~e; EM observations #3

[brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>]

[keywords]  ICD, neurostimulation, urls, bookmarks,
links directory, book, electric universe, satellites,
remote sensing, imagery

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electromagnetic observations -- #3
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* tried to clean-up and simplify the http://www.electronetwork.org/
website a bit, including navigation and dropping some categories,
though i am now looking for a free, robust php/mysql script for
running a links directory (urls) so as to get some of the many
links people use, into one resource. still do not have the sense
of how to organize areas that overlap as of yet, such as 'features'
and 'education' and 'urls' for instance, so while things may pare
down a little they will reappear in another area again in time.
i looked at the hotscripts site for php/myql solutions and, again,
cannot locate something that is IMO appropriate, so decided that
instead of doing nothing, i would hand-code a links directory in
the meantime to some future incarnation of the site with a CMS/
content-management system for group development. maybe it is a
bit retro to do so though it is nice to do something lo-tech...
check it out: (slowly but surely...)

	electromagnetic URLs
	http://www.electronetwork.org/urls/

* reading about EM/radio waves, a little book about antennas, and
i am amazed to learn that radio waves can bend (as can light, yet
never thought of it this way). it is not just the ionosphere that
is reflecting waves back into the ground but also how they travel.

* these links built-up rather quickly and this should not
happen too too much, though i am making a links directory
and found what i consider some interesting things i would
rather share than discard, because interests in links has
been high on the list, so here are some more... (that is,
the bump in volume is temporary and will go down again or
become more spaced out (or i will, probably both!))...

===================================================
--urls--
===================================================

Old TV shows get new product placements // incredible.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/459/5256766.html

	'...Warner Bros. Television is working on letting advertisers insert  
computer-created images of stuff into the backgrounds of some repeat TV  
comedies.' .. 'Or put more simply, this is virtual product placement.'

// a story about what it is like to live with an ICD (implantable
// cardioverter defibrillators) everyday. here in Minnesota this is
// a major industry. i had no idea the device 'activated' so often...

Living with the ZAPPER
http://startribune.com/stories/535/5261237.html

	'...most ICD patients move beyond these fears and form a unique bond  
with their life-saving device. Some even give them names like "Zeus" or  
"Helga." Many recount their first shock in terms as vivid as they would  
describe their first kiss. Many are humbled by the device's ability to  
stand guard over them.'

[and] Rewiring The Body // *** beyond ICDs... via wired.com
First came pacemakers. Now exotic implants are bringing new hope
to victims of epilepsy, paralysis, depression, and other diseases
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_10/b3923001_mz001.htm

	'Mysterious Ways -- Many doctors are thrilled by this emerging vision  
of the body electric because it provides fixes beyond the ken of the  
medical mainstream. Life sciences today are heavily swayed by recent  
advances in molecular biology. The Human Genome Project and other  
well-funded efforts have cracked some of the inner workings of genes  
and the biochemical pathways of disease. In contrast, science has paid  
less attention to the role of electricity, which governs everything  
from the ethereal transmission of thought to the rhythmic music of the  
heart. The race to design and test new implantable devices could help  
correct this imbalance.' [and] '"The body is on fire with electricity,"  
says Dr. Stephen N. Oesterle, chief medical officer at Medtronic Inc (  
MDT )., the No. 1 maker of implantable electrical devices. "If you  
start with that concept, then all you need is imagination."' .....  
'Neurostimulation has another selling point: Because the implants alter  
tissue only at their points of contact, side effects are generally  
negligible.'

[book] Electric Universe by David Bodanis // thanks *
http://www.davidbodanis.com/books/electric/
http://www.ereader.com/product/detail/18564
http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev121.htm

// electricity, completely understood by the end of the 19th c.? joke?

[and] Pedro G Ferreira enjoys David Bodanis's
populist history of electricity, Electric Universe
http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/scienceandnature/ 
0,6121,1390574,00.html

The Great Magnet, the Earth
http://www.phy6.org/earthmag/demagint.htm

Geomagnetic Field Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/faqgeom.shtml

NOAA's Geomagnetic Links
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/servers.shtml

geomagnetic landscape of magnetic fields above the
state of Minnesota, .US, as made by mapping program
the national atlas, http://www.nationalatlas.gov/
http://www.electronetwork.org/temp/esrimap2.gif

Compute Earth's Magnetic Field Values
The on-line magnetic field calculator "Geomag" computes the values of  
the Earth's magnetic field elements for a given location and date or  
date range.
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/magfield.shtml

// i read a book once by Thomas Hughes that stated that
// the gyroscope was one of the most important inventions
// during the 20th century, invented by Sperry. since that
// time i have been wondering whyso and here's a snippet...

Whistling Helium: Supercold Sound May Lead to Better GPS in Submarines
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/ 
techwed_helium_whistle_050216.html

	'With almost no moving parts, superfluid gyroscopes promise much more  
sensitivity to rotational motion than their mechanical counterparts, a  
useful trait considering that changes in the Earth's rotation must  
constantly be added to the GPS system.' .. '"Presently, the Earth's  
rotation is measured by radio telescopes around the world," Packard  
said. "But if a superfluid gyroscope were used, it could make the  
measurement with a faster turnaround."'

// i imagine business schools would eat this stuff up...

[ref.] How the Heroic Inventors Did It
An interview with Thomas P. Hughes, Ph.D. (1992) // ***
http://www.winstonbrill.com/bril001/html/article_index/articles/1-50/ 
article3_body.html

	'...Another thing:  these people generally preferred to invent entire  
systems, rather than incremental improvements or components.  They can  
be called radical, breakthrough inventors.' .. 'They also had  
repertoires of elements that they tended to repeatedly combine in new  
ways.  For instance, Elmer Sperry, the founder of what used to be the  
Sperry Gyroscope Company, was a remarkably creative independent  
inventor.  He was responsible for a large number of seemingly diverse  
inventions.  The first time I read his list of inventions, I asked, how  
can this be?  He was described as an inventor of a street car, of  
mining machinery, of a gyrocompass, and other remarkably different  
artifacts.  The theme, I found out, was that he repeatedly chose to  
concentrate on the invention of a device, the essential feature of  
which was feedback...'

[and] Elmer Ambrose Sperry Papers (1889-1930)
http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/1893.htm

	'In 1907 he began to explore the world of the gyroscope as he sought  
to apply this technology to problems associated with airplane and ship  
stabilization and control. Within a decade, Sperry had developed the  
ship gyrostabilizer. gyrocompass, marine gyropilot, high-intensity  
searchlight, and aerial torpedo. These gyroscopic inventions, which  
incorporated the principles of automatic guidance and feedback control,  
established Elmer Sperry as a high-technology pioneer. As Thomas Hughes  
has pointed out, although Sperry did not use the modern terminology of  
automation and cybernetics, these concepts were built into his  
gyroscopic systems which relied on analog computers, servomotors, and  
programmed controllers.'


RST - The Remote Sensing Tutorial
What you can learn from sensors on satellites and spacecraft that look  
inward at the earth and outward at the planets, the galaxies and, going  
back in time, the entire universe - the cosmos.
http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/

[and] Electromagnetic Spectrum: The Photon and Radiometric Quantities
http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Intro/Part2_2.html

Earthshots: Satellite Images of Environmental Change
http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/earthshots/

Visible Earth: Sensors -- a searchable directory of
images, visualizations, and animations of the Earth
http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/Sensors/

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