Academic literature on the topic 'To the Lighthouse'

This lighthouse is a visual anchor from land and sea. Its three concrete towers reach 250 feet tall with a base diameter of 75 feet. Accompanying its rotating spotlight is a central spotlight, lighting the core of the tower vertically and continuing into the sky. Nested 150 feet up the tower is the residence for the lighthouse keeper. Siting at a high elevation along a shear cliff face, the often fog shrouded tower is a strong light signal for voyagers at sea.<br>Master of Architecture

This thesis attempts to solve a problem identified by the Swedish Maritime administration. The problem consists of birds, more precisely great cormorants, which stain lighthouses with their faeces. Initially an investigation of the great cormorants is performed. The cormorants thrive in great numbers nowadays in the Swedish archipelago after being extinct only a few decades ago. The faeces has a very foul smell and is therefore considered as a problem by maintenance personnel working on lighthouses. It also causes an increased need for cleaning and repainting. An evaluation of previously tested methods for bird deterring was also performed. That evaluation did not discover any methods that had a long lasting effect. Rather it seemed that all methods suffered from habituation. Information about cormorants that tends to avoid being close to base stations for mobile phones was investigated. The investigation could neither confirm such an effect, nor dismiss one. Further investigation was discontinued since it was assumed that the effect was, if it existed, too weak to function as a bird deterring device. Finally bird spikes were discussed. Bird spikes were considered as an interesting direction for future work since it was judged to be a conceivable and permanent solution.<br>Denna rapport har sökt en lösning till, det av Sjöfartsverket, identifierade problemet med skarvfåglar på Sveriges fyrar. Skarvens träck har en mycket frän doft som skapar obehag hos Sjöfartsverkets personal som utför underhållsarbeten på fyrarna. Fågelträcken luktar inte bara illa utan bidrar också till ett utökat behov av rengöring samt målningsarbeten. Inledningsvis undersöktes framförallt skarvfågeln noggrant med syfte att bidra till ökad förståelse för problemet. Det konstaterades bland annat att skarven nu är en ytterst talrik invånare i våra skärgårdar efter att ha genomgått en stark populationsökning under de senaste decennierna. En utvärdering av tidigare testade metoder för att skrämma skarvarna utfördes. Denna utvärdering kunde inte finna någon framgångsrik metod utan visade istället på att en tillvänjningseffekt mot skrämmorna ofta uppstod givet att fåglarna fick tid att vänja sig. Tillvänjningseffekten kunde inte påvisas med säkerhet hos alla de utvärderade metoder men mycket pekade på att skarvar förmodligen alltid kommer vänja sig vid utplacerade skrämmor på fyrar. En hypotes att skarvar verkade undvika att vistas i närheten av basstationer för mobiltelefoni undersöktes. Det visade sig att fåglar innehar ett magnetiskt mineral som mycket väl kan absorbera strålning ifrån master för mobiltelefoni. Dessvärre visade sig osäkerheten om huruvida strålningen på något sätt påverkade fåglarnas beteende vara stor. Om effekten verkligen existerade bedömdes den som alltför ringa för att kunna fungera som en effektiv fågelskrämma. Avslutningsvis behandlas en för skarvarna hindrande åtgärd som med viss framtida utveckling eventuellt kan visa sig vara en slutgiltig lösning på problemet. Den hindrande åtgärden bestod av spikar konstruerade så att skarven inte kan landa på fyren.

Historic rock-mounted lighthouses play a vital role in the safe navigation around perilous reefs. Their longevity is threatened by the battering of waves which may be set to increase with climate change. The protection of this historic heritage needs the identification of both structural dynamic parameters (natural frequencies and shape modes), and of the worst-cases wave load combination, able to affect that natural frequencies. This dissertation was developed during a period of five months at University of Plymouth, along with the researching team of the project STORMLAMP. The project is divided in three parts; the first involving a meteocean analysis, developed by means of peak over threshold technique, aimed to address realistically a test campaign held afterwards. The second, focused on the dynamic analysis of the Dubh Artach lighthouse and was developed by means of a Matlab toolbox provided to the group by Prof. Brownjohn from Exeter University, partner of the project as well. It is aimed on one hand to detect the dynamic properties of the structure and, on the other hand, to recognize eventual directionality in the structural response. The third phase was held at Plymouth University laboratory “COAST”. During this phase, a laboratory campaign, involving more than 100 tests, allowed to perform a parametric analysis aimed to identify the parameters, of an extreme wave, that influence more the impact force and that the wave exerts on the structure. To extract impact time history, force signals were decomposed by means of Empirical mode decomposition and Duhamel integral algorithms. Image analysis, moreover, allowed to locate run-up caused by those waves upon a steel cylinder and to integrate a study of the run-up as well. The analysis led to several considerations useful on one hand for the prediction of the worst-case loading of the Dubh Artach lighthouse and, on the other hand, for the introduction of the NewWave theory for the design of coastal structures.

The Point Sur Lighthouse is an unreinforced stone masonry building completed in 1889 on the central coast of California. The lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is still an active aid to navigation. The original first-order Fresnel lens was removed from the lantern room and placed in safekeeping due to its high risk of damage in the event of a strong earthquake. The lens has been approved to return to its original setting but the seismic performance of the building must first be assessed in order to ensure the safety of the lens and lighthouse, specifically the out-of-plane behavior of the unreinforced masonry walls, the implementation of possible seismic retrofit schemes, and the effects of the lens’s added weight. This research focuses on the dynamic behavior of the lighthouse in its current state and the changes in the dynamic behavior each of the proposed seismic retrofit schemes might cause. For the purposes of this research, dynamic behavior is considered as natural frequencies, mode shapes, and related structural properties. The dynamic behavior of the lighthouse was assessed using two main methods: forced vibration testing and finite element computer modeling. Forced vibration testing is a nondestructive testing method that can be used to directly characterize dynamic behavior of a structure, and finite element computer modeling is useful for the design and simulation of dynamic behavior of both new and existing structures. The combination of these two methods on the Point Sur Lighthouse will work to develop and prove state-of-the-art seismic retrofitting techniques.

<p>Through the character of Lily Briscoe the essay investigates the homosexual element in Virginia Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse. The main aim of the essay is to examine Lily’s process of coming to terms with her homosexuality through her painting where the disclosure of Lily’s sexuality emerges. Lily’s path to self-recognition is analyzed in close readings of textual evidence from the novel and with the use of secondary sources.</p>