~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #152

From brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>
Date Mon, 29 Nov 2004 22:16:54 -0600

===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #152
===================================================

00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (11/29/2004)

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--

It is unknown how to categorize and contextualize the stories
about Ukraine and the media in this week's newsletter. They
were in the Top Stories section yet it is only one aspect, so
I moved them to the Transportation and Communication as it
largely had to do with the role of the media in the events.
This is a place that, to me, the EM aspect is secondary in
the larger story, though media and government representation
is this dimension that was also very relevant in .US voting,
and related issues of bias, informational control, et cetera.

In contrast, the story I would like to put first because of
its magical electromagnetic nature is about a little toy top
(10 USD) that is in the Top Stories section. It utilizes the
'persistence of vision' effect, and uses 8 led lights in a
simple strip of the radius of the circular top, to create an
illusion of letters and animations upon the spinning top's
surface, while it moves. It is beyond belief how this thing
works, it is made in Canada by irwintoys. To see something
incredible, find a toy store and test-spin the thing in the
plastic casing, and you will be amazed at what happens next.
Somehow a very small chip must be blazing enormously fast to
do what this little device does - for instance, it tells the
RPM (rotations per minute) of the top while it is spinning,
and updates it while it is spinning, all in virtual letters!
All with 8 light emitting diodes turning on and off again.

I realize many people in the world do not have such luxury
to consider a toy top during these times. That many aspects
of electromagnetism, such as about IEDs or nuclear arms or
nuclear terrorism, or war, poverty, and other situations are
of a different order. Maybe it is solace of some kind, as it
is the traditional holiday season, nostalgia maybe for a time
when things were interesting in a way of being fascinating,
like the first computers when they would show up in catalogs
and one could read all about them in the ads, yet they were
out of reach for years and years. This little top is amazing
in this way, as it is doing the impossible, even by today's
standards, and it is within most peoples reach for one of
the most advanced yet simple toys I have yet to encounter.
It can teach a lot, yet it is still mysterious. It has an
electronic compass of sorts that reads magnetic fields, it
likely uses a hall-effect sensor, each time it spins around
in reads a rotation by this compass and the direction (north),
then calculates the lighting and speed and other effects. It
uses perceptual programming to trick the eye into seeing an
effect which causes information to appear as an illusion.
And the fascinating thing isn't how it works, but that it
is able to do exactly what it is, reinventing the toy top.
With something so spectacular, sometimes I wonder if more
people saw such things, if they might not want to learn
more about it, how it works, and imagine other things too.
And, if people around the world might share the experience,
as with previous inventions, that something is universally
fascinating, beyond any given culture. Like the lightbulb
was revered and developed worldwide, and changed the world,
what if a magical electromagnetic toy were able to counter
the universality of war, hatred, and death with simple joy.
Maybe escapism, still it is a wish for the holiday season.


===================================================
01) --top stories--
---------------------------------------------------

// website includes demo and how-it-works sections. (hall-effect)

i-TOP Game // toy top uses LED persistence of vision (POV)
http://www.irwintoy.com/itop/index.html

[and] review: Technical discussion - magnetic sensing , August 29, 2004
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000E3BT9/ 
ref=pd_pym_ka//002-8830346-1285615?v=glance>

UN to issue alert over spread of nuclear arms // *** drudgereport.com
<http://financialtimes.printthis.clickability.com/pt/ 
cpt?action=cpt&title=FT.com+%2F+World+%2F+US+- 
+UN+to+issue+alert+over+spread+of+nuclear+arms&expire=&urlID=12431958&fb 
=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F2ecedea6-4260-11d9-8e3c- 
00000e2511c8%2Cft_acl%3D%2Cs01%3D1.html&partnerID=1700>

	'The report, due to be released on Thursday, will recommend the UN  
Security Council slow the spread of weapons using an explicit pledge of  
“collective action” against any state or group that launches a nuclear  
attack or even threatens such an attack on a non-nuclear-weapon state.'  
.... 'The panel examined a wide range of threats, including terrorism,  
disease, poverty and environmental degradation. But the risk of nuclear  
Armageddon may be the most pressing of all, and has led to growing  
disagreement over how to tackle nuclear advances in the Middle East,  
Asia and Latin America.'

[related] BUNKER-BUSTER WIPED OUT // .US mini-nukes canceled...
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001238.html

bugmenot.com - Tell everyone you know
Bypass Compulsory Web Registration
http://www.bugmenot.com/

---------------------------------------------------
02-- electromagnetic health & safety
---------------------------------------------------

// also helpful would be contacts which make laserlight visible...

ANTI-LASER CONTACT LENSES // via engadget.com
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001242.html

SO LONG, SPENCE // Secretary of .US Dept. of Energy (DoE)
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001221.html

	'What Abraham did have control over is the country's nuclear research  
centers.  And on that topic, you've got to give him some credit.   
Because he leaves the American nuclear weapons complex safer than when  
he found it.'

Mobile mast effects to be studied // via engadget.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/essex/4049181.stm

	'The Electromagnetics and Health (EMH) Laboratory opens at the  
University of Essex in Colchester on Monday.'

---------------------------------------------------
03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
---------------------------------------------------

Smuggling cellphones into prison the old-fashioned way: With a bow &  
arrow
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000230021750/

AP: EPA Looking at Using Tests on People
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=290760

---------------------------------------------------
04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
---------------------------------------------------

U.K. government hit with another large computer failure // 80% DWP  
down...
The computer crash is being called the biggest in U.K. government  
history
<http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/itgovernment/ 
story/0,10801,97853,00.html>

	'Today the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services  
Union, Mark Serwotka, called on the government to hold off on its plans  
to cut 30,000 jobs in the DWP on the basis of IT improvements, in light  
of the computer crisis. Earlier this year, the government announced  
plans to eliminate 104,000 civil servant jobs across the government  
based in part on increased efficiencies gained though new IT systems.'

WiFi detectors roundup
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000317021795/

Brain scan shows differences in truth, lying // fMRI. via drudgereport
<http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/ 
story.jsp?id=2004112913300002115724&dt=20041129133000&w=RTR&coview=>

Sophisticated radar protects Bush
Control unit merges military, civilian radar systems onto one screen
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6608925/

	'Brown's transition from electronics repair to homeland security  
didn't happen overnight.' .... 'The company's roots in repairing TVs  
and VCRs amazes the workers who came on board after it made the leap...'

Are you sitting comfortably? Then let's spy // SAME
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5470286.html

	'Tao said SAME works by taking satellite images of the Earth and  
combining them with real-time remote sensors that monitor traffic and  
weather.' .. 'The information is reformatted on a searchable Web site  
that can capture ground-level images of the Earth with little or no  
time delay.' .. 'The resolution is 2 feet--fine enough to determine the  
make of a car, though not the details of a human face, according to  
Tao.'

---------------------------------------------------
05-- electromagnetic power & energy
---------------------------------------------------

symmetry: dimensions of particle physics // free online magazine
http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/cms/

	'~symmetry is a magazine about particle physics and its connections to  
other aspects of life and science, from interdisciplinary  
collaborations to policy to culture. It is published 10 times per year  
by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford Linear  
Accelerator Center, both national laboratories funded by the Office of  
Science of the US Department of Energy.'

[and] inside: gammasphere // interactive diagram...
http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/cms/?pid=1000017

[and] Explain it in 60 seconds - Antimatter // So where did it go?
http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/cms/?pid=1000009

what things are investigated with a (nuclear) research reactor?
<http://www.ornl.gov/info/press_releases/ 
get_press_release.cfm?ReleaseNumber=mr20041115-00>

Stabilizing complex topological states in
magnetic metalattices // image. nanomagnets...
<http://www.phys.psu.edu/people/display/ 
index.html?person_id=202;mode=research;research_description_id=430>

// common sense would indicate that taking batteries out of an unused
// electronics device would save the batteries from draining inside of
// the equipment, they would last longer, etc. yet, if left inside the
// energy would be used up, over time, and they eventually go dead.
// what about a physical breaking of the circuit (metal contacts on a
// battery) inside of equipment, to detach the circuit so that they are
// held 'in storage' outside of the circuit and thus would not drain,
// or drain as quickly. also, while lithium-ion may soon be dead, it
// is likely that the model of batteries today is paradigmatically out-
// of-it: think of the atom bomb and the power held within single atoms.
// of which batteries someday may also have access to, in some way. it
// may be that 'molecular' electricity is way too slow or inefficient
// for the speed and demands that nano-electricity charges may bring.

Time for an assault on batteries? // LCDs with 4-8% energy efficiency!
http://insight.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020415,39175164,00.htm

	'"Almost across the board, every device you can buy this year is more  
efficient than last year's by 10 to 20 percent," said Richard Doherty,  
an analyst at The Envisioneering Group.' .... 'On the other hand,  
devices are getting more complex and requiring more power.' .... 'The  
effort to reduce energy consumption, which started in earnest in the  
late '90s with notebooks, has become pervasive throughout the industry  
and touches nearly all the components that go into electronic devices.'

Hydrogen Solar nabs $400m R&D grant
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/26/solar_hydrogen_production/

introduction to the geometry and energetics of carbon nanostructures
http://www.phys.psu.edu/~crespi/docs/FLchapter.pdf


---------------------------------------------------
06-- Electromagnetic current & human affairs
---------------------------------------------------

Mobile phone for the elderly // excellent. via engadget.com
http://wireless.3yen.com/2004-11-25/mobile-phone-for-the-elderly/

Debbie Does Akron -- Sex and drugs rule local cable, and there's
nothing anybody can do about it. // Ohio. via obscurestore.com
http://clevescene.com/issues/2004-11-17/news/news.html

Taser subdues unruly youth - Teen wouldn't drop Game Boy // ibid.
http://www.freep.com/news/locway/taser20e_20041120.htm

Text Message Flirt Fined // and the law won.  via engadget.com
<http://www.reuters.com/ 
newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=6895714&src=rss/ 
oddlyEnoughNews>

Q&A: A new UN Security Council?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/3693802.stm

---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transport & communication
---------------------------------------------------

Ukraine state TV in revolt // em-media and state...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4044791.stm

	'A correspondent on the state channel, UT1 , announced live on the  
evening bulletin that the entire news team was going to join the  
protests in Independence Square.  She said their message to the  
protesters was: "We are not lying anymore".' .... 'Even the  
sign-language presenter said that in an earlier bulletin, she had  
rejected the pro-government script and informed her viewers instead of  
the allegations of vote-rigging.'

[and] Television becomes attuned to a new spirit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/ukraine/story/0,15569,1361677,00.html

	'... a larger battle for Ukraine's television screens has been  
raging.' ...  'Irina Gerashenko, spokeswoman for Viktor Yushchenko,  
said much of the effort to win over the eastern region "would depend on  
the media".'

Panasonic’s OxyRide runs on two AA batteries
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000990021612/
<http://www.electronicsweekly.com/articles/ 
article.asp?liArticleID=38100&liArticleTypeID=1&liCategoryID=1&liChannel 
ID=6&liFlavourID=1&sSearch=&nPage=1>

// if understood correctly, if one has a pile of stuff and, say, is
// wondering if they need to get some red bic pens, and waves an RFID
// reader across the room and it not only shows that the pens exist
// but also how many and their location, it seems like what may have
// occured with such things as walmarts information management and a
// smaller scale of tracking resources. it seems likely that, in time,
// organization systems may make it into the domenstic space if it is
// a private inventory/control system without stray signals going on
// (which may not be possible, given radiowaves). though it would seem
// to be a way to 'gain efficiency' in the home environment that is
// currently happening in the retail environment. and there is some
// practicality to knowing how many soup one has, in an instant, prior
// to shopping, given an information era. an inventory of stuff, where
// it is, how much there is, its cost, status, need, etc. if one had
// such a system in place, group-buying at a local level could be an
// option (our neighborhood wants 400 cans of soup x next month, at
// half-price). and brings 'looking backward' (bellamy) into view...
// (one option for tagging would be one-time RFID that can dissolve.
// and a new approach to designing furniture/organizational systems
// in dwellings, for managing the media flow of goods and datascrap.)

Dumbing Down a Smartwatch // rf'id junkdrawer...
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65721,00.html

Device allows naked eye to see motion of 10 nanometers -- Sandia
creates motion detector 1,000 times more sensitive than any known
http://www.sandia.gov/news-center/news-releases/2004/micro-nano/ 
nanomeasure.html

---------------------------------------------------
08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------

[non-EM] Tessellating Alphabet 1986
http://www.scottkim.com/inversions/gallery/tessellatingalphabet.html

Mathematics in various cultures.
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Indexes/ 
HistoryTopics.html

History Topics: Arabic/Islamic mathematics
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Indexes/Arabs.html

The Arabic numeral system
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/HistTopics/ 
Arabic_numerals.html

Arabic mathematics : forgotten brilliance?
<http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/ 
Arabic_mathematics.html#54>

V. H. Crespi : Carbon nanostructures
<http://www.phys.psu.edu/people/display/ 
index.html?person_id=202&mode=research&research_description_id=419>

	'Thse [carbon] nanotubes are the strongest fibers known. A single  
perfect nanotube is about 10 to 100 times stronger than steel per unit  
weight..' .. 'Not only are carbon nanotubes extremely strong, but they  
have very interesting electrical properties.'

[and] Gallery of [carbon nano]tubes // see carbon nanotube image...
<http://www.phys.psu.edu/people/display/ 
index.html?person_id=202;mode=research;research_description_id=536>

[related] Zome: Carbon Nanotube Modeling Kit
http://store.yahoo.com/zome-tool/nanotubekit.html

Wikipedia Creators Move Into News // bane of bloggers everywhere?
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,65819,00.html
http://demo.wikinews.org/wiki/Main_Page

	'Unlike Wikipedia, Wikinews will present original material rather than  
just compiling and summarizing information found elsewhere, according  
to the news site's organizers. For future submissions, organizers also  
want to set up a system for accrediting Wikinews reporters who have  
actively participated in the project.' .. 'Both Wikinews and Wikipedia  
run on Wiki software, an application that allows users to collectively  
author web documents...' .. 'Wales believes the process of  
collaborative editing has allowed Wikipedia ... to maintain a neutral  
tone on a wide variety of controversial topics. He expects the same  
process to prevent bias in Wikinews coverage.' .. '"The incentive for  
behavior in a wiki is to write in such a way that your writing can  
survive," he said. "The only way it can survive is if your writing is  
acceptable to an extremely wide audience."'

---------------------------------------------------
09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
---------------------------------------------------

NUKE STOCKPILES ON THE RISE
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001217.html

Major studios back HD DVD // toshiba's version
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/29/hollywood_hd_dvd/

	'Blu-ray wins on the capacity front, offering 25GB on a single-layer  
disc to HD DVD's 20GB and a more aggressive roadmap to increase that  
capacity over time. The downside is the need for entirely new disc  
production lines. HD DVD, by contrast, only needs existing DVD pressing  
rigs to be retooled rather than replaced. It also has the strength of  
the DVD brand, which has been very strongly pushed to consumers over  
the last seven years or so.'

A glimpse of the Cell processor // consumer supercomputing...
http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20041129_121627.html

Striking up digital video search -- Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are  
quietly developing new search tools for digital video, foreshadowing a  
high-stakes technology arms race in the battle for control of  
consumers' living rooms.
<http://news.com.com/Striking+up+digital+video+search/2100-1032_3- 
5466491.html?tag=nefd.lede>

---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
---------------------------------------------------

MILITARY TECHNOLOGY -- 3-D Maps From Commercial Satellites Guide
G.I.'s in Iraq's Deadliest Urban Mazes // 1 pixel = 6" .milsat
http://nytimes.com/2004/11/26/international/middleeast/26satellite.html

[em-related quote] Lockheed and the Future of Warfare
http://nytimes.com/2004/11/28/business/yourmoney/28lock.html

	'Lockheed stands at "the intersection of policy and technology," and  
that "is really a very interesting place to me," said its new chief  
executive, Robert J. Stevens...' .... 'What he sees is a far grander  
vision.  Lockheed, he said, is  promising to transform the very nature  
of war. During the cold war, when Lockheed and its component parts  
built an empire of nuclear weapons, Mr. Stevens said, the watchword  
was: "Be more fearful. 'Deterrence,' isn't that Latin?  'Deterrere.'  
Induce fear. Terrorize."' .. 'Today, Lockheed is building weapons so  
smart that they can change the world by virtue of their precision, he  
said; they aim to wage war  without the death of innocents, without  
weapons misfiring, without fatal miscalculation.' .. '"I know the fog  
of war exists," Mr. Stevens said, adding that it could be lifted. "We  
envision a world where you don't have any more fratricide," no more  
friendly fire, he said. "With technology we've been able to make  
ourselves more secure and more humane.'

Pakistan Test Nuclear-Capable Missile
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-pakistan- 
missile-test,0,6311490.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines>

Marines Aided by Robotic Airplane in Iraq // via drudgereport.com
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041129/ap_on_sc/ 
boeing_unmanned_aircraft_1>

	'It travels above insurgent positions and sends real-time video images  
to Marines on the ground. The unmanned device can relay facial  
expressions on enemy soldiers, and can transmit in such detail that it  
shows steam rising from their coffee.' .. 'The 4-foot-long aircraft has  
a 10-foot wingspan and can fly up to 15 hours at a time on less than  
two gallons of fuel, Boeing officials said.' .... 'Before the war in  
Iraq started, Insitu Group developed its SeaScan unmanned aircraft to  
serve the commercial fishing industry to spot tuna. The fishing venture  
has been sidelined as the 50-person company builds planes for the  
military, Nordlund said.'

Russia tests anti-missile system
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4052847.stm

	'Russia's test is a sign that both Russia and America seem to be  
viewing the world in quite similar ways.' .... 'But the real question  
is why either country is determined to put so many resources into this  
basket.' .. 'Is the launch of a long-range ballistic missile, many  
critics ask, the most likely avenue of nuclear attack?'

I.E.D.S - WHY THE WHISPERS?
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001227.html

	'...the problem [of developing effective IED countermeasures] is so  
hard, that all interested researchers and contractors and scientists –  
not just the ones with security clearance – need to get a whack at  
IEDs, says John MacGaffin, former associate deputy director for  
operations at the CIA.'

MORE ON WARLOCK'S TRICKS
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001233.html

// if: locates the signal, then: the shared frequency signaler...?

[and] ANOTHER I.E.D. STOPPER? // *** RF jammer...
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001235.html

---------------------------------------------------
11-- electromagnetic business & economics
---------------------------------------------------

The only area where Apple isn’t special // investor relations
http://www.yeald.com/Yeald/a/32921/article.html

// architecture is so far behind the curve in these areas, that is, the
// thinking about core systems and ideas and structures passed down the
// centuries and millennia, then to have MS and Intel taking over these,
// as if another movie rental or car wash chain, through technological
// means and for technotopic ends is, at its very best, an absurd view.
// note: quoting Golberger for the status of the cellphone and the city?
// he was probably among the very last of people to vocalize this event.

Urban renewal, the wireless way
Thanks to Wi-Fi networks, cellphones and global positioning locators,
there's a new sense of place in the city. // New Urban-tech 'Detailing'.
<http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2004/11/29/digital_metropolis/ 
index.html>

	'Backed by the big bucks, technology researchers are devouring tomes  
related to the theory of place. For their part, (underfunded) planners  
have yet to develop a comprehensive approach to emerging mobile and  
wireless technologies. An embryonic field, technology planning usually  
focuses on building an infrastructure network -- such as expanding  
municipal Wi-Fi zones -- or responding to citizen concerns about  
cellphone towers and radiation, says Scott Page, a Philadelphia urban  
planner who recently launched his own company, Interface Studio. "It's  
unfortunate that the planning profession has turned more of a blind eye  
to the potential of emerging technologies than they could have," he  
says. Urban telecommunications strategy needs to do more than plan for  
"lead users," he says. "You want to be feasible, not utopian, not just  
throw out a bunch of ideas and hope that everyone is going to own a  
cellphone in five years," he says, "because that's not going to be the  
case."'

EU spells out trade threat from China // via drudgereport.com
<http://www.money.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2004/11/ 
30/cneu30.xml&menuId=242&sSheet=/money/2004/11/30/ixfrontcity.html>

	'Once despised as low-cost producer of shoddy textiles and toys, China  
is now starting to match western technology, but at a far lower cost.'  
.... '"China's industrial policy has selectively attracted foreign  
direct investment in technology intensive industries in order to  
benefit from foreign technology and organisational know-how," said the  
report. Mr Verheugen said Europe needed to respond by spending far more  
money on research and development.'

---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------

Interactive Lighting Design // *** via gizmodo.com
http://www.jamesclar.com/
http://www.jamesclar.com/html/line_1.htm
http://www.jamesclar.com/html/3dcube_2.htm
http://www.jamesclar.com/html/square_2.htm
http://www.jamesclar.com/html/pkemeter_2.htm
http://www.jamesclar.com/html/infinitycase_1.htm
http://www.jamesclar.com/html/3dcubev1_3.htm
http://www.jamesclar.com/html/digitalmusic_2.htm
http://www.jamesclar.com/html/blockhead_1.htm
http://www.jamesclar.com/html/babycube_1.htm  // HIOX
http://www.jamesclar.com/html/babycube_2.htm  // HIOX
http://www.jamesclar.com/html/babycube_3.htm
http://www.jamesclar.com/html/circlesquare_1.htm
http://www.jamesclar.com/html/flexgrid_1.htm
http://www.jamesclar.com/html/flexgrid_2.htm
http://www.jamesclar.com/html/square2k5_2.htm

Psst! Electronic Art // like pirate software certificates...
Will digital editions become the art world's new headache?
http://slate.msn.com/id/2109908/

	'Worse yet, after a few decades of electronic-edition works shuttling  
through the art market's notoriously opaque channels, faked  
certificates of authenticity will surely start circulate...'

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