One More about a Cone 265
ABSTRACT 265
CONCLUSION 271
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 271

STUDY 26 ◾ Funicular Polygons in Statics, Kinematics and Dynamics Or: Isaac Newton versus
Joseph Louis Lagrange 273
ABSTRACT 273
A SHORT INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY 273
PART I: STATICS 274
 Contents ◾ xi

PART II: KINEMATICS 280

Comment 283
PART III: DYNAMICS 283
Note on Animation in Mathcad Prime 285
CONCLUSIONS 290
AND THE LAST 291
Pendulum-Tulip 291
AND THE VERY LAST THING 293
AND MOST MOST-RECENT 294
AFTERWORD TO THE STUDY 296
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 296

STUDY 27 ◾ BHL Or: Application for the Ig Nobel Prize 299

ABSTRACT 299
A NOTE ON THE UNITS 307
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 308

STUDY 28 ◾ Tomography = IT + Mathematics + Physics + Biology Or: Worker-Peasant Graphics 309

ABSTRACT 309
CONCLUSION 316
ASSIGNMENT FOR READERS 316

STUDY 29 ◾ A New Ellipse Or: Math Porcelain Service 317

ABSTRACT 317
INTRODUCTION 317
MATERIALS AND METHODS 319
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 319
New Type of Ellipses 319
Animation and Augmented Reality 321
CONCLUSIONS 322
REFERENCES 322

STUDY 30 ◾ What Lies behind a Simplifed Formula Or: Hybrid Calculation of the Otto Cycle 323
ABSTRACT 323
ASSIGNMENTS FOR READERS 329

STUDY 31 ◾ Mad Chain Or: Physical and Mathematical Informatics 331

ABSTRACT 331
THEORETICAL, IMPLEMENTATION AND EXPERIMENTAL PARTS 331
THE CHAIN ON TWO NAILS 332
Interlude: Te Chain Number π 338
End of the Interlude 340
xii ◾ Contents

CHAIN ON HANGERS 340

CHAIN ON A CONE 344
MAD CHAIN 345
Comment on “dif eqns” 346
CONCLUSIONS 352
REFERENCES 353

STUDY 32 ◾ STEM Education And Or: Science Fiction 355

ABSTRACT 355
SIZES OF THE SUBMARINE 356
GRAPH OF AN IMPLICIT FUNCTION OF TWO ARGUMENTS 357
SYMBOLIC MATHEMATICS ERROR 358
THE OPERATOR “APPROXIMATELY EQUAL” 359
AGAIN ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE NAUTILUS 360
HYBRID MATHEMATICS: NUMBER AND SYMBOL 360
ANIMATION 361
OPTIMIZATION 361
IMPLICIT 3D FUNCTIONS 362
TO SINK AND TO FLOAT 363
DENSITY OF SEAWATER 366
LEAGUES, MILES, KILOMETERS, METERS 366
A BIT OF POLITICS AND OF ECONOMICS 368
“CLOUDY” AIR DENSITY 370
COMPETITION “MR. NAUTILUS” OR METROLOGICAL MUSK OX 370
EXIT/CONCLUSION 372

INDEX, 373
Acknowledgment

The author expresses deep gratitude to colleagues Sergey Fedorovich, Alexander Eliseev, Alexander
and friends for their help in writing this book: Bobriakov, Sergey Khorkov, Volker Lehner, Sasha
Natalia Slivina, Elena Bogomolova, Jana Kalova, Julia Gurke, Andreas Look, Viktor Korobov, Alexander
Chudova, Natalia Ochkova, Katarina Pisačić, Gizem Solodov, Vitaly Samsonov, Aung Thu Ya Tun and Jury
Karaali, Inna Vasileva, Irina Kirichenko (ladies Fedorov.
first), Evgeny Nikulchev, Massimiliano Nori, Fred Te author is immensely grateful to Massimiliano
Kohlhepp, Alan Stevens, Werner Exinger, Michael Nori, Fred Kohlhepp Alan Stevens, and Dmitry Petrov
Kirsanov, Alexey Sokolov, Vladimir Chudov, Alvaro for their great help in translating this book into English
Dias, Luc Mekes, Alvaro Falconi, Mati Hainloo, and for valuable comments.

xiii
Author

Valery F. Ochkov is a Professor member of the working group on thermodynamics of

at Moscow Power Engineering the International Association for the Properties of Water
Institute (Technical University, and Steam (IAPWS) and PTC Mathcad Community
MPEI, www.mpei.ru) in the (https://community.ptc.com).
Department of Teoretical Basics He has authored more than 25 books in Russian
of Termal Engineering (TOT), and English and numerous journal articles on the
founder and general manager of use of math sofware for solving the problems in
Trieru (www.trie.ru) an engineer- thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, and fuid
ing consulting frm that devel- dynamics. Professor Ochkov is one of the creators of
ops simulators and analytical sofware for the power WaterSteamPro™, an application for simulating ther-
industry. He also works at Joint Institute for High mophysical properties of water and steam and also a
Temperatures (www.jiht.ru) of the Russian Academy of co-creator of web calculations for the Elsevier/Knovel
Sciences and at Moscow High School at MPEI. He is a website.

xv
 INTRODUCTION

Teaching of Informatics, Mathematics,

Physics, Chemistry with Mathematical
Packages
Or
Between Scylla and Charybdis

Te history of the development of methods for solv- classes is equivalent to the addition of sports simulator
ing problems in mathematics, physics and chemistry hydraulic boosters. Counting “column” can also be con-
in school and at university is, among other things, the sidered as a gym for the mind and good motor skills for
history of struggling with computational tools. First the hands. But there is another reason. We must be able
(in the oral calculations classes, for example), the use to do mental calculations in the absence of pencil and
of pen and paper was forbidden; then (when studying paper; further, we must be able to calculate with pencil
calculation with a “stick” pen on paper), the calculator and paper, in the absence of a calculator, etc. However—
was forbidden; and, fnally, when solving more complex to get fre by friction if there are no matches at hand; to
problems, using a computer with modern mathemati- be able to determine cardinal points through the trees
cal programs, such as Mathematica, Maple, MATLAB®, in the forest, if there is no compass or navigator at hand;
Mathcad, SMath, etc. (or, rather, computer programs), to be able etc. Unfortunately, or fortunately, with the
though not explicitly prohibited, was alleged to be the development of civilization, we have forgotten how to
equivalent of solving simple problems (such as 65 times do mental calculation, to obtain fre by friction, to ori-
9, for example) with a calculator. Tis prohibition was ent ourselves on the terrain by natural signs, etc. Te
not applied to the computational tools themselves schoolteacher of the author of this book did not tire of
when specially selected examples in computer science repeating in the lessons on arithmetic, that if we, his
and programming classes were being taught, but only students did not learn to count quickly and accurately
to their use to solve problems in arithmetic, trigonom- in the mind or, at least, on a sheet of paper, we would
etry, linear algebra and mathematical analysis classes. be weighed and cheated in stores. Now this motivation
However, modern schoolchildren and students do not to develop an oral calculation does not work anymore,
understand this; for them the computer is ubiquitous in because in modern supermarkets, modern methods of
both work and play. “hanging and counting” are used.
With mental calculation, everything is more or less Opponents of the use of modern computer solu-
clear. Tese exercises are wonderful gymnastics for tions for school and university tasks in mathemat-
the mind (see Study 3). Te use of calculators in these ics, physics, chemistry, etc., also rely on a number of
xvii
xviii ◾ Introduction

other arguments, which they, however, do not openly introduced into the educational process of technical
talk about. universities. If we talk about universities in the energy
First, and very unfortunately, many schoolteachers feld, in which the author of this book works, then there
and university teachers simply cannot work with mod- are programs such as ANSYS or COMSOL (modeling of
ern computer mathematical programs and/or do not heat and mass transfer processes), TermoFlow (calcula-
know about their capabilities. Tese teachers have mas- tions of thermodynamic cycles), FlowVision (modeling
tered the computer, but at the level of ofce programs of hydrodynamics). New laboratory work is created on
(text editor, table processor, email, work on the Internet) the basis of similar programs, seminars are held and lec-
and the basics of operating (fle system, etc.), but they do ture courses are taught in many advanced universities of
not want to go further, or cannot, justifying it by saying energy and power engineering.
that such programs are harmful to learners. Unfortunately, these programs are ofen used as
Second, the introduction of these programs in the “black boxes”; initial data is entered, the “box cover” is
educational process requires a thorough revision of the closed (press the Calculate button), then the user opens
content and methods of teaching, as well as the rewrit- the “cover” and takes out the results: tables with fgures,
ing of textbooks and problem books in mathemat- graphs, three-dimensional virtual objects (which can
ics, physics and chemistry or, at least, their substantial even be printed on a 3D printer), animation, etc. Tis
reprocessing. Te examples in the problem books, of means students have very vague (if any) ideas about
course, are rewritten. Before, there were, for example, what is happening in these “black boxes”. Afer all, these
“funts and arshins” (Russian obsolete units equivalent programs were created not for educational, but for com-
to pound and yard, respectively, see Study 6), and now mercial purposes, and the design code in them is hid-
“meters and kilograms”. Previously, the problem was: den from extraneous views (protected from industrial
“Te digger has dug so many meters of ditch”, and now espionage). Also, there are ofen cases when this code
“the computer has such volume of memory”, but the is hidden because it is very old and primitive, and the
essence of the tasks and the method of solving them, “modernity” of the program is visible only on its inter-
alas, do not change. face (all the steam went of in a whistle). Te beneft of
Tird, the previously mentioned computer programs this educational process is ofen close to zero. However,
are quite expensive. Our schools and universities were there are educational technologies in which a real exper-
not able to aford many of them. However, this prob- iment (for example, heating or cooling a physical body
lem is now solved. Firms that develop mathematical with temperature being measured on its surface using
programs provide substantial discounts to educational a thermal imager) is carried out in the laboratory, fol-
institutions and in some cases supply programs free lowed by the modeling and mapping of this process on
of charge. Tis has a commercial goal, of course. Afer the computer. Te comparison of images with the ther-
graduation, students who mastered the free program mal imager and with the display screen stimulates dis-
will hopefully buy it themselves or ask their employer cussion of the issues related to the essence of a physical
to buy it. Teachers should not complain about the high phenomenon, to the methods and the errors of the tools
cost of programs or the inability to work with pirated of the instrumental control, as well as to the limitations
copies for various reasons, but look for ways to solve this and the assumptions of computer programs: this pro-
problem, by contacting, for example, sofware develop- cess is modeling.
ers and their dealers. In addition, you need to remember We have now examined a kind of Scylla, meaning
that there are free versions of the programs. For exam- by this “sea monster” the way in which packages like
ple, PTC, the developer of the Mathcad program, allows ANSYS or COMSOL are implemented in the learning
a month to work with the full version of Mathcad Prime, process rather than meaning the packages themselves.
and then with its truncated version Mathcad Express, Now let’s talk about the second “monster”—about a kind
which nevertheless allows solving rather complicated of Charybdis.
mathematical problems. Currently, a large number of programs have been
And one more very important point. accumulated in the so-called high-level programming
At present, powerful sofware tools for the computer languages (Fortran, Pascal, BASIC, C, Python, etc.)
modeling of physical processes are being intensively for calculating the processes that are modeled in the
 Introduction ◾ xix

previously described “black boxes”. Teachers of older never worked on a computer.† Mathcad refects the
generations are trying to “re-teach” modern students appearance of calculations made on paper, thanks
these programs (codes) in order to explain the essence to the WYSIWYG mode—what you see is what
of the calculations. But for most students, the lan- you get—“what you see (on the display screen),
guages of these programs are incomprehensible. And, then you will get (on printed paper)”. Te printouts
most importantly, the motivation of the majority of the of the solutions received in Mathcad can be lef in
students, who will never seriously code (especially in an archive so that someone reading them 50–100
these languages), is not clear, since they will use ready- years later will understand what is written there
made sofware products (the “black boxes”) or mathe- and be able to reproduce it in the new sofware
matical packages for solving their particular problems: environments that will have appeared by that time.
calculations with complex formulas, solving equations And this is very important.
and systems (algebraic and diferential), constructing
In the area of computer information technolo-
graphs, creating animations, processing statistical
gies there is currently a crisis, which we have
data, etc.
already touched on above, and which is conven-
But many teachers still try to teach students to work
tionally called the “nightmare of legacy sofware”.
with “their” programs. Tere are many possible expla-
What is it? Imagine a frm, corporation or uni-
nations for this. First, do not “dismiss an equivalent
versity that afer 30–40 years of intensive use of
product”—created with much efort and thoroughly
computers has developed and accumulated a large
tested for decades; for example, in “good old Fortran”.
number of programs of varying complexity for cal-
Second, many teachers do not know about the possibili-
culating and modeling various processes, devices
ties of new sofware or consider that they (the teachers)
and technologies in various felds of science and
are incapable of studying something new. Tird, the
technology, and also for the creation and manage-
appeal of the “good old horse”, sorry, Fortran or BASIC,
ment of databases (knowledge).
“which does not spoil furrows”. Tis is explained by the
fact that in many organizations where students end up In place of morally and physically obsolete
working afer university, Fortran is that “horse”, which computers come new computers with new hard-
is still used to “plow”, guided among other things by the ware and new operating systems. Computers are
principle that the best is the enemy of the good. integrated into local networks, which participate
We can swim between Scylla and Charybdis, if we in the process of “globalization” and are inte-
use mathematical packages, such as Mathcad, for mod- grated into the Internet—wired and wireless. Te
eling physical phenomena with details of their essence development of wireless communication between
and methods of implementation on the computer. Tat computers and servers has led to the emergence of
is the main idea of this book. “cloud” information technology. Modernization
But why Mathcad? What good is it for these kinds of cal- of the computer park ofen leads to the fact that
culations? First, of course, the fact that the author is well old applications stop running on new or updated
aware of this package and has written several books on it. computers—workstations and servers. Sometimes
However, there are, of course, objective indicators it’s just impossible to read a program from old
of the convenience of working with Mathcad.* We list media (punched cards, punched tape, a diskette
them. of various diameters, obsolete “fash drives”,
etc.), since new computers do not have appropri-
1. Good documentation of calculations. Calculations ate reading devices. We either have to completely
made in Mathcad can be printed and submitted abandon such programs and create new ones from
for review or shown to a person (teacher) who has scratch, or spend time and money on developing

* Te book’s calculations are slightly diluted with solutions in alternative

mathematical environments: SMath (Figure 1.8), Maple (Figure 17.3, † At the end of Study 9, we show one of the diferences between Mathcad
Figure 24.4, Figure 25.3 and Figure 26.34) and Mathematica (Internet and manual formulas. It will also be said there that these diferences are
version, see Figure 7.5, Figure 26.32, Figure 26.33 and Figure 28.8). gradually disappearing.
xx ◾ Introduction

or purchasing certain utilities (emulators) to run more detail in Study 1. Tis feature allows us to
old programs on new or updated computers. call Mathcad not just mathematical, but a physi-
cal and mathematical package. It was created,
But that’s not so bad. Te real trouble begins
incidentally, by a nuclear physicist by education—
when specialists, who created and supported these
Allan Razdow.
programs, leave the “frms, corporations, universi-
ties” and the young people who replace them can 3. A fexible system of variable names. Variables and
neither modernize the programs nor adapt them functions in Mathcad, with rare exceptions, have
to new requirements. Te reason for this would be the same names that were assigned to them in cer-
an insufcient documentation of codes, the lack tain scientifc and technical disciplines long before
of appropriate tools and the simple impossibility the advent of computers. For example, the Greek
of correctly reading a program written in “dead” letter η with various indices in thermodynamics is
programming languages. If, however, it is difcult the efciency (thermal, internal relative, etc.), and
to recreate or modernize the old program, using the Greek letter λ is the thermal conductivity. Tis,
old or even new programming languages, the along with the use of traditional writing of mathe-
“nightmare of legacy sofware” will reappear afer matical constants, operators and functions, as well
a while. as upper and lower indexes, makes the “language”
of Mathcad available to the uninitiated (see para-
Good documentation and detailed calculations
graph 1 above) without much additional comment.
are very important in the educational sphere. It’s
Te notation in Mathcad practically coincides
no secret that many teachers of higher educa-
with generally accepted mathematical notation:
tional institutions are opposed to the use of com-
integral, derivative, modulus, degree, etc.
puters for calculating educational tasks. We have
already looked at with this problem. Tese teach- Another four features, that are also available in
ers quite reasonably believe that such tasks need other mathematical packages (MATLAB, Maple,
to be addressed solely by use of the “pen” and not Mathematica, SMath, Derive, etc.), are listed here:
the computer, or, at least, by the means that they
4. Numerical and symbolic mathematics, which
themselves used as students. But these teachers are
make it possible to use a rich library of numeri-
referring to the use of computers as “black boxes”
cal methods for solving problems, anticipating or
(see above), in which the “initial” data are “input”
supplementing them with attempts (successful or
and from which ready-made answers are “taken
less successful) to solve the problem analytically.
out”. Mathcad is by no means a “black box”, which
Mathcad was originally created as a numerical
is contraindicated for students.
mathematics package, to which later (in the ffh
2. Working with units of measurements. Electronic version) the core of symbolic mathematics was
tables and programming languages played a cruel attached from Maple. Tis core was then (in the
joke on us—they made us accustomed to work- thirteenth version) replaced by the core of sym-
ing without physical quantities. More accurately, bolic mathematics from MuPAD. Similarly, the
we were taught to work with quantities devoid of “numerical” package MATLAB, initially also
dimension (reduced to basic SI), and to keep in had a symbolic engine from Maple that was later
mind the units of their measurement (SI units— replaced by MuPAD. Conversely the Maple and
meters, seconds, pascal, kelvin, joules, watts, etc.), Mathematica packages were originally packages of
which is very inconvenient and fraught with errors symbolic mathematics with elements of numerical
in the calculations. Also, the basic SI units them- calculations.
selves are inconvenient: the basic unit of pressure
5. Mathcad includes powerful and fexible tools for
(pascal) is very small and always requires multi-
creating 2D and 3D plots, as well as animations.
pliers of kilo or mega, the temperature in kelvins
Tis allows you to quickly and easily visualize the
ofen requires conversion to Celsius or Fahrenheit
source, intermediate and summary data without
degrees, etc. Tis problem will be considered in
calling external procedures or writing auxiliary
 Introduction ◾ xxi

programs, which contributes to a better under- that return, for example, material properties
standing of the essence of the calculation, iden- (example in Figure 2.3 in Study 3), based on
tifying possible errors and false ways to solve a formulas, tables or graphs taken from an exter-
problem within it. nal source—from a paper or electronic book, as
well as from the Internet.
6. Coding. In Mathcad, mathematical actions on
the worksheet are executed on a regular sheet of
paper from lef to right and from top to bottom. Tese three possibilities could and should be used in
But sometimes it is necessary to change this order order to make available in the calculation document, for
of calculation. Tis opportunity (programming) example, functions that have as arguments the param-
is provided in Mathcad, and is successfully used eters of a particular point of the thermodynamic cycle
not only by advanced users, but also by those who and return the necessary thermophysical properties of
once mistakenly believed that they would never the working body at this point: specifc enthalpy, spe-
program. Mathcad’s programming tools allow us cifc entropy, density, specifc heat capacity (isobaric or
to solve rather complicated tasks that do not ft in isochoric), thermal conductivity, viscosity, etc. Without
the narrow framework of the sequential algorithm this, it is impossible to calculate heat engineering pro-
(from lef to right and from top to bottom). cesses (a specialization of the author).
And lastly. Calculations created in Mathcad can be
7. Mathcad provides the ability to expand the list of
placed on the server (on the Internet or on the local net-
available functions in three ways:
work) without much trouble to work without Mathcad
• Te frst method is to link Mathcad by a DLL itself. So, for example, with many calculations described
(Dynamic Link Library) mechanism with in this book, you can work through the Internet using
functions written, for example, in C program- Mathcad Calculation Server technology, without install-
ming language. ing any additional programs on your computer.
In this book, all these possibilities will be shown
• Te second is a link from the working docu-
using concrete physical and mathematical examples.
ment to other Mathcad-sheets. Because of this
And more.
link, the user variables and functions stored in
Almost all problems of the book were solved in
the linked document (fle) will become avail-
Mathcad. PTC Academic is committed to providing
able (visible, as the programmers say) also
access to Mathcad for free.
in the working document. Tese and other
PTC Mathcad Express, a lighter version of PTC
Mathcad-sheets can be downloaded to your
Mathcad is available for student and educators' down-
computer or to a local network and used as
load at https://www.ptc.com/en/products/mathcad-
templates. However, you could do this if your
express-free-download.
computer has a reliable, high-speed connection
If you are interested in purchasing full-featured PTC
to the Internet.
Mathcad for university or school - please contact PTC
• Te third method: Mathcad tools allow the academic team at https://www.ptc.com/en/academi
user to write and debug functions quickly c-program/contact-us.
 STU DY 1

Formulas for Calculations

Or
Chekhov’s Gun

ABSTRACT comments, references to forums, and video clips or ani-

Mathematical expressions can be added or edited in mations [1].
electronic media as embedded calculations. Formulas Embedded calculations play an important role among
in an electronic document are not just expressions writ- these features, enhancing comprehension of the math
ten in a formal language, they are also an object that while enabling live computation [2].
could be studied, helping to comprehend a text and Tere is a wide variety of sofware capable of support-
avoid many typos and mistakes typical of mathemati- ing embedded calculations. For example, the symbolic
cal formulas found in print. Tis Study describes some math engine Maple has found wide use in academia for
features of formulas embedded in online scientifc lit- diferentiation and integration. Te popular program-
erature and educational web apps. Te Study is based ming language Python is used for realization of algo-
on the experience of teaching engineering subjects and rithms in TeX documents [3]. Math formulas on HTML
math assisted by the visualization of calculations. Te pages can be supported by Mathcad [4]. Cloud comput-
author examines key features and practical application ing applications are also becoming more widespread [5].
of calculations and formulas embedded into the scien- Regardless of the technology used, a modern elec-
tifc and educational texts. tronic textbook is not just a web-enabled text. It is also
Mathematics: Formulas. a self-contained learning tool [6]. It helps us to compre-
Physics: Units, empirical and pseudo-empirical for- hend math better, allows for calculation and visualiza-
mulas, molarity, molality. tion of solutions in the form of graphs, and can be used
IT: Cloud calculation, modern publishing process. for in-text exercises.
Art: Anton Chekhov. If there is an equation in a book, the reader should
Study website: https://community.ptc.com/t5/PTC- be able to use it for calculation right there. Additionally,
Mathcad-Questions/PhysMathStudy1/m-p/85566. readers should be able to change the variables in the
equation. Tis also applies to tables and graphs contain-
A lot of changes are taking place in the educational and ing functional dependencies [7].
scientifc content publishing arena. Traditional print is Te following are some observations from our peda-
enhanced and ofen supplanted by electronic materials gogical practice that illustrate the usefulness of embed-
with embedded features such as web links, bookmarks, ded equations in education.

1
2 ◾ 25 Problems for STEM Education

1. In a physics department, students can conduct lab conductivity of an aqueous solution of NaCl, calcula-
experiments and then use a computer to access a tions were validated using the Mathcad Calculation
web page with live calculations, to enter data points Server. Tis revealed that some equations and coef-
and to ft a curve using the least-squares method. fcients in the article had typos. When these were cor-
Tis method used to be the normal approach. Now, rected the article was published free of error and with a
an increasing number of students use smartphones reference to “live” computing.
and tablets. When asked why they do not use the In this chapter of the book, we will examine vari-
lab computer, students ofen reply: “I hardly know ous aspects of computing with embedded formulas and
how to work with a standard keyboard, and I can discuss ways of improving the quality and precision of
input data faster on the tablet.” solutions by using validated formulas.
Modern calculation apps such as Mathcad can handle
2. During math, physics and chemistry classes, stu-
units of measurement. Tis is very convenient due to the
dents ofen use their mobile devices (smartphones,
automatic conversion of input and output values with
tablets, notebooks) to go to a math website and to
diferent units, and the control over their dimensional
key in an algebraic or diferential equation (see
compatibility. However, there are some issues.
Figure 1.2) in order to fnd an analytic or numeric
Tere are two types of scientifc equations—physi-
solution that validates calculations written by the
cal and empirical. Te former deal with physical values
lecturer on the blackboard.
and can be used with any appropriate units of measure-
3. Finally, during a physics class, a student might ment. Good examples of these formulas are E = m·c2
derive an equation describing string vibration and and F = m·a. Calculation apps will solve these equations
then create an animation for its visualization. correctly regardless of the units as long as they have the
right dimension, and they will indicate an error when
Tere is a new trend in the content and in the production the dimensions are not compatible. Empirical equa-
of scientifc papers, handbooks, monographs and text- tions, created as a rule by statistical treatment of experi-
books containing calculations. In the old days, authors mental (empirical) data, require numeric input in the
submitted their work to publishers in the form of typed stated units of measurement. Probably the simplest and
manuscripts with handwritten formulas and special best known empirical formula is that linking the height
characters. Now, publishers require electronic fles with of an average man with his weight [4]: height of a person
the text in MS Word and formulas created in a math in centimeters is his weight in kilograms plus 100. Tis
editor or native sofware; the formulas are scanned and formula, written in Mathcad, and the units of measure-
inserted as images into the text. ment are shown in Figure 1.1. Te results in Figure 1.1
Formulas in scientifc papers and textbooks are there are rounded, although variables in equations contain 15
for the purposes of calculation. In electronic formats, they digits in the mantissa. Tis detail is an important aspect
can be used for computing right on the screen. Printed of the creation of “live” equations. In paper handbooks,
formulas can be easily validated by using an interactive monographs and textbooks, calculation of the systems
electronic version. Tis is a revolutionary change! of equations is done by rounding intermediate results
Te production of electronic handbooks with embed- and then using these results in other equations. In com-
ded interactive equations is described in [8]. Making puter calculations, variables retain maximum precision.
equations interactive reveals many typographical and Te results of these calculations would thus be slightly
other errors in the formulas. For example, multiple errors diferent from those in paper publications.
were found during the development of a series of web- In handbooks, the basic units of measurement are
based handbooks called “Heat Technology and Power shown in the legends for physical formulas. However,
Engineering” and corrected for the subsequent edition.
During peer review of scientifc papers, we are ofen
asked by editors to validate numeric solutions. While
the damage caused by typos in regular text is negligible,
those in formulas can lead to serious consequences. For
example, during the review of an article on the thermal FIGURE 1.1 Input of a simple empirical equation.
 Formulas for Calculations ◾ 3

Many physical constants are dimensionless by def-

nition. Tese include, for example, the Mach number
(compressibility factor), Reynolds number (viscosity
factor), Poisson’s ratio (a parameter of material elastic-
ity) and the Prandtl number (refecting the relationship
between viscosity and thermal conductivity). An angle
measured in radians is a dimensionless quantity as well,
and it is calculated as a ratio between the length of an
arc and a radius of a circle.
Let’s use oscillation of a weight attached to a spring to
illustrate how an equation can be made dimensionless.
Suppose at time t0 the initial extension of the spring is x0
(m), with parameters k (N/m), v0 (Hz) and m (kg). Te
FIGURE 1.2 Working with pseudo-empirical formulas. characteristic time would have the dimension of m k
and, if the spring is stretched instantaneously, the inter-
machine computing of these formulas is done without val of calculations would be so small it would be compa-
using the units. Here is a simple example: F = m·a, where rable to computational error, and representative values of
F is force in N (newton), a is acceleration in m/s2, and m x could be so large as to lead to a loss in precision. Let’s
is mass in kg. For modern calculation applications input make the quantities dimensionless by introducing new
of the units is redundant because all appropriate conver-
variables x˜ = x x0 , t˜ = t k m and v˜ = v m / k . Te sys-
sions for the derived units are done automatically.
tem of equations with new variables can be expressed
We should not forget about physical problems with
solutions that contain numbers beyond the range of ˛ x°̃ = v˜,
˙
as ˝ .
computer calculations. Tey could have both very
˙ˆv°̃ = − x˜ .
large and very small parameters, resulting in incor-
rect rounding due to simultaneous processing of large Here, representative values of all the variables are
and small numbers. Also, solution algorithms for math comparable and, therefore, the system of equations can
models could become unsuitable if model equations be solved numerically with the required precision. In
contain variables that difer by several orders of mag- addition, by solving this system once, we can obtain a
nitude. In this case, the errors for the large parameters solution for the whole range of problems for diferent
could be on the same scale as the parameters them- values of x0, k and m. To get back the units, we need to
selves and could signifcantly distort the values for the reverse substitute the variables.
small parameters. Before solving these equations, it is Getting rid of the units of measurement involves tran-
advisable to modify them to reduce the spread between sitioning from the absolute physical quantities to the rel-
the magnitudes of parameters and to reduce the num- ative quantities specifc to a given physical process. Tis
ber of arithmetic operations leading to an accumula- transition is governed by the theory of similarity. For
tion of errors. example, the transition from laminar fow to turbulent
A solution is to replace the variables with dimension- occurs at a certain value of Reynolds number, depend-
less quantities prior to calculation, making all variables ing on the fow velocity, geometry and fuid viscosity.
in a math model practically the same magnitude. As a Making calculated quantities dimensionless opens
rule, the equations themselves become simpler due to the the possibility of adding Reynolds and Prandtl numbers
elimination of “extraneous” constants and quantities, without getting a program error. Adding viscosity to
and the real parameters of the process being modeled thermal conductivity is not possible or, more precisely,
are disclosed. Te equations are made unit-independent it is not possible using sofware that can control units.
by converting absolute values of some properties to Tis and other reasons lead to the return to dimensional
relative values, specifc to a particular physical model. physical quantities and rejection of their “shadows”—
Usually, these are length, speed, time and energy-related dimensionless quantities—the obvious drawbacks of
or mechanical properties. which are felt by those who use pseudo-units such as
4 ◾ 25 Problems for STEM Education

degrees. Modern sofware has the means to remedy this what is the problem? Te reason is that, in the past,
situation. this equation was adopted for manual calculation and
Another obvious case of dimensionless quantities is for calculation with sofware that could not handle the
the use of decibels. Bel is a common logarithm of a ratio units (such as spreadsheets). However, if we remem-
of two unidimensional physical quantities, and a decibel ber the equivalence between fuel and its calorifc value
is, of course, one-tenth of a bel. By measuring a property (Qef ), we can restore the original equation b 1/(Qef·η)
in decibels we are actually converting a physical quan- and use it without any problems in Mathcad (see the
tity into a dimensionless value on a logarithmic scale. last line in Figure 1.2). Te result will have units and,
Usually, decibels are used for measuring the volume of in addition, will be more accurate. A power engineer
sound by comparing the intensity of sound waves I with using the original equation would fnd out that his/
the lowest level of sound perceivable by a human ear I0 her plant consumes almost half a gram less fuel. On a
(typically I0 = 0.01 W/m2). We can calculate the ratio I/I0 large scale it represents a huge energy saving.
directly, but the range of this ratio is very wide, mak- Te case shown in Figure 1.2 is quite common. Te
ing its use inconvenient. Tis is resolved by using loga- lack of units in the result shown in the frst line in
rithmic scale and the prefx deci, −0.1·log(I/I0). A very Figure 1.4 points to the pseudo-empirical nature of this
loud noise of a sledgehammer has a volume of 80 dB, equation.
whereas a conversation in a room has a volume of 60 In the next example, the pseudo-empirical nature of
dB and a barely audible sound such as the rustling of the formula is not so apparent. Tis formula is used to
leaves is approximately 10 dB. Decibels, as well as other convert concentration from one unit to another. When
dimensionless quantities, make calculations easier but, taken from a handbook and input into Mathcad, it pro-
again, not if we use a computer. duces an answer with the correct units of measurement
Some time ago, during transition to the SI system and, incredibly, with plausible results. Te goal is to con-
of units, STM publishers and journal editors stopped vert the molarity (the ratio of the solute to the volume of
accepting manuscripts that used other, still common, the solution) of an aqueous NaCl solution to its molality
units of measurement. Tis transition was painful for (ratio of the solute to the mass of solution). Te formula
engineers and scientists who used foot, pound and other for this conversion can be easily found in a number of
non-metric units. In spite of the prevalence of SI units, chemical handbooks and on the web (see Figure 1.3).
there are some customary, non-metric units that are We can copy an equation for calculation of molal-
still being used in many countries. For example, we (in ity (L) based on molarity (M) from the table shown in
Russia) will never learn to measure atmospheric pres- Figure 1.3. To calculate, we need to input additional val-
sure in millibars (hectopascals), preferring millimeters ues: molecular mass of NaCl (mp) and solution density
of mercury (torrs). Now, publishers are beginning to (q). Copy, input and get an incorrect answer (see the 2nd
deviate from the rules requiring the use of SI units in line of the calculations in Figure 1.4).
articles and books. One of the reasons for that is unit- In the table shown in Figure 1.3, the variable K is
enabled calculation sofware. defned as a mass percent without disclosing whether it
Some equations in journals and books could be is a mass of the solution or a mass of the solvent. An
called pseudo-empirical. Tese are basically physi- analysis of this table reveals that it is the mass of solu-
cal equations that in reality are empirical because tion and not of the solvent. However, other cases are not
they require units of measurement for computation so apparent, leading to calculation errors. For example,
(see Figures 1.3 and 1.4). Te following is an example in many analytical chemistry handbooks, solubility in
from power engineering. At a given efciency (η) of a water is given as a ratio of the mass of solute to the mass
power plant, the specifc fuel consumption (b) can be of solvent by default, without an explanation. On http:
calculated as b = 123/η. Tis means that a power plant //twt.mpei.ac.ru/MCS/Worksheets/Thermal/T90-T
with efciency 34% consumes 362 (123/0.34) grams of 68.xmcd this quantity is provided in two units of mea-
fuel to generate one kilowatt-hour of electricity. Tis surement (ratio to the mass of solvent and to the mass
simple equation would result in an incomplete solu- of solution) to prevent calculation errors. Tere are
tion in Mathcad, i.e. a solution without the units (see lots of these “defaults”. Take temperature for example.
the frst line in calculations shown in Figure 1.2). So, Here is a typical problem: the temperature at the inlet
 Formulas for Calculations ◾ 5

FIGURE 1.3 Equations for calculation of diferent types of concentration.

FIGURE 1.4 Working with a pseudo-empirical formula for conversion of diferent units of concentration.

of a heat exchanger is given as 25°C, fnd the tempera- volume (cm3 vs. m3), etc. Te formula for computation
ture at the outlet if the temperature of the fuid in the of molality from molarity can, of course, be used as an
heat exchanger increases by 5°C. Te answer is 30°C. empirical one (see above) by adding the required units
However, if this problem is input into Mathcad as it is, of measurement (see 3rd line in Figure 1.6) to obtain
the answer will be paradoxically 25°С + 5°С = 303.15°С. the correct result. However, it is better to go back to the
Te answer can be explained by remembering that 5°С initial physical formula by removing the coefcients
equal 5K but 25°С is equal 298.15K. Most users under- “1000”—(see the last line in Figure 1.4), realizing that
stand this default (Celsius scale and centigrade degree) 1000 is the number of grams in a kilogram and the
as it is found in many handbooks, but computers do not. number of cubic centimeters in a liter, etc.
Also, in these calculations, users should account for the As a result, most practicing chemists, when they need
year of the temperature scale, 1968 or 1990, in which the to convert concentration from one unit to another, try
temperature is given. to avoid the existing formulas like those shown in the
Te problem here is that the equations in Figure 1.3 table in Figure 1.3. Instead, they calculate concentra-
have been adopted for the convenience of manual com- tions using ratios. Tese ratios are not required, how-
putation by using non-basic (“chemical”) units of mea- ever, if they have access to a computer with Mathcad or
surement: concentration, density (g/cm3 instead of kg/ to a website with an appropriate computational appli-
m3), molar mass (g/mol vs. kg/mol), mass (g vs. kg), cation. Tere he/she can input and solve an algebraic
6 ◾ 25 Problems for STEM Education

equation linking, for example, the moles and the mass of In Figure 1.6 an example solution is provided for the
the solute to diferent units of concentration. Mathcad conversion of molality to molarity using a formula, mod-
has a symbolic math engine that allows computing with ifed as shown in Figure 1.5 on the basis of the physical
the symbols of variables instead of their numerical val- law of the conservation of mass. Te operator clearsym
ues. Mathcad calculations with formulas for conversion that is in the collapsible area is used to remove numeric
of solution concentration from one unit to other using values of variables during symbolic transformations.
algebraic equations are shown in Figure 1.5. Tis is a Figure 1.7 shows a website for the conversion of con-
true improvement with respect to handbook formulas. centrations using the above formula. Tis site was cre-
One can see both the formulas used for the calculation ated some time ago and should be updated to show not
and the corresponding physical law-based equations just the formula itself but also the equation from which
from which the formulas are derived! it was derived (see Figure 1.6).

FIGURE 1.5 Generation of formulas for conversion of diferent types of concentration units.

FIGURE 1.6 Computation of molality using modifed formula.

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STUDIES IN

WIVES ***
Studies in Wives
By MRS. BELLOC LOWNDES
NEW YORK
MITCHELL KENNERLEY
2 East 29th Street
Copyright, 1910, by Mitchell Kennerly
 CONTENTS
PAGE
I. Althea's Opportunity 1
II. Mr. Jarvice's Wife 47
III. A Very Modern Instance 93
IV. According to Meredith 151
V. Shameful Behaviour? 205
VI. The Decree Made Absolute 277
 I
ALTHEA'S OPPORTUNITY
"His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall
bring him to the king of terrors."—Job xviii. 14.

There came the sound of a discreet, embarrassed cough, and Althea

Scrope turned quickly round from the window by which she had
been standing still dressed in her outdoor things.
She had heard the door open, the unfolding of the tea-table, the
setting down of the tea-tray, but her thoughts had been far away
from the old house in Westminster which was now her home; her
thoughts had been in Newcastle, dwelling for a moment among the
friends of her girlhood, for whom she had been buying Christmas
gifts that afternoon.
The footman's cough recalled her to herself, and to the present.
"Am I to say that you are at home this afternoon, ma'am?"
Althea's thoughtful, clear eyes rested full on the youth's anxious
face. He had not been long in the Scropes' service, and this was the
first time he had been left in such a position of responsibility, but
Dockett, the butler, was out, a rare event, for Dockett liked to be
master in his master's house. Before the marriage of Perceval
Scrope, Dockett had been Scrope's valet, and, as Althea was well
aware, the man still regarded her as an interloper. Althea did not like
Dockett, but Perceval was very fond of him, and generally spoke of
him to his friends as "Trip." Althea had never been able to discover
the reason of the nickname, and she had not liked to ask; her
husband often spoke a language strange to her.
"I will see Mr. Bustard if he comes," she said gently.
Dockett would not have disturbed her by asking the question, for
Dockett always knew, by a sort of instinct, whom his master and
mistress wished to see or to avoid seeing.
Again she turned and stared out of the high, narrow, curtainless
windows. Perceval Scrope did not like curtains, and so of course
there were no curtains in his wife's drawing-room.
Snow powdered the ground. It blew in light eddies about the bare
branches of the trees marking the carriage road through St. James's
Park, and was caught in whirling drifts on the frozen sheet of water
which reflected the lights on the bridge spanning the little lake. Even
at this dreary time of the year it was a charming outlook, and one
which most of Althea's many acquaintances envied her.
And yet the quietude of the scene at which she was gazing so
intently oppressed her, and, suddenly, from having felt warm after
her walk across the park, Althea Scrope felt cold.
She moved towards the fireplace, and the flames threw a red glow
on her tall, rounded figure, creeping up from the strong serviceable
boots to the short brown skirt, and so to the sable cape which had
been one of her husband's wedding gifts, but which now looked a
little antiquated in cut and style.
It is a bad thing—a sign that all is not right with her—when a
beautiful young woman becomes indifferent to how she looks. This
was the case with Althea, and yet she was only twenty-two, and
looked even younger; no one meeting her by chance would have
taken her to be a married woman, still less the wife of a noted
politician.
She took off her fur cape and put it on a chair. She might have sent
for her maid, but before her marriage she had always waited on
herself, and she was not very tidy—one of her few points of
resemblance with her husband, and not one which made for
harmony. But Mrs. Scrope, if untidy, was also conscientious, and as
she looked at the damp fur cloak her conscience began to trouble
her.
She rang the bell. "Take my cloak and hang it up carefully in the
hall," she said to the footman. And now the room was once more
neat and tidy as she knew her friend, Mr. Bustard, would like to see
it.
It was a curious and delightful room, but it resembled and reflected
the woman who had to spend so much of her life there as little as
did her quaint and fanciful name of Althea. Her husband, in a fit of
petulance at some exceptional density of vision, had once told her
that her name should have been Jane—Jane, Maud, Amy, any of
those old-fashioned, early Victorian names would have suited Althea,
and Althea's outlook on life when she had married Perceval Scrope.
Althea's drawing-room attained beauty, not only because of its
proportions, and its delightful outlook on St. James's Park, but also
because quite a number of highly intelligent people had seen to it
that it should be beautiful.
Although Scrope, who thought he knew his young wife so well,
would have been surprised and perhaps a little piqued if he had
been told it, Althea preferred the house as it had been before her
marriage, in the days when it was scarcely furnished, when this
room, for instance, had been the library-smoking-room of its owner,
an owner too poor to offer himself any of the luxurious fitments
which had been added to make it suitable for his rich bride.
As soon as Scrope's engagement to the provincial heiress Althea
then was had been announced, his friends—and he was a man of
many friends—had delighted to render him the service of making the
pleasant old house in Delahay Street look as it perchance had looked
eighty or a hundred years ago. The illusion was almost perfect, so
cleverly had the flotsam of Perceval Scrope's ancestral possessions
been wedded to the jetsam gathered in curiosity shops and at
country auctions—for the devotion of Scrope's friends had gone even
to that length.
This being so, it really seemed a pity that these same kind folk had
not been able to—oh! no, not buy, that is an ugly word, and besides
it had been Perceval who had been bought, not Althea—to acquire
for Scrope a wife who would have suited the house as well as the
house suited Scrope.
But that had not been possible.
Even as it was, the matter of marrying their friend had not been
easy. Scrope was so wilful—that was why they loved him! He had
barred—absolutely barred—Americans, and that although everybody
knows how useful an American heiress can be, not only with her
money, but with her brightness and her wits, to an English politician.
He had also stipulated for a country girl, and he would have
preferred one straight out of the school-room.
Almost all his conditions had been fulfilled. Althea was nineteen at
the time of her marriage, and, if not exactly country-bred—she was
the only child of a Newcastle magnate—she had seen nothing of the
world to which Scrope and Scrope's Egeria, the woman who had
actually picked out Althea to be Scrope's wife, had introduced her.
Scrope's Egeria? At the time my little story opens, Althea had long
given up being jealous—jealous, that is, in the intolerant, passionate
sense of the word; in fact, she was ashamed that she had ever been
so, for she now felt sure that Perceval would not have liked her,
Althea, any better, even if there had not been another woman to
whom he turned for flattery and sympathy.
The old ambiguous term was, in this case, no pseudonym for
another and more natural, if uglier, relationship on the part of a
married man, and of a man whom the careless public believed to be
on exceptionally good terms with his young wife.
Scrope's Egeria was twenty-four years older than Althea, and nine
years older than Scrope himself. Unfortunately she had a husband
who, unlike Althea, had the bad taste, the foolishness, to be jealous
of her close friendship with Perceval Scrope. And yet, while
admitting to herself the man's folly, Althea had a curious liking for
Egeria's husband. There was, in fact, more between them than their
common interest in the other couple; for he, like Althea, provided
what old-fashioned people used to call the wherewithal; he, like
Althea, had been married because of the gifts he had brought in his
hands, the gifts not only of that material comfort which counts for so
much nowadays, but those which, to Scrope's Egeria, counted far
more than luxury, that is, beauty of surroundings and refinement of
living.
Mr. and Mrs. Panfillen—to give Egeria and her husband their proper
names—lived quite close to Althea and Perceval Scrope, for they
dwelt in Old Queen Street, within little more than a stone's throw of
Delahay Street.
Joan Panfillen, unlike Althea Scrope, was exquisitely suited to her
curious, old-world dwelling. She had about her small, graceful
person, her picturesque and dateless dress, even in her low
melodious voice, that harmony which is, to the man capable of
appreciating it, the most desirable and perhaps the rarest of
feminine attributes.
There was one thing which Althea greatly envied Mrs. Panfillen, and
that was nothing personal to herself; it was simply the tiny formal
garden which divided the house in Old Queen Street from Birdcage
Walk. This garden looked fresher and greener than its fellows
because, by Mrs. Panfillen's care, the miniature parterres were
constantly tended and watered, while the shrubs both summer and
winter were washed and cleansed as carefully as was everything else
likely to be brought in contact with their owner's wife.
In spite of the fact that they lived so very near to one another, the
two women were not much together, and as a rule they only met,
but that was, of course, very often, when out in the political and
social worlds to which they both belonged.
Althea had a curious shrinking from the Panfillens' charming house.
It was there, within a very few weeks of her father's death, that she
had first met Perceval Scrope—and there that he had conducted his
careless wooing. It was in Mrs. Panfillen's boudoir, an octagon-
shaped room on the park side of the house, that he had actually
made his proposal, and that Althea, believing herself to be "in love,"
and uplifted by the solemn and yet joyful thought of how happy
such a marriage—her marriage to a member of the first Fair Food
Cabinet—would have made her father, had accepted him.
From Old Queen Street also had taken place her wedding, which, if
nominally quiet, because the bride still chose to consider herself in
deep mourning, had filled St. Margaret's with one of those
gatherings only brought together on such an occasion—a gathering
in which the foemen of yesterday, and the enemies of to-morrow,
unite with the friends of to-day in order to do honour to a fellow-
politician.
Althea had darker memories connected with Mrs. Panfillen's house.
She had spent there, immediately after her honeymoon, an unhappy
fortnight, waiting for the workpeople to leave her future home in
Delahay Street. It was during that fortnight that for the first time her
girlish complacency had forsaken her, and she had been made to
understand how inadequate her husband found her to the position
she was now called upon to fill. It was then that there had first come
to her the humiliating suspicion that her bridegroom could not
forgive her his own sale of himself. Scrope and Joan Panfillen were
subtle people, living in a world of subtleties, yet in this subtle,
unspoken matter of Scrope's self-contempt concerning his marriage,
the simple Althea's knowledge far preceded theirs.
In those days Joan Panfillen, kindest, most loyal of hostesses, had
always been taking the bride's part, but how unkind—yes, unkind
was the word—Perceval was, even then!
Althea had never forgotten one little incident connected with that
time, and this afternoon she suddenly remembered it with singular
vividness. Scrope had been caricatured in Punch as Scrooge; and—
well—Althea had not quite understood.
"Good Lord!" he had exclaimed, turning to the older woman, "Althea
doesn't know who Scrooge was!" and quickly he had proceeded to
put his young wife through a sharp, and to her a very bewildering
examination, concerning people and places some of whom she had
never heard of, while others seemed vaguely, worryingly familiar. He
had ended up with the words, "And I suppose you consider yourself
educated!" A chance muttered word had then told her that none of
these places were real—that none of these people Perceval had
spoken of with such intimate knowledge, had ever lived!
Althea had felt bitterly angered as well as hurt. Tears had welled up
into her brown eyes; and Mrs. Panfillen, intervening with far more
eager decision than she generally showed about even important
matters, had cried, "That's not fair! In fact you are being quite
absurd, Perceval! I've never cared for Dickens, and I'm sure most
people, at any rate most women, who say they like him are
pretending—pretending all the time! I don't believe there's a girl in
London who could answer the questions you put to Althea just now,
and if there is such a girl then she's a literary monster, and I for one
don't want to know her."
As only answer Scrope had turned and put a thin brown finger under
Althea's chin. "Crying?" he had said, "Baby! She shan't be made to
learn her Dickens if she doesn't want to, so there!"
At the time Althea had tried to smile, but the words her husband had
used had hurt her, horribly, for they had seemed to cast a reflection
on her father—the father who thought so much of education, and
who had been at such pains to obtain for his motherless only child
an ideal chaperon-governess, a lady who had always lived with the
best families in Newcastle. Miss Burt would certainly have made her
pupil read Dickens if Dickens were in any real sense an educating
influence, instead of writing, as Althea had always understood he
did, only about queer and vulgar people.
Not educated? Why, her father had sent her away from him for a
whole year to Dresden, in order that she might learn German and
study music to the best possible advantage! True, she had not learnt
her French in France, for her father had a prejudice against the
French; he belonged to a generation which admired Germany, and
disliked and distrusted the French. She had, however, been taught
French by an excellent teacher, a French Protestant lady who had
lived all her life in England. Of course Althea had never read a
French novel, but she could recite, even now, whole pages of Racine
and Corneille by heart.
And yet, even in this matter of languages, Perceval was unfair, for
some weeks after he had said that cruel thing to her about
education, and when they were at last settling down in their own
house, arranging the details of their first dinner party, he had said to
her with a certain abrupt ill-humour, "The one language I thought
you did know was menu-French!"
Joan Panfillen was also disappointed in Althea. Scrope's Egeria had
hoped to convert Scrope's wife, not into a likeness of herself—she
was far too clever a woman to hope to do that—but into a bright,
cheerful companion for Perceval Scrope's lighter hours. She had
always vaguely supposed that this was the rôle reserved to pretty,
healthy young women possessed of regular features, wavy brown
hair, and good teeth....
But Mrs. Panfillen had soon realised, and the knowledge brought
with it much unease and pain, that she had made a serious mistake
in bringing about the marriage. And yet it had been necessary to do
something; there had come a moment when not only she, but even
Scrope himself, had felt that he must be lifted out of the class—
always distrusted and despised in England—of political adventurers.
Scrope required, more than most men, the solid platform, nay, the
pedestal, of wealth, and accordingly his Egeria had sacrificed herself
and, incidentally, the heiress, Althea.
But, as so often happens to those who make the great
renouncement, Joan Panfillen found that after all no such thing as
true sacrifice was to be required of her.
After his marriage, Scrope was more often with her than he had ever
been, and far more willing, not only to ask but to take, his Egeria's
advice on all that concerned his brilliant, meteoric career. He seldom
mentioned his wife, but Mrs. Panfillen knew her friend far too well
not to know how it was with him; Althea fretted his nerves, offended
his taste, jarred his conscience, at every turn of their joint life.
There were, however, two meagre things to the good—Althea's
fortune, the five thousand a year, which now, after four years, did
not seem so large an income as it had seemed at first; and the fact
that Scrope's marriage had extinguished the odious, and, what was
much more unpleasant to such a woman as was Joan Panfillen, the
ridiculous, jealousy of Joan's husband.
Thomas Panfillen greatly admired Althea; he thought her what she
was—a very lovely young woman, and the fact that he had known
her father made him complacently suppose that he had brought
about her marriage to the peculiar, he was told the remarkably
clever, if rather odd, Perceval Scrope.
Baulked of certain instinctive rights, the human heart seeks
compensation as surely as water seeks its level. Althea, unknown to
herself, had a compensation. His name was John Bustard. He was in
a public office—to be precise, the Privy Council Office. He lived in
rooms not far from his work, that is, not far from Delahay Street,
and he had got into the way of dropping in to tea two, three,
sometimes even four times a week.
The fact that Bustard was an old schoolfellow of Scrope's had been
his introduction to Althea in the early days when she had been
conscientiously anxious to associate herself with her husband's
interests past and present. But of the innumerable people with
whom Scrope had brought her into temporary contact, Mr. Bustard—
she always called him Mr. Bustard, as did most other people—was
the one human being who, being the fittest as regarded herself,
survived.
And yet never had there been a man less suited to play the part of
hero, or even of consoler. Mr. Bustard was short, and his figure was
many years older than his age, which was thirty-four. While forcing
himself to take two constitutionals a day, he indulged in no other
manlier form of exercise, and his contempt for golf was the only
thing that tended to a lack of perfect understanding between his
colleagues and himself. He was interested in his work, but he tried to
forget it when he was not at the office. Bustard was a simple soul,
but blessed with an unformulated, though none the less real,
philosophy of life.
Of the matter nearest his heart he scarcely ever spoke, partly
because he had always supposed it to be uninteresting to anyone
but himself, and also on account of a certain thorny pride which
prevented his being willing to ask favours from the indifferent.
This matter nearest Mr. Bustard's heart concerned his two younger
brothers and an orphan sister whom he supremely desired to do the
best for, and to set well forward in life.
It was of these three young people that he and Althea almost always
talked, and if Althea allowed herself to have an ardent wish, it was
that her husband would permit her to invite Mr. Bustard's sister for a
few weeks when the girl left the German finishing school which she
and Mr. Bustard had chosen, after much anxious deliberation, a year
before.
It soothed Althea's sore heart to know that there was at least one
person in her husband's circle who thought well of her judgment,
who trusted in her discretion, and who did her the compliment of
not only asking, but also of taking her advice.
John Bustard had formed a very good opinion of Althea, and,
constitutionally incapable of divining the causes which had
determined the choice of Scrope's wife, he considered Mrs. Scrope a
further proof, if indeed proof were needed, of his brilliant
schoolfellow's acute intelligence. He had ventured to say as much to
Scrope's late official chief, one of the few men to whom Mr. Bustard,
without a sufficient cause, would have mentioned a lady's name. But
he had been taken aback, rather disturbed, by the old statesman's
dry comment: "Ay, there's always been method in Scrope's madness.
I agree that he has made, from his own point of view, a very good
marriage."
His wife's friendship with Mr. Bustard did not escape Perceval
Scrope's ironic notice. He affected to think his old schoolfellow a
typical member of the British public, and he had nicknamed him "the
Bullometer," but, finding that his little joke vexed Althea, he had,
with unusual consideration, dropped it.
Unfortunately the one offensive epithet was soon exchanged for
another; in allusion doubtless to some historical personage of whom
Althea had no knowledge, Scrope began to call Bustard her fat
friend. "How's your fat friend?" he would ask, and a feeling of
resentment filled Althea's breast. It was not John Bustard's fault that
he had a bad figure; it was caused by the sedentary nature of his
work, and because, instead of spending his salary in the way most
civil servants spend theirs, that is in selfish amusements, he spent it
on his younger brothers, and on his little sister's education.

Althea again went over to the window and looked out. It had now
left off snowing, and the mists were gathering over the park. Soon a
veil of fog would shut out the still landscape. If Mr. Bustard were
coming this afternoon she hoped he would come soon, and so be
gone before Perceval came in.
Perceval was going to make a great speech in the House to-night,
and Althea was rather ashamed that she did not care more. He had
been put up to speak against those who had once been of his own
political household and who now regarded him as a renegade, but
the subject was one sure to inspire him, for it was that which he had
made his own, and which had led to his secession from his party.
Althea and Mrs. Panfillen were going together to hear the speech,
but, to his wife's surprise, Scrope had refused to dine with the
Panfillens that same evening.
Perceval Scrope had not been well. To his vexation the fact had been
mentioned in the papers. The intense cold had tried him—the cold,
and a sudden visit to his constituency.
Althea could not help feeling slightly contemptuous of Perceval's
physical delicacy. Her husband had often looked ill lately, not as ill as
people told her he looked, but still very far from well. Only to herself
did Althea say what she felt sure was the truth, namely that
Perceval's state was due to himself, due to his constant rushing
about, to the way in which he persistently over-excited himself; last,
but by no means least, to the way he ate and drank when the food
and drink pleased him.
Althea judged her husband with the clear, pitiless eyes of youth, but
none of those about her knew that she so judged him. Indeed, there
were some in her circle, kindly amiable folk, who believed, and said
perhaps a little too loudly, that Althea was devoted to Perceval, and
that their marriage was one of those delightful unions which are
indeed made in Heaven....
From the further corner of the room there came the sharp ring of
the telephone bell. No doubt a message saying that Perceval had
altered his plans and was dining out, alone.
Insensibly Althea's lips tightened. She thought she knew what her
husband was about to suggest. She felt sure that he would tell her,
as he had told her so many times before when he had failed her, to
offer herself to Mrs. Panfillen for dinner.
But no—the voice she heard calling her by name was not that of
Perceval Scrope. It was a woman's voice, and it seemed to float
towards her from a far distance. "Althea," called the strange voice,
"Althea."
"Yes?" she said, "who is it? I can hardly hear you," and then, with
startling closeness and clearness—the telephone plays one such
tricks—came the answer in a voice she knew well, "It is I—Joan
Panfillen! Are you alone, Althea? Yes? Ah! that's good! I want you to
do me a kindness, dear. I want you to come round here now—at
once. Don't tell anyone you are coming to me. I have a reason for
this. Can you hear what I say, Althea?"
"Yes," said the listener hesitatingly, "yes, I hear you quite well now,
Joan."
"Come in by the park side, I mean through the garden—the gate is
unlocked, and I will let you in by the window. Be careful as you walk
across the flags, it's very slippery to-night. Can you come now, at
once?"
Althea hesitated a moment. Then she answered, in her low, even
voice, "Yes, I'll come now, at once."
A kindness? What kindness could she, Althea Scrope, do Joan
Panfillen? The fear of the other woman, the hidden distrust with
which she regarded her, gathered sudden force. Not lately, but in the
early days of Scrope's marriage, Mrs. Panfillen had more than once
tried to use her friend's wife, believing—strange that she should
have made such a mistake—that Althea might succeed where she
herself had failed in persuading Scrope for his own good. Althea now
told herself that no doubt Joan wished to see her on some matter
connected with Perceval's coming speech.
As this thought came to her Althea's white forehead wrinkled in
vexed thought. It was too bad that she should have to go out now,
when she was expecting Mr. Bustard, to whom she had one or two
rather important things to say about his sister——But stay, why
should he be told that she was out? Why indeed should she be still
out when Mr. Bustard did come? It was not yet five o'clock, and he
seldom came before a quarter past. With luck she might easily go
over to Joan Panfillen's house and be back before he came.
Althea walked quickly out of the drawing-room and down into the
hall. Her fur cloak had been carefully hung up as she had directed.
Perceval always said Luke was a stupid servant, but she liked Luke;
he was careful, honest, conscientious, a very different type of man
from the butler, Dockett.
Althea passed out into the chilly, foggy air. Delahay Street,
composed of a few high houses, looked dark, forbidding, deserted.
She had often secretly wondered why her husband chose to live in
such a place. Of course she knew that their friends raved about the
park side of the house, but the wife of Perceval Scrope scarcely ever
went in or out of her own door without remembering a dictum of her
father's: "Nothing makes up for a good front entrance."
Althea walked quickly towards Great George Street; to the left she
passed Boar's Head Yard, where lived an old cabman in whom she
took an interest, and whose cab generally stood at Storey's Gate.
How strange to think that here had once stood Oliver Cromwell's
house! Her husband had told her this fact very soon after their
marriage; it had seemed to please him very much that they lived so
near the spot where Cromwell had once lived. Althea even at the
time had thought this pleasure odd, in fact affected, on Perceval's
part.
If the great Protector's house stood there now, filled with interesting
little relics of the man, she could have understood, perhaps to a
certain extent sympathised with, Perceval's feeling, for Cromwell had
been one of her father's heroes. But to care or pretend to care for a
vanished association——!
But Perceval was like that. No man living—or so Althea believed—
was so full of strange whimsies and fads as was Perceval Scrope!
And so thinking of him she suddenly remembered, with a tightening
of the heart, how often her husband's feet had trodden the way she
was now treading, hastening from the house which she had just left
to the house to which she was now going.
Jealous of Joan Panfillen? Nay, Althea assured herself that there was
no room in her heart for jealousy, but it was painful, even more, it
was hateful, to know that there were people who pitied her because
of this peculiar intimacy between Perceval and Joan. Why, quite
lately, there had been a recrudescence of talk about their friendship,
so an ill-bred busybody had hinted to Althea only the day before.
The wife was dimly aware that there had been a time when Mrs.
Panfillen had hoped to form with her an unspoken compact; each
would have helped the other, that is, to "manage" Perceval; but the
moment when such an alliance would have been possible had now
gone for ever—even if it had ever existed. Althea would have had to
have been a different woman,—older, cleverer, less scrupulous, more
indifferent than she was, even now, to the man she had married, to
make such a compact possible.
When about to cross Great George Street she stopped and
hesitated. Why should she do this thing, why leave her house at
Joan Panfillen's bidding? But Althea, even as she hesitated, knew
that she would go on. She had said that she was coming, and she
was not one to break lightly even a light word.
As she crossed Storey's Gate, she noticed the stationary cab of the
old man who lived in Boar's Head Yard. It had been standing there
when she had come in from her walk, and she felt a thrill of pity—
the old man made a gallant fight against misfortune. She and Joan
Panfillen were both very kind to him.
Althea told herself that this sad world is full of real trouble, and the
thought made her ashamed of the feelings which she had just
allowed to possess and shake her with jealous pain. And yet—yet,
though many people envied her, how far from happy Althea knew
herself to be, and how terribly grey her life now looked, stretching
out in front of her.
As she passed into Birdcage Walk, and came close to the little iron
gate which Mrs. Panfillen had told her was unlocked, she saw that a
woman stood on the path of the tiny garden behind the railings.
Of course it was not Joan herself; the thought that Joan, delicate,
fragile as she was, would come out into the cold, foggy air was
unthinkable; scarcely less strange was it to see standing there,
cloakless and hatless, Joan's maid, a tall, gaunt, grey-haired woman
named Bolt, who in the long ago had been nurse to the Panfillens'
dead child. Scrope had told Althea the story of the brief tragedy very
early in his acquaintance with her; he had spoken with strong
feeling, and that although the child had been born, had lived, and
had died before he himself had known Joan.
In the days when she had been Mrs. Panfillen's guest, that is before
her marriage, Althea had known the maid well, known and liked her
grim honesty of manner, but since Althea's marriage to Perceval
Scrope there had come a change over Bolt's manner. She also had
made Althea feel that she was an interloper, and now the sight of
the woman standing waiting in the cold mist disturbed her.
Bolt looked as if she had been there a very long time, and yet Althea
had hurried; she was even a little breathless. As she touched the
gate, she saw that it swung loosely. Everything had been done to
make her coming easy; how urgent must be Joan's need of her!
Althea became oppressed with a vague fear. She looked at the maid
questioningly. "Is Mrs. Panfillen ill?" she asked. The other shook her
head. "There's nothing ailing Mrs. Panfillen," she said in a low voice.
Together, quite silently, they traversed the flagged path, and then
Bolt did a curious thing. She preceded her mistress's visitor up the
iron steps leading to the boudoir window, and leaving her there, on
the little balcony, went down again into the garden, and once more
took up her station near the gate as if mounting guard.
The long French window giving access to the boudoir was closed,
and in the moment that elapsed before it was opened from within
Althea Scrope took unconscious note of the room she knew so well,
and of everything in it, including the figure of the woman she had
come to see.
It was a panelled octagon, the panels painted a pale Wedgwood
blue, while just below the ceiling concave medallions were embossed
with flower garlands and amorini.
A curious change had been made since Althea had last seen the
room. An old six-leaved screen, of gold so faded as to have become
almost silver in tint, which had masked the door, now stood exactly
opposite the window behind which Althea was standing. It concealed
the straight Empire sofa which, as Mr. Panfillen was fond of telling
his wife's friends, on the very rare occasions when he found himself
in this room with one of them, had formerly stood in the Empress
Josephine's boudoir at Malmaison; and, owing to the way it was now
placed, the old screen formed a delicate and charming background
to Mrs. Panfillen's figure.
Scrope's Egeria stood in the middle of the room waiting for Scrope's
wife. She was leaning forward in a curious attitude, as if she were
listening, and the lemon-coloured shade of the lamp standing on the
table threw a strange gleam on her lavender silk gown, fashioned, as
were ever the clothes worn by Joan Panfillen, with a certain austere
simplicity and disregard of passing fashion.
Althea tapped at the window, and the woman who had sent for her
turned round, and, stepping forward, opened the window wide.
"Come in!" she cried. "Come in, Althea—how strange that you had to
knock! I've been waiting for you so long."
"I came as quickly as I could—I don't think I can have been five
minutes."
Althea stepped through the window, bringing with her a blast of
cold, damp air. She looked questioningly at Mrs. Panfillen. She felt,
she hardly knew why, trapped. The other's look of anxious, excited
scrutiny disturbed her.
Mrs. Panfillen's fair face, usually pale, was flushed.
So had she reddened, suddenly, when Althea had come to tell her of
her engagement to Perceval Scrope. So had she looked when
standing on the doorstep as Althea and Perceval started for their
honeymoon, just after there had taken place a strange little scene—
for Scrope, following the example of Thomas Panfillen, who had
insisted on what he called saluting the bride, had taken Panfillen's
wife into his arms and kissed her.
"Althea"—Joan took the younger woman's hand in hers and held it,
closely, as she spoke, "don't be frightened,—but Perceval is here, ill,
—and I've sent for you to take him home."
"Ill?" A look of dismay came over Althea's face. "I hope he's not too
ill to speak to-night—that would be dreadful—he'd be terribly upset,
terribly disappointed!" Even as she spoke she knew she was using
words which to the other would seem exaggerated, a little childish.
"I'm sure he'd rather you took him home, I'm sure he'd rather not be
found——" Mrs. Panfillen hesitated a moment, and again she said
the words "'ill', 'here'," and for the first time Althea saw that there
was a look of great pain and strain on Joan's worn, sensitive face.
"Of course not!" said the young wife quickly. "Of course he mustn't
be ill here; he must come home, at once."
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