When pigs fly

The phrase "when pigs fly" (alternatively, "pigs might fly") is an adynaton—a figure of speech so hyperbolic that it describes an impossibility. The implication of such a phrase is that the circumstances in question (the adynaton, and the circumstances to which the adynaton is being applied) will never occur. The phrase has been used in various forms since the 1600s as a sarcastic remark. The first known use of the phrase "when pigs fly" comes from English lexicographer John Withals, who wrote A Shorte Dictionarie for Yonge Begynners, a Latin-English dictionary from 1616. Withal wrote "pigs fly in the ayre with their tayles forward", implying the impossibility not only of the flight of pigs but also backwards flight. Other uses of the phrase in famous literature include the aforementioned Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Since 1616, the phrase has been used to denote impossibility. The idiom is apparently derived from a centuries-old Scottish proverb, though some other references to pigs flying or pigs with wings are more famous. In his Fourth Book of Gargantua and Pantagruel from 1552, François Rabelais makes the aphorism into a dramatic event, when the giant Pantagruel fights the Chitterlings and its champion, "a huge, fat, thick, grizzly swine, with long and large wings, like those of a windmill." "When pigs fly" is an adynaton, a way of saying that something will never happen. The phrase is often used for humorous effect, to scoff at over-ambition. There are numerous variations on the theme; when an individual with a reputation for failure finally succeeds, onlookers may sarcastically claim to see a flying pig. ("Hey look! A flying pig!") Other variations on the phrase include "And pigs will fly", this one in retort to an outlandish statement. At least two appear in the works of Lewis Carroll: "Thinking again?" the Duchess asked, with another dig of her sharp little chin."I've a right to think," said Alice sharply, for she was beginning to feel a little worried."Just about as much right," said the Duchess, "as pigs have to fly .

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Innovative Verbesserungen bei Thermal Response Tests

Lyesse Laloui, Gilbert Steinmann

Thermal Response Tests sind in Europa, Nordamerika und Ostasien zu einem Standardverfahren zur Bestimmung der Wärmeleitfähigkeit des Untergrundes geworden. Die Wärmeleitfähigkeit ist ein wesentlicher Kennwert zur Auslegung von Erdwärmesonden. Zur Durchführung sind in den letzten Jahren Anlagen entwickelt worden, die durch ihre Grösse, Gewicht und Performance eine hohe Mobilität und Flexibilität gewährleisten und damit zunehmend zur Anwendung gelangen können. Bei der Interpretation von Thermal Response Tests wird traditionell die Lösung der Linienquelle genutzt, die nach hinreichend langer Messzeit eine quasi-stationäre Auswertung gestattet. Da die grundlegenden Transportgleichungen für Wärme und inkompressbilbe Flüssigkeiten die gleiche Form haben, lassen sich Analogien zur hydraulischen Testinterpretation (im Grundwasser) auch bei Thermal Response Tests heranziehen. Dieser Beitrag zeigt, ausgehend von einer Analyse des gegenwärtigen Standes von Testdurchführung und Interpretation, Möglichkeiten und Beispiele zur Adaption von Methodiken und numerischen Verfahren zu einer erweiterten Interpretation von Thermal Response Tests auf. Das Ziel der Verfahren ist dabei letztlich eine Verkürzung der Messzeiten, Flexibilisierung der thermischen Anregung durch beliebige Zeitverläufe und, wenn möglich, Gewinnung weiterer Informationen (Parameter) des zu nutzenden Untergrundes.

2006