~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #144
From
brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>
Date
Tue, 14 Sep 2004 20:58:29 -0500
===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #144
===================================================
00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (9/14/2004)
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
13) special section: Visualizing Electromagnetism
===================================================
00) --commentary--
* if anyone is interested in compiling a future issue of the
newsletter (#145 or other) please contact me. it could be a
way to show other categories of approaches or formating, and
could be a way to experiment with the format collaboratively.
thanks. brian
===================================================
01) --top stories--
---------------------------------------------------
Nuclear treaty 'would improve detection of rogue tests'
Experts counsel against complacency after North Korea blast.
<http://www.nature.com/news/2004/040913/full/040913-4.html>
'Nuclear-monitoring agencies are confident that the world's network of
seismic and acoustic monitoring devices will rumble any nation that
does try to deploy a nuclear bomb. Seismic instruments can detect
underground explosions anywhere in the world, hydrophones can do the
same for undersea blasts, and devices that detect ultralow-frequency
sound waves can spot airborne detonations.'
US hints at force to prevent Iranian nukes // .US neocon John Bolton,
preemption
<http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/
ShowFull&cid=1094959652876>
'A senior US non-proliferation official hinted in Jerusalem Sunday
that the US may use force if necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring
nuclear weapons.' .... 'Bolton, In addition to meting with Shalom, met
in Jerusalem with senior Foreign Ministry officials dealing with the
Iranian issue, including director-general Ron Prosor, and deputy
director general Jeremy Issacharoff, who heads the ministry's division
for strategic affairs, as well as with senior defense ministry and
intelligence officials. The meetings preceded by a day a meeting in
Vienna of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of
Governors to discuss Iran's nuclear program.'
// as written on list many times before, the dualism of body/mind is
// now moot with regard to experiments with brain-body interfaces using
// brains (of monkey's and humans) to move computer cursors on screens.
// it is not a biochemical but an electromagnetic effect, as are the
// questions of life in regard to consciousness. 'soul' is largely a
// private language that probably has no necessary need for definition
// of life beyond a certain level of perception that science may not be
// able to attain/obtain. though in public research the dis-connections
// assumed by philosophy (author's book, no less) is now a fallacy if in
// terms of electromagnetism-- there is largely no barrier between body
// and mind, electromagnetically. both are made of matter, require use
// of energy for living, and use this same electromagetic medium for a
// transference of information throughout both body and mind (nervous
// system and brain). the 'question of life' has been contemplated for
// some time about this yet it is not known how to write about such a
// phenomenon, accurately, to assess questions that cognitive scientists
// seem to be working on, as others, such as artificial intelligence in
// robotics research. the idea arose that maybe all these aspects of the
// pursuit of the meaning of 'life' could be brought into common
relation
// with one another, so roboticists and AI persons pursuing the question
// could meet with others pursuing organic living beings and humanity's
// unique differences and similarities, including embryo development in
// relation to what is known about the evolution of matter, which has
// shown to have 'information' as an emergent property (consiousness).
// if such a question could be made secular, instead of politicized to
// death, it would be intriguing if the many who are speaking for and
// searching for meaning of lives could make a mosaic of understanding,
// and possibly even relating it to electromagnetic properties which
// are at the hinge-condition described in the essay questions below.
// even the Pope's statement, in this regard, is not that far off from
// earlier philosphical approaches to understanding EM (vitalism, the
// life force is electromagnetic), what is alive that is not pulsing?
// what is conscious that is processing information at certain rates?
// what is material (body) or mental that is not also electromagnetic?
// and, how can 'life' be separated from the process of 'death' in the
// way of natural, artificial, virtual lifeforms (or product cycles)?
// it is entirely possible that the many existing viewpoints were to be
// brought into common relation, say with materiality of bodies/minds,
// that questions of life and death may be recontextualized in such a
// way that, while private belief rightly should be held in confidence
// of the meaning of life, the public view seems to be uncontestable...
The Duel Between Body and Soul // *** related to EM developments today.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/10/opinion/10bloom.html>
[and] birth to death // small animation related to EM
matter/energy/info...
<http://www.mnartists.org/work.do?rid=42313>
Students make washing machine talk // *** students/teacher serving
human needs
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3645636.stm>
'"We asked Whirlpool if they'd be willing to donate a device and they
gave us one of their most up to date machines to work on," Prof Goodman
told BBC News Online.' .. 'They built a circuit board that would give
speech output each time one of the machine's buttons was pressed.' ..
'A status button was also included which gives speech output from all
of the machine's settings.' .... 'Prof Goodman says that manufacturers
should take account of accessibility in their original designs - that
way products can be made useable by people with all sorts of
disabilities at little or no extra cost.' .. '"Appliances also have to
be accessible to an increasingly ageing population, so more and more
people are going to be demanding these things."' .. 'Michael Hudson
thinks that engineers have traditionally thought visually and have
developed their ideas around that one mode of operation.' .. '"They
never think, 'what would I do if?' It's a case of taking the time of
putting yourself in somebody else's situation."'
---------------------------------------------------
02-- electromagnetic health & safety
---------------------------------------------------
Mental ping-pong could aid paraplegics // ***
Competitors learn to create brain signals that can control devices.
<http://www.nature.com/news/2004/040823/full/040823-18.html>
'Neuroscientists have created a computer game based on table tennis
that people can play using nothing more than the power of their minds.'
.... 'The technology might even help people with mental disorders such
as depression or schizophrenia, which are caused by excessive activity
in parts of the brain. If patients were able to visualize the activity
of troublesome brain areas, Goebel believes they could learn to steer
their brains away from the patterns of activity that cause their
symptoms.'
The Design and Function of Cochlear Implants // spectacular. via
SciTech Daily
Fusing medicine, neural science and engineering, these devices transform
human speech into an electrical code that deafened ears can understand
<http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/35121>
[related] One Ear Is Not Like the Other, Study Finds // short
<http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=0000EC2C-11A4-
1142-87D683414B7F4945>
Radiation works. August 2004. // hormesis-effect. via SciTech Daily
Review...
Part of the anti-nuclear case is based on the false, official view that
all exposure to radiation is harmful. Small quantities are good for you
<http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/ArticleView.asp?P_Article=12731>
'Unfortunately, far from safeguarding our health, current safety
standards will almost certainly increase the incidence of cancer. The
evidence shows that the effect of radiation on human health is not a
linear one, but is a J-shaped curve. Exposure starts by being
beneficial at low doses and only becomes harmful at higher doses. This
effect is known as hormesis. A low dose of ionising radiation seems to
stimulate DNA repair and the immune system, so providing a measure of
protection against cancer. The benefit of low doses of radiation in
treating cancer have been known for some time and are confirmed by a
mass of evidence, particularly from Japan where it has been studied in
detail as a result of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.'
MRI better than mammography // breast cancer screening...
<http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040914-044012-5896r.htm>
Magnets could pull cancer drugs to tumours // Magnetotactic bacteria
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996375>
---------------------------------------------------
03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
---------------------------------------------------
NEC’s biodegradable corn-based laptops
<http://www.engadget.com/entry/1522064642806264/>
// it is very inspiring to see these (educational) projects from
engadget,
// as they both demystify a given technology, and also show the power of
// a basic modification for a certain purpose. this uses a 555 timer
chip
// wired into a digital camera, it is a great approach to
experimenting...
HOW-TO: Take digital photos from a kite—Part 1, the camera
<http://www.engadget.com/entry/4226778466722181/>
---------------------------------------------------
04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
---------------------------------------------------
Problem with the Way Microsoft Opens JPEG Files Affects Dozens of
Products
<http://www.entmag.com/news/article.asp?EditorialsID=6363>
'Microsoft says the component used in Windows XP Service Pack 2, the
security overhaul of Windows XP that was released last month, is not
vulnerable to the problem.'
---------------------------------------------------
05-- electromagnetic power & energy
---------------------------------------------------
Mitochondrial Genes Cause Nuclear Mischief
While the nucleus of a cell may be its command headquarters,
mitochondria
are equally vital--they are the power plants of the cell, and without
them
all cellular activity would quickly and irrevocably come to a halt...
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/09/040907082844.htm>
'Miria Ricchetti and colleagues show that the over 200 mitochondrial
genetic fragments also integrated into the nuclear genome may not be
quite so benign. They have continued to invade the human genome, even
into the present day, and a large proportion of them take up residence
within nuclear genes, possibly disrupting them and causing human
diseases.'
// vision: a nuclear microbattery for every micro/nanoelectronic
component...
The Daintiest Dynamos -- By harvesting energy from radioactive specks,
nuclear microbatteries could power tomorrow's microelectromechanical
marvels—
and maybe your cellphone, too // 'the Seebeck effect', nanowatts, via
TSCM-L...
<http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature/sep04/0904nuc.html>
'Now, with technologists busily ushering in a new age of
miniaturization based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS),
batteries have arrived at a critical juncture...' .... 'A speck of a
radioisotope like nickel-63 or tritium, for example, contains enough
energy to power a MEMS device for decades, and to do it safely...' ....
'But, again, at very small scales, chemical batteries can't provide
enough juice to power these micromachines. As you reduce the size of
such a battery, the amount of stored energy goes down exponentially.
Reduce each side of a cubic battery by a factor of 10 and you reduce
the volume—and therefore the energy you can store—by a factor of 1000.
In fact, researchers developing sensors the size of a grain of sand had
to attach them to batteries they couldn't make smaller than a shirt
button.' .... '... [T]he conversion efficiency won't be stuck at 4
percent forever. Beginning this past July we started working to boost
the efficiency to 20 percent, as part of a new Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency program called Radio Isotope Micro-power
Sources.'
PROBE in Karachi Electricity Breakdown Set Off
Pakistan Times - Pakistan
ELECTRICITY returned to more than half of residents
Fort Pierce Tribune - Fort Pierce,FL,USA
STRATEGIES for electricity privatization
Daily Star - Beirut,Lebanon
IVAN leaves most of Jamaica without electricity
Kansas City Star (subscription) - Kansas City,MO,USA
PRAYER vigils bring comfort to those without electricity
Palm Beach Post - Palm Beach,FL,USA
IRAQ seeks $3.4bn to finance water and electricity projects
Gulf Daily News - Manama,Bahrain
BLAST knocks out electricity in Iraqi town
Deepika - India
---------------------------------------------------
06-- Electromagnetic current & human affairs
---------------------------------------------------
[NYT headline] Two Scientists Caught in Amber
---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transport & communication
---------------------------------------------------
Lens does away with blurry snaps-- A specially shaped camera lens and
processing method to ensure images are always in focus has been
developed. // .mil dual-use
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3643964.stm>
---------------------------------------------------
08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------
Ships shape up to fight killer waves // can it be applied to EM waves?
filters?
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996368>
Genesis scientists hopeful of salvaging solar atoms
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/space/article/0,14493,1302130,00.html>
Yale Scientists Bring Quantum Optics To A Microchip -- A report in the
journal Nature describes the first experiment in which a single photon
is coherently coupled to a single superconducting qubit (quantum bit or
"artificial atom").
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/09/040910081014.htm>
Chinese dyslexics have problems of their own
Brain regions behind reading difficulties differ between cultures.
<http://www.nature.com/news/2004/040830/full/040830-5.html>
'The finding explains why one can be dyslexic in one language but not
another.'
---------------------------------------------------
09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
---------------------------------------------------
Electrons stop spuds sprouting
Treatment could replace chemical sprays to keep potatoes fresh longer.
<http://www.nature.com/news/2004/040906/full/040906-2.html>
'...The researchers used a Van der Graaf generator to deliver a beam
of electrons to potatoes moving along a conveyor belt. The electron
beam works by preventing cell division within the sprout bud tissue,
similar to the way that radiotherapy stops cancer cells multiplying...'
// hardware virtualization via 'intermediate representation'
translator...
Step Toward Universal Computing
<http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,64914,00.html>
'The company claimed QuickTransit eliminates the need to port software
from one platform to another. Software applications written for one
platform will run on almost any other, without any modifications to the
underlying program.' .... 'Turley said a universal emulator is computer
science's equivalent of alchemy's quest to turn base metal into gold.
Many have tried; all have failed.'
---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
---------------------------------------------------
[headline] Powell Says N. Korea Blast Not Nuclear (NY Newsday)
[headline] N.Korea Says Blast Was for Hydro-Electric Project
[headline] Powell Says War Service Should Pertain to Everyone // draft.
Powell Says Intelligence on Iraqi Weapons Stockpile Failed `Test of
Time'
Technology vs. Torture: Psychopharmaceuticals and brain imaging could
make
prisoner interrogation more humane. Should we use them? // SciTech
Daily Review
<http://slate.msn.com/id/2105332/>
'The tools for radically transforming tomorrow's interrogations can be
found in hospitals worldwide. They're helping to painlessly diagnose
Alzheimer's, dyslexia, epilepsy, schizophrenia, insomnia, and brain
tumors. The past decade has seen revolutions both in brain-scanning
technologies and in drugs that affect the brain's functions. Like
personal computers and digital camcorders, these technologies are
getting faster, better, and cheaper. And they may have uses in the
interrogation room that will render moot debates about the excesses of
Abu Ghraib-style treatment of prisoners.' .. 'Functional Magnetic
Resonance Imaging brain scans, for example, have improved so
dramatically that they can now produce high-resolution movies of brain
activity. Functional MRIs can measure how the brain reacts when asked
certain questions, such as, "Do you know Mr. X?" or, "Have you seen
this man?" When you ask someone a question, the parts of the brain
responsible for answering will cause certain neurons to fire, drawing
blood flow. The oxygen in the blood then changes the brain's magnetic
field so that a neural radio signal emitted becomes more intense.
Functional MRI scanners detect and calibrate these changes. And by
comparing the resulting images to those of the brain at rest, a
computer can produce detailed pictures of the part of the brain
answering or not answering the question—in essence, creating a kind of
high-tech lie detector. Indeed, a Pentagon agency is already funding
Functional MRI research for such purposes.'
Saboteurs hit Iraqi electric grid
Electricity supplies across Iraq have been disrupted after saboteurs
attacked a key oil pipeline junction on the Tigris River in northern
Iraq.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3656456.stm>
'Insurgents struck at about 0300 local time (2200 GMT) at a point
where two pipelines ran side-by-side down to the River Tigris.' .. 'The
attack near Baiji, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, set off a fire
that melted cables and led to the power outage, electricity officials
said.' .. 'Daylight revealed a huge fire on the riverbank, crude oil
pouring down the slope into the river and thick clouds of black smoke.'
---------------------------------------------------
11-- electromagnetic business & economics
---------------------------------------------------
// this business approach to EM should indicate the relevance of EM
studies
// as having value for future literacy and core skills and
understanding...
Fore~sight: Making the future work for you
Exploiting the Electromagnetic Spectrum: Action Plan
<http://www.foresight.gov.uk/emspec.html>
[headline] Falling oil prices lift blue chips
[headline] CHENEY sees eBay as signal of growth
OPEC Ponders Modest Rise in Oil Quotas - Reuters
Iraq Pledges to Improve Oil Security - Forbes
Crude Oil, Natural Gas Rise as Ivan Disrupts US Gulf Output // hurricane
<http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/
news?pid=10000006&sid=at8HSpJw02MU&refer=home>
'Royal Dutch/Shell Group said it plans to complete evacuations today
that will idle 272,000 barrels of daily oil output. The Louisiana
Offshore Oil Port, the biggest U.S. oil import terminal, said it will
stop offloading tankers today. States along the Gulf receive more than
half of U.S. oil imports and are home to 50 percent of the nation's
refining capacity.' .... 'Ministers of the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries, producer of about 40 percent of the world's oil,
gather Wednesday in Vienna to consider raising the group's official
output limits and price targets.'
---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------
Search for Personal Truth by Dustin Feider
<http://www.mnartists.org/
work.do;jsessionid=B570B362556FED26A52FBBFBB03403B6?rid=47757>
[and] Light Stack by Dustin Feider // interesting approach...
<http://www.mnartists.org/work.do?rid=47715>
bolt // photograph of lightning
<http://www.mnartists.org/work.do?rid=47986>
---------------------------------------------------
13-- special section: Visualizing Electromagnetism
---------------------------------------------------
More About Visualizing Electromagnetic Waves
<http://www.colorado.edu/physics/PhysicsInitiative/Physics2000.03.99/
microwaves/waves5.html>
Primary Cosmic Rays // visualizing space particles...
<http://doc.cern.ch//archive/electronic/cern/others/PHO/photo-di/
9905005_01.jpeg>
<http://doc.cern.ch/cgi-bin/jpeg.sh?i=/archive/electronic/cern/others/
PHO/photo-di/9905005_01.jpeg>
How to Build a Cloud Chamber
<http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/~adf4/cloud.html>
Wilson's cloud chamber 1912
<http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/electron/section3/1911b.asp>
'Cloud chambers were first developed by Charles T.R. Wilson around
1911 for experiments on the formation of rain clouds. Wilson knew that
water vapour condensed around ions, atoms which have become charged by
gaining or losing electrons. However, an alpha particle, for example,
which had an electric charge, would leave a trail of ions as it passed
through a gas. If water vapour condensed on these ions, the track of
the alpha particle would become visible as a line of water droplets.'
Harry Partch : Cloud Chamber Bowls // composer. em-instruments
<http://www.harrypartch.com/ccbphoto.htm>
[composition] U.S. Highball (1943/1955) originally for voice,
adapted guitar, kithara & chromelodeon; rewritten in 1955 for
"Subjective" Voice (Tenor-baritone), one or more "Objective" voices
(mostly) baritone, kithara, surrogate kithara, two harmonic canons,
chromelodeon, diamond marimba, boo, spoils of war, cloud chamber
bowls, bass marimba, & bloboy'
[composition] 'Eleven Intrusions (1949-50) 8. Lover text by George
Leite --- for intoning voice, soprano, two adapted guitars, cloud
chamber bowls & bass marimba 9. Soldiers---War---Another War text
by Ungaretti --- for intoning voice, harmonic canon, adapted guitar,
diamond marimba cloud chamber bowls & bass marimba' 11. Cloud-Chamber
Music with Cancion de los Muchachos from the Zuni Indians --- for
intoning voice, adapted viola, two adapted guitars, kithara, diamond
marimba, cloud chamber bowls, bass marimba, deer-hoof rattle & chorus
of musicians'
[and] Ring Around the Moon (1949-1950), Oedipus (1950/1952-4/1967),
Castor and Pollux (1952), Even Wild Horses (1952), Ulysses at the Edge
(1955), The Bewitched, Windsong (1955) rewritten as Daphne of the Dunes
(1967), Revelations in the Courthouse Park (1960), Petaluma (1963-66),
Delusion of the Fury---A Ritual of Dream and Delusion (1965-66).
[Category] ASTRONOMY [Subject] COSMIC RAYS // .mpg movies of cosmic
rays...
A Cloud Chamber Shows Tracks from Cosmic Rays and Natural Radioactivity
-- What kind of particles can we see in this cloud chamber?
<http://www.lalanet.gr.jp/nsm/E-radiation.html>
'The cloud chamber is capable of producing a visible track from any
ionized particle that passes through the sensitive area of the
chamber...'
[and] Particle tracks movies // .mpgs
<http://www.lalanet.gr.jp/nsm/img/small/low_e.mpg>
<http://www.lalanet.gr.jp/nsm/E-radiation2.htm>
---------------------------------------------------
* please forward to your friends and colleagues *
---------------------------------------------------
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