~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #157
From
brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>
Date
Thu, 6 Jan 2005 18:34:25 -0600
===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #157
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00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (01/06/2005)
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
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00) --commentary-- [no comments]
===================================================
01) --top stories--
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[interactive] Indian Ocean Tsunami - Warning System...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,5860,1384354,00.html
Tsunami Warning System Could Be Created // *** em-infra is central...
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-tsunami-
warning-system,0,6840405.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines>
'McFadden said a system for the Indian Ocean basin would cost from $15
million to $20 million and take 12 months to build. It would include 30
seismographs to detect earthquakes. Ten tidal gauges and six special
DART (deep ocean assessment and reporting of tsunamis) buoys would also
be needed determine whether an earthquake has generated a tsunami, he
said.'
[and] Gwynne Dyer: Atlantic needs wave warning device too //
mega-tsunami
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=9005648
IAEA Finds Egypt Secret Nuclear Program
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-nuclear-
agency-egypt,0,2459874.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines>
'The diplomat said the Vienna-based IAEA had not yet drawn a
conclusion about the scope and purpose of the experiments. But the work
appeared to have been sporadic, involved small amounts of material and
lacked a particular focus, the diplomat said.' .. 'That, he said,
indicated that the work was not directly geared toward creating a
full-scale program to make nuclear weapons.'
Crochet Pattern Of Chaos Published In Mathematics Journal // **
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041219170412.htm
'Together all the points (stitches) define a complicated surface,
according to the Lorenz equations. Osinga and Krauskopf have developed
a method to describe such surfaces using a computer. After months of
staring at animations on a screen, they suddenly realised that in fact
their computations had naturally generated crochet instructions.'
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02-- electromagnetic health & safety
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Bad Equipment Blamed in Tsunami Warnings // ***
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=624&ncid=753&e=10&u=/
ap/20041231/ap_on_sc/tsunami_wave_warnings>
'A sensor system in Indonesia that could have warned of Sunday's huge
waves was not working because it had been hit by lightning. In India,
bureaucrats faxed a warning of possible disaster to the wrong official.
A Thai meteorologist acting on a hunch sent an alert to radio stations,
but it doesn't appear the warning was widely relayed.'
New tactile display for the blind
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000580025149/
http://www.sciencenewsdaily.org/story-2474.html
Dual pacemakers worth the cost, US study finds
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=9005510
'Single-chamber or right-ventricular pacemakers help control one of
the two ventricles, the heart's two lower pumping chambers.
Dual-chamber devices also pace one of the atria -- the smaller, upper
chambers.'
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03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
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Massive tanker phase-out threatens new environmental disaster //
oilships
http://www.greenpeaceweb.org/shipbreak/news96.asp
Consumers warned not to eat mouse // Prop.65, .CA.US
Bizzare product warnings of our time // via engadget.com
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20450
'Minute quantities of lead are often used in PVC cables as an
anti-oxidant which protects the plasticising chemicals and prevents the
cable becoming brittle. It's certainly possible that lead in PVC-coated
cable can constitute a health hazard at the manufacturing or the
disposal stage...'
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04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
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[quote] Tribe shoots arrows at aid flight // tsunami & animals...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4144405.stm
'The Andaman and Nicobar archipelago is home to several tribes, some
extremely isolated.' .. 'Officials believe they survived the
devastation by using age-old early warning systems.' .. 'They might
have run to high ground for safety after noticing changes in the
behaviour of birds and marine wildlife.' .. 'Scientists are examining
the possibility to see whether it can be used to predict earth tremors
in future.'
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05-- electromagnetic power & energy
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Push to block Brazil dam project
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4146325.stm
'... in this modern-day battle, a mighty consortium led by the
aluminium giant Alcoa has so far been thwarted by the manoeuvrings of
conservation organisations and activists representing families whose
land would be flooded by the dam.'
Most Powerful Eruption In The Universe Discovered
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050106091317.htm
'Radio emission within the cavities shows jets from the black hole
erupted to create the cavities. Gas is being pushed away from the black
hole at supersonic speeds over a distance of about a million
light-years. The mass of the displaced gas equals about a trillion
suns, more than the mass of all the stars in the Milky Way.'
Security Boosted for Engineers in Pakistan // .CN
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-pakistan-
china-security,0,2233304.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines>
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06-- Electromagnetic current & human affairs
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King Tut Mummy Scanned for Clues // 3D 'tutscan'
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,66190,00.html
'The 1,700 images taken during the 15-minute CT scan could answer many
of the mysteries that shroud King Tutankhamun's life and death --
including his royal lineage, his exact age at the time of his death
(now estimated at 17) and the reason he died.'
[em-related] Race is on to claim the Arctic Circle // fascinating.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=9005765
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07-- electromagnetic transport & communication
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Banner year for blogs
http://weblog.infoworld.com/techwatch/archives/000953.html
IC Logos // semiconductor logos (on integrated circuit chips)
http://www.dialelec.com/semiconductorlogos.html
see: DONGTING LAKE BRIDGE (magneto-rheological fluid damping system)
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.01/bridge.html
// about televisions (and the CES event) -- it would appear that
// the set-top media boxes of every variety that plug into them,
// could be integrated into new HDTVs at some point, as engadget.com
// news often has examples of. for instance, media-card readers which
// can take compact flash or other devices, and show .jpg images or
// mpeg movies. likewise, as DVD players are replacing VCRs, and the
// home media center concept continues to be developed, maybe whatever
// requires a 'screen' in some way will be integratated in new tvs...
// so too, with high-quality speakers or surround sound, so too could
// audio be connected, e.g. an .mp3 player connected to tv speakers...
Carbon TVs to edge out liquid crystal, plasma? // *** via macsurfer.com
<http://news.com.com/Carbon+TVs+to+edge+out+liquid+crystal%2C+plasma/
2100-1041_3-5512225.html>
'Various companies are currently trying to perfect the technology
behind a new type of flat-panel display that will rely on diamonds or
carbon nanotubes--two forms of pure carbon--to produce images.' ..
'Theoretically, these "field effect displays," or FEDs, will consume
less energy than plasma or liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs, deliver a
better picture and even cost less. The development of FEDs underscores
the rapid changes taking place in the once relatively staid TV market.'
... 'Like an LCD, an FED is made up of layers. A layer of glass is
coated with a cathode and a layer of diamond dust coated with lithium
or carbon nanotubes. The negatively charged cathode, organized in a
grid, then emits electrons through the diamonds or nanotubes, which
focus that energy like a tiny lightening rod.' .. 'But then, like a
CRT, the electrons shoot through a vacuum at a layer of phosphorescent
glass covered with pixels. The big difference is that the source of
electrons, the carbon, is located only 1 millimeter to 2 millimeters
rather than nearly 2 feet from the target glass, and instead of one
electron source--the electron gun--there are thousands. The electrons
are attracted to the pixilated glass because this layer contains a
positively charged anode.'
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08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------
Chip-Scale Magnetic Sensor Draws on Mini Clock Design // magnetometer
mini
http://www.sciencenewsdaily.org/story-2524.html
'The sensor works by detecting minute changes in the energy levels of
electrons in the presence of a magnetic field. A tiny sample of the
element rubidium is heated within a sealed, transparent cell to form a
rubidium vapor. Light from a semiconductor laser is transmitted through
the atomic vapor. In the presence of a magnetic field, the amount of
laser light that is absorbed by the atoms changes and this is detected
by a photocell. Larger magnetic fields produce proportionally bigger
changes in the atomic energy levels and change the absorption by the
atom.'
South Korea claims world's smartest robot // via drudgereport.com
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/050106/afp/050106112121top.html
'The new robot is an amalgam of various technologies including those
for real-time data transmission, visual, audio and force sensors as
well as high-speed processing.'
// it would seem there is a typo and that 50cm may instead be 50m (?)
Radar satellites capture tsunami wave height // imgs not yet released...
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6854
'The satellites did not observe coastal areas. But for eight minutes,
they used radar to measure the sea level along a 3000-kilometre-long
track of ocean. This image of the bay as the tsunami rolled through it
provides a unique and valuable continuous measure of the waves. In
contrast, the floating sensors suggested as part of any future
early-warning system can only provide measurements at single points,
says Fu.'
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09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
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[quote] Electronics industry battles for the living room // CES
<http://yahoo.reuters.com/
financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh18691_2004-12-31_21-37-
10_n31608570_newsml>
'"The big trends are home improvement, in-your-pocket-entertainment
and personal video choice," said Richard Dougherty of Envisioneering
Group in Seaford, New York.'
// like imprints upon concrete from wooden formwork (le Corbusier), this
// is em-formwork or maybe even concrete dot-matrix/16-segment
displays...
Chronos Chromos Concrete // via engadget.com
http://www.innovation.rca.ac.uk/archive/pr_sing.php?i=1#
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10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
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ANTI-LASER CONTACT LENSES
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001242.html
[and] Man Charged With Aiming Laser at Aircraft
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=383948
[headline] PATRIOT ACT FOR LASER MAN // drudgereport.com
Report Links Ex-TV Manager, Saddam's Son // "Al-Jazeera is your
channel."
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-iraq-al-
jazeera,0,2757598.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines>
'Asharq al-Awsat, which has recently published a series of reports
looking at alleged Al-Jazeera connections to insurgents in Iraq, has
close relations with Al-Arabiya, an Arabic television network that says
it takes a more moderate approach than Al-Jazeera.'
Iran: U.S. spy planes spotted over nuke sites // via drudgereport.com
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/
breaking2453375.0541666667.html
[and] US expert predicts more prosperous, dangerous 2005
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-01/04/content_2413451.htm
'Meanwhile, Carpenter said that US President George W. Bush,
interpreting his re-election victory as a vindication for his
unilateralist foreign policy during his first term, is more likelyto
confront Iran or Syria accused by Washington of meddling in
theinternal affairs of Iraq.' .. '"The United States, because of its
confrontational posture toward Iran and Syria, could create even more
violence in the nameof fighting the war on terror, even though one can
argue that the war on terror really has little to do with these
disputes," he said.' .... 'Iran has said it is willing to open nuclear
talks with the United States if it treats Iran as an equal partner,
but the US has shown no interest in doing so.' .. 'To Carpenter, if
diplomacy fails to resolve Iran's nuclear dispute, the Bush
administration will consider launching preemptive military strikes
against suspected nuclear sites in Iran and meanwhile assisting forces
against the Iranian governmentto ultimately achieve a regime change.'
[and] Iran To Allow Inspections Of Nuclear Site
http://7am.com/cgi-bin/wires02.cgi?1000_2005010503.htm
Army solicits network ideas // via wired.com
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2005/0103/web-landnet-01-04-05.asp
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11-- electromagnetic business & economics
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Canada Weighs Banning Internet Drug Sales
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-canada-
internet-drugs,0,7331295.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines>
RFID: The Plot Thickens -- The first big deadline from Wal-Mart passes
this month, but the real challenges are just starting to unfold. //
macsurfer.com
<http://www.informationweek.com/story/
showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=RFJDDSO2RJ4F2QSNDBGCKHSCJUMEKJVN?articleID=
56800166>
// note: were .CN to enact strict environmental 'standards' on goods
sold &
// purchased, it could change world behavior and become a default
approach.
// e.g. with computers, monitors, recyclable packaging, and toxic
e-waste.
China has to do more for recyclable economy // **
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-01/04/content_2412985.htm
'Meanwhile, energy and resources consumption per unit output value in
China is three times that of the world average level, Wang added.' ..
'All this prompts China to rethink the current economic development
mode, which is running at the expense of the environment and high
energy resource consumption, he said.' .. 'Now, instead, China is
pushing for the development of a recyclable economy, which stresses
clean production and full use of industrial pollutants.'
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12-- electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
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Season's Greetings at the Speed of Light // laserart
http://www.sciencenewsdaily.org/story-2498.html
// ironic if the semiconductor Fabrication plants and their clean rooms,
// bunny suits, and HEPA air filters may be museum grade for
art-toxins...
// maybe someday one will have to go through a sealed chamber, take an
air
// shower, wear protective clothing with face shield to view original
work
// in a totally controlled, clean-room environment to prevent
contamination.
Air to 'guard Michelangelo David'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4144261.stm
// back by popular demand, the local television station ch.45
// had a burning fireplace log with holiday music on Christmas...
Turning Flat TVs Into Digital Art Galleries // via artsjournal.com
New Service to Deliver High-Resolution Art to HDTVs, PCs
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/FutureTech/story?id=374549&page=1
[and] High art at crossroads // via artsjournal.com
Bus terminal flashes photo exhibit
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/268096p-229622c.html
'"We're working on finding a sponsor who can share the cost with us,"
he says. "It's a live bulletin board that grasps people's emotions, and
shows what can be done beyond just advertising."'
// em-architecture related. note: em-infrastructure is grid-based...
Superstudio: Pioneers of Conceptual Architecture
By Jonathan Ringen // via archnewsnow.com
http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=27
'"[Superstudio] saw that architects need to be involved in a different
kind of thinking about what their profession is," says William Menking,
professor at Pratt Institute and co-curator of the exhibit with
architect Peter Lang. "Rather than just creating luxurious objects, or
introducing people into the world of consumer objects, they should be
worried about such political issues as, 'What is architecture?'"' ...
'Superstudio wrote that ultimately the grid would form a "single
continuous environment, the world rendered uniform by technology,
culture, and all the other inevitable forms of imperialism." This would
allow for a truly democratic human experience: because every point on
the grid is identical, no place is better than any other. (Of course,
like all of Superstudio's work it is polemical, in this case being both
unrealizable and nightmarish to contemplate.)'
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* please forward to your friends and colleagues *
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