Appel 42.4 Power

DE APPEL
POWER
ELECTRIC
AIRPLANES
WHERE ARE THEY?
THE SPIRIT OF LAWS
The setup of a system with a lower
likelyhood of failure
j
42.4
Het verenigingsblad van W.S.G. Isaac Newton
ULTIMATUM
Column Roland

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CHAIRMAN’S NOTE
63
Time flies, it has almost been half a year since we became
the board of Newton and the 11th lustrum will
almost start already. I hope you are looking forward
to the amazing things the committee has planned as
much as I do!
The theme of this edition of the Appel is power. While power is a
very broad social phenomenon, it is also a really intriguing physical
phenomenon. The term is usually associated with things that
can result in big changes. Take for example the power operator
in maths, which can change a small number into a big number
easily.
What I find most interesting is that there are quite some ethical
questions bound to power. For example, even though the term
powerful is usually seen as a positive attribute, there can be quite
some problems with being too powerful. In our government we
see this with a lot of complicated structures to make sure one
person can not have too much influence. In 1945 the world learned
that the destructive power of ‘Little Boy’ and ‘Fat Man’, the
atomic bombs dropped on Japan, is too much to ever be repeated.
But power can also come in very subtle ways. A person that is
inspiring, can have the power to change someone’s mindset. A
teacher can have the power to change your future by schooling
and motivating you. Moreover: even though you probably don’t
have the power to change the world, you will always have power
over your own choices and actions.
Before I let you all go on to enjoy this beautiful new edition, I
would like to pose an interesting philosophical question: What is
power exactly? In my view, Watt is power, exactly!
Jonne van Haastregt
Chairman of W.S.G. Isaac Newton
Adunare Utile Dulci

INHOUD
Colofon
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Jaargang 42, nummer 4, juli 2020
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De redactie is op geen enkele wijze
verantwoordelijk voor de inhoud van de
aangeleverde kopij en houdt zich het recht
kopij in te korten en te wijzigen.
Hoofdredacteur
Almer Lagerweij
Eindredacteur
Michiel Louwé
Grafische vormgeving
Fedde Engelen
Redactie
Ekaterina Antimirova
Daan Flier
Roland Guijs
Koen Kleverwal
Alicia Knijnenburg
Fausto Visser
Hugo Wesselink
Danique Wetsteijn
Drukker
Drukbedrijf.nl
Joan Muyskenweg 114
1114 AN Amsterdam
Advertenties & Advertorials
p. 2 Sioux
p. 17 ExxonMobile
p. 36 VDL-ETG Almelo
08
Powernap
How to
14
The spirit of laws
The setup of a system with
a lower likelyhood of failure
21
Stuxnet
En de kracht van de Nederlandse
AIVD
31
Electric airplanes
Where are they?
4
DE APPEL

06 Forces of
Avalanches
And how to survive
them
13 Gmail
Column Hugo
18 Association News
26 Z machine
Visual
31 Power of protest
34 Absurde
Rijkdommmen
20 Ultimatum
Column Roland
REDACTIONEEL
Het is weer zo ver, het begin van het einde.
Dit is alweer de laatste editie van dit collegejaar.
Na een eerdere editie die helemaal
vanuit huis gemaakt is, is dit alweer de
tweede waarbij wij elkaar als redactieleden
(nagenoeg) niet zien. Ik hoop dat dit tevens,
naast de laatste editie van het jaar, ook de laatste editie is die
volgens het ‘nieuwe normaal’ gemaakt wordt. Iedereen is er
al aan gewend, digitaal onderwijs, digitale borrels en digitaal
commissiewerk. Toch hoop ik dat wij volgend academisch
jaar weer meer van het studentenleven kunnen genieten zoals
het ‘oude normaal’.
Met deze laatste editie van het jaar hoop ik jullie allemaal
toch wat moois mee te kunnen geven voor de zomervakantie.
Velen zullen hun vakantie hebben moet annuleren, maar ik
hoop dat deze Appel nog voor een beetje verlichting kan zorgen.
In deze laatste editie is het thema ‘Power’ leidend. Power
kan natuurlijk op heel veel manieren geïnterpreteerd worden
zoals; politieke macht, of ruwe paardenkrachten. Je kan het
ook over een hele ander boeg gooien, zoals een Powernap, in
deze editie zal u worden uitgelegd hoe je dit het beste kan
aanpakken voor een zo goed mogelijk resultaat. Daarnaast
wordt de ‘separation of powers’ u uitgelegd. Ook wordt er
gekeken naar mensen met gigantische hoeveelheden geld
én macht, en wat je zou kunnen bereiken als dat vermogen
gebruikt werd voor iets goeds en niet het spekken van de
spaarrekening. Ten slotte iets wat al sinds mensenheugenis
speelt, de invloed van het volk door middel van protesten. Dit
wordt uitgebreid toegelicht deze editie.
Het was een uitdaging om u dezelfde leeservaring te
kunnen bieden als u van ons gewend bent, ik kan u in ieder
geval beloven dat wij ons uiterste best hebben gedaan om er
wat moois van te maken. Ik wens u veel lees- en kijkplezier
toe met deze editie van de Appel.
Almer Lagerweij
Hoofdredacteur
DE APPEL 5

AVALANCHES
AND HOW TO SURVIVE THEM
The power of nature takes many forms. Think of earthquakes, tsunamis
and hurricanes, which cause disasters wherever they are. The death
count for some of these natural phenomena is very high and the
entire world knows about it when nature causes an uproar. Luckily,
not all these disasters hit Europe. There are other threats here,
however. One of those is an avalanche, which can be just as scary
as a hurricane and much closer to home.
DOOR ALICIA KNIJNENBURG
HOW THEY APPEAR
An avalanche is basically a mass of snow that is sliding down
a hill. They occur when a slab of snow gets fractured from its
bottom part. There are multiple reasons for this fracture to
happen: lots of snowfall, extra weight due to one or more
persons or powerful wind. The common factor always is
that the pressure on the top layer is too high, which then
causes an avalanche. Needless to say, it is gravity that
makes an avalanche move. Therefore, the slope needs
to be big enough, usually higher than thirty degrees.
TYPES OF AVALANCHES
There are many different types of avalanches,
varying in the way they slide down the hill.
The two that are most common are the slab
avalanche and the powder snow avalanche.
The former is the one we mostly
know from the movies or news since
it causes over ninety percent of all
avalanche deaths. It appears as a
block or slab of snow that fractures from its surroundings. The powder
snow avalanche, or sluff, usually starts from a point and then fans
outward with each descend. Even though they can become very large,
they are far less killing as the slab avalanche. The main reason for this
is that they often stay small and most of the time they fracture below
someone, instead of above.
THE DANGER
Even though you can easily avoid being in an avalanche by not going
near the mountains, many people cannot do without. This costs on
average the life of 150 people each year. People can get buried under
the snow and suffocate or get hypothermia or trauma. The death toll
is not surprising, since avalanches can reach speeds of 300 kilometres
an hour or sometimes even more. Their mass can be 10 million tonnes,
so the damage can be quite severe. Because of this huge mass,
even avalanches with a low travel speed can be destructive, mostly
for villages and surroundings. The danger of avalanches is apparent
and in the past, people have used the knowledge of avalanches for
strategy in wars. The best known example is during World War I. That
day, known as White Friday, numerous avalanches struck, created by
6
DE APPEL

itself,
you will
sink, so try
swimming your way
out. Do not take too long
on deciding which stroke to use:
crawling or thrashing upward is also
fine. The main focus should be on getting
there, how is less important. Then, just before the
avalanche stops, make sure you take a deep breath. This
will increase your breathing room in the snow, so you are not
suffocated and cannot breath.
firing into the weakened snow. Reports are uncertain about the exact
numbers, but during that day and the aftermath, 10000 soldiers on all
sides of the war were killed. In that time, it was the highest recorded
death toil of avalanches that was monitored. The world’s deathliest
avalanche, however, occurred in 1970 as a result of the Ancash earthquake.
The earthquake cost the life of 70000 people, of which 22000
were caused by the avalanche. This avalanche consisted of rock, ice and
snow and with almost 1 kilometre wide, it took everything in its path.
HOW TO SURVIVE
Even though the chances of getting caught in an avalanche are very
slim, it is still nice to know what to do when an avalanche hits. This
actually consists of three parts: what to do when you see an avalanche
coming, what to do during the fall and what to do after you are buried.
If the avalanche occurs and you are still some distance away, it is best
to move to one of the two sides. Letting go of all of your heavy stuff can
help you move faster. Then, when the avalanche draws near, try to hold
on to something. A tree could be a possibility.
Then, when the avalanche hits, it is very important to start swimming.
Both uphill as up to the surface. Since you are denser than the snow
Now that you are buried, it is very important that you know which way is
up. Because of the swimming to the top, your body should be in a standing
position. Holding one hand straight above your head is very useful, so that
you can be found. If you are disoriented, spitting in the snow could help
you determine which way is up. Gravity will show you, since the fluid will
run downward. When you know the way up, it is possible to dig yourself
up. However, if you are still far away, spare your energy! Suffocation is
the number one reason for dying in an avalanche. You should have some
breathing room from taking one last breath before the avalanche stopped.
This air pocket is very valuable and you should not leave it by crawling
upward, unless you can move easily and make it out.
If you cannot get yourself out, the last thing to do is wait. Save your energy
and air and remain calm. A last tip is to always have a beacon on your
clothes so that if you get caught, rescuers have more chances of finding
you. Also, dropping a scarf or another piece of clothing that can easily be
removed can also help, since it can act as breadcrumb for the rescuers to
find you.
Hopefully you will never be in a position where you need to apply all your
avalanche-knowledge, but if so, you now know what to do. Always remember
however, you have less chance of getting hit if you stay on the path
or ski slopes. a
DE APPEL 7

HOW TO
POWERNAP
BY DANIQUE WETSTEIJN
I think we are all familiar with it: being so tired that focus and
concentration seem magical concepts of a different world.
Eyelids weigh more than a pickup truck, simple conversations are
suddenly rocket science and you have convinced yourself that a
10th cup of coffee is going to fix all that. As soon as you realize
that even that will not do the trick, the following thought crosses
your mind: “You know what? I will just take a nap!”
8
DE APPEL

DE APPEL 9

THE POWERNAP
Napping is not that hard if you
have all the time in the world. You
just pick a comfortable and quiet
spot to lie down and start drifting of.
You wake up naturally as soon as your
body is ready, all fresh and active. But how
about if you do not have these hours to revive
yourself? Well, then luckily for you there is the
powernap! It is a nap under an hour that is supposed
to give you a rested feeling and a mental boost during the
rest of your day. As perfect as it sounds, it fails many times. Either
you wake up 2 or more hours later, panicking because you just lost precious
time unintentionally. You do wake under the hour but you’re feeling
even more tired and broken. Or you can’t fall asleep at all, because
you’re afraid of exactly those two scenarios. So the question remains:
How to take an effective powernap?
HISTORY
Many scientists and researchers have been fascinated by the concept of
sleep since centuries. In 1729 a Frenchman called Jean Jacques d’Ortous
de Mairan investigated the sleep rhythm of people that had no idea
whether it was day or night. Another Frenchie by the name Jean Baptiste
Edouard Gellineau studied a sleeping disorder called Narcolepsy Syndrome,
that causes waves of strong and sudden tiredness throughout
the day, in 1880. Hans Berger (German) started measuring brain wave
patterns of sleeping people in 1929. Then in 1953 American Dr. Nathaniel
Kleitman, also known as “The father of American sleep research”, discovered
Rapid Eye Movement (REM). This is a phase during sleep, in which
a person’s brain activity increases significantly. Many scientists have
been continuing research and within 30 years, sleep was proven to be
a cyclic process of the state of alertness of the body and brain. Modern
research is primarily about the causes and solutions to many sleeping
disorders and the effect of sleep (or the lack of it) on behavior, mental
health and physical health.
10 DE APPEL

SLEEPING CYCLES
What we know today is that sleep is a state of the body
and mind in which recovery and processing takes place.
On average it happens in cycles of 90 minutes, depending
on the person, age and environmental factors. This
cycle can be divided into the following five stages and
the awakened state.
1 DOZE OFF PHASE In this stage you start sinking into
sleep. The muscles in your face relax, your breathing
and your heart beat slows down. At this point you can
still wake easily from any sounds or movements and
you can experience muscle twitches in the rest of your
body. The waves in your brains are still really similar to
that of the awakened state (high frequency waves). This
phase just lasts for a 5-10 minutes and upon waking you
will not feel rested.
2 LIGHT SLEEP In this stage the muscles in the rest of
your body relax, breathing slows and heart beats and
body temperature drop even further. At this point any
eye movement stops and your brain waves start to become
longer and slower. Your body is now fully resting
and your brain is starting to prepare for deep sleep.
In this stage you will not wake up anymore from soft
sounds or small movements around you. This phase
takes around ten minutes. Waking up in this stages will
leave you a bit disorientated and not yet fully rested.
3 TRANSITION PHASE At this moment only brain
activity will further decrease. The waves in your brain
will become even slower (less frequent) and these waves
are called delta waves. However, until we reach stage
4 of the sleeping cycle, the delta waves are alternated
with the (faster) light sleep waves. This transition phase
can take up to ten minutes.
4 DEEP SLEEP Once in deep sleep, it might be very
hard to wake up a person. The body has reached a state
similar to that of animals in winter hibernation and the
brain waves are purely delta waves now. This is the kind
of sleep a person needs every day to keep healthy and
sane, as also the brain is resting in this stage. The first
half of the night a person spends most of its time in this
stage (hence the famous saying that “the first hours of
sleep count double”). Not having this stage of the sleep
cycle results in chronically feeling tired. Waking up in
de middle of this stage will leave you feeling hungover,
tired and many times with a bad mood. This stage can
take 20-30 minutes in a cycle.
5 REM SLEEP The final stage, called REM sleep, is where
brain activity is almost equal to that of the awakened
state. Here the body is resting deeply but the brain is
most actively processing emotions, information and
memories. It is therefore also called ‘paradoxal sleep’.
Here dreams and nightmares take place and closed
eyes are moving rapidly back and forth. The time spent
in REM sleep increases in the second half of the night
(when deep sleep is decreased.) On average the first time
entering this stage, it lasts for ten minutes and the last
one before waking up in the morning can take up to
sixty minutes. Waking up during or just after this stage
will make you feel very alert and fresh, as your brain
was already in a simulated awakened state.
AWAKENED STATE Clearly the awakened state is
achieved before and at the end of the complete process
of sleeping. However, scientists have found that during
the night many people wake up at the end or during
REM sleep. The test persons would quickly observe
their environment or adjust their body to be comfortable
again. It is thought that the use of this awakening is
for checking for any direct danger or pain in the body.
Healthy and full grown people can find themselves 8%
of their night in the awakened state.
DE APPEL 11

NAP DURATION
It’s obvious that having an effective powernap, under an hour and waking
fresh, depends gravely on during which stage of the cycle you wake
up. By all means you should prevent waking up during deep sleep to
avoid feeling even more tired and causing ‘sleep inertia’ (a distorted
day-night rhythm). This means the maximum duration of a powernap
should be 30 minutes, e.g. waking up way before the end of the transition
phase and thus before deep sleep. A study of the Australian Flinders
University found out that a nap between ten and twenty minutes was
the most optimal powernap duration. It resulted in the most cognitive
benefits for the longest amount of time after the nap.
EXTERNAL FACTORS
Okay, so now we know how long to nap. But what about the external
factors that influence the quality of our powernap? If falling asleep is a
problem, take the following into account. Don’t drink or eat a lot of fat
and sugar just before your powernap. Also avoid energy drinks and coffee.
These substances will prevent you from falling asleep as they boost
your brain activity temporarily. On the other hand, eating something
rich with proteins helps you falling asleep, the body is working hard
to digest it and will become sleepy. To make sure you’re not constantly
waking up during your doze off phase, try to create the perfect environment
for yourself. Find a quiet and dark sleeping spot. Deactivate
any sounds on your phone or other devices. Nowadays many people are
conditioned to react immediately, and even wake up, at the sound of a
digital notification. Keep in mind that your body temperature will drop,
so take a blanket, an extra sweater, or slightly turn up the room temperature.
Besides these physical factors, it might also happen that your
brain cannot find a correct state to fall asleep. Maybe you are thinking
of all the things you still need to accomplish or feel ashamed for needing
this nap (yes that is a thing). It is not useful keeping awake as your timing
of the powernap won’t be accurate anymore. An advice is to just lie
down, focus on your breaths and as you feel more calm, set the timer for
your nap. All set! One last tip: don’t start napping in the late afternoon,
in this time of the day you are likely to reach deep sleep really fast, and
your powernap will be a failure…
BENEFITS (AND RISKS)
Besides getting rid of the tired feeling, a powernap is a kind of vitamin
for your brain. It helps restoring your ability to learn new things fast,
makes you alert to your environment, increases your short term memory,
increases empathy, widens your concentration span, restores visual
capacity, improves physical and verbal responsiveness and results in
stress reduction. The tests of the Flinders University clearly witnessed
cognitive improvements for up to 155 minutes after that powernap. All
very desirable outcomes. However, as mentioned before, napping can
also have disadvantages when done wrong. In general, napping should
never replace a continuous good night sleep. It might result in previously
mentioned sleep inertia or even a self-imposed ‘jet lag’. Not only
does this cause problems with participating in the pace of society (office
hours, public transport, opening hours of facilities and services, socially
assumed quiet hours by your neighbors) but also affect your health
negatively. Think of increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, eating
disorders, hormonal imbalance and increased sensitivity for addictions.
CONCLUSION
As all individuals are different, the perfect power nap is something personal.
Age plays an important role in this. Previous made statements
are a good estimate for late adolescents to grownups under 30 years
old. So in short: Plan your powernap early on the day, look out for what
you eat or drink, create a comfortable environment and set the timer
between 10 and 20 minutes. After this you should be good to go again
and be productive for a few more hours! a
12 DE APPEL

COLUMN
HUGO WESSELINK
GMAIL
Je kunt als groot bedrijf of organisatie niet alles zelf
doen, sommige taken zul je moeten uitbesteden of je huurt
er mensen voor in. Doe je dit niet dan zul je hoogstwaarschijnlijk
minder succesvol zijn met het uitvoeren van je
hoofdtaak, omdat je aandacht simpelweg wordt verspild
aan bijzaken. Voor de UT is dit niet anders, als hoofdtaken
heeft zij het opleiden van studenten tot academici en het
verrichten van wetenschappelijk onderzoek. Als beloning
krijgt zij hiervoor geld vanuit de overheid of het
bedrijfsleven en is de cirkel weer rond. Om
de werklast te verlagen en het proces zo
efficiënt mogelijk te maken investeert
de UT gigantische bedragen aan hulpmiddelen
zoals hard- en software. Op
zich is hier niets mis mee, het is onoverkoombaar
zelfs. Het is namelijk
onverstandig om voor alle administratieve
systemen zelf een scriptje te
willen schrijven in Python of een ander
soort freeware.
Echter moet er naar mijn mening wel
met een kritische blik gekeken worden, wanneer
zulke systemen worden uitgezocht. Toen ik namelijk
een tijd terug weer eens las dat Google nog steeds
niet is geminderd met het verhandelen van data van haar
gebruikers, begon het toch te knagen. Vanaf dag één dat
je hier student of medewerker bent, krijg je je persoonlijke
google account welke op allerlei systemen zoals je mailbox
gebruikt dient te worden. Universiteiten hebben zoals eerder
genoemd de taak om studenten op te leiden tot academici.
Ik ben van mening dat bij opleiden ook een stukje
opvoeding en bescherming hoort, iets waar in mijn optiek
de UT normaliter hoge ogen scoort. Maar hoe kan het dat
een instantie die duizenden jongeren jaarlijks kritisch leert
denken, niet kritisch is bij het uitkiezen van haar systemen?
En dat er is gekozen voor Gmail, terwijl er talloze alternatieven
zijn die niet hun brood verdienen met het verkopen
van hun eigen gebruikersdata.
Misschien draaf ik door of heb ik het bij het verkeerde
eind. Het zou maar zo kunnen dat er
wel kritisch is nagedacht toen de digitale
wereld op de UT stukje bij beetje in elkaar
werd gezet. Dat het simpelweg
nog niet bekend was hoe het verdienmodel
van grootmacht Google
in elkaar stak op het moment dat de
beslissing over onze mailbox werd
gemaakt. Of dat alternatieven nog
niet bestonden en dat dit de enige uitweg
was. Maar stel, ik heb het wel bij het
goede eind. Is het dan een idee om er nog
eens kritisch naar te kijken, de conclusies van
het verleden te heroverwegen en eventueel een nieuw
pad in te slaan? Als er dan ook nog een rapport over wordt
geschreven zou men het haast wetenschappelijk onderzoek
kunnen noemen en valt het weer onder de universiteit haar
hoofdtaken. Daarnaast is het ons ook gelukt om de overstap
van Blackboard naar Canvas te maken, dus zou een andere
digitale brievenbus niet de grootste drempel in onze loopbaan
hoeven te zijn. HW
DE APPEL 13

THE SPIRIT OF LAWS
THE SETUP OF A SYSTEM WITH A LOWER LIKELYHOOD OF FAILURE
BY FAUSTO VISSER
In the times of the Roman empire the emperor was the highest governing
body. However, some forms of democracy were known. Local
consuls and magistrates were in control of most local rulings, but the
tribune of the plebs was one of the first instances in history where there
was a controlling body present. The tribune of the plebs had the power
to veto rulings made by the consuls and magistrates. Being as this was
back in 470 BC it is the first mayor occurrence of the people reviewing
the work of their governing body. Arguably one could say this was a
sign of a great civilization which is nicely contrasted by the next few
hundred years as in the middle ages the people were ruled by monarchs,
lords and vassals in a vague system of war and conquest known
as Feudalism. Herein the largest percentage of the population fit into
the category of peasantry, these people were tasked with labour and
assigned to fight in the wars that the lords and monarchs saw fit. What
tasks they were to fulfil and which wars to fight they had no say in. In
the 18 th century Louis XV was the reigning monarch in France (from
1715 to 1774). Louis XV was a politically clumsy and indecisive ruler who
was growing less loved by the people. In this period the intellectual and
philosophical movement of the age of enlightenment was sprouting.
In the age of enlightenment spearheaded in the years 1600 by the great
thinkers such as Descartes and Isaac Newton, new insights were not
only seen in the physics and philosophy department but also for governance.
Charles de Montesquieu first published a work in 1746 that
would later help shape many modern governments, and the beginnings
of many uprisings as well. De l’esprit des loix (the spirit of laws) was 21
years in the making by the baron Montesquieu and was mainly focused
on political theory and the early work on the field of comparative law. A
main aspect was pleading for a separation of powers that could control
and check each other. In the context of those times with an almost
absolute monarchical ruler with only a few advisors these ideas were
considered deviant at least and treasonous at most.
Diving into the content of De l’esprit des loix the first chapters Montesquieu
introduces three forms of governance which are described by
simple facts. A republic government is one where the people or only
a part of the people has the supreme power. Where no preselection is
made because of social class or any other superficial aspect that determines
if one has the right to vote or is allowed to run for office. A monarchy
is where a single person governs by fixed and established laws.
14 DE APPEL

Lastly a despotic government, wherein a single person directs everything
by his own will and whim. These describing the three main forms
of governance, some more subtle forms or nuances on these themes can
be made with an aristocracy or other forms.
To keep with the current times from here on out only the setup of a
republic and the forms it can take will be discussed, as since the era
of Montesquieu the most used form of governance has changed from
a monarchy to a republic. One could still argue however that there are
many modern ‘republics’ that do not really follow the definition of the
term but are very alike to a monarchy or aristocracy.
Montesquieu makes the point that a republic only works with a virtues
people or as we in Dutch call ‘deugdelijk’. Most of the order is not maintained
by an external force but the people carry themselves virtuously.
The virtue in this case can also be understood as the love of one’s country
or the love of equality. For maintaining the equality in a country
Montesquieu made a number of interesting observations from the inspiration
of the English monarchy at the time. Starting with a division
of the powers a prince or magistrate had. The legislative; enacting of
temporary or perpetual laws and amending or scrapping the laws that
had already been enacted. The executive; establishing public security
and defending against invasions. Lastly the power of the courts, the
ability to punish criminals and settle disputes between individuals.
Montesquieu envisioned the occupants of the three powers in the following
way; The legislative power would be placed with two groups, the
body of nobles and a body representing the people. The latter would be
constructed by a regional vote which would determine their deputy for
the national body of representatives. Executive power should be limited
to a small group or single person with few advisors as most matters that
concern the executive power require swiftness and decisiveness. Most
obvious would be to use a monarch or prince and let them command
the armies. To keep these two powers in balance Montesquieu describes
a few requirements. The executive power should have no say in the
making of the new legislations but, remains with the task of giving the
final approval before the new law is enforced. Furthermore, the legislative
power should not be able to arraign the executive power.
Judiciary power is according to Montesquieu best formed by selecting a
DE APPEL 15

random group from the body of people, that group should then only be
used for as long as necessity requires. This is with the goal of not connecting
the judiciary power with any profession rendering it essentially
invisible. An office that can be feared but no specific person to point
towards. This office is also under a condition and an essential right. No
connection should exist between the legislative power and the judiciary,
meaning no representative from the legislative power can take place on
a jury. The jury does hold the power to moderate the sentence prescribed
by law if it is in the spirit of the law itself.
Having ploughed though the essentials laid out by Montesquieu one
might already see many parallels to both our Dutch form of government
and the American system or any other modern republic or monarchy
for that matter. While the Dutch way of governing is still officially
a Monarchy the executive power is shared between the king and ‘het
kabinet’, thus the king still carries the task of giving the final approval
for every law that is passed. This is actual power the king still had
but wisely the Dutch monarchs have chosen not to use any of it. These
peculiar remnants of older forms of governance prevail in the Dutch
system, probably mostly because of tradition and heritage. In the Netherlands
the legislative power is formed by the staten generaal, which
then consists of the senate (eerste kamer) and the house of representatives
(tweede kamer).
When the united states of America was formed with the declaration of
independence (1776) the form of governance was a complete blank slate,
an interesting opportunity. As such the possibilities were nearly endless
but the then contemporary ideas on political philosophy by both
John Locke and Montesquieu were essentially the basis for the American
system. One can immediately see the very direct implementation of
the judiciary power nearly exactly as Montesquieu theorised only thirty
years earlier.
As such we can still notice the immeasurable impact the political theories
from the period of enlightenment had on our modern form of society.
More important than the specific implementation of a government
is that virtue is at the basis of a functioning democracy. As one surely
would have no faith in being ruled by the corrupted and unvirtuous. So,
in the Netherlands we can be grateful for our ‘deugdelijke’ parliament
and prime minister Rutte. k
16 DE APPEL

There is a lot of science
happening at ExxonMobil.
Since 1970, the scientists and engineers
at ExxonMobil have contributed to nearly
30,000 patents for innovations in fields across
our industry. Along with inventions to produce
cleaner fuels, we continue to actively develop
technologies such as carbon capture on a
mass scale, next-generation biofuels made
from algae, and high-efficiency engine
lubricants. These are just a few of the
technologies we’re researching to reduce
emissions on a global scale.

ASSOCIATION NEWS
IN THE PICTURE
LUSTRUM ANNOUNCEMENT QUIZ
As the eleventh Lustrum is coming up, of course the theme and activities
had to be announced! Sadly, the announcement could not be
held during a drink dedicated to this event as it would have normally,
however the Lustrum committee had come up with another
idea to share the theme. During the Lustrum Announcement Quiz,
the Lustrum Committee held a well set up pubquiz with question
related to the association, Sir Isaac Newton, Mechanical Engineering
and, of course, the Corona virus. A lot of people tuned in to their
livestream and played along with the pubquiz, but this of course
was not the full event, as the theme still had not been announced!
The committee showed all attendees of the Announcement Quiz the
video dedicated to revealing the theme and activities which will be
held during the Lustrum. They had asked the actual Sir Isaac Newton
to play in the video to announce the Lustrum for us and they actually
got him to play in the video! Or it was a really similar looking
and convincing impersonator, but I am sure it was the real deal! The
theme for the Lustrum is “Time Flies”, as can also be seen in the
picture here, and some of the activities that they will be having are
a Gala, a Festival, an excursion to the Swiss Watch Industry and Rappelling
from the Horst! Some activities have sadly been moved to later
in the academic year however due to the situation regarding the
Corona virus, but the committee will be making sure all is going to
J
be as epic as can be! Some of these events are already on the Newton
site to sign up for and a link to the Lustrum site can also be found on
the Newton site. To reach the Lustrum site, you just have to click the
“Lustrum – Time Flies” tab on the Newton site and you will be able
to see any available information about the Lustrum!
18
DE APPEL

WHATSAPP SCAVENGER HUNT
During the Corona lockdown, most activities were being held online
of course. The WhatsApp Scavenger Hunt was, however, partly
online were the participants basically were set up to show off their
skills in some very random activities! During the 2 hours it took,
people were given challenges to do which were afterwards judged
by Jonne to determine everyone’s scores. Challenges such as making
a custom face mask or breaking a record or singing to a drawing
of Sir Isaac Newton were given and the results were all shared
in a dedicated WhatsApp group, causing a lot of chaos and fun!
THE FIRST OFFLINE ACTIVITIES
ARE COMING AGAIN!
As I am writing this, the Borrelcie is preparing itself for the first Offline
Friday Afternoon Drink again! However spots for the upcoming
activities will be limited, we are very happy that the university and
the government is allowing offline activities once more and the Activity
Committee has been active in organizing an End of the Year
Picnic. After the lockdown, it seems that everyone is very eager to
be seeing each other again, and understandably so! It is a big relief
to see into the near future with these measures and it seems to be
bringing a lot of motivation within the board and the committees!
GENERAL MEMBERS ASSEMBLY
During the General Members Assembly on 9th of June, the board
has given an update on what has been going on in the association
in the four months before the GMA. The situation regarding Corona
and its effects on the association were discussed and a new privacy
policy was suggested and approved by the attendees, after some
small changes! The GMA was a special one this time, as it had to
be held online for the first time, however all went technically very
smoothly and a lot of useful input has come out of the assembly.
MUSIC BINGO
As I had previously noted, multiple online activities were held. One
of those activities was the Music Bingo, organized by the Activity
Committee! The committee had made a Spotify playlist with a set of
iconic songs which were not guaranteed to fill anyone listening along
with joy! Probably not because of the songs necessarily, but because
they were able to cross out that song from their bingo cards,
which the committee had provided to everyone. After about 2,5
hours and a few allegations of corrupt committee members, mostly
Eva, all songs had come by and all prizes had been won and a good
time had been had by everyone!
DE APPEL 19

COLUMN
ROLAND GUIJS
ULTIMATUM
Dit is hem dan, mijn laatste column in de Appel.
Met het inleveren en verdedigen van mijn
thesis kan ik mijn periode op de Universiteit
Twente afsluiten en eindelijk die twee felbegeerde
letters, met punt, voor mijn naam zetten.
Het is natuurlijk erg verleidelijk om in deze column
in te gaan op de corona omstandigheden
in ons land, op de UT zelf of wat het betekende
voor mijn afstuderen. Want hoewel we bij de
Appel de stelregel hebben om geen actualiteiten
in artikelen, dan wel columns, te bespreken
omdat deze vaak alweer gedateerd zijn als het
blad daadwerkelijk op de mat valt, kan
ik in dit geval met aan zekerheid
grenzende waarschijnlijkheid
zeggen dat ook bij het lezen
van deze column corona
nog steeds een dingetje is.
Net zoals dat waarschijnlijk
bij de gehele volgende
jaargang nog het geval zal
zijn. Nu de terrassen weer
open zijn, binnen sporten
weer mogelijk is en zelfs de
zon zo nu en dan schijnt hebben
we eigenlijk helemaal niet zoveel te
klagen. Enige minpuntje is wellicht het aan panisch
grenzende gedrag van sommige mensen
en instanties omtrent wandelroutes, registraties,
zeeppompjes en afstand. Maar goed, voor
niets gaat de zon op. En wie had ooit gedacht dat
elke winkel nu gratis alcohol ter beschikking
zou stellen voor haar klanten? Het constante gevoel
van glimmend schone handen compenseert
toch in elk geval een deel van de nare bijsmaak
van hypocrisie door bepaalde branches en bedrijven.
En ook het feit dat de afronding van
mijn thesis toch echt heel anders was dan ik aan
het begin van mijn studie had gedacht, is ook
iets wat geen blijvend litteken zal achterlaten op
mijn ziel. Wel begin ik nu echt aan een nieuw
hoofdstuk in mijn leven. Vaarwel straffeloos colleges
skippen, vaarwel zeuren over overpriced
kroketten, vaarwel hersen-slopende opdrachten
van Jurnan, vaarwel rij voor het zwarte goud bij
Newton en vooral, vaarwel master thesis. De tijd
van het opbouwen van een burgerlijk bestaan
is dan ook echt aangebroken. Dat mensen om je
heen plotseling serieus gaan nadenken over kinderen
enzo. Dat het nu toch wordt verwacht dat
ik mijn vissen en planten langer dan 3 maanden
in leven kan houden. En dat je plotseling
na het bestellen van de 2e
ronde bier de huidige huizenmarkt
gaat bespreken en wat
dit betekent met jouw mogelijke
hypotheek. Met een
serieuze ondertoon. Iets
wat voor mij als ondernemer
overigens nog mijlen
ver weg is, een hypotheek.
Ik heb namelijk besloten om
niet voor de standaard ‘FEM
achter een bureau op een kantoor’-baan
gekozen, maar ik ga onder
de naam Indall visualisaties maken van technische
producten en diensten om deze beter uit
te leggen. Medio februari leek dit een grandioos
idee, maar inmiddels is het toch iets ingewikkelder
geworden. Maar goed, tenzij je mondkapjesof
ontsmettingsmiddelenfabrikant bent is elk
bedrijfsmodel nu wat ingewikkelder. Nu rest mij
alleen nog mijn trouwe lezers, als die er überhaupt
waren, te groeten en alle goeds te wensen!
Geniet van je welverdiende vakantie, je studie en
de columns van mijn opvolger. En vergeet niet,
an apple a day, keeps the doctor away! RG
DE APPEL 20

STUXNET
EN DE KRACHT VAN DE
NEDERLANDSE AIVD
DOOR HUGO WESSELINK
Op nog geen twintig kilometer van onze universiteit gebeurde er in de jaren 70 iets onwaarschijnlijks. Een
Pakistaanse atoomgeleerde, genaamd Abdul Khan, woonde al jaren in Europa en studeerde af in Delft op het
gebied van metaalkunde en werd tevens bekwaam in kernfysica. Hierna promoveerde hij in België waarna hij
vervolgens via een onderzoekslaboratorium in Almelo voor Urenco aan het werk kwam. Hier werd gewerkt
met de ultracentrifugemethode om uranium te verrijken. Deze procedure, onder leiding van een Brits-Duits-
Nederlands consortium was uniek en bij andere landen onbekend. Vandaar dat het door deze drie-eenheid
verboden was om de techniek te exporteren naar andere partijen. Abdul vertrok in 1975 voor een vakantie
naar Pakistan en kwam nooit meer terug. Een aantal jaar later was bleek Pakistan in staat een atoombom te
kunnen maken. De nucleaire kennis die hij in al die jaren had opgedaan werd niet alleen gedeeld met Abduls
geboorteland, het werd ook verkocht aan destijds dubieuze regimes zoals Libië, Noord-Korea en Iran. Nu
heeft dit verhaal op zichzelf staand nog weinig met het Stuxnet virus en de Nederlandse rol. Echter zorgde het
wel voor dat de AIVD meer ging opletten bij deze landen om te zien of er aan uraniumverrijking werd gedaan.
DE APPEL 21

EEN VERSTOPTE INSTALLATIE
Om de eerder genoemde ultracentrifugemethode namelijk te willen
gebruiken om uranium te verrijken zijn er allerlei onderdelen nodig.
Onderdelen van hoogstaande kwaliteit die niet zo maar overal op de
wereld gemaakt kunnen worden. Wanneer je dus een goed zicht hebt
op dit netwerk van onderdelen kun je deze onderscheppen en saboteren.
Zo wist de AIVD vacuümbuizen te onderscheppen en te voorzien
van minuscule gaatjes, zodat eenmaal aangekomen op de eindebestemming
deze niet meer functioneerden. Ook werden er door de
AIVD soms peilbakens in verpakkingen verstopt om de onderdelen
te traceren en zo te voorspellen waar men op de wereld van plan is
Uranium te verrijken. In september 2002 wordt met behulp van deze
peilbakens en satellietfoto’s een ontdekking gedaan. In Natanz, de plek
waar deze apparatuur naar toe werd verscheept is op de satellietfoto’s
te zien dat er een gigantische installatie gebouwd wordt. Een installatie
die een paar maanden later niet meer te zien is, omdat deze onder
de grond is gelegd. Vanwege deze bevindingen komt het internationaal
atoomagentschap langs en ziet dat Iran al een stuk verder is dan
verwacht in deze technologie. Er worden gesprekken gevoerd met het
westen en het atoomprogramma wordt opgeschort.
OPNIEUW URANIUM VERRIJKING
Een paar jaar later, in 2005, wanneer Iran een nieuwe president krijgt
worden de gesprekken door hem aan de kant geschoven en maakt hij
Iran klaar om in Natanz alsnog de ultracentrifuges te gaan plaatsen
en het gas te produceren voor het verrijken van uranium. Eind 2006
zijn ze zo ver en kunnen de eerste centrifuges worden geïnstalleerd.
Het internationaal atoomagentschap mag nog wel langskomen om
het proces te bekijken, maar mogen de spullen zelf niet controleren.
In de periode van 2007 tot 2009 ziet dit agentschap aan de mindere
hoeveelheden gas die er geproduceerd worden dat er veel meer ultracentrifuges
kapot gaan dan gebruikelijk en rapporteren dit ook aan
het hoofdkantoor. De reden hiervoor is onduidelijk, echter worden zij
alleen toegelaten tot het proces en kunnen dit dus niet verder onderzoeken.
Om een indruk te geven over de hoeveelheden, Iran had in
Natanz op dat moment zo’n vijftig duizend ultracentrifuges. Hiervan
zouden er normaliter per maand rond de honderd vervangen moeten
worden, echter gaat het om duizend tot vijftienhonderd apparaten die
er daar per maand stuk gaan.
STUXNET
Weer een stap in de toekomst, rond 2010, komt er een melding bij een
antivirus bedrijf in Wit-Rusland dat een aantal klanten van hun in
Iran computers bezitten die zichzelf maar opnieuw blijven opstarten.
Wanneer dit wordt uitgezocht zien ze dat het om een virus gaat
wat overdraagbaar is via USB-sticks en bijna alle Windows systemen
infecteert. Omdat het antivirus bedrijf maar klein is en het zelf niet
weet op te lossen, delen ze het met een groter Amerikaans bedrijf
22 DE APPEL

genaamd Symantec. Na vier maanden onderzoek concluderen zij dat het
geen spionage is maar sabotage, ze noemen het Stuxnet. Het bijzondere
aan dit virus waar ze op dat moment al achter komen, is dat dit virus
gebruik maakt van vijf onbekende kwetsbaarheden van Windows en dat
het zich verspreid op zeven verschillende manieren. Ook ontdekken ze
dat het virus kijkt of er software op de geïnfecteerde pc aanwezig is om
specifieke industriële processen te programmeren. Als dit niet het geval
is verdwijnt het en lijkt het alsof er niets is gebeurd. Als dit wel het geval
is blijft het en wacht het tot het wordt geactiveerd. Wie dit virus had gecreëerd
en wat het als doel had was op dat moment onduidelijk. Echter
omdat het virus werd ontdekt, kon het worden verholpen en wordt er
weinig meer over gehoord.
HET NIEUWE OUDERE STUXNET
Deze onderzoekers van Symantec vinden een hele tijd later, een tweede
variant van Stuxnet welke eigenlijk al veel eerder ontwikkeld en losgelaten
was, rond 2007 namelijk. In deze variant van het virus is Nederland
betrokken. Dit virus is ook weer gebouwd om computers aan te vallen
welke software van een heel specifiek industrieel proces bevatten. Software
die kleppen aanstuurt van een bepaald type centrifugesysteem,
het ultracentrifugesysteem voor uraniumgasverrijking om precies te
zijn. Wanneer zo’n computer of computersysteem is gevonden doet het
de eerste dertig dagen nog weinig, het verzameld data van het proces
om te zien wat de normale gang van zaken is. Zo slaat het temperaturen,
volumes, rotatiesnelheden van de cilinder en drukken op gedurende de
tijd dat de kleppen dicht zijn. Ook merkt het hoe lang de kleppen open
moeten staan na het ultra centrifugeren. Na deze dertig dagen wordt
het virus twee uur lang agressief. Een aantal gekozen kleppen plus een
aantal willekeurig kleppen worden expres dichtgehouden terwijl deze
open zouden moeten staan. Hierdoor komt er meer gas in de ultracentrifuge
dan dat er uitgaat. Daarnaast wordt het beveiligingssysteem van
de rotor van deze centrifuge, welke een te hoge rotatiesnelheid voorkomt,
gedurende deze twee uur door het virus uitgezet. Het opgehoopte
gas in de ultracentrifuges verdikt en zorgt voor een onbalans op de rotor
waardoor deze de rotorwand raakt en de gehele cilinder explodeert.
Als deze twee uur voorbij zijn, herhaalt het proces zich: dertig dagen
passief, twee uur actief. Het ingenieuze aan dit virus is dat de waardes
die in de dertig dagen zijn opgeslagen terug worden gestuurd naar de
controlekamer in de twee uur dat het actief is. Zodoende lijkt er niets
aan de hand met de installatie, terwijl er zich eigenlijk gas ophoopt met
ontploffing als gevolg.
PER ONGELUK EEN EXTRA PARTNER
Onduidelijk was hoe dit virus precies dit ondergrondse complex was
binnengedrongen, sinds dit nog steeds ergens op het systeem gezet
zou moeten worden. Uiteindelijk is de oorsprong hiervan terug te leiden
naar het jaar 2003. In dat jaar is een schip vol onderdelen voor ultracentrifuges
onderweg naar het regime van Gadaffi in Libië. Net op
DE APPEL 23

24 DE APPEL

tijd onderscheppen de Britten in samenwerking met de Amerikanen
dit schip en voorkomen dat Gadaffi over de apparatuur beschikt om
zelf uranium te gaan verrijken. Amerika wil de lading van dit onderschepte
schip naar haar eigen land verplaatsen om dit hier veilig te
stellen. Als Nederland hier lucht van krijgt is zij fel tegen dit idee,
deze technieken horen namelijk niet gedeeld te worden buiten de landen
van het Urenco consortium. De Britten delen deze zorg niet en
sinds Nederland op dat moment geen manschappen aanwezig heeft
op die locatie, worden de onderdelen toch naar de Verenigde Staten
verscheept. De uitgelezen kans voor Amerika om er achter te komen
hoe het proces van deze ultracentrifuges werkt en er eventueel een
virus voor te creëren.
EEN OUDE VRIEND
Eind 2004, meer dan een jaar na de onderschepping van de ultracentrifuge
onderdelen, heeft Amerika genoeg kennis over dit proces en is
ook het plan voor het sabotagevirus al ontstaan. De CIA kan dit echter
niet in haar eentje uitvoeren en dus komen ze met een verzoek aan de
AIVD. Of ze kunnen helpen om toegang te verschaffen tot de locatie in
Natanz. De reden hiervoor is voor Nederland nog niet bekend en ook
de naam Stuxnet is nog non-existent. Als Amerika zelf iemand zou
sturen naar Iran zou dit gezien de relatie met Iran hoogstwaarschijnlijk
te veel opvallen, dus vragen ze een gunst aan een oude vriend. Als
tegenprestatie kan de Nederlandse veiligheidsdienst bepaalde info
van Amerika krijgen en dus gaan zij akkoord met het voorstel. De
AIVD heeft een Iraanse ingenieur in dienst welke op dat moment gestationeerd
is in Iran, de perfecte persoon voor deze klus. Er worden
twee bedrijven in Iran opgezet waarvan er één uiteindelijk succesvol
blijkt. Deze Iraanse ingenieur krijgt het voor elkaar om spullen aan
de overheid te mogen leveren, welke nodig zijn bij de installatie van
ultracentrifuges in Natanz. Bij het ondergrondse complex zijn de medewerkers
eerst wantrouwend om deze man toe te laten, maar met
behulp van Israëlische spionnen lukt het om toch toestemming te
krijgen. Het is ondertussen begin 2007, iets meer dan twee jaar na het
verzoek van de Amerikanen voor de Nederlandse hulp.
aanvallen, maar ook hoe Iran het heeft aangelegd en welke specificaties
ze gebruiken. Als men bijvoorbeeld met een virus de PC’s in de
newtonkamer wil aanvallen, is het niet genoeg om te weten dat deze
op Windows draaien. Welke versie van Windows en wanneer de systemen
bijvoorbeeld een back-up creëren, is ook benodigde informatie
om een geavanceerd virus compleet te maken. Door de onderschepte
scheepslading welke naar Amerika is getransporteerd en met kennis
van Nederland, weten de Amerikanen al welk type ultracentrifuges
er in Natanz staan. In de zomer van 2007 is de Iraanse ingenieur vaak
genoeg binnen geweest dat de rest van de informatie ook bekend en
is en het virus tot het eindproduct kan worden geüpdatet. Met een
besmette USB-stick kan de AIVD’er Stuxnet nu in Natanz loslaten. De
rest is geschiedenis, in 2007 zou Iran volgens het internationaal atoomagentschap
genoeg gas moeten kunnen maken om 125 kilo verrijkt
uranium te kunnen produceren. Ze kwamen echter niet verder dan
een hoeveelheid gas voor 75 kilo.
Een virus wat wordt bedacht in 2004, gecreëerd in 2007 en pas ontdekt
en ontcijfert in 2012 weet zo veel schade aan te richten dat Iran
anderhalf jaar aan vertraging oploopt met haar uranium verrijkingsprogramma.
In deze gigantische undercover operatie wist de AIVD
haar bondgenoten te voorzien van informatie over het proces en uiteindelijk
bracht zij via haar mensen het virus naar binnen. De AIVD
is in deze hedendaagse wereld zeker geen kleine speler, misschien als
het aankomt op manschappen, maar zeker niet in de orde van haar
daden. Het is enerzijds briljant maar anderzijds ook beangstigend om
te begrijpen wat de kracht en de mogelijkheden van zulke instanties
zijn. Als leek hebben we hier zo weinig invloed op, dat we alleen maar
kunnen hopen dat ze ons beschermen en de juiste keuzes maken. Dat
is misschien voor nu ook maar gewoon de beste oplossing. a
DE LAATSTE STAP
Het is niet de bedoeling om direct te gaan saboteren, er moet namelijk
eerst meer informatie worden vergaard. Voor een complex virus
is het belangrijk niet alleen te weten wat voor apparatuur het moet
DE APPEL 25

Inside the Sandia National Laboratories research facility sits a machine
of mind-boggling capacity: the Z Machine, the most powerful and efficient
laboratory radiation source in the world. Capable of creating conditions found
nowhere else on Earth, the machine can produce the same dense plasma
found in white dwarf stars.
Officially known as the Z Pulsed Power Facility, is the largest high frequency
electromagnetic wave generator in the world. It was designed to test materials
in extreme temperatures and pressures. It gathered data to aid in the
modelling of nuclear weapons but now it does for nuclear fusion pulsed power
plants.
INCREDIBLE TEMPERATURES
At some point in 2006, the Z machines produced plasmas with temperatures
over 2 billion Kelvin. This was recorded by the Guinness book of records
Z MACHINE
BY ALMER LAGERWEIJ
26 DE APPEL

as the highest human-achieved temperature. What could
be achieved with these kinds of temperatures? Fusion, but
not ‘easy’ fusion of hydrogen, no, in theory this could allow for
the fusion of lithium and boron.
SOME OTHER INCREDIBLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Besides its use as a generator, the Z machines propelled small plates
at 34 kilometers a second, which is faster than the 30 kilometers
per second the earth travels around the sun, and even 4 times
faster than the escape velocity. It also created a hyperdense
‘hot ice’, known as ice VII, by quickly compressing water to
pressures of 7 to 12 GPa. To all this, the Z machines
needs a little power, somewhere around 290 TW
(10 12 W). a
DE APPEL 27

ELECTRIC AIRPLANES
WHERE ARE THEY?
BY EKATERINA ANTIMIROVA
The borders are open again, and many are hastily
booking hot airline tickets to the next destination.
Before clicking to buy on that cheap offer, some might
receive an option to offset their carbon footprint. Actually,
flying is more energy efficient in terms of fuel per passenger
than driving, however the car industry has an advantage. If you want to
significantly decrease carbon footprint with your car, then you have a choice
to buy an electric vehicle, and there are more and more on the market every year
following Tesla’s lead. In fact, it seems like the world is going more and more electric,
carmakers introduce new electric cars, trucks, and buses every year. Others introduce
electric boats and trains. However, planes do not offer that privilege, we are
stuck burning the fuel to power the flight. Why do we not hear more
on the development of electric airplanes? Is the air industry
just waiting for its turn for the next billionaire to
revolutionize it, or there are significant
challenges to realising an
electric flight?
28 DE APPEL

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
First of all, it is an inconvenient truth and few seem to realise it, but aviation
is still a major polluting industry with potential to constitute as
far as 15% of human-caused environmental pollution by 2050 (IPCC). We
choose to close our eyes on it, as planes bring us from the cold and rainy
lands to the sunny and warm coasts. And this industry is only projected
to increase, as “major two civilian aviation giants Airbus (2004) and
Boeing (2005) predict an annual growth rate of 5.3% and 4.8% till the
year 2024, considering strong competitions, more airline entrants and
lower fare” (Aviation Benefits). Besides the more obvious air pollution,
air planes cause problematic noise and nuisance in air and on land, causing
significant health risks to those who work as part of the industry,
live near it, and use it.
Currently the aviation industry has already made great steps to increase
efficiency of flight, improve logistics, and use alternative fuels to
shave off extra euros for its customers. These actions, however, continue
pumping CO2 and other toxic precipitates directly into the atmosphere.
Besides that, the general fact
that flight is more efficient per person
per kilometer is often taken out
of context. The larger airplanes on the
shorter flights do not reach efficient cruising
speed and, therefore, are not an effective mode of flight.
This is why often shorter flights are removed from the schedule and
why flying regionally is more expensive than longer flights between
larger hub airports. To ensure opportunity of transport between less
populated regions, governments mandate these flights to still operate
despite losing airlines money.
SIZE MATTERS
What do you imagine then when asked about electric airlines? Most
would imagine electric airplanes in the form of futuristic large Trans-
Atlantic airliners smoothly gliding over the oceans carrying hundreds
of passengers and tons of cargo. This is why we do not hear more often
about electric airplanes. The current development focuses on filling these
shorter less demanded regional routes that are inefficient for the esta-
DE APPEL 29

blished airline
giants. The proposals
are interesting
and innovative
but do not catch the
attention inspired
by our
fascination with
Sci-Fi movies and books.
Let us look closer to why the longer flights are in fact not in the reach
of current electric airplane development. Airplanes fly because of the
balance between weight and the lift, opposing forces pulling down and
pushing back up. The airplane engineers are constantly struggling to
solve the cycle of lift and weight. If the weight of the fuel increases so
must the lift increase in the form of a greater span of its wings - thus
further increasing the required weight of the fuel to carry that additional
weight from the airplane. So goes this loop. One of the ways to
escape this cycle is to use a highly dense energy medium to offset the
increases in size. This way there is more power from a smaller amount
of fuel. Currently even the world's best batteries have specific energy
only few percent that of liquid fuel, and the progress takes place at only
two to three percent every year. However, the weight of batteries does
not need to be one to one with liquid fuel to be usable, short “clean”
flights already take place across the world. In fact, this airborne history
is also unfolding before our eyes.
CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS
The world's first fully electric commercial aircraft was tested in Vancouver,
Canada as recently as December 2019. The electric aircraft, which is
a hydroplane, started and landed on the water surface; the flight lasted
about four minutes. The airplane was a joint creation of Harbour Air and
magniX. They developed an aircraft based on a six-seater DHC-2 Beaver,
manufactured in 1957 by de Havilland Canada. The worldwide pandemic
has not fully impeded the progress either, and recently another set of
breaking news took place.
The Flight Global reported that “electric-powered Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
lifted off a Moses Lake runway on 28 May” near Washington State,
USA. The old turboprop system was removed from the airplane keeping
the corset. The new all electric propulsion system was inserted in its
place including a 750V lithium-ion battery system weighing roughly
one tonne. In fact the companies behind this project, also magniX and
this time AeroTEC, claim that this was the largest all-electric powered
flight ever to take place. They were able to finally escape the devil’s cycle
of weight to fuel ratio, and claim that soon their airplanes will return
short, long forgotten,
and previously
uneconomic routes back. This statement
does not come without caveats, the 30
to 40 minute flight still requires at least 30
minutes of charge and the weight of the battery
makes swapping impractical. Besides
with COVID-19 and slowed economic activity as well as certification of
completely new airplanes, the process might take at least many years.
The progress is significant needless to say.
The previous two examples show airplanes that were built based on
already existing models to ensure an easier path for certification. However,
another company based in Israel, Eviation Aircraft, teamed with
magniX to work on development of a first fully commercial short distance
(and currently rather luxurious) electric airplane from scratch.
They are planning to release their airplanes as soon as 2022. They even
claimed back in 2017 that their aircraft can reach thousands of kilometers
without any recharging. The certification of an airplane built
completely from scratch that flies on the explosive batteries will take
quite some time too, however.
ELECTRIC AIRPLANES IN THE FUTURE
So what, besides certification, difference is there in equipping old smaller
airplanes with new electric propulsion systems and building airplanes
from scratch? The electric motors are smaller, easier to operate
and have less moving parts. The batteries are heavy and can be distributed
throughout the aircraft to improve the drag. Air planes built
from scratch effectively use space and save money on the smart design,
and we expect that the new electric airplanes of the future will not
look alike to their liquid fuel powered cousins. The electric propulsion
uses electrical power, in this case batteries, to accelerate a propellant
either magnetically or electrically. The EP requires less mass and is up
to twenty times faster which makes the entire system more efficient
compared to the classical chemical propulsion systems (The European
Space Agency). The limiting factor is as expected availability of power,
again batteries.
With the continuing steady improvement of batteries, demand for
smaller route transportation, and better methods of certification we
can dream of filling our skies with smaller electric aircrafts, just not
the large giant ones. The aviation industry is experiencing yet another
revolution, the influx of ideas and opportunities is overwhelming and
there are thousands of jobs waiting in this field. This story shows us
that even in the middle of disastrous times when we are stuck between
the walls, the progress does not stop and anyone who wants can be a
part of it. a
30 DE APPEL

POWER
OF
PROTEST
BY DAAN FLIER
It can feel like every day there is a protest against something.
Sometimes you agree with the protesters and you might even
join them, other times you feel like a bunch of weirdos are
not getting enough attention. But are protests an effective
tool for getting social change or is it a way for governments
to make the people feel heard? To get an answer to these
questions we will take a look at five important protest
throughout history, from the French Revolution to the latest
global protests against the George Floyd killing.
FRENCH REVOLUTION
One very important protest, one of which you
would not immediately thing of as a protest, is the
French Revolution. After the Seven Years’ war with
England and the American Revolutionary war the
French government was deeply in debt. It attempted to
restore its financial status through unpopular regressive
taxation, where you would pay less taxes if you earned
more. This combined with bad harvests resulted in widespread
protests throughout France, these turned into riots
and eventually the very bloody French Revolution in 1789. This all ended
in 1804 when Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself as the Emperor of the
French. Napoleon was in many ways even more of an absolute monarch
than Louis XVI, and in this way the Revolution did not accomplish anything.
But the true impact would of the revolution be through the Declaration
of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. It stated that the rights
of man are universal, valid at all times and in every place. This was a
very modern idea at the time, and it had a major impact on the development
of popular conceptions of individual liberty and democracy, which
were exported throughout Europe by Napoleon’s conquests.
DE APPEL 31

ARAB SPRING
Another protest that turned into a revolution was that of the
Arab Spring. It started in Tunisia after Mohamed Bouazizi set
himself afire on 17 December 2010. This started major protest
in Tunisia and a week after his dead the Tunisia’s government
fell apart when the President fled the country. The videos of
the successful uprising shared via social media inspired people
throughout the Arab world to protest against their own government
as well. In some countries this resulted in the removal
of their own ruler while in others it resulted in riots, insurgencies
or civil war. In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, there was
a wave of violence and instability in various countries, commonly
known as the Arab Winter. This is in some ways similar
to the French Revolution, which also had a dark period were
thousands of people suspected of being against the revolution
got murdered. As these regions dive ever deeper into political
conflict, time will tell if new ideas can be established or if old
institutions will stand strong.
TIANANMEN SQUARE PROTESTS OF 1989
In 1989, the biggest protests China had ever seen and their reaction
shocked the world. The ignition for the protests was the
death of the chairman and general secretary Hu Yaobang of
the Communist Party of China in April of that year. He was
pro-reform and therefor very popular throughout China.
Whilst mourning his death students came together on the
Tiananmen Square and demanded more democracy, freedom
of press, and the freedom of speech. At first the government
hoped the protest would lose its momentum but by begin May,
a student-led hunger strike ensured the support for the demonstrators
around the country and the protests spread to
over 400 cities. This made the Communist Party believe that
the protests were a political threat and resolved to use force.
Martial law was declared and 300.000 troops including tanks
and armoured personnel carriers were mobilized to Beijing. In
the morning of June 4, the troops advanced into central parts
of Beijing and fired upon both demonstrators and bystanders.
After the one-sided fighting was over somewhere between 800
and 10.000 people had been killed. In the aftermath the Chinese
government made widespread arrests of protesters and
their supporters, and expelled foreign journalists. None of the
demands of the protesters were met and the censoring of the
massacre by the Chinese Government is so successful that few
among younger generations know it ever happened.
32 DE APPEL

STONEWALL RIOTS
A much more successful protest is that of the
Stonewall riots in New York. In the 1950ss and ‘60s
homosexuality was still considered sodomy and
illegal in 49 states. The punishment varied greatly
by state, ranging from heavy fines to imprisonment.
In New York City gay bars were safe havens
for people with diverse sexual orientations and
gender identities. The Stonewall Inn was a popular
refuge and owned by the mafia, who bribed
the police to look the other way. In turn, the mafia
made money overcharging patrons for drinks.
Despite the mafia’s bribes the police still regularly
raided the Stonewall Inn and other gay bars. In the
early morning of June 28, 1969, the police tried to
raid the bar but the patrons were fed up with all
the harassment. As the police tried to arrest bartenders
and customers, many resisted and outside
people started rioting. The police officers retreated
from the crowd and locked themselves up in
the bar. The rioters responded by setting the bar
on fire, after which police reinforcement arrived
and the officers managed to escape the burning
Inn. Meanwhile the angry mob had grown into
thousands, eventually the police managed to disperse
the crowd and restore order. Exactly a year
later in 1970, the very first NYC Pride March took
place. This protest had a massive impact on society,
as it was the beginning of the modern gay liberation
movement, which strives for acceptation
and equality of LGBTQ people. Since then 29 countries
have legalised same sex marriage.
GEORGE FLOYD PROTESTS
On May 25, 2020, four officers responded to a 9-1-1
call in Minneapolis. A Facebook livestream recorded
by a bystander showed that an officer knelt
on Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes as three
other officers looked on, resulting in his dead.
This sparked massive global protests against police
brutality and racism. These protests have succeeded
in the removal of various statues and civic
symbols in both America and Europe. Various state
and local governments in America have evaluated
their own police department and made some
changes. In California and Denver chokeholds are
banned, in Minneapolis the City Council decided
to dismantle the police department and rebuild it.
As of now it is far too early to predict the entire
impact the protests will have on our society.
CONCLUSION
One thing that can be learned from these protests is that social change is hard to accomplish
and takes courage, determination and perseverance. In the 1970s, Chinese President Zhou Enlai
was asked what the effects of the French Revolution had been, and he said “It’s too soon to say.”
And in a way it still is. The French revolution asked new questions about the nature of people’s
rights and the derivation of those rights. And we are still answering those questions and sorting
through how our answers should shape society today. This also applies to other protests that
aim at changing our society, most fundamental change come after the protests are long gone. a
DE APPEL 33

$
gehele wereld extreme armoede uit te roeien. Naast Bill Gates is Warren
Buffet, een man met een vermogen van 70 miljard dollar, ook lid van de
foundation.
ABSURDE
RIJKDOMMEN
Kennis is macht is een veel voorkomend gezegde, maar met absurde
hoeveelheden geld kan je ook veel bereiken. Als je zo’n vijf tot tien
miljoen bezit, hoef je als je het slim aanpakt niet meer te werken.
Er zijn heel wat mensen die meer geld bezitten dan het hiervoor
genoemde bedrag. In dit artikel wordt een klein overzicht gemaakt
over absurd rijke mensen of families, en wat ze allemaal zouden
kunnen bereiken met hun vermogen.
RIJKSTE MAN
Jeff Bezos kennen we allemaal wel, momenteel de rijkste persoon ter
wereld. In 1994 richtte hij het bedrijf amazon op, wat nu extreem groot
geworden is, dit is ook hoe Jeff Bezos aan zijn fortuin komt. Zijn vermogen
verandert dagelijks, maar is wel immens. Momenteel zit het op 139
miljard euro. Ondanks dat hij laatst 35 miljard euro moest afstaan aan
zijn vrouw bij de scheiding, is hij nog steeds de rijkste man ter wereld.
Zijn vermogen blijft met de dag ook stijgen.
BILL GATES
Een hele lange tijd was Bill Gates de rijkste man. Hij kwam aan zijn fortuin
door zijn werk bij Microsoft. Zijn vermogen is net iets meer dan 105
miljard dollar. Gates geeft een groot deel van zijn vermogen uit aan liefdadigheid
en heeft beloofd dat zijn dood 90 procent van zijn vermogen
naar goede doelen gaat
Samen met zijn vrouw richtte hij in 1999 de Bill & Melinda Gates foundation
op. Met een vermogen van 50 miljard dollar proberen ze over de
DOOR KOEN KLEVERWAL
ROTHSCHILD
De hiervoor genoemde mensen hebben hun vermogen verdiend in hun
leven, nieuw geld. Het vermogen van de vrij bekende Rothschild’s is
voornamelijk oud geld. In de 18de eeuw begon Mayer Rothschild met het
handelen in zeldzame munten en hield zich bezig met bankzaken. Mayer
Rothschild kreeg vijf zonen, die zich ook in het bankier wereldje gingen
bemoeien. Ze vestigden bedrijven in London, Frankfurt, Wenen en Napels.
Door deze internationale mengeling van het bedrijf kon het zich
mengen in vele gebieden. Ze leenden bijvoorbeeld geld aan overheden
om oorlogen te financieren. Op deze manier bouwden de Rothschilds
een behoorlijk vermogen op. Voordat Mayer Rothschild zou overlijden
in 1812 had hij strikte regels opgesteld om het geld binnen de familie te
houden. De succesvolste zoon, Nathan Rothschild, heeft begin 19de eeuw
een bank opgericht, die tot de dag van vandaag nog steeds bestaat.
34 DE APPEL

Door de invloed van de wereldoorlogen, politiek en familieruzies is het
familiefortuin gedaald door de jaren heen. Desondanks zijn de bedrijven
van de Rothschilds nog behoorlijk succesvol. Zo zitten ze in de onroerend
goed, mijnbouw, energiesector en zijn ze de eigenaars van tientallen
wijnmakerijen over de hele wereld. Het is onduidelijk hoe groot
het vermogen van de familie is, maar het vermogen wordt nu geschat
tussen de 350 miljard euro en 1 triljoen euro. Daarnaast zijn er ook nog
zat komplottheorieën die gaan over de Rothschilds. Zo zouden mensen
denken dat ze achter de schermen de touwtjes in handen hebben en
de wereld runnen. Ook denken mensen dat de Rothschilds achter het
coronavirus zitten.
ALLEEN BEKENDE RIJKDOMMEN
De hiervoor genoemde mensen of families zijn ook bekende rijkdommen,
er is een grote kans dat er rijkere mensen zijn, maar het totale vermogen
voor zichzelf houden. Het geschatte vermogen van het Saoedi-Arabische
koningshuis is 1.4 triljoen. Hun vermogen komt voornamelijk uit de
staatsoliemaatschappij van Saoedi-Arabië, Saudi Aramco. De kroonprins
heeft laatst een jacht van 500 miljoen dollar gekocht, een landhuis van
300 miljoen en een schilderij van Da Vinci voor 450 miljoen.
PERSPECTIEF
Hiervoor zijn heel wat grote vermogens genoemd, het is misschien lastig
om in te zien hoe groot de hiervoor genoemde vermogens nou eigenlijk
zijn. Stel een vakje van 1 bij 1 cm op dit A4’tje staat gelijk aan 1 miljoen
euro, dan staat het gehele A4’tje gelijk aan 623.7 miljoen euro. Om het
vermogen van Jeff Bezos uittedrukken op deze manier, heb je zo’n 223
volledige A4’tjes nodig. Zijn vermogen is ongeveer gelijk aan de helft van
de gehele begroting van de Nederlandse overheid.
400 RIJKSTE MENSEN
1cm
We hebben nu alleen gekeken naar personen en families, maar als je
vermogen van de rijkste vierhonderd Amerikanen heb je het over een
heel nieuw niveau van vermogen. Je komt dan neer op net iets minder
dan 3 triljoen. Om dit uit te drukken in die vlakjes van A4’tjes, komt dit
neer op ongeveer 470000 A4’tjes. Of in personen uitgedrukt, dit komt
1cm
neer op de ‘armste’ 60% van Amerika, dit zijn bijna 200 miljoen mensen.
Om dit in perspectief te stellen, de 400 rijkste mensen passen met zijn
allen in een Boeing 747, en dan zijn er nog 260 plekken over.
Wat zij voor elkaar zouden kunnen met hun vermogen is intens. Het
wordt geschat dat het compleet uitroeien van malaria zo’n 100 miljard
euro zou kosten, dit is 3% van het vermogen van de 400 rijkste Amerikanen.
Met 8% van dit vermogen zou ervoor gezorgd kunnen worden
dat ieder mens toegang heeft tot schoon drinkwater en sanitaire voorzieningen.
Met 85% van het geld van de 400 rijkste mensen zou elke Amerikaan
getest kunnen worden op Corona, malaria uitgeroeid kunnen worden,
schoonwater en sanitair voor ieder mens geregeld kunnen worden, tienduizend
dollar uitgekeerd kunnen worden aan elk Amerikaans huishouden,
en alle belastingen voor Amerikaanse huishoudens met inkomsten
lager dan tachtigduizend dollar geschrapt kunnen worden voor de komende
vier jaar. En dan zouden de 400 mensen nog steeds miljardair
zijn.
Maar momenteel lijkt het er maar meer op dat de rijken rijker worden
en de armen armer. k
DE APPEL 35

VDL ETG Almelo
DO YOU
SHARE
OUR
PASSION
FOR TECHNOLOGY?
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Your working environment
Working at VDL ETG Almelo means that you are part of the
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Your career opportunities
Are you curious to see if we are a good match?
Please check our website for more information:
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In the event that you are looking for an internship, a
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WERKENBIJVDL.NL/VDL-ETG-ALMELO