~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #127
From
brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>
Date
Sun, 18 Jul 2004 19:00:05 -0500
===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #127
===================================================
00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (7/18/2004)
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-- [no comments]
===================================================
01) --top stories--
---------------------------------------------------
The Electromagnetic field in Space-time // *** visualizing EM via
physical model
<http://users.rcn.com/eslowry/elmag.htm>
The Simpsons Help Children Understand Electricity // Disney now Matt
Groening...
<http://business.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3207221>
'The study also found kids were confused by some energy terminology,
thinking fossil fuels were connected to dinosaurs and nuclear power
related to weapons of mass destruction.' [??? uhhh... they are.]
Utility Loses Track of Spent Nuclear Fuel // wonder what the half-life
is...
Mhttp://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&ncid=578&e=2&u=/
nm/20040716/ts_nm/utilities_pge_dc>
'Pacific Gas & Electric said on Friday that it had lost track of three
pieces of spent nuclear fuel it last used in the late 1960s, although
the utility said there was no threat to public safety.' .... 'The used
nuclear fuel consisted of three, half-inch diameter by 18-inch long
segments, weighing a total of about 4 pounds, which were cut from a
single, seven-foot fuel rod in 1968.'
A Question of Scale : Powers of Ten
<http://www.wordwizz.com/pwrsof10.htm>
<http://www.wordwizz.com/imagendx.htm>
'Quarks to Quasars: This is a visual journey consisting of 42 images
-- 42 powers of ten. At one end of the journey is the immensity of the
known universe, 13.7 billion years old with a diameter of at least 20
billion light years (and probably much larger). At the other end of the
journey is a depiction of the three quarks within a proton.'
Nuclear Testing Images
<http://www.batguano.com/nuclear/nucgallery.html>
<http://www.batguano.com/nuclear/33.jpg>
Bolivians to vote on gas exports: Bolivians head to the polls on Sunday
to decide what to do with the country's massive natural gas reserves.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3903803.stm>
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02-- electromagnetic health & safety
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Most polluted cities in China blacklisted // coal powerplants...
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-07/15/content_1601700.htm>
'Shi Hanmin, chief official of the local environmental protection
authority, said Beijing's goal is to have 80 per cent of fairly good or
excellent air quality days a year by 2008.' .... 'The pollution list
was released as part of a report on management and comprehensive
improvement of environmental protection in key cities in 2003. The
report is delivered every year by the State Environmental Protection
Administration.' .. '"These cities must step up efforts to improve air
quality," said Wang Jirong, deputy director of the administration.'
Therapy Offers Alzheimer's Hope to Japan's Elderly // social.info
alienation...
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=751&e=1&u=/nm/
20040715/hl_nm/alzheimers_elderly_dc>
Specialists Seek Extra Training for Heart Implants // electrophysiology
boomtime
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=6&u=/
nm/20040715/sc_nm/health_heart_dc>
'The Heart Rhythm Society recommended the changes as the industry
prepares for a huge acceleration in the number of people who get
implantable defibrillators and special pacemakers designed to treat
heart failure.' .... 'He also acknowledged that doctors have a
financial incentive to do the implants. Based on current Medicare
payments, a doctor earns almost $900 for implanting an ICD, which takes
about two hours, he said.' .... 'The group's guidelines include a
recommendation that implanting physicians do a minimum of 35 implants a
year and 100 implants over the course of three years.'
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03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
---------------------------------------------------
[.US-only] Recycle your technology Hardware // Office Depot & HP. free
7/18-9/6
<http://www.officedepot.com/
adRedir.do;jsessionid=0000UQC5E4IYTJ13TT1XBJ21NGQ:ufnir32h?ciid=1902&adu
rl=%2Fpromo.do%3Ffile%3D%2Fpromo%2Fpages%2Frecycle.jsp&redirect=false>
'Qualifying Products: PCs, Mice, Keyboards - Handhelds/PDAs - Monitors
- Flat Panel Displays - Laser & Inkjet Printers - Scanners -
All-in-Ones - Digital Cameras - Fax Machines - Desktop Copiers - Cell
Phones - TVs (27” and smaller only, no consoles) - TV/VCR combos 27”
and smaller' .. '*One recycling product per customer, per day. No TV
consoles, furniture, or electric appliances, please. Program available
in the Continental U.S. only'
// these materials could also have parts that are salvagable for
robotics (as
// described in the book 'junkbots') such as walkman cassette motors
and gears,
// PDA supercapacitors, and also electronic toys for
circuit-tweaking/bending...
[reference] Dell, HP Think Green
<http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=25867>
[quote] Shock over missing U2 album songs
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3899947.stm>
'The Irish rockers called in police after the CD, containing songs
from their forthcoming album, disappeared.' .... 'Guitarist Edge said:
"A large slice of two years' work lifted. It doesn't seem credible but
that's what's just happened to us... and it was my CD."'
Museum has flush of inspiration
London's Science Museum could use its toilets to help power
its building and cut electricity bills. // via wirednews
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3895975.stm>
---------------------------------------------------
04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
---------------------------------------------------
[quote] STILL OUT IN THE COLD - // via TSCM-L
<http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040716/asp/opinion/story_3499354.asp>
'... Selectivity is crucial when you consider that by the
mid-Nineties, the CIA’s sensors had the ability to collect intercepts
to fill up a Library of Congress every three hours...'
// curious if there is a standard-of-measure for information systems to
compare
// analog and digital media as a single unit...
[reference] Fascinating Facts about the Library of Congress // bytes
per media?
<http://www.loc.gov/homepage/fascinate.html>
'The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with
nearly 128 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves.
The collections include more than 29 million books and other printed
materials, 2.7 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8
million maps, 5 million music items and 57 million manuscripts.'
How many bytes for... // ** here we go...
<http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/sDefinition/
0,,sid5_gci944596,00.html>
'One meter (or close to a yard) of shelved books: 100 megabytes'
'The print collections of the U.S. Library of Congress: 10 terabytes'
[and] How Much Information? // **
<http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info/
datapowers.html>
// not sure of the 'triviality' that some make of the USB storage
device threat,
// yet it would appear very unlikely that in the realm of corporate
espionage
// and the stealing of .biz secrets any 128MB portable device (for
instance, a
// 'pen' that is a USB device) would not pose a threat: nor a 20GB
device, given
// that a 'zip disk' (100-250MB) is enough to walk off with national
security
// documentation equivalent to nuclear weaponry-- large dual-use
storage seems
// something quite relevant. from another (fictional?) viewpoint, it is
the USB
// device in the movie 'The Recruit' (not a recommended movie though
interesting
// in what it revolves around) the USB device is central, as is the
ability to
// (fictionally?) plug something into a power socket to upload
destructive code
// into the electrical grid-- which is frightening to consider if it's
possible.
USB security threat still ignored // this issue is both hyped and
panned...
<http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/
article.asp?liArticleID=132033&liArticleTypeID=1&liCategoryID=2&liChanne
lID=22&liFlavourID=1&sSearch=&nPage=1>
---------------------------------------------------
05-- electromagnetic power & energy
---------------------------------------------------
[book review] Time to cut down // via SciTech Daily Review ***
We need to face up to the crisis in energy consumption.
Michael Meacher finds some solutions in The End of Oil by Paul Roberts
<http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/politicsphilosophyandsociety/
0,6121,1252678,00.html>
'The current world order is essentially about the geopolitics of oil,
and this book is a tour de force in charting, in a highly readable,
balanced and objective manner, a fluid, constantly changing dynamic. It
is to be hoped that it will be widely read in the United States (the
home country of the author), since Americans are the least
energy-conscious people in the world, are profoundly ignorant of what
energy is and continue to live in a state of denial.' .... 'This
background gives an interesting insight into the motives behind the
Iraq war...' .... 'The best alternative is one still too little talked
about: conservation. The volume of energy we squander is prodigious. US
power plants discard more energy in waste heat than Japan's entire
energy requirement. Only 15% of the energy in a gallon of petrol ever
reaches the wheels of a car, and less than a quarter of the energy used
in a standard oven reaches the food...'
// ~driven so deeply into debt it was easy political prey for
privatizers~
Electricity: learning from the shocks -- In the wake of Enron, we need
a regulated power system based on long-term planning, not the whims
of the market, say energy writers JAMIE SWIFT and KEITH STEWART
<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/
20040715/COHYDRO15/TPComment/TopStories>
'The deregulated free-market regime created exciting opportunities for
enormous profits to be made from the manipulation of markets for
essential utility services such as electricity. And they are coming to
Canada, as the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission continues to
push Canadian utilities to deregulate in order to gain access to the
U.S. market.' .... 'In December of 2000, Enron made a staggering
$440-million (U.S.) in trading profits from California -- the same
month that the state was declaring Stage 3 power alerts and bracing for
rolling blackouts because energy sellers were withholding supply to
force up prices.' .. 'And they were praised for it...'
Bulgaria sells electricity companies
<http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040715-120033-8893r.htm>
'Reform of the energy sector is a precondition for Bulgaria's hoped
for accession to the European Union in 2007 or 2008.'
[and] Greece Hopeful for Bulgarian Electricity
<http://www.novinite.com/newsletter/print.php?id=37049>
Building Energy Simulation User News
<http://simulationresearch.lbl.gov/un.html>
---------------------------------------------------
06-- Electromagnetic current & human affairs
---------------------------------------------------
Holy Indian man needs electricity // **
<http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1025953.html>
'Dr Amit Chaturvedi of the Lalitpur Civil Hospital said: "The human
body can absorb currents up to 12 volts. In this case however, repeated
exposure to electricity seems to have built up his body's tolerance
levels to as much as 16 volts."'
// so too with the moviess 'artificial intelligence' and 'bi-centennial
man'...
Lessons on artificial intelligence to be found in 'I, Robot' // via
NewsScan
<http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techreviews/2004-07-15-i-robot-ai_x.htm>
'Well, as everyone knows, software's seldom perfect. A technological
guru for U.S. Robotics, the industrial concern cranking out these
synthetic bipeds, warns of "ghosts in the machine" — presumably the
interaction of various hunks of code that might lead to unexpected
behavior. Behavior that might make the robots all-too-human. Behavior
that might make them break [Asimov's] laws.'
[book] Langdon Winner, The Whale and the Reactor: // (technique as
politique)
A Search for Limits in an Age of High Technology . xiv, 200 p. 1986
<http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/2580.ctl>
[review] THE WHALE AND THE REACTOR by Scott London // philosophy of
technology.
<http://www.scottlondon.com/reviews/winner.html>
'This collection of ten essays explores the social, political, and
philosophical ramifications of technology. Though computer networking,
nuclear reactors, genetic engineering, the so-called appropriate-
technology movement, and a variety of other specific issues are
explored in the book, Winner's main focus is on the way we think about
technology....'
Langdon Winner. "Do Artifacts Have Politics?" The Whale and the
Reactor:
A Search for Limits in an Age of High Technology. pp. 19-39.
Click on a page number below to view it: 19 |20 |21 |22 |23 |24
|25 |26 |27 |28 |29 |30 |31 |32 |33 |34 |35 |36 |37 |38 |39
<http://www.courses.psu.edu/phil/phil403_pam208/winner/>
---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transport & communication
---------------------------------------------------
Environmentalists Seek Limits on Sonar // of balancing em-lifeforms...
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=624&ncid=753&e=5&u=/
ap/20040715/ap_on_sc/whales_sonar>
Don Quixote to Ride Again on Cosmic Rescue Mission // ***
<http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20040716_160.html>
'The European Space Agency has given high priority to a Spanish
project which aims to attack an approaching asteroid to see whether
spacecraft can deflect a body that may in future be on a collision
course with earth.' .. 'Two craft will set out -- one named after the
valiant knight of Cervantes' classic tale, the other after his
long-suffering servant Sancho Panza.' .. 'Spacecraft Sancho will circle
the chosen asteroid while the other -- aping its literary namesake --
smashes headlong into the target...'
---------------------------------------------------
08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------
Hawking Changes His Mind on Black Holes // "black hole information
paradox"
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=753&e=1&u=/ap/
20040716/ap_on_sc/britain_black_holes>
'Hawking revolutionized the study of the holes when he demonstrated in
1976 that, under the strange rules of quantum physics, once black holes
form they start to "evaporate" away, radiating energy and losing mass
in the process.' .. 'Under this theory, black holes are not totally
"black" because the vacuum of the imploding star lets out very tiny
amounts of matter and energy in the form of photons, neutrinos and
other subparticles.' .. 'By conjuring up this so-called "Hawking
radiation," the Cambridge mathematician, who is paralyzed by
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also created one of the biggest
conundrums in physics.' .. 'These particles, he said, contained no
information about what has been occurring inside the black hole, or how
it formed. Under his theory, once the black hole evaporates, all the
information within would be lost.' .. 'But now, according to his latest
revision, Hawking argues that eventually some of the information about
the black hole can be determined from what it emits.'
Brain Cells Convert to Blood Vessel in Experiment
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=10&u=/
nm/20040714/sc_nm/science_cells_dc>
'The finding, published in this week's issue of the journal Nature,
contradicts other findings that suggested so-called adult stem cells
cannot truly change their character.'
Infrared Photography // Photography Techniques
<http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Photography_Techniques/
Infrared_Photography_01.htm>
Infrared (IR) basics for digital photographers —capturing the unseen
<http://dpfwiw.com/ir.htm>
Infrared Digital Photography
<http://tedfelix.com/IR/>
Infrared Photography With a Digital Camera
<http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/infrared/>
New Technique for Imaging May Improve Study of Proteins // detects one
electron
<http://nytimes.com/2004/07/15/science/15electron.html>
The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web
Search Engine // high-level google architecture diagram
<http://www7.scu.edu.au/programme/fullpapers/1921/com1921.htm>
---------------------------------------------------
09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
---------------------------------------------------
Nanotech Branches Out with New Discovery // quantum dots get legs...
<http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=25880>
'The ability to tune separate branches of structures no larger than a
few nanometers independently might provide unprecedented accuracy for a
new class of electronic devices.'
---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
---------------------------------------------------
Poland Hails Radio Station From '44 Revolt // *** more information
online?
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-poland-
warsaw-uprising,0,2336801.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines>
'Radio Blyskawica -- Polish for lightning -- went on the air Aug. 8,
1944, seven days after the Home Army launched a desperate attempt to
liberate Warsaw following five years of Nazi occupation and as Soviet
troops neared the capital.'
Exports on northern pipeline halted after attack // strategic
pipelines. (7/15)
<http://www.boston.com/dailynews/197/world/
Exports_on_northern_pipeline_h:.shtml>
'Saboteurs attacked two oil pipelines Thursday, halting exports to
Turkey, hours after insurgents assassinated a guard with the state oil
company in a renewed spate of attacks on Iraq's crucial industry.' ....
'Insurgents also set their sights further south, toward the pipelines
that carry 90 percent of Iraq's export oil.' .... 'In an interview with
The Associated Press on Thursday, Allawi said attacks on the
electricity and oil industry have hit the Iraqi people hard, eroding
their already sinking quality of life and costing the country almost $1
billion over the past 10 days.'
// if ever there were a flip-flop. to flip-flop or not is the mediated
question.
[quote] Perception Gap in Iraq // or pre-emptive Fox News schedule for
Fall 2004
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50502-2004Jul14.html>
'To the relief of the White House, the American public and media seem
to be slowly trying to tune out Iraq's continuing violence. Accounts of
all but spectacular assaults slide deeper into network news broadcasts
and the inside pages of newspapers as the summer and the U.S.
presidential campaign progress.' .... 'Bush has to win both politically
and in policy terms if Iraq is not to become a disaster that will haunt
him and America. But he faces this dilemma: Facts and judgments from
the field that are inconvenient to the perception-management priorities
of Washington get ignored or suppressed in this situation. . Moreover,
commanders and troops become confused by sudden switches in strategy
and tactics driven by the politicians...'
---------------------------------------------------
11-- electromagnetic business & economics
---------------------------------------------------
// as time goes on with PC design what is amazing is that many
electronics and
// computer electronics change 'style' or shape everytime a 'new'
product comes
// out, even if it is remarkably similar in features. it is wondered if
those
// who design their own PCs know if the PC-platform has a consistent
case-size
// for building your own computer. or, if even these dimensions are
variable,
// given what the guts of a computer are. it is wondered what the
savings would
// be if the design of everything related to a computer or computer
device was
// not redesigned anew, but instead used a mostly-similar, modular
design that
// would not require customized parts in which to regain functions of
earlier
// versions, but in a new form. the question of packaging, interface,
materials,
// and the rest would seem to also be heavily invested in the design of
a thing.
// yet, what if there was some 'wiggle' room, however so, in an
electronics box
// which enables years of service, and in which upgrade-kits could add
functions
// (such as an LED display or LCD, a new port), instead of entirely new
designs.
// this would seem to be part of the economics, maybe it would hurt
free-forming
// designs, yet what may be saved may make devices more affordable,
more sales.
// one instance of this is the PDA market, where most everything is
customized,
// from case covers to keyboards. not that all electronics would
benefit from
// this, yet it is wondered if modular electronics platforms could be
developed.
Desktop PC market shows strong rebound // versus trend towards
laptops...
<http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=17251>
---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------
First Au+Au Collisions at STAR - Summer 2000 // ***
<http://www.rhip.utexas.edu/pictures/ev17-end-full.gif>
<http://www.rhip.utexas.edu/pictures/ev17-persp.gif>
<http://www.rhip.utexas.edu/pictures/ev17-side-full.gif>
<http://www.star.bnl.gov/STAR/imagelib/event_images/EG1/venus5.jpg>
<http://www.star.bnl.gov/STAR/imagelib/event_images/DSV_COSMICS3/
nice_track9.gif>
[and] Index of /afs/rhic/star/doc/www/imagelib/event_images/DSV_IMG1/
***
<http://www.star.bnl.gov/STAR/imagelib/event_images/DSV_IMG1/>
<http://www.star.bnl.gov/STAR/imagelib/event_images/DSV_IMG1/ftpc.gif>
<http://www.star.bnl.gov/STAR/imagelib/event_images/DSV_IMG1/svt1.gif>
<http://www.star.bnl.gov/STAR/imagelib/event_images/DSV_IMG1/
zslicenew3.gif>
<http://www.star.bnl.gov/STAR/img/tpc/pads.gif>
<http://www.star.bnl.gov/STAR/imagelib/collisions/e12_side.jpg>
[and] A Library of STAR Photos // em-archaeo/architecture
<http://www.star.bnl.gov/STAR/img/images/star/star_detector.gif>
<http://www.star.bnl.gov/STAR/imagelib/star_photos/public_html/>
[comic] Strangebrew 7/16 -- Truth in Advertising hits the Media
<http://www.toonville.com/content1/strangebrew/brw071604.jpg>
Trailing the Transistor
<http://www.thinkquest.org/library/
site_sum.html?tname=C006224&url=C006224/>
<http://library.thinkquest.org/C006224/introductionhtml.htm>
Aurora
<http://www-step.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/japanese/research/showa_aurora.jpg>
lightbulb art
<http://heion.invention13.net/lightbulb.jpg>
Full Pictures and Close-ups: Ship in Early Lightbulb
<http://sdjones.net/FolkArt/edison.html>
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