~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #28
From
human being <human@electronetwork.org>
Date
Fri, 23 May 2003 22:02:04 -0500
===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #28
===================================================
00) Commentary (5/23/2003)
01) Top Stories of Electromagnetism
02) Electromagnetic health & medicine
03) Electromagnetic trash & treasure
04) Electromagnetic security & surveillance
05) Electromagnetic power & energy
06) Electromagnetic current & human affairs
07) Electromagnetic transportation & communication
08) Electromagnetic matter & information
09) Electromagnetic trends & inventions
10) Electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
11) Electromagnetic business & economics
12) Electromagnetic art & artifacts
===================================================
00) --commentary--
Music has been a strange and abstract thing that is also
fascinating. Lodged in my brain are images of tests with
osciliscopes, not knowing if these are sound engineers,
musicians, and composers, or electrical engineers. In the
area of hardware, it is not known where the waves of one
approach differ from another, until the end result. Such
as with telecommunications, and the use of waves, signals.
Still not getting it, but there is a lot to be inspired by.
One of these inspirations happens to be looking at basic
circuits (see: http://www.electronetwork.org/exhibits/ for
an example) which often include music devices which, it
seems to an extreme novice, are not too complicated that
a person might not be able to craft a working device with
some trial, errors, and circuit faults. Today, consumer
items are much more complex than these basic (kit) items,
and yet there is something intriguing that does not go
away as a possibility as freeing as programming for some,
yet with hardware experimentation, and advanced controls.
One of the things learned immediately in trying to learn
something about electronics, and getting a small solder-
less breadboard and book with a kit of parts, is that the
technology used in many devices is also available almost
immeditately at this most basic entry level to electronics.
That is, something like a light sensor. They are about 20-
80 cents I think. That is, to turn a circuit on and off via
the light. It is so simple one doesn't need to do much more
than add it into the circuit flow, it just works. So too
with blinking light emitting diodes, it is imagined, though
intriguing things like small solar panels, infra-red LEDs,
fiberoptics (it seems), various kinds of speakers, etc.
The reason for writing this is that there is apparently work
being done by musicians, a local person told me about their
experiments with a turntable and microphone recordings with
the lapel mic spinning around and around, and then also the
idea of 'sound spatialization' is intriguing, complementary
to some previous thinking of these ideas in other ways but
also to a type of common approach to a place of installation,
of videocameras, buzzers, triggers, samples, questions. All
of this again to get to the point which is after seeing that
an EMF and RF (radio frequency) meter can be devised (if the
simple circuit diagram is accurate) that can 'read' waves in
space, reminded me of music for some reason. And the attempts
of visualizing data in VR CAVEs and such, yet I wondered if,
an on-the-cheap do-it-yourself approach could utilize the
knowledge of musicians along with this electromagnetic wave
phenomenon, enough to 'reverse capture' those waves that are
in everyday space, a flurry of frequencies, and give them a
visual form, not through a software emulation or simulation,
but an array of sensors, to get a sense of what happens in
a space full of spectrum, which is also wildly activated.
In any case, basic electronics gives a sense that such a
real-time audit of a place would be possible, such as a
recording might pick up things, so too, various sensors,
and what would this look like? It is curious, maybe some-
day it will become visible, what currently is not in sight.
===================================================
01) --top stories--
---------------------------------------------------
Electric Body Manipulation as Performance Art: A Historical Perspective
Arthur Elsenaar and Remko Scha VIEW/DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT // 396k .pdf
<http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?sid=8D502ACB-74B7-
44D7-86ED-05BBE6F5B289&ttype=6&tid=9288>
"The authors trace the history of electric performance art. They begin
with the roots of this art form in 18th-century experiments with animal
electricity and artificial electricity, which were often performed as
public demonstrations in royal courts and anatomical theaters. Next,
the authors sketch the development of increasingly powerful techniques
for the generation of electric current and their applications in
destructive body manipulation, culminating in the electric chair.
Finally, they discuss the development of electric muscle-control
technology, from its 18thcentury beginnings through Duchenne de
Boulognes photo sessions to the current work of Stelarc and Arthur
Elsenaar."
Alchemy with light shocks physicists // photonic crystals...
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993750>
"The researchers document the ultimate control over light: a way to
shift the frequency of light beams to any desired colour, with near 100
per cent efficiency." .. "If the effect can be harnessed, it will
revolutionise a range of fields turning heat into light, for example,
or prized terahertz rays." .. "Besides making devices such as light
bulbs and solar cells more efficient, the method would also help to
keep optical telecommunications networks moving. At the moment, many
light frequencies are bounced down optical fibres simultaneously."
// important news about faulty capacitors, via Risks-Digest. the
// capacitor stores energy like a temporary battery and is used in
// most things electronic. it would seem that if even one faulty
// capacitor was soldered to an electronic device, it could render
// it unusable, in the Y2K sense, as it cannot simply be replaced...
Taiwanese component problems may cause mass recalls
Faulty capacitors may afflict mobos, modems
<http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=6085>
"The failures of the aluminum capacitors might just be the 'tip of the
iceberg,' says Zogbi. "Other component failures from low-cost Asian
suppliers might be forthcoming," he warns."
[see] Voltage Vault - How Capacitors Work
http://science.howstuffworks.com/capacitor.htm
[and] Chapter 8: Capacitors. Electronics 2000, Raymond Miecznik
<http://www.electronics2000.com/basics/chapter8/index.html>
Shocking New Jacket Hits Street // 9volts to 80,000 volt
electrojacket...
<http://wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,58914,00.html>
"Dubbed "exo-electric armor," the No-Contact Jacket looks like an
ordinary fashionable women's coat. But an inner layer of conductive
fiber carries a low-amp charge that delivers a nasty but non-lethal
shock to anyone who messes with its wearer."
[related] Electric shock weapons could go wireless // mines. now
sprays...
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993749>
Basics of Electronics by Raymond P. Miecznik // ultimate resource...
<http://www.electronics2000.com/page2.html>
---------------------------------------------------
02-- electromagnetic health & medicine
---------------------------------------------------
How Can Exposure to Radiation Be Minimized?
<http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/radiation/min-exposure.html>
Radiation sickness drug could save thousands // dirty-bomb defense...
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993745>
"The drug, being developed by US military researchers and Hollis-Eden
Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, tackles a key short term effect of
radiation sickness - reduced immune system function."
Was Orton Right? New Study Examines How The Brain Works In Reading;
Offers Key To Better Understanding Dyslexia // fMRIs & audio-visual
brain...
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/05/030519083450.htm>
The Art of Vision // animations...
<http://mcdb.colorado.edu/labs/dubin/seeing/index.html>
Animations of Processes within the Ear
<http://www.neurophys.wisc.edu/animations/>
---------------------------------------------------
03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
---------------------------------------------------
Threat Is Seen to Heirloom Software // info archaeology...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/19/technology/19ROT.html>
"The personal computer industry began less than three decades ago, but
already some of the early software programs that defined the era are an
endangered species, the potential victims of "bit rot," according to a
prominent digital archivist."
Inkjet alert over forged banknotes // digifeiters... [demand?]
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993753>
[and] Fake Ink Cartridges Ooze Into the Market // inkfeiters? [supply]
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1093&ncid=1093&e=2&u=/
pcworld/20030521/tc_pcworld/110835>
---------------------------------------------------
04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
---------------------------------------------------
Sony takes leash off robot dog // robot watch/guard.dog
Electronics giant Sony announced new software Monday that will
allow Aibo owners to control the robot dog via e-mail commands.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-1007660.html?part=dtx&tag=nhl>
"Aibo Eyes will work with the robot's built-in digital imaging system
to beam digital photos of whatever the dog sees, allowing owners to use
the computerized canine as a home surveillance device or to monitor
their kids."
Proposed System Would Use Lots of Data // 1000 Terabyte-Info-Awareness.
// 15 minutes of fame now 40 pages of infamy per person, sliding scale.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-2694091,00.html>
Big Brother Is Tracking You. Without a Warrant.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/18/weekinreview/18BAMF.html>
"Last week, in an effort to increase satellite intelligence coverage
of high-priority targets, President Bush ordered spy agencies to begin
buying as much imagery as possible from private companies. The reason
was quality and quantity. The close-up resolution of today's commercial
imaging satellites is comparable to that of the spy world, and their
numbers are constantly growing." "...But now the lenses are also being
trained on American citizens."
Extent of UK snooping revealed
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3030851.stm>
The Enemy Within
SECURE SPACE: Walls Don't Work in Cyberspace
By Bruce Schneier
<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.06/secure_spc.html>
Gartner Advises Pulling The Plug On Microsoft Passport
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=74&ncid=74&e=5&u=/cmp/
20030519/tc_cmp/10000198>
Hidden Customer-Feedback Nuggets Revealed
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=75&ncid=75&e=8&u=/nf/
20030516/tc_nf/21533>
Secure Telephone Units, Crypto Key Generators,
Encryption Equipment, and Scramblers
<http://www.tscm.com/stu.html>
Unsuspecting Computer Users Relay Spam
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/20/technology/20SPAM.html?th>
ARDA // via cryptome.org (note use of 'electronic' in relation to
quantum.)
<http://www.ic-arda.org/>
"The Advanced Research and Development Activity (ARDA) is an
Intelligence Community (IC) center for conducting advanced research and
development related to information technology (IT) (information stored,
transmitted, or manipulated by electronic means)."
Use of Data Collection Systems Is Up Sharply Following 9/11 // WSJ...
<http://cryptome.org/tia-others.htm>
GPS data could stop wireless network attacks
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993747>
"A so-called "wormhole attack" could be used to knock a vulnerable
network out of action or defeat a wireless authentication system." ...
"[Researchers] devised a radical scheme designed to counter it,
involving tagging packets with GPS information or timestamps."
Hackers Flex Growing Cyber Muscle in China
<http://www.slb.com/ba.cfm?baid=3&storyid=600896>
Texas's "Super-DMCA" Law // via science-for-the-people...
<http://www.cs.rice.edu/~dwallach/texas-super-dmca.html>
---------------------------------------------------
05-- electromagnetic power & energy
---------------------------------------------------
Smithsonian Institution: Powering a Generation of Change
<http://americanhistory.si.edu/csr/powering/>
"Initial steps to deregulate electrical power are now being taken in
the United States and Canada. No one yet knows how this will work out.
Today the subject is being actively debated in board-rooms and
state-houses across the North American Continent. What will it mean?
How will it affect businesses and consumers? Should we move swiftly or
slowly, or should we do this at all? These are just a few of the
questions that citizens are now asking, as the issue moves into the
arena of public debate.
"Powering a Generation of Change is documenting these historic events.
Our goal is to collect and present a variety of materials on the World
Wide Web which will help us all better understand electric power
restructuring. These materials are being added to the permanent
research collection of the Smithsonian Institution."
Bending Spacetime in the Basement
<http://www.fourmilab.ch/gravitation/foobar/>
"This page presents a "basement science" experiment which reveals the
universality of gravitation by demonstrating the gravitational
attraction between palpable objects on the human scale. The experiment
deliberately uses only the crudest and most commonplace materials,
permitting anybody who's so inclined to perform it..."
Electrical Machines -- Static History
<http://www.sparkmuseum.com/FRICTION_HIST.HTM>
How Fuel Cells Work -
<http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-cell.htm>
How Nuclear Power Works -
<http://people.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-power.htm>
---------------------------------------------------
06-- electromagnetic current & human affairs
---------------------------------------------------
The Orphans of Invention // important perspective...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/22/opinion/22ULLM.html>
Growing up wired // generation .net digitally divided...
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/5889282.htm>
// a remarkable court filing. no jurisdiction, no judgement.
Model 84 Electro-Magnetic Spectrum Device
<http://cryptome.org/M84-emsd.htm>
// preface this news story with the situation of people dealing with
// complex technology and possibly ineffective modes of relating to
// emerging events (like EM, nanotech, genetic engineering, AI, VR, etc)
// which may be more real in movies than offline in relating concerns.
// that some take this as a model for their realities speaks volumes...
Matrix films blamed for series of murders by obsessed fans
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,958840,00.html>
Einstein Papers Project
<www.alberteinstein.info>
Events In Science, Mathematics, and Technology - Version 3.0
<http://www.gsu.edu/other/timeline.html>
Six French journalists detained on arrival at Los Angeles,
sent back to France // covering .US video games trade show...
<http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=6909>
---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transportation & communication
---------------------------------------------------
// have been amazed that LEDs can be used to 'receive' light info,
// in addition to emitting it. holds true for LCDs, apparently, or
// else transparent chip-making in the glass screens which compose
// them. wonder if larger displays, with a farther out focal point,
// would be able to photograph scenes, and if LCDs could be cameras,
// similar to pin-hole cameras, via integrated chips in the screen.
The Pixel as Shutterbug, Embedded in Your Screen // the LCD shutter...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/22/technology/circuits/22next.html>
"The screen that scans is a recent development of a new display
technology being used in some cameras, laptops, cellphones and
hand-held organizers. The displays, called low-temperature polysilicon
thin film transistor L.C.D.'s, may ultimately be able to do much more
than copy pictures. They have the potential to allow any kind of
electronic circuitry to be created within them. So in the future,
perhaps, laptops could recharge their batteries through displays that
double as solar energy panels. Or a computer as thin as a credit card
could be built by integrating all its processors within its screen."
[and] Transparent TVs from Invisible Circuits
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21592.html>
Anatomy of a Telephone Call
<http://www.electronics2000.com/hacker/anatcall.html>
A Navigation System in the Dashboard // GPS sat-nav...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/22/technology/circuits/22basi.html>
// the first prosumer HDTV camera for 'early-adopter masochists'...
The High-Definition Camcorder Enters the Picture [JVC GR-HD1]
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/22/technology/circuits/22stat.html>
"the HDTV picture ... is so pristine, you can barely see the
individual pixels even with your retinas mashed to the glass."
Phone booth is vanishing piece of Americana
<http://www.startribune.com/stories/789/3874267.html>
Phone Companies See Their Future in Flat-Rate Plans // cellneck?
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/23/business/23PHON.html>
"The move toward unlimited access plans stems from the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, which created a regulatory process that
allowed local phone companies to enter the long-distance market."
"Most calls now travel most of their journey over fiber optic lines
that connect the whole country. A company's expense in routing a call
depends very little on the distance the call travels, but largely on
whether a call needs to travel across lines owned by other phone
companies and the access fees charged for that use. In most cases,
calling a friend across the country now costs your phone company about
as much as calling your next-door neighbor."
---------------------------------------------------
08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------
Microcosmos NANO SPACE: The New Space Race is the Battle
For More and More Control Over Less and Less.
<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.06/nano_spc.html>
EM Books and Magazines in the SparkMuseum collection (1560-)
<http://www.sparkmuseum.com/BOOKS.HTM>
Nano-Clay May Shape Micro-Devices
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21549.html>
Self-Repairing Computers -- By embracing the inevitability of
system failures, recovery-oriented computing returns service faster
<http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&articleID=000DAA41-3B4E-
1EB7-BDC0809EC588EEDF>
// very interesting. for those in Minneapolis, it is like 'the
// Weather Ball' of yesteryear which would forecast the weather
// by changing colors, which people could see all over. this, on
// a desktop now, and more than the weather... with radio waves...
Ambient Devices: More than just words and voices [via gizmodo.net]
<http://reiter.weblogger.com/2003/05/21>
---------------------------------------------------
09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
---------------------------------------------------
Broadband Growth Seen Slowing // $100+ penalties if not 12 months.
<http://wired.com/news/business/0,1367,58868,00.html>
// growing interest in ATC's focused beam of HyperSonic Sound...
Sound that focuses only on you piques interest of marketers, police,
others
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=711&ncid=711&e=1&u=/
usatoday/20030520/tc_usatoday/5171760>
"...HSS will probably rattle the speaker industry, which has been
selling a variation of the same technology for nearly 80 years. The
impact could be like that of the jet engine on propeller planes or the
PC on the mainframe -- a major shift that ushers in an era."
Web 'Shaman' Fights His Demons // "Hol van egy konnektor?
<http://wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,58942,00.html>
"Berners-Lee laid out a new and somewhat controversial plan for
keeping the Web working, the W3C Patent Policy , which he said would
reduce the threat of patents blocking future Web infrastructure
developments.
"The patent policy is a formal statement of what had been a generally
accepted principle: Any technology adopted as a standard should be
freely available to anyone who cares to use it, without the fear of
being slapped with licensing fees."
[and] Web Services - Semantic Web
by Tim Berners-Lee // Nieuws van het Net. thanks *
<http://www.w3.org/2003/Talks/0521-www-keynote-tbl/>
Code diagrams enable 'point-and-click' programming // ACE Java...
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993743>
Graphics chips now zap `jaggies'
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/5920213.htm>
"One thing is for sure. This year, graphics on the PC will leave the
consoles in the dust."
---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
---------------------------------------------------
Psyop: The Love's Not Mutual -- The U.S. military is using Metallica and
the 'Barney' theme song as instruments of coercion in Iraq // snippet.
<http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/914527.asp>
"If We Run Out of Batteries, This War is Screwed."
<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.06/battlefield.html>
"As ~Wired's war correspondent, I tracked the network from the
generals' plasma screens at Central Command to the forward nodes on the
battlefields in Iraq. What I discovered was something entirely
different from the shiny picture of techno-supremacy touted by the
proponents of the Rumsfeld doctrine. I found an unsung corps of geeks
improvising as they went, cobbling together a remarkable system from a
hodgepodge of military-built networking technology, off-the-shelf gear,
miles of Ethernet cable, and commercial software. And during two weeks
in the war zone, I never heard anyone mention the revolution in
military affairs."
..."The network in action: In the middle of a sandstorm, a
surveillance aircraft 1spots an Iraqi tank battalion moving outside
Baghdad. An unmanned drone 2assigned to cover the area picks up the
thermal disturbance and posts an infrared image on the Warfighting Web,
either by satellite or line-of-sight relay stations. Analysts at
Central Command 3, the Pentagon 4, and Forward Command 5evaluate the
terrain and form a battle plan via chat session. Nearby helicopters
6download email instructions to swarm the target, and a US tank
battalion 7receives attack orders by videoconference."
Missile shield gains support across globe
<http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030521-125955-3800r.htm>
Iraq's Crash Course in Cyberwar
<http://wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,58901,00.html>
Britain boosts nuclear bomb research
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993754>
Ridge says unmanned drones could be patrolling borders by end of the
year
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/05/22/
national1603EDT0730.DTL>
High-Tech Project Aims To Make Super-Soldiers // nano-exomuscle+
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21593.html>
---------------------------------------------------
11-- electromagnetic business & economics
---------------------------------------------------
Is a Wi-Fi Bubble Building? // via newsscan...
<http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/21573.html>
New role: IT pros need to communicate -- Employers are seeking much more
than just technical ability from their IT staff, with teamwork and
social skills
increasingly essential, a new survey has found.
<http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-1003711.html>
Global chip sales looking up
<http://news.com.com/2100-1006_3-1008111.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>
Sequels fuel hype for video game convention
<http://www.startribune.com/stories/789/3878889.html>
[and] Atari sells 1 million Matrix games
<http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2003/05/23/atari/index.html>
[and] New information technology products emerge in a tough market
<http://www.startribune.com/stories/789/3896164.html>
"But tough economy or not, businesses are willing to pay for
information technology that keeps the corporation running. One type of
product that remains in demand is a "disaster recovery" system that
maintains duplicate databases of corporate information in different
locations in case one is destroyed."
Going high-tech adds up (and up, and up) // local news resend...
<http://startribune.com/stories/389/3891622.html>
[and] What they cost // electronics tech, paid per month...
<http://www.startribune.com/stories/389/3893190.html>
---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic art & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------
Digital Mona Lisas -- A survey of the use of the Mona Lisa
as a metaphor for digitizing images, including related efforts.
<http://www.studiolo.org/Mona/MONA43.htm>
Confusing the connoisseur // via ArtsJournal.com...
James Fenton on how reproductions colour our view of art
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/features/story/0,11710,957591,00.html>
"The National Gallery is currently bringing into operation a machine
that will allow the visitor to the shop to make his or her own posters
of more than a thousand paintings from the collection, to whatever size
is required. Eventually one will be able, at the push of certain
buttons, to create an instant reproduction of any painting in the
collection."
Program 7 : If Jackson Pollock Wrote Music (59:00)
Program 8 : To Repeat or Not Repeat, That is the Question (59:00)
<http://www.musicmavericks.org/>
minimalist & electroacoustic playlists
<http://www.musicmavericks.org/listening/>
John Adams "Harmonielehre" (40:00s) (performed 02/16/00)
<http://www.musicmavericks.org/rafiles/adams_harmonielehre.ram>
The Online Rhythmicon // browser & Java music-synth (JSyn) plug-in...
<http://www.musicmavericks.org/rhythmicon/index.html>
* An excerpt from EDGARD VARESE's 1958 composition, "POEME
ELECTRONIQUE,"
(.au, 244k, 23 sec) "this selection was originally composed in 1958
for use with 400 speakers, placed carefully inside the Phillips
Pavilion designed by LE CORBUSIER. the current recorded version is a
stereo two-track recording."
<http://www.ele-mental.org/sounds(((/poeme.html>
the concert "Electric Currents" of ensemble Integrales
<http://www.ensemble-integrales.com> concert broadcast live online:
<http://www.sr-online.de/programm/
index.jsp?dir=17&aufklapp=75&akt=351&sonder=0&id=101808&key=standard_530
5>
"...featuring new chamber music combined with electronics by Netochka
Nezvanova (NZ/NL), Marko Ciciliani (NL,Croatia), Yannis Kyriakidis
(NL,UK), Donnacha Dennehy (IR) and Burkhard Friedich (D)."
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