~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #108
From
brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>
Date
Mon, 17 May 2004 22:39:38 -0500
===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #108
===================================================
00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (5/17/2004)
01) Top Stories of Electromagnetism
02) Electromagnetic health & safety
03) Electromagnetic trash & treasure
04) Electromagnetic security & surveillance
05) Electromagnetic power & energy
06) Electromagnetic current & human affairs
07) Electromagnetic transport & communication
08) Electromagnetic matter & information
09) Electromagnetic trends & inventions
10) Electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
11) Electromagnetic business & economics
12) Electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
===================================================
00) --commentary-- oil.
(revised the structure of http://www.electronetwork.org/ to consolidate
a few sections by attempting to bonsai prune the springtime website.)
===================================================
01) --top stories--
---------------------------------------------------
U.S. troops find electricity and work remain biggest concerns of most
Iraqis
<http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=22246>
Russia Wants Faster Aid for 'Rotting' Nuclear Subs // *** nuclear
security.
<http://cnn.aimtoday.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/
0002%2F20040516%2F0542261818.htm&sc=rontz>
'"The longer a submarine remains without being scrapped and without
the nuclear fuel being removed... the more danger for the environment,
the greater the risk of these materials falling into the hands of
terrorists or other groups for malicious purposes," [Deputy Atomic
Energy Minister Sergei] Antipov said in an interview.' .. '"Any of the
submarines -- and we have 96 waiting to be scrapped -- could sink. Any
of them could rust through or break up. Anything could happen," he told
Reuters in Berlin, where he attended a 14-nation meeting on the issue
last week.' .. 'The submarines are decommissioned vessels of the former
Soviet fleet, some of which "have been rotting at their piers for
several decades," Antipov told parliament last November.'
[and] Fire Shuts Down Nuclear Plant in France
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-france-
nuclear-fire,0,6504676.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines>
Oil Prices Fuel Rise in Strategic Reserves // via drudgereport.com
<http://www.quicken.com/investments/news_center/story/?story=NewsStory/
dowJones/20040517/ON200405170007000005.var&column=P0DFP>
'With crude oil trading above $41 a barrel and terrorism fears
helping to inflate the price, the U.S. has quietly continued to fill
its emergency reserves to the highest level ever -- an amount experts
say could be used to bring prices down, Monday's Wall Street Journal
reported.' ... 'Terrorism fears have resulted in a so-called terrorism
premium that has pushed up crude prices as much as $5 to $10 a barrel
over what supply and demand would suggest, some experts say.'
A Crude Shock By PAUL KRUGMAN // ~very, very high prices, oil driven
recession?
<http://nytimes.com/2004/05/14/opinion/14KRUG.html>
'The oil crises of the 1970's began with big supply disruptions: the
Arab oil embargo after the 1973 Israeli-Arab war and the 1979 Iranian
revolution. This time, despite the chaos in Iraq, nothing comparable
has happened — yet. Nonetheless, because of rising demand that is led
by soaring Chinese consumption, the world oil market is already
stretched tight as a drum, and crude oil prices are $12 a barrel higher
than they were a year ago. What if something really does go wrong?' ...
'... with more bad news, we'll be looking at a real crisis — one that
could do a lot of economic damage. Each $10 per barrel increase in
crude prices is like a $70 billion tax increase on American consumers,
levied through inflation. The spurt in producer prices last month was a
taste of what will happen if prices stay high. By the way, after the
1979 Iranian revolution world prices went to about $60 per barrel in
today's prices.'
U.S. Oil Flow, 2000 // infographic... (see transportation use! vs.
power gen.)
<http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/
oil_market_basics/petflow.htm>
The Refining Process // with infographic.
<http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/
oil_market_basics/Refining_text.htm>
[and] How Refining works // ** infographic...
<http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining2.htm>
'Different hydrocarbon chain lengths all have progressively higher
boiling points, so they can all be separated by distillation. This is
what happens in an oil refinery - in one part of the process, crude oil
is heated and the different chains are pulled out by their vaporization
temperatures. Each different chain length has a different property that
makes it useful in a different way....'
OIL REFINING AND PRODUCTS
<http://www.shell-lubricants.com/learningcenter/refining.html>
'In a refinery, crude oil is converted by physical and chemical
processes into a wide range of useful products. There are more than 900
refineries in operation around the world, more than a quarter of which
are in the USA. Many have sophisticated conversion facilities which
enable them to handle many different types of crude and provide the
range of products from oil each market needs.' ... [note] "One group of
products deserves a special mention: many chemicals are derived from
oil. The petrochemical industry is closely allied to the oil industry
-- indeed many petrochemical plants share facilities with oil
refineries. Petrochemicals provide products which compete with products
made from scarce natural resources: synthetic rubbers instead of
natural rubbers, detergents instead of soap. They also provide entirely
new products which have transformed our daily lives: plastic durable
household products, packaging in supermarkets, "easy-care" fabrics,
dyes, adhesives and paints. The chemical industry depends on supplies
of oils as feedstocks for the manufacture of thousands of products
which contribute to the comfort and convenience of our modern
lifestyle."
[and] Products from Oil // infographic
<http://www.shell-lubricants.com/images/refine.gif>
---------------------------------------------------
02-- electromagnetic health & safety
---------------------------------------------------
Student's Ringing Cell Phone Sparks Fire While Pumping Gas // via
engadget.com
<http://www.wnbc.com/news/3304232/detail.html>
Power Line Health Facts ...information for the concerned // (meters)
thanks *
<http://www.powerlinefacts.com/>
USDA: Cattle Brains May Be Turned Into Biofuels // via ae-l (mad cow
exhaust)
<http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20040517_449.html>
'Cattle brains and other remains that may carry the deadly mad cow
disease would be turned into biofuels under a plan announced on Monday
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.' .. 'Cattle brains, skull, eyes,
spinal column, small intestine and other parts suspected of harboring
mad cow disease were banned from human consumption in December as a
safety precaution, shortly after the discovery of the first case of mad
cow disease in the United States.' ... ' Under the new USDA program, a
$50 million loan guarantee program would be set up to help small
businesses in rural areas develop ways to turn cattle brains and other
high-risk parts into a "bio-based source of energy."' .. 'Bill Hagy, a
deputy administrator at USDA's rural development agency, said the
purpose of the pilot program was to gauge commercial interest and to
solicit ideas for alternate energy uses for the cattle parts.' ..
'"There are incinerating facilities out there that possibility could,
with some retooling, be able to accommodate the need," Hagy said.'
Placebos effect revealed in calmed brain cells
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994996>
Study In Flies Allows Researchers To Visualize Formation Of A Memory
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/05/040514065817.htm>
'This is the first time that optical imaging has been used to
visualize a memory trace, Dr. Davis says. "It's phenomenally powerful,
like a movie appearing in front of you," he adds. The study suggests
that the earliest representation of a new memory occurs by rapid
changes – "like flipping a switch" – in the number of neuronal
connections that respond to the odor, rather than by formation of new
connections or by an increase in the number of neurons that represent
an odor, he adds.' .. 'The fact that the flies continued to show a
learned response even after the new synaptic activity waned suggests
that other memory traces found at higher levels in the brain took over
to encode the memory for a longer period of time, Dr. Davis suggests.
If so, the rapid changes of nerve transmission that the researchers saw
may be the all-important switch that initiates the formation of new
memories.'
---------------------------------------------------
03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
---------------------------------------------------
em-headline: Report: Phone lines thwart "Idol" voters // (free-day-pass)
<http://www.salon.com/ent/wire/2004/05/17/idol_phones/>
'Many would-be "American Idol" voters are disenfranchised by
overburdened phone lines and by "power dialers" who hog the system, the
magazine Broadcasting & Cable reported.' .. 'According to the magazine,
"the only people choosing the next 'American Idol" are the ones lucky
enough to get through -- or skilled enough to get around --
tremendously overtaxed phone lines."' .. 'Fox TV, which airs the talent
contest, has failed to address the difficulties viewers face in logging
votes, the magazine said in a story for Monday's issue.'
Man Hurls Phones, Causes $2K Store Damage // via drudgereport.com
<http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040514/D82IEFRO0.html>
'Police said Perala took off his shirt and put on safety glasses
before throwing around computers, phones and other items.'
UPS to recycle gear for tech companies: United Parcel Service has
announced
a new service for companies that want to recycle used and worn-out
electronic devices and components collected from their customers.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1003_3-5212850.html>
Farms transform cow manure into electricity
<http://www.napanews.com/templates/
index.cfm?template=story_full&id=80353BCC-B5AA-4803-8CBC-3209329C77E0>
'The Straus Family Creamery's new $280,000 methane digester, unveiled
Thursday, converts manure from its herd of 270 cows into electricity
that helps power the farm and creamery.' ... The technology not only
provides an alternative form of energy, but helps cut emissions of
methane -- a greenhouse gas far more damaging to the ozone layer than
carbon dioxide. It also reduces agricultural runoff that pollutes
surface and ground water with coliform bacteria and nitrogen.'
---------------------------------------------------
04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
---------------------------------------------------
Wi-Fi networks can be jammed from PDAs // WiFiDoS
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99995000>
'AusCERT says attacks will be hard to foil because the problem
exploited is inherent in the Wi-Fi protocol. However, such an attack
can only deny access to the network - it will not enable hackers to
access user's data or computers.'
Israel Succeeding Against Media Piracy
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-israel-
media-piracy,0,5521645.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines>
EM-quote from: Science Fairs Are Turning to U.S. Security
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/16/education/16SCIE.html>
'Although corporations have long given scholarships, this is the first
year that the Homeland Security Department participated. The department
gave $10 million in scholarships and fellowships last year to students
interested in security.'
Transmeta to add antivirus feature to chips // NX technology = No
Execute
<http://news.com.com/2100-1009-5214194.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>
Labs-on-a-chip To Detect Milk Contamination // disposable mini-sensors
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/05/040517072519.htm>
[and] NASA Partnership Produces Technology Breakthrough
That Allows On-the-spot Chemical Analysis // star trek.
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/05/040517073230.htm>
'The newly developed vacuum X-ray fluorescent analyzer can identify
and characterize a wide range of elements, and is capable of detecting
chemical elements with low atomic numbers — such as sodium, aluminum
and silicon. It is the only hand-held product on the market with that
capability....'
---------------------------------------------------
05-- electromagnetic power & energy
---------------------------------------------------
Support grows for oil output rise: Pressure is growing on members of
the oil cartel Opec to boost output in order to curb soaring price
rises.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3719195.stm>
// see image of 'control room' as a common, repeating type in various
kinds
// of buildings, from ports and airports (control towers) to media
production
// to military and industry (traffic control, for instance), or even in
the
// most ubiquitous images of Homer Simpson in a nuclear power control
room.
// it is imagined that the abilities of such places today are to be
able to
// command infrastructures at a distance, in some centralized review
system.
// when things are automated or done remotely, or maybe decisions
switch by
// way of information flows, it would seem likely this type of place is
part
// of the critical infrastructure, if it is for a powergrid, city,
building,
// industry, or global warfare and tracking spacejunk via the Norad
mountain.
Why the Saudis May Not Rescue Oil Markets This Time
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/16/business/yourmoney/16saudi.html>
'In fact, since the terrorist attacks in September 2001, the influence
of the United States in Saudi Arabia's economy and internal affairs
appears to be weakening a bit. American companies built much of the
modern Saudi economy - Saudi Arabia Airlines started as a unit of
T.W.A., for example, and Aramco began as a venture of four American oil
companies. Recently, however, European, Chinese and Russian companies
have won important contracts in areas like natural-gas exploration. It
is also less clear than it used to be that concerns over gasoline
prices in the United States influence Saudi Arabia to produce more or
less oil.
Oil Supply
<http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/
oil_market_basics/Supply_text.htm#Where%20Oil%20Comes%20From>
World Oil Production by Region, 1980-1999 // infographic...
<http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/
oil_market_basics/Sup_image_worldprod.htm>
Oil Market Basics - Table of Contents
<http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/
oil_market_basics/Full_contents.htm#LIST%20OF%20REFINING%20GRAPHS>
Oil Graphs and Charts
<http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/
oil_market_basics/graphs_and_charts.htm>
---------------------------------------------------
06-- electromagnetic current & human affairs
---------------------------------------------------
Iran 'anti-cleric' film withdrawn: The makers of an Iranian box-office
hit seen
as satirising the religious establishment have decided to withdraw the
film.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3718275.stm>
'Mr Mohammadi also lashed out at his critics.' .. '"Those who oppose
Marmoulak do not want cinema to exist as a modern medium," he said.' ..
'Marmoulak's release was delayed by a month as the religious
authorities debated whether or not to ban it.'
// the 'antenna' political metaphor/analogy used again at the ending of
the
// age of media monopoly, and the domination of one-way broadcasting
which
// today might be considered narrowcasting writ large, versus
full-spectrum
// understanding and multi-directional signals and 'critical'
infrastructures.
// a downside for Sisyphus being 'the media messenger' as an
ending-in-itself;
// presidential commercials, presidential newscasts, presidential
NASCAR flag,
// presidential epic stories, in line with megalomaniacal 20th c.
leaders in
// amplifying the imagery beyond realities, many times the size of the
events,
// making larger than life and immortal. well-documented manipulation
tactics.
// the role of the microphone and loudspeaker and film and radio in the
20th c.
// now merge with greater speed and global coverage, non-stop media
treadmill.
// have been wondering for years if any political scientists have
studied the
// specific use of EM technologies, beyond 'mass media' and into
everything
// from databases, polls & phones to radio, web, film, tv
entertainment, etc.
EM-quote: from TPM May 13, 2004 -- 05:29 PM EDT. Reed Irvine-in-Chief?
<http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_05_09.php#002957>
'This is a passage from Tuesday's ~Washington Times~, which is itself
an excerpt from Bill Sammon's new insider account of the Bush
presidency, ~Misunderestimated: The President Battles Terrorism~, ~John
Kerry and the Bush Haters.~ (emphasis added)' ... [quoting: 'The
president prides himself on his ability to detect bias in ostensibly
objective news stories.' .. '"My antennae are finely attuned," he said.
"I can figure out what so-called 'news' pieces are going to be full of
opinion, as opposed to news. So I'm keenly aware of what's in the
papers, kind of the issue du jour. But I'm also aware of the facts."']'
---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transport & communication
---------------------------------------------------
E3: Canadians love hockey games while Quebecers love racing titles //
.Qc!
<http://www.canada.com/technology/story.html?id=F7057389-1598-4D5D-
9CFD-4A865DA2377D>
'Jason Anderson, Xbox's group marketing manager in Canada, points to
the success of driving games in La Belle Province.' .. '"RalliSport
(Challenge) 1 sold 50 per cent better in Quebec than any other province
- it's unbelievable," he said "I think that has a lot to do with a more
European culture in Quebec, with driving bigger in Europe, and quite
frankly the success of Jacques Villeneuve. Quebecers absolutely love
driving games."' .. 'Nintendo says adventure games do much better
proportionally in Canada than in the U.S.' ... 'Canadians share many
gaming tastes with their American counterparts, but there are
differences when it comes to sports.' .. '"What we found is most genres
are fairly similar, action, first-person (shooter) role-playing games,"
Anderson said. "Where we see the huge difference obviously is sports.
Hockey versus football. Hockey is obviously huge for us, football is
not. And then it's the opposite in the U.S."'
[and] Rome: First a Game, Now on TV // History Channel uses videogame
graphics
<http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,63455,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2>
[and] Sex and the single gamer: Video games tread paths of love and lust
<http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4979796/>
'"There is absolutely no violence in this game," Boxmeyer said.
"Except for a comical knee to the groin."'
Hy-Wire Driving Is a Gas // ~monster golf cart.
<http://www.wired.com/news/autotech/0,2554,63467,00.html>
'Powered by 200 fuel cells inside an 11-inch-thick chassis fixed like
a giant skateboard under the car, the Hy-wire's most exciting element
is its environmental footprint. It has none, according to General
Motors -- the car takes in only air and leaves behind nothing but
water. Simple as fifth-grade science: O2 + H = H20. And this driver
didn't detect even the H20.' .. 'The vibrating whine of its air
compressor inhaling all that O2 made the Hy-wire sound like a getaway
car in Minority Report -- or an electric hedge trimmer, depending on
how impressed you are.' ... 'The vertical handles, or paddles, worked
like a motorcycle -- twist to go, squeeze to stop. Steering is done by
rotating the control mechanism like a joystick, causing the wheels to
turn.' ... '"It's for the PlayStation generation, when they grow up,"
the rep told me. I asked if they made an Atari version. Quite
seriously, I was told that yes, they could make one...'
---------------------------------------------------
08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------
Following Earth's Magnetic Field: // sensitivity to artificial EMFs.
humans too?
Chemical Reaction In Birds Provides Sense Of Direction During Migratory
Flights
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/05/040514030725.htm>
'Migrating birds stay on track because of chemical reactions in their
bodies that are influenced by the Earth’s magnetic field, a UC
Irvine-led team of researchers has found.' .. 'The birds are sensitive
even to rapidly fluctuating artificial magnetic fields. These fields
had no effect on magnetic materials such as magnetite, indicating that
the birds do not rely on simple chunks of magnetic material in their
beaks or brains to determine direction, as experts had previously
suggested.' [note ***] 'In the experiments, the robins could walk and
flutter in their cages but could not fly. The birds oriented well in
the Earth’s magnetic field alone, but were disoriented in the presence
of a broad-band (0.1-10 megahertz) and 7 megahertz oscillating field,
aligned at a 24 or 48 degree angle to the Earth’s magnetic field. When
the same 7 megahertz oscillating field was aligned parallel to the
Earth’s magnetic field, the robins showed normal migratory orientation
again.'
[and] Solar wind to shield Earth during pole flip // it is still a
'model'...
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994985>
'A new model of the way the Earth interacts with the solar wind
indicates that a replacement field will form in the upper atmosphere
during the switch.' .. 'Scientists had previously thought that the
planet would be left without a protective shield to stop lethal
radiation from space reaching the surface.' .. 'The strength of the
Earth's magnetic field is known to drop during "magnetic reversals",
when the north and south poles swap places. Records of the field
direction, frozen into sediments laid down on the seabed, show that the
magnetic field has reversed hundreds of times in the past 400 million
years.' ... 'Their simulations show that the solar wind - the
million-kilometre-an-hour stream of hydrogen and helium nuclei from the
sun - wraps itself around the Earth in a way that induces a magnetic
field in the ionosphere as strong as the original field.'
[and] Magnetic Switching Slower Than Expected
<http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=24073>
'The speed at which magnets switch polarity is 1,000 times slower than
researchers previously expected, if new experimental results are
correct.' ... 'Magnetic recording speed -- crucial to a computer's
power and multimedia capabilities -- "depends on how fast one can
switch a magnet's poles," Calder added.' .. 'At the speed limit,
magnets start to behave chaotically, losing their ability to transmit
organized information like a car spinning out of control at high speed.
Experts expected to push up against this limit eventually, but not this
soon.' ... 'Moving electrons forms magnetic fields, according to
Maxwell's Laws, and Stanford's two-mile-long Linear Accelerator, or
SLAC, created an electric current similar to that in a hard drive.' ..
'The idea to use the linear accelerator as a data recorder "came to
Siegmann in the mid-1990s, literally out of a lightning bolt," Calder
told NewsFactor.' .. 'Siegmann surmised that the linear accelerator
could record data magnetically in the same way lightning leaves a
magnetic signature when it strikes a rock.' .. 'SLAC's beam moves
electrons near light speed, creating some of the world's strongest and
briefest magnetic pulses -- two picoseconds (two trillionths of a
second).' .. 'Studying photographs of the firing electrons in magnetic
recording media, the researchers realized their data resembled a
chaotic system -- one whose parts behave in a random, unpredictable
way.' .. 'At only picosecond and not femtosecond levels, "that's the
new thing," Siegmann told NewsFactor.'
How Black Boxes Work
<http://travel.howstuffworks.com/black-box.htm>
Scientists Prepare for Rare Astronomical Event // universal standards.
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&u=/nm/20040511/sc_nm/
space_venus_dc_2&printer=1>
'During the transit, the orbits of Venus and the earth, which tilt at
different angles, around the sun will line up exactly. It occurs four
times in every 243 years. There are two December transits, eight years
apart, and then 121.5 years later there are two June transits, also
eight years apart. After another 105.5 years the cycle begins again.'
.. '"It is a very special period of six hours," said Bromage.' ..
'British astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks recorded the first transit of
Venus across the sun in 1639.' .. 'The event is significant because it
happens so rarely. Previous transits have also given scientists an
opportunity to measure the scale of the universe and the distance from
the Earth to the sun, which is called the astronomical unit (AU).' ..
'"Without that we couldn't measure any distances in the universe. Every
other distances we measure...are all derived from the measurement of
this basic yardstick -- the distance from the Earth to the sun,"
Bromage said.'
image of Venus // amazing, maybe UV? via drudgereport.com
<http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20040511/mdf563466.jpg>
---------------------------------------------------
09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
---------------------------------------------------
U.S. Navy Plans Submerged Composite Turbine To Generate Electricity -
April 2004
<http://www.compositesworld.com/ct/issues/2004/April/420>
'The U.S. Navy's Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Div.
(Bethesda, Md., U.S.A.) has signed a cooperative agreement with Florida
Hydro Power and Light (FHPL, Palatka, Fla., U.S.A.) to design and test
a prototype all-composite, subsea hydroelectric turbine for generating
electricity from ocean currents.' ... 'Williams has applied for a
federal permit to install hundreds of the turbines in the Gulf Stream
current, according to a published story in the Miami Herald. He claims
that the low-speed turbines, spinning at about 2 rpm in the current's 4
mph flow, could produce cheap power, costing as little as 1 cent per
kWh (USD) as compared to recent American Wind Energy Assn. (Washington,
D.C., U.S.A.) statistics that report energy cost from state-of-the-art
wind turbines at 3 to 6 cents/kWh with fossil-fuel/combustion turbines
running 3.8 to 6 cents/kWh (see also "Changes in the Wind," in this
issue, p. 26).'
---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
---------------------------------------------------
Army plans battle biomonitors: // sensing intangibles...
Gadgets could transmit fatigue stats from the field
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/040510/040510-14.html>
'Not everyone agrees that high tech monitoring is the best way to
predict fatigue.'
UN calls for new nuclear controls // International Community nuclear
diplomacy
The head of the United Nation's nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, has
called for a new global system to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3716891.stm>
Iraqi scientists targeted:
Killings prompt calls for US to evacuate weapons researchers.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/040510/040510-9.html>
'Between five and ten scientists have been killed in the past six
months, according to a US Department of State official who runs
programmes aimed at keeping former weapons scientists in employment.
"The most common explanation is that they've shown an interest in
working with the coalition," says the official, who declined to be
identified by name and who returned from Iraq earlier this month.' ...
'Between them, the Iraqi scientists hold considerable knowledge of
chemical, biological and nuclear weapons from programmes that now seem
to have been defunct long before the US-led coalition invaded Iraq in
March 2003. But the killings are only the latest setback in plans to
redirect their knowledge and skills...'
---------------------------------------------------
11-- electromagnetic business & economics
---------------------------------------------------
Iraq car bomb slaying sends oil price up // ~if...then "much higher"...
<http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/18/1084783485773.html>
'The assassination highlighted the threat of sabotage hanging over the
oil market, [Refco market analyst Marshall] Steeves said.' .. '"There
is also a fear that it is going to spread to Saudi Arabia," he said.'
[and] Saudis 'too late' to stem fuel price rise
<http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/
FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1083180571150>
'The most striking example of Opec's lack of spare oil supply is
Indonesia, the group's only Asian member, which is on the cusp of
becoming a net crude oil importer, raising questions about its
membership of the organisation.'
After flashy failures, Internet grocery quietly grows to $2.4 billion
industry
<http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/040516/b051624.html>
'The key struggle for grocers is to make their service convenient
enough and the cost low enough - most charge less than $10 for delivery
- to change decades of shopping habits. Online grocers also need to
operate in cities with high population densities and heavy Internet
use.'
---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------
Carnegie Mellon Student Develops Origami Folding Robot
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/05/040514024853.htm>
'Balkcom's thesis project uses kinematics, the study of mechanisms, to
determine how folding motions are made and how paper can be treated as
both a flexible and a rigid material. Because robots are so often used
for industrial and manufacturing purposes, they are engineered to work
with rigid materials, Balkcom said. Paper presents a significant
problem because it is flexible.'
// imagery of 'sculpting with electrons' or 'sexed-up' metalworking...
Micro-sculptures give metal the Velcro touch // new built
forms/aesthetics...
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994986>
'The projection is grown by repeating the process and sluicing molten
metal over it from different directions. "It's a bit like sweeping up
leaves, except you start at the point where you want them to
accumulate," says Dance's colleague, Colin Ribton.' .. 'Electromagnetic
fields controlled by software choreograph the electron beam's movements
around the metal, teasing out many projections at once.' .. 'The
process is fast. It takes less than 10 seconds to create thousands of
projections on a plate 10 centimetres square. "The whole surface erupts
seemingly simultaneously," Ribton says.' ... 'Like joining two pieces
of Velcro, TWI says it can bond a metal to a composite simply by
pressing them together. The carbon fibres in the composite wrap tightly
around the protrusions, creating a firm bond without any kind of glue.'
.. 'Dance says his early tests show that these joints will last far
longer than current composite-metal joints, which are held together by
adhesives.'
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