Iver P. Cooper
Industrial Alchemy, Part 1: The New Philosopher's Stone
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 24
Lots to learn, lots to learn . . .
The Dewey System
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 24
Tsk, tsk. He tore a book. That's a no no!
Mineral Mastery: Discovery and Control of Ore Deposits After the Baltic War
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 23
Metal is important . . .
Arsenic and Old Italians
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 22
There's poisoning. And then there's poisoning . . .
The Wind is Free: Sailing Ship Design, Part 2, Seaworthiness
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 22
Sailing, sailing . . .
Stretching Out, Part Six: King of the Jungle
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 21
He Who Talks! Boy, does he ever . . .
The Wind is Free: Sailing Ship Design, Part 1: Propulsion
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 21
Sailing, sailing . . .
Better Foundations, Part 2: Putting Concrete to Work
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 20
More on concrete . . . a very useful material . . .
Better Foundations, Part 1: An Introduction to Concrete
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 19
Lots to do with concrete. Lots and lots . . .
First Impressions
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 19
First Impressions really are important . . .
Safety First: Industrial Safety in 1632, Part Two, Technical Aspects
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 18
Taking care of the workers . . .
Stretching Out, Part Five: Riding the Tiger
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 18
New World adventures . . .
Lost In Translation
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 17
I know you know what you think I said, but what I said wasn't what you think it was . . .
Safety First: Industrial Safety in 1632, Part One, Legal and Social Aspects
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 17
How to stay healthy in an unhealthy working environment . . .
Seeing the Heavens
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 16
We'll see Pluto yet!
Stretching Out, Part Four: Beyond the Line
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 16
The continuing adventures of Phillip Jenkins, the Grantville runaway.
A Pirate's Ken
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 15
This is not your kid's pirate story! These guys were real . . . and pretty scary!
Soundings and Sextants, Part Two, Celestial Navigation Methods
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 15
Getting around the world isn't so easy without GPS . . .
Tennis: The Game of Kings
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 15
A popular sport for centuries . . .
Soundings and Sextants, Part One, Navigational Instruments Old and New
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 14
Getting from Point A to Point B is harder than you think . . .
Stretching Out, Part Three: Maria's Mission
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 14
Off to the New World!
Out of a Job?
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 13
Ah, Venice . . . but what's this you say?
The Doodlebugger
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 13
There's one born every minute . . .
The Wooden Wonders of Grantville
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 13
What all can you do with wood? Just about everything.
My Name is Legion: Copying the Books of Grantville
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 12
Just what would it take to copy every book in Grantville?
Stretching Out, Part Two, Amazon Adventure
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 12
Continuing the search for rubber . . .
Hither and Yon: Transportation Modes, Costs and Infrastructure in 1632 and after
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 11
There and Back Again. How, how long, and how expensive?
Stretching Out, Part One: Second Starts
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 11
The search for a source of rubber begins . . .
All Roads Lead. . . .
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 10
A seventeenth-century visitor might well think that all roads lead to Grantville, not Rome, because down-time roads pale by comparison. "Captain Gars," riding on Route 250, noted its "perfect flatness," and considered it to be "the finest road he had ever seen in his life." (1632, Chap. 57). Rebecca Abrabanel likewise was amazed by the "incredible perfection" of the first up-time road she saw (1632, Chap. 5).
Grand Tour
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 10
My name is Mister Thomas Hobbes. If you are one of the Americans from the future, you know me as a political philosopher, the praised and reviled author of Leviathan. If you are a fellow down-timer, in this Year of Our Lord 1633, then you probably don't know me yet at all. Unless you have read my translation of Thucydides.
At the Cliff's Edge
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 9
Friedrich Adelsohn, Captain of the Third Company of the Mounted Constabulary of the State of Thuringia-Franconia, stared at the ox. The ox stared right back. After a moment, it lowered its gaze, and resumed its attempts to convert the roadside into a nicely trimmed lawn. Friedrich wished that, like Siegfried in the Volsunga Saga, he had tasted Fafnir's blood, and could understand the speech of animals.
The Sound of Mica
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 9
Capacitors (also called "condensers") are one of the most basic of electronic components. Their most fundamental electrical characteristic is their capacitance (ability to store electrical energy). So how do you make a capacitor? The simplest one consists of two parallel conductive plates, and an intervening "dielectric." You can actually use a stack of plates, not just two, but the conductive and dielectric layers will alternate. One wire will be connected to the "odd-numbered" plates, and a second wire to the "even-numbered" ones.
Under the Tuscan Son
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 9
Curzio Inghirami had learned a great deal during his visit to Grantville, but he now was back home at Villa Scornello, the family seat. It was a few miles outside of Volterra, a town in the grand duchy of Tuscany. He beckoned to one of the family servants. "Tell Father that Lucrezia and I are going fishing." Lucrezia, his younger sister, giggled for no apparent reason. "Have Cook pack a picnic lunch for us, and then meet us out back in half an hour."
Aluminum: Will O' the Wisp?
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 8
There is no doubt that aluminum is a wonder metal. Pure aluminum has a density only about one-third of iron, it is as reflective as silver, and a good conductor of heat and electricity. When exposed to air, it quickly acquires a protective coating of aluminum oxide, which shields it from further corrosion. Alloys of aluminum are extensively used as structural materials in the construction of buildings and vehicles.
The Painter's Gambit
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 8
Birgit's mother had warned her not to take any food or drink from boys, not to answer any of their questions, and, most especially, not to smile at them. Birgit had dutifully agreed. Unfortunately, she broke all three rules the same day.
Harnessing The Iron Horse: Railroad Locomotion In The 1632 Universe
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 7
The principal focus of this article will be on how the USE will design its first locomotives, but first I will explain what Canon (the entire set of 1632 series novels and anthologies) tells us about railroading after the Ring of Fire (RoF).
Bouncing Back: Bringing Rubber to Grantville
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 6
Chemistry Professor Joe Schwarcz writes, "It's hard to fight an effective war without rubber. Fan belts, gaskets, gas masks, and tires are critical to the war effort." While he had modern warfare in mind, Grantville's war machines—modified cars and trucks—need rubber to remain functional. In 1633, Quentin Underwood insisted that "developing a rubber industry should be a top priority."
Federico and Ginger
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 6
Federico Ballarino stopped his mule and studied the guards at the roadblock. They were too well uniformed to be brigands, but it wasn't unheard of for a local lord to decide to boost his income by imposing a toll. Or even robbing travelers outright. Indeed, it was out of concern of being robbed that he was dressed rather below his rank.
In Vitro Veritas: Glassmaking After The Ring Of Fire
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 5
In the early seventeenth century, there was already a vigorous international trade in glassware. The world center for glassmaking was in Venice, and the Venetians were most famous for tableware and glass mirrors made of the colorless cristallo.
Drillers In Doublets
From: Grantville Gazette, Volume 4
I don't want to be critical of coal mining, especially not where Mike Stearns can hear me. But the fact remains that coal has some serious disadvantages, both as a fossil fuel and as a source of organic chemicals.


Iver P. Cooper