You want me to ride in what? The Engineer: Inflation set to rocket

8/27/2004 by Helen Knight
"The craft, which resembles a shuttlecock, is being developed with support from ESA as a cheaper alternative to the US Shuttle for transporting cargo from the ISS. It could also be used as an emergency rescue system for crews, the company claims." Re-entering the earth's atmosphere in an inflatable birdie-shaped raft takes a small leap of faith -- but it is light, and less expensive, and can possibly carry more weight.

New Scientist: Radar to scan shuttle for launch debris

8/26/04
"NASA will use ground-based radar imaging to monitor the next space shuttle launch, scheduled for spring 2005, agency officials said on Wednesday. The technology was tested successfully on 3 August, when NASA's Messenger mission to Mercury blasted off from Florida."
It makes sense to use radar. I hope they'll be using other imaging tools, as well. According to this article, cameras will be mounted on the tanks and other places on the shuttle.

If you need show your math work on the web...

My last post mentioned that there are some complications to using symbols on the web. Those of us who started by hand-coding html will probably recognize what happens when you toss in a greater than sign or ampersand. For the previous post, I looked up the code for the Greek letters on http://www.evergreen.edu/biophysics/technotes/misc/entities.htm . Jukka Korpela provides a pretty detailed discussion of math and html on his site: http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/math/ .

There's sometimes a difference between the programs you use to calculate and those you use to display on the web. Back in the day, I used MathCad to calculate and display or just the equation editor in Word to add pretty equations to my lab reports and papers. Word made pretty equations (it still does), but it doesn't calculate. It's more for taking your handwritten stuff and putting it into a document everyone can read. I also used Mathematica for diff eq, but as I recall, its input was text only. Very picky, too. At the time, you could print the graph or whatever, then tape or glue it to your lab notebook. Now you can export to a document that you can include as a graphic. There's also a gizmo that lets people calculate within a web page. I would guess Mathlab is in the same category. They're both powerful but ugly. TeX and LaTeX are widely used and accepted by many publications but I believe they are just typesetting deals and need to be converted for the web.

There's been a lot of discussion recently about MathPlayer (free, kind of like Adobe Acrobat Reader is free) and MathML (a mark-up language). MathML is from W3C and it's a mark-up language for math on the web. From what I can tell, you need a plug-in like MathPlayer to see MathML and a tool to write it. While you can pretty much wing HTML, MathML is supposed to be pretty ugly behind the scenes.

Update: I just noticed a book on our new book shelf that's causing flashbacks - it's a new edition of the book I used for Mathematica for diff eq in college. They do have an "input palette" now that's similar to what you get in Word's equation editor. There's also a save as... html, xml, TeX.

Read my review: High - κ Gate Dielectrics

(cross posted with my LIS blog) Pikas, Christina K. "High - κ Gate Dielectrics" E-Streams v.7 no.8 (August 2004). There was a little font problem. The relative dielectric constant (relative permittivity) is either ε_r or κ as they use in the title of the book. It comes out in various forms of the review as ? , ! , e. Ah the joy of mathematical or Greek symbols on the web.

AIR tells us how to write science press releases

(pdf) If you're like me you scan through a lot of press releases and scientific news articles that are pretty much embellished press releases. They do start looking alike after a while. The AIR folks have the pattern down so now you, too, can write a science news press release.

e4engineering.com: Absorbing corrosion-causing chemicals

by Pam Frost Gorder 8/24/04
"The new paint is unique because its pigment contains tiny particles of clay that capture the chemicals that cause corrosion. It also releases just the right amount of a corrosion-fighting agent when needed, explained Rudolph Buchheit, professor of materials science and engineering. 'It works kind of like high-tech kitty litter,' he said."
This is pretty cool stuff, at least until they find environmental problems with using cerium like this. It's possible to tell when the cerium is used up by X-ray diffraction so you can tell in advance if the coating has lost is protective qualities. I believe in painting once over dust and twice over rust and that it's easier to talk the junior guy into painting than cleaning....

EurekAlert: British scientists exclude 'maverick' colleagues

8/16/2004

Cardiff study shows attitudes differ in UK and Sweden
Scientists in Britain tend to exclude controversial 'maverick' colleagues from their community to ensure they do not gain scientific legitimacy, new research has shown.
A Cardiff University study has found that British scientists' attitudes differ considerably from those of their counterparts in Sweden, when managing dissent.

The research, by Lena Eriksson, a Swedish researcher in the Cardiff School of Social Sciences, has shown that British scientists operated with firm boundaries between 'inside' and 'outside' and believed that controversial scientists needed to be placed outside the community so as to not gain scientific legitimacy.

Swedish scientists were more inclined to ensure that all members 'have their say'. They were more likely to be inclusive, so as not to create adversaries who would threaten the scientific community.
...
"The image of a scientific establishment attacking and punishing individual researchers with contentious results — such as the MMR vaccine controversy - has done little to inspire public trust in science."

Is the US more like Sweden or Great Britain? In some ways, we're harder on people outside of the mainstream; but, they do seem to be less likely to be discouraged.

Read my review: Communication Patterns of Engineers

(cross posted with my LIS blog) Pikas, Christina K. "Communications Patterns of Engineers" E-Streams v.7 no.7 (July 2004).

BBC NEWS | Health | Prozac 'found in drinking water'

8/8/04
Yes, of course. US EPA's been on this for a while. Turns out that all the hormones we're collectively taking, and anti-depressants, and other drugs flush through somewhat in tact. The treatment plants aren't designed to remove these. This BBC article is concerned with effects on human health, but more importantly, what about all the chilled out fish with hot flashes? What is it doing to oysters and crabs?

WorldNetDaily: Israeli invention sees through walls

7/2/2004 by Aaron Klein (pointed out by the IEEE Signal Processing Newsletter received via e-mail)
This article discusses using an ultra-wideband radar system to image through a wall. Helpful for rescuers of earthquake victims. Similar to another article IEEE pointed out recently on using terahertz technology for security screening and yielding results like the original Airplane movie (remember what happened when people walked through the x-ray on that movie?). What does this all mean for our ability to hide?

World Year of Physics/Einstein Year 2005

Did you remember that 1905 was the year that Einstein published 3 groundbreaking papers in Physics? IOP, AIP, APS, and others are all sponsoring activities to commemorate. In fact, they're calling 2005 the World Year of Physics and working to get a UN resolution on it. The two main sites with events, facts, activities are: http://www.physics2005.org (primarily US), http://www.einsteinyear.org (British)

ABCNEWS.com : Ship-Sinking Monster Waves Are Widespread -- ESA

(warning: Pop-ups galore)
7/24/04 Found via Topix
"Rogue waves that rise as high as 10-story buildings and can sink large ships are far more common than previously thought, imagery from European Space Agency (ESA) satellites has shown."

This is a little disconcerting. I've spent many a day on the ocean and have never seen a wave like this (even in hurricane sorties, thank goodness). If you read the press release from the ESA you can learn a little more about this. Susanne Lehner from the University of Miami is working this so we'll look out for more from her.

Hawking and Black Holes

Brief background: Stephen Hawking, the famous physicist from Cambridge and author of A Brief History of Time among others, contacted the organizers of a conference to submit a paper at the last minute. Why so important? Apparently he now has reversed his theory on black holes and information and lost a bet. In the past he maintained that black holes sucked in everything around them without so much as a thank you. Now he says some of the information about the creation of the black hole actually hangs out near the event horizon and can influence radiation emitted by the black hole. Listen to Sean Carroll and Juan Maldacena discuss it here (real required).

There are plenty of articles on this in the media (like
About Those Fearsome Black Holes? Never Mind by Dennis Overbye, NY Times 7/22/04) and many scientific bloggers have weighed in (here and here)

The problem is that just because Hawking says it doesn't make it a done deal. Physics is rarely revolutionary (or at least as much as people think); instead, it's evolutionary. Good scientists who have carefully studied this subject disagree and it isn't proven -- there are only thought experiments. I do think that it's great that Hawking can generate this much media attention and I look forward to more discussion.

The New York Times > Technology > Circuits > What's Next: For Doctored Photos, a New Flavor of Digital Truth Serum

7/22/04 by Noah Schachtman
Another article discussing issues around doctoring of digital photographs. Dr. Farid, who is cited in this article, had a nice article in New Scientist (v. 179 no. 2411 (9/6/2003): 38, here for Academic Search Premier subscribers) on this same subject. You can read his other academic papers on his Dartmouth site.

An Intuitive Explanation of Bayesian Reasoning

Pointed out on Furl as one of Today's Popular Items
"Bayes' Theorem for the curious and bewildered; an excruciatingly gentle introduction. By Eliezer Yudkowsky"
If you, like me, kind of get Bayesian Reasoning but wonder why everybody's so excited about it... read through this lengthy explanation. Ok, so I'm still not excited but now I remember how to read p(X|A). It's a nice resource either way.

e4engineering.com > Revolutionary Steel

7/8/2004
"Scientists at the University of Virginia have announced the discovery of a non-magnetic amorphous material that is three times stronger than conventional steel and has superior anti-corrosion properties." The scientists say it's somewhat brittle right now but they're working on that. Apparently it can be molded and shaped like plastic.
See V. Ponnambalam, S. Joseph Poon, and Gary J. Shiflet. "Fe-based bulk metallic glasses with diameter thickness larger than one centimeter" Journal of Materials Research v19 no5 (May 2004): 1320-1323. (DOI: 10.1557/JMR.2004.0176, PDF for subscribers).

e4engineering.com> High society (engineering of new skyscrapers)

7/9/2004By Christopher Sell
"Once complete, Burj Dubai will claim the title of the world's tallest building. At over 2,000ft it will be almost twice as high as the Empire State Building and over 500ft taller than the current record holder, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. But to reach such dizzying heights, unique engineering design challenges have presented themselves." Innovation had a really neat episode on the engineering of new skyscrapers. Most observers won't realize how much these buildings move. You can get sea sick! The article linked above discusses how the engineers for the Dubai building went back to wind tunnels and other standard approaches because the computer models doen't adequately predict the microscale wind turbulence. It also discusses vortex shedding (see Tacoma Narrows Bridge). The article also mentions the materials to be used which are much stiffer than older materials. The Innovation episode also discusses the change in attitude or lack of real change in attitude toward skyscrapers since 2001.
Update:  NYT has a nice article on an exhibit of skyscrapers.  It's more on the art than the engineering but still worth a visit.  (Herbert Muschamp, "Skyscraping Around the Urban World" July 16, 2004, free registration required or contact your library to find out how to get access through their databases) (7/16/04)

Slate: Science as Metaphor: Where does Brian Greene stand in the pantheon of physicists?

7/6/04 by Amanda Schaffer
"His celebrity can be attributed to a widespread popular appetite for avant-garde science dressed in neat metaphorical packages: The universe is elegant; the cosmos is like a string symphony. Yet there is plenty to be suspicious of in Greene's unself-conscious romanticism—his unnuanced use of terms like elegance and beauty—and his teleological approach to the history of physics. Where, exactly, does he stand in the pantheon of physicists?"
Sean Carroll points out and discusses this article on his blog, Preposterous Universe. He also points to several other people who are commenting on this article.
I have my own opinion. First, a disclaimer: I only have a BS in physics so am not the one to really poke holes in the actual theory. My opinion: The best physics and math is elegant, simple, and yes, beautiful. Mathematics is beautiful. The power to describe the world in terms of equations is amazing. I've tried to explain this to people who got turned off of math and science by high school teachers who couldn't actually explain their subjects. I like Brian Greene and I like what he's trying to do. I think he does a good job of making this information more accessible to the public. For all of you doing government funded research, this is important! Greene also gives some disclaimers and problems of the theory, but maybe he doesn't go far enough. I think he does. I had a middle school age kid come up to me at a public library and ask for a copy of Fabric. I asked him and he read, understood, and enjoyed Elegant and he wants to be a physicist. That's what I'm talking about.
So, to answer the question, where does Brian Greene stand? He's respected in his field. He is respected and liked outside of his field.

e4engineering.com: New twist on fibre optics

by Josh Chamot, 6/2/2004
"By twisting fibre optic strands into helical shapes, researchers have created unique structures that can precisely filter, polarise or scatter light. Compatible with standard fibre optic lines, these hair-like structures may replace bulky components in sensors, gyroscopes and other devices.
While researchers are still probing the unusual properties of the new fibres, tests show the strands impart a chiral, or 'handed,' character to light by polarising photons according to certain physical properties." The author discusses an article originally published in Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.1097631). This is a pretty cool way to do this plus it's pretty simple... elegant even. For a really nice explanation of how fiber optics work, see the PBS Innovation episode "Light Speed". These scientists use a rectangular internal core, pop it into an oven, and give it a twist. The amount of twist decides if the photons of the same handedness are reflected backward, trapped in the cladding, or escape the cladding into space.

IEE Communications Engineer: Designing Buildings for the Wireless Age

Apparently this isn't online yet. Full citation: Alan Newbold, "Designing Buildings for the Wireless Age," IEE Communications Engineer v.2 no.3 (Jun/Jul 2004): 18-21.
I mentioned on my other blog about jamming or installing screening material to block mobile phone signals in libraries, theaters, etc. As emergency workers and "essential employees" go to their hiding spaces in buildings outside of the beltway, they have been planning on use mobile phones to maintain communications. Unfortunately, almost all buildings were not designed to take wireless communications into account. If I want to use my cell phone, do I have to go outside to get a signal? Some buildings have been retrofitted with repeaters.

On the other hand, internal wireless data networks can be snooped from across the street.

This articles discusses using frequency selective surfaces (fss) in building design to tackle these problems. Some of these surfaces are films for windows and reflecting material for walls that consists of a pattern of conductors on a dielectric substrate. If the walls have this dielectric substrate, low-pass filters can be installed to allow emergency communications frequencies through. Makes sense, but I wonder how many architects are taking RF into account? Also, what frequency band will we be using in 5 years?

optics.org - News - Fiber gratings give abrasion alert

6/24/04
Andrew Gillooly has developed a wear sensor that uses a chirped fiber Bragg grating (CFBG). CFBGs have been used for temperature measurement and other sensor applications, but this is an inexpensive way to do wear sensing.The full article is from Measurement Science and Technology (TOC, PDF for subscribers)

Physical Review Focus: The Computer Minds the Commuter

6/18/04
"The model gives virtual drivers the option of cruising cautiously or speeding forward optimistically based on what they think the car ahead is about to do. Previous models haven't accounted for driver psychology in such a direct way. "
Another use of stat. mech. outside of physics: to model traffic. As you see above, this model improves on similar previous models because it doesn't have instantaneous acceleration and also models the "overreaction" of drivers. Does it model the complete jerks on the DC beltway, though? That's what I'd like to know.
Original article: Hyun Keun Lee, Robert Barlovic, Michael Schreckenberg, and Doochul Kim. "Mechanical Restriction Versus Human Overreaction Triggering Congested Traffic States" Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 238702.

PhysicsWeb - Nanobulbs make their debut

6/4/04
"...physicists in China have now made a light bulb in which the conventional tungsten filament is replaced by carbon nanotubes. The new design has several advantages over traditional light bulbs and could be available in less than five years (J Wei et al. 2004 Appl. Phys. Lett. 84 4869)."
Finally a real, practical use for carbon nanotubes. These lightbulbs burn brighter with lower applied voltage and will probably last longer.

optics.org - News - Sensor takes the drag out of flying (June 2004)

6/11/04
"Airspeed measurements are currently made using a number of finger-sized pitot tubes that protrude from the aircraft. They measure airspeed (the speed of the aircraft relative to the surrounding air) by sensing the impact pressure, the difference between static and total pressure. But this well established technology comes at a price. The probes cause drag and with aircraft operating lifetimes estimated at between 20 - 25 years, the associated fuel cost to the airline industry is huge"
It uses doppler shift (like lidar). Unlike other applications, they are trying to increase backscatter. To me, though, SOG (speed over ground) is a little more important and I assume they're using GPS for that. Ships use a pit sword which also creates drag. At the speed they're going, though, perhaps it isn't so important.
(I'm obviously using my new feeds from IOP, thanks guys)

optics.org - News - Tiny projectors set for 2005 debut (June 2004)

6/15/04
"Pocket-sized projectors being developed by a Finnish company will make their commercial debut next year.
Upstream Engineering of Finland plans to release a pocket-sized color video projector onto the market next year. What's more, Upstream believes it can shrink the product down to the size of a matchbox within three years. These developments could pave the way for miniature projectors to be used in everything from mobile phones to laptop computers. "
Soon we'll have Power Point presentations going from our mobile phones/PDAs/cameras. This is definitely a better way to share information and will save the backs of many presenters.

IOP now has even more feeds

Use this page to find all of the IOP feeds on jobs, features, news, and magazine and journal tables of contents. Sort by category or look at recently updated feeds.

(Wireless) Sensor Networks

There are sensors in just about everything: from biomedical devices to bridges. The in-style thing right now is Wireless Sensor Networks. After all, if we can all be wireless with tiny little devices, why can't the sensors. An easy way to see how mainstream this is is to scan the shelves of your local science library. The covers of two journals this month feature sensor network article(s):
Communications of the ACM, v47 n6 (June 2004). (link for subscribers)
Scientific American, v290 n6 (June 2004).(free preview, click here if you have Academic Search Premier).
These networks have been enabled by the miniaturization of the sensor and communications technologies, decreased power consumption, increased durability, and decreased cost.
Privacy activists worry that Big Brother will look more like the little computers in Crichton's Prey(Harper Collins, 2002). The "motes" are very simple, how do you guarantee they only tell you what they are sensing, not anyone with a receiver?
(updated to correct typos)

Science Daily: 17th Century Solar Oddity Believed Linked To Global Cooling Is Rare Among Nearby Stars

6/3/04 UC Berkeley-
"For 70 years, from 1645 until 1714, early astronomers reported almost no sunspot activity. The number of sunspots - cooler areas on the sun that appear dark against the brighter surroundings - dropped a thousandfold, according to some estimates. Though activity on the sun ebbs and flows today in an 11-year cycle, it has not been that quiet since. "
Sunspots are pretty important because of the potential impact they have on our climate, space missions, communications satellites, etc. There have been a few recent press releases about sunspots because of the Denver meeting of American Astronomical Society (AAS).
Another interesting one: "Groundbreaking Research To Improve Forecasts Of Sunspot Cycle" Science Daily, 6/1/04.
"Using a new computer model of the Sun, scientists have begun work on a groundbreaking forecast of the next cycle of sunspots. Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) announced new research leading to an improved forecast of cycle 24"

Science -- NetWatch {28 May 2004; 304 (5675)}: Watching the Transit of Venus

This week Science points to several sites that will offer webcasts of the transit of Venus on 8 June. Venus will pass between Earth and the sun. You'll have to get up early, it starts at 1 a.m. Eastern!

Associated Press: Scientists Dig into Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater

6/1/04 (found via Topix)
"CAPE CHARLES, Va. (AP) _ Geologists drilling half a mile below Virginia's Eastern Shore say they have uncovered more signs of a space rock's impact 35 million years ago."
With all the talk of Bedout and Chicxulub, it's good that they're looking at our very own impact crater (the 6th largest in the world). The USGS press release is here. According to a recent workshop proceedings report (PDF, text), they are drilling to study:

• Crater Structure and Morphology
  
• Crater Materials
  
• Impact - Postimpact Transition and Postimpact Events
  
• Modern Deep Biosphere

EurekAlert: Geophysicist to speak in Montreal on why the Earth 'wobbles'

5/19/04
"University of Nevada research geophysicist Geoff Blewitt will present his findings on why the Earth wobbles in a lecture, 'GPS as a global sensor of systems Earth,' ...Astronomers have known for more than a century that the earth wobbles in space. Thanks to global positioning system (GPS) technologies, this wobble has been tracked with a precision of a few millimeters over the last decade. Until now, there were good theories as to why this happens, but no one could really prove it. Now, however, Blewitt has an explanation for this mysterious geo-wobble. 'The theory, which my colleagues and I have proven using GPS observations of the Earth, is that it's likely to be caused by the surface matter being redistributed,'' Blewitt said. "
The article: Richard S. Gross, Geoffrey Blewitt, Peter J. Clarke, David Lavallée. "Degree-2 harmonics of the Earth's mass load estimated from GPS and Earth rotation data" GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 31, L07601, doi:10.1029/2004GL019589, 2004 (full text for subscribers)
We tend to think of the earth as just a solid ball making an even, smooth trip around the sun while it rotates on its axis. It's actually a lot more complicated: the earth's center is liquid, the surface weight distribution shifts, the pole precesses and nutates, the earth is actually flattened, the orbit is eccentric... Satellites can observe some of this wierdness and are used to measure it. I learned a lot of this information in my required Celestial Navigation classes but I'm remembering it now because PSIgate just added a record for an MIT OpenCourseWare class on Modern Navigation. Looking at the lecture notes provides a nice review.

New Scientist: Wi-Fi networks can be jammed from PDAs

5/17/04 by Jeff Hecht
"Wi-Fi networks can be jammed using nothing more sophisticated than a PDA and an off-the-shelf wireless networking card, the Australian Computer Emergency Response Team has warned.
Wi-Fi networks are becoming common in workplaces and elsewhere and it was known that they are vulnerable to jamming. It was thought that this would require the use of large, powerful and expensive equipment, but students at the Queensland University of Technology have now proved this wrong."
This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, but it is good to be reminded. The article goes on to mention that this susceptibility to jamming is due to the protocol and that smart systems can detect and deny access to jammers.

New Scientist: Micro-sculptures give metal the Velcro touch

5/14/04
"Minuscule shapes sculpted on metal surfaces could have a profound impact in many fields of engineering.
By training intense electron beams on the surface of metals, Bruce Dance and his team have found a way to fashion delicate metal projections that will act like ultra-strong Velcro to form much tougher joints between metals and lightweight composite materials in aircraft and cars."
Anything that lessens the need for the [environmentally] nasty adhesives.

Chemical & Engineering News: NanoFocus

Yet another nanotech website. This one's from ACS (C&EN and Nano Letters). The big news is that there's an RSS feed.
(aside– a funny quote from their site: "WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT NANOTECHNOLOGY? We're not sure yet, but lots of people are very excited about it.")

Washington Post: Language of Science Lags Behind Nanotech

Burgeoning Field in Need of Universal Way to Describe Creations
5/17/04; Page A07; by Rick Weiss
Nanotech inventors assign somewhat arbitrary names to new materials because for the most part there is no established taxonomy. Regular chemistry naming conventions are sometimes inadequate because the materials act differently on a nano level. Regulators and insurers both need to refer to materials with standard names.

EurekAlert: Yale scientist says clues to string theory may be visible in Big Bang aftermath

5/12/04 (from Yale Press Release)
"Critics have disdained string theory as a “philosophy” that cannot be tested. However, the results of Easther and his colleagues suggest that observational evidence supporting string theory may be found in careful measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the first light to emerge after the Big Bang."
Historically math and physics has been developed to explain/model observations. String theory goes past what is observable, or measurable to link quantum mechanics with Newtonian physics. Read Brian Greene's Elegant Universe for more.

EurekAlert: Impact at Bedout: 'Smoking gun' of giant collision that nearly ended life on earth is identified

5/13/2004
"Evidence is mounting that 251 million years ago, long before the dinosaurs dominated the Earth, a meteor the size of Mount Everest smashed into what is now northern Australia, heaving rock halfway around the globe, triggering mass volcanic eruptions, and wiping out all but about ten percent of the species on the planet. The 'Great Dying,' as it's called, was by far the most cataclysmic extinction event in Earth's history, yet scientists have been unable to finger a culprit as they have with the dinosaur extinction. A new paper published in Science, however, claims to identify the crater made by that meteor, and it builds upon an ongoing body of evidence by researchers at the University of Rochester and the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), that points the finger for the Great Dying squarely at the heavens. "
This is becoming a recurring theme on this blog (see here, here, and here). Scientist have evidence that impacts of NEOs caused 2 of the 5 known mass extinctions on earth. Luckily for us it seems to happen every few million years. See the article from Science: "Bedout: A Possible End-Permian Impact Crater Offshore of Northwestern Australia" by
L. Becker, R. J. Poreda, A. R. Basu, K. O. Pope, T. M. Harrison, C. Nicholson, R. Iasky. 5/13/04. DOI: 10.1126/science.1093925 (PDF for subscribers right now is here)

Scientists discover secret of dolphin speed

Pointed out by EurekAlerts
"Physicists in Japan have discovered how the surface of a dolphin's skin reduces drag and helps them glide smoothly and quickly through water. These findings could help scientists design faster, energy-efficient boats, ocean liners, and submarines. This research is published in the Institute of Physics journal, Journal of Turbulence."
Hiroshi Nagamine, Kenji Yamahata, Yoshimichi Hagiwara and Ryoichi Matsubara."Turbulence modification by compliant skin and strata-corneas desquamation of a swimming dolphin" J. Turbulence v5 n18 (May 2004). For subscribers here.
Basically, dolphins shed skin very rapidly and it seems that this helps get rid of vortexes that form around the body. Pretty neat, but to construct an equivalent material for a man-made object, it would have to have many layers (like a pad of paper) and the part that sloughs off would have to be environmentally friendly.

NY Times: In a Road That's All Eyes, the Driver Finds an Ally

5/13/04 by Ian Austen
"Now, after perfecting illuminated markers that are embedded in the road surface to guide motorists through bad weather or warn of dangerous conditions, Mr. Dicks's company, Astucia Traffic Management Systems, is going a step further. Its latest creation is an embedded stud equipped with a camera that catches speeders, monitors traffic for criminals or stolen cars and even checks for bald tires on the fly."
Neat miniturization of technology. Generally, though, the Brits are much more accepting of government-run spy cameras in public places than Americans are. The illuminated markers would be very helpful in northern Florida where there are thunderstorms every afternoon.

New Scientist: Computer chip noise may betray code

5/11/04
"The noise emitted by computer chips could help code breakers decipher encrypted messages, according to preliminary research carried out at the Weizmann Institute in Israel.
Adi Shamir and Eran Tromer sampled the high-frequency audio produced by computer central processing units (CPU) ... They discovered that they could distinguish between different cryptographic keys being processed by the chip, according to the frequency of the sound emitted. They also found they could determine the length of a string of characters by measuring the duration of certain sounds."
Very interesting. As fancy as computers are, it all still comes down to the physics of heat, sound, etc.

RedNova News: Is It Possible That Galileo Was Wrong?

5/8/04
"Some modern theories actually suggest that the acceleration of gravity does depend on the material composition of the object in a very subtle way,' says Jim Williams, a physicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). If so, the theory of relativity would need re-writing; there would be a revolution in physics."
Uh-oh. Now all those kids in basic mechanics classes can use this on their homework. Is this going to tell them enough to allow them to connect quantum mechanics with Newtonian physics, I doubt it, but it is very interesting.

Washington Post: NASA Weighs Robotic Mission To Aid Hubble

May 10, 2004, Guy Gugliotta, Page A01
"Early this year NASA had all but written off the Hubble Space Telescope, but today a robotic mission to replace worn-out batteries and gyros, and even to install new instruments, suddenly seems so doable that the agency is likely to ask for proposals to do the job in early June. "
It's a very complicated mission, but do-able. All of the public outrage about letting Hubble go sooner than scheduled probably had something to do with this.

The New York Times :The Bionic Running Shoe

5/6/04 By Michel Marriott
"SHOES have long been sensible. Now some are getting smart. Smart enough, that is, to sense their environment electronically, calculate how best to perform in it, and then instantly alter their physical properties to adapt to that environment." The sensors in this shoe aren't so new, but the way it controls the cushioning is pretty neat. Overall this is a very interesting use of the sensors.

Optics Express; Quantum key distribution with 1.25 Gbps clock synchronization

by J. C. Bienfang, A. J. Gross, A. Mink, B. J. Hershman, A. Nakassis, X. Tang, R. Lu, D. H. Su, Charles W Clark, and Carl J. Williams, National Institute of Standards and Technology; E. W. Hagley and Jesse Wen, Acadia Optronics LLC 4/27/04 (pointed out by Science Daily).
According to the ScienceDaily this is 100x faster than previously reported systems.

e4engineering.com: Protecting ships and rigs with polymer armour

By Stuart Nathan
"Microscopic polymer armour could allow researchers to develop effective and environmentally friendly anti-fouling coatings for ships and oil rigs, and prevent rejection of surgical implants."
The traditional coatings for ship hulls have been toxic chemicals (organotin and copper compounds) that kill off anything that tries to live on the hull. (Copper sheathing was used in the Napoleonic era, but that wasn't as effective). There are environmental and safety issues with the painting, resurfacing, and wear. I believe the US has outlawed these coatings in accordance with an IMO Convention. The rush is on to replace these with enzymatic coatings that affect the adhesion of the critters to the hull surfaces, but the enzymes break down fairly quickly. This article discusses a way to protect the enzymes so that the coating is effective for longer.

PhysicsWeb: Beating the diffraction limit

By David R. Smith, May 2004
This overview article discusses the progress made in creating and using materials with negative indexes of refraction. So remember your basic optics, a wave traveling from a vacuum will bend toward the surface when it hits a material with a positive index. A negative index means that it will bend past the normal (>=180 deg). This means that you can have flat lenses and all kinds of neat things. The idea of a material with a negative index was developed in 1968, but it's now do-able because of materials research.
Update: 6/17/04, Contemporary Physics has a nice article by JB Pendry explaining this and reviewing the 200 recent articles (v.45 n.3 (Jun/Jul 04): 191-202.) Subscribers can resolve this doi to get it: 10.1080/00107510410001667434. (If you have it through Ingenta just work your normal magic to have that happen).

SciencePORT.org: a directory of science feeds

Pointed out by Garrett (who found it here).
This by no means comprehensive, but is a nice list of science-related blogs. It also provides screen shots and information about the blog.

EurekAlert: High-speed nanotube transistors could lead to better cell phones, faster computers

From ACS Press Release 4/27/04
"Scientists have demonstrated, for the first time, that transistors made from single-walled carbon nanotubes can operate at extremely fast microwave frequencies...The findings, reported in the April issue of Nano Letters, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, add to mounting enthusiasm about nanotechnology's revolutionary potential. 'Since the invention of nanotube transistors, there have been theoretical predictions that they can operate very fast,' says Peter Burke, Ph.D., a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California, Irvine, and lead author of the paper. 'Our work is the first to show that single-walled nanotube transistor devices can indeed function at very high speeds.' "

Trend: Use of Statistical Physics in studying the Internet and other networks

In re: Evolution and Structure of the Internet: A Statistical Physics Approach by Romualdo Pastor-Satorras and Alessandro Vespignani (Cambridge University Press, 2004).
This is one of a series of recent articles applying statistical physics to the internet and network theory. So, asking a question, is this appropriate? There's not enough information on this page to really make a decision. In the past few years statistical physics has been applied to biology and other problems. Some of this has been jumping on the biotech bandwagon and some has been really good work. What do you think?
See also: Marian Boguñá. "Book Review: Evolution of Networks. From Biological Nets to the Internet and WWW. S. N. Dorogovtsev and J. F. F. Mendes, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003." Journal of Statistical Physics v.114 no.5 (March 2004): 1627-1628 (available for subscribers here).

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Nasa optimistic about Hubble fate

4/23/04 by Dr. David Whitehouse
Basically, the article states that NASA's Associate Administrator is considering ideas to use a robot to add power or aiming ability, but not to replace the batteries, repair gyros, or update the optical equipment. I'm intrigued by the term "optimistic." This seems to be very different from other news articles.

New Scientist: Second gyroscope fails aboard space station

13:05 23 April 04
"The second of four gyroscopes used to keep the International Space Station steady in orbit has failed. If a third gyroscope breaks down - and one has shown signs of suffering from lubrication problems - the crew will have to use rocket thrusters to stabilise the outpost. There is only a limited supply of fuel onboard."
Although this failure is in the controller (the first failure was in the actual gyro), the space shuttle is needed to replace the gyros because of their huge weight. Yet, the shuttles only have a few more missions to go before they're retired. This is another example of the potenial disasterous outcome of the U.S. government failing to plan ahead. They failed to fund proper maintenance and replacement of the shuttle fleet. Hubble will be taken out of service because NASA can't waste a scarce shuttle mission to do maintenance. Even if the money is turned on now, it is too late. All of this takes years to happen (and several administrations). (See also GAO-04-203 (Jan 2004) "Space Shuttle: Further Improvements Needed in NASA’s Modernization Efforts", pointed out on Aerade)

Wired News: Fuel Cells Weigh Anchor

by David Snow 4/22/04
"The company's technology, invented and patented by Schmitman, produces renewable hydrogen from purified seawater or fresh water using an electrolyzer -- which separates hydrogen and oxygen in water -- along with clean-energy power sources such as solar panels and wind generators, already common on sailboats. Regenerative electric drive motors turn the propellers and provide recaptured electricity, much like the braking systems of hybrid cars do, Schmitman said. "
Tired of hearing about the hydrogen economy? Think hydrogen fuel is interesting, but curious about set up of the infrastructure? This article talks about hydrogen fuel cells for marine propulsion. If you really want to be environmentally friendly, hoist your sails. This might be good, however, for Navy ships if all of the details can be worked out and the power generation can be increased.

Waves in Random Media Volume 14, Number 2: Special Section on Foliage Penetration

Courtesy of the IOP feed. This section is free for 6 months, and of course is then for subscribers only. Of particular interest:

• A survey of ionospheric effects on space-based radar
  Zheng-Wen Xu, Jian Wu and Zhen-Sen Wu
  
• Microwave radiometry of forests
  Paolo Pampaloni
  
• Scattering from a layer of discrete random medium over a random interface: application to microwave backscattering from forests
  Roger H Lang
  
• Target detection beneath foliage using polarimetric synthetic aperture radar interferometry
  S R Cloude, D G Corr and M L Williams
  
• Unsupervised constrained radar imaging of low resolution targets
  Andrey Semichaevsky, Markus E Testorf, Robert V McGahan and Michael A Fiddy
  

IOP: Spiders make best ever Post-it notes

4/19/04 link from IoP's Journal News feed
"Scientists have found that the way spiders stick to ceilings could be the key to making Post-it(tm) notes that dont fall off -- even when they are wet. A team from Germany and Switzerland have made the first detailed examinations of a jumping spider's 'foot' and have discovered that a molecular force sticks the spider to almost anything. The force is so strong that these spiders could carry over 170 times their own body weight while standing on the ceiling. The research is published today (Monday 19 April 2004) in the Institute of Physics journal Smart Materials and Structures"
Pretty cool. Maybe they can make spiderman suits for a reasonable price. Can this be used in construction?

Eurekalert: Scientists size-up, classify meteorite that nearly landed in their backyards

U Chicago 4/14/04 on article written by Simon et al in Meteoritics and Planetary Science (April 2004)
"Witnesses in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Missouri reported seeing the fireball that the meteorite produced as it broke up in the atmosphere, Simon and his colleagues report. Local residents collected hundreds of meteorite fragments totaling approximately 65 pounds from an area extending from Crete in the south to the southern end of Olympia Fields in the north. Located in Chicago's south suburbs, 'This is the most densely populated region to be hit by a meteorite shower in modern times,' the authors write.
One meteorite narrowly missed striking a sleeping Park Forest resident after it burst through the ceiling of a bedroom. The meteorite sliced through some window blinds, cratered the windowsill, then bounced across the room and broke a mirror before coming to rest. "
More things flying from the skies! This one started out weighting 1,980 pounds. What would it do to a planet that doesn't have an atmosphere like ours? (like when we have outposts on Mars, etc)

Online calculator to figure the NEO impact effects

Pointed out by several online services including Eureka Alert, Science Daily.

Near Earth Objects: We're all gonna die... Or not?

Over the past century or so there have been times when the concern about extinction via collision with a large comet or asteroid has been real and present and other times when it's totally off the radar. In 1993, 1998, 2002, and again today, congress had hearings about the threat and possible scenarios to save the planet. The two movies in the 90's also got people pretty upset (Armageddon and Deep Impact). There are several scenarios for saving the planet, but just about all need a large lag time (like decades). The systems we have now for locating these NEOs do not reliably pick up ones that might wipe out a region. See this NASA site for more details.
My take on this: it's pretty likely that in the next hundred years we're going to be hit with something big enough to do some damage. Even if it lands in the ocean, the resulting waves might take out summer vacation spots. We need to be able to watch these things better and starting planning on how we would react. We also need to look at how they impact the moon, especially if we're going to build an outpost there. Can we catch one and mine it for metals that are becoming more scarce on earth? As always, more money for funding when we're already stretched thin. IMHO.
See: http://www.nearearthobjects.co.uk/report/resources_task_intro.cfm. Annex B for a chart on "Impacts and Near Approaches".

NY Times: In Math, Computers Don't Lie. Or Do They?

By KENNETH CHANG 4/6/2004
"A leading mathematics journal has finally accepted that one of the longest-standing problems in the field -- the most efficient way to pack oranges -- has been conclusively solved. That is, if you believe a computer."
The crux of the matter is that thorough mathematical proofs are required to justify the claim of solving certain problems. In recent years, these proofs have become so long that computer programs have been written to skip a few steps. Previous published proofs like this have had many errors and problems. This proof is so long, and so tedious, it hasn't been completely checked even after a couple of years so it's been published with disclaimers. Maybe a computer should check the proof? Let's see how this develops.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Digital paper makes device debut

3/26/04
"Sony, Philips and digital paper pioneer E-Ink have announced an electronic book reader that is due to go on sale in Japan in late April for $375 (£204)."
Yea! I've been hearing about electronic paper for a couple of years now. I can't wait until this is actually on the market here (if I can afford it). There are many reasons why this is better than the LCD ebook readers: power consumption, weight, resolution, visibility in bright light...

Pacific Northwest Nat. Lab: Enlisting carbon nanotubes to unmask nerve agents

3/29/04
"Yuehe Lin .. reported.. [a] successful lab test of a disposable OP sensor he fashioned from carbon nanotubes chemically fused to enzymes borrowed from the nervous system-the same enzymes that act as catalysts in neurotransmitters. The 500-nanometer-thick tubes and their bound enzymes finely pepper a 2-by-4 millimeter sensor surface. In the presence of OP, enzyme activity is dampened. The nanotubes, acting as electrodes, sense the inhibition as a muted signal and pass that information to an off-the-shelf electrochemical detector that houses the sensor." This is good but I'm not sure how it would be integrated into a field kit. Also, it's a one-use item, so that might lead to supply issues. Also, in farming areas there might be high enough background levels of OP to create false alarms.

NASA - X-43A Soars on Scramjet Power

3/27/04 (pointed out by Science Daily 3/29/04)

Image above: "A modified Pegasus rocket ignites moments after release from the B-52B, beginning the acceleration of the X-43A over the Pacific Ocean on March 27, 2004. Credit: NASA"

"NASA's second X-43A hypersonic research aircraft flew successfully today, the first time an air-breathing scramjet powered aircraft has flown freely.
The unpiloted vehicle's supersonic combustion ramjet, or scramjet, ignited as planned and operated for the duration of its hydrogen fuel supply. The X-43A reached its test speed of Mach 7, or seven times the speed of sound."
Cool.
"Ramjets operate by subsonic combustion of fuel in a stream of air compressed by the forward speed of the aircraft itself, as opposed to a normal turbojet engine, in which the compressor section (the fan blades) compresses the air. In comparison to turbojets, ramjets have no moving parts. Scramjets (supersonic-combustion ramjets) are ramjet engines in which the airflow through the whole engine remains supersonic. Scramjet technology is challenging because only limited testing can be
performed in ground facilities {right now}. Long duration, full-scale testing requires flight test speeds above Mach 8." (from the photo page linked below)
More pictures are available here.

Sandia National Laboratories: New 'inchworm' actuator allows study of friction at the microscale

3/25/2004
"ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Creating a tool small enough to measure friction on a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device is not an easy task. The tool has to be about the width of a human hair.
Yet, researchers at the at the National Nuclear Security Administration's Sandia National Laboratories have developed a new 'inchworm' actuator instrument that provides detailed information about friction at the microscale.
The main objective of the project was to study the validity of Amonton's Law at the microscale. This law, first stated 300 years ago, says friction force is proportional to normal force (normal means perpendicular to the surfaces). Although it remains a good description of friction today, there are interesting deviations from Amonton's Law, especially at low normal forces, where adhesion between the two surfaces is thought to contribute an extra force. Because of the large surface-to-volume ratio at the microscale, these adhesive forces could cause a strong deviation from Amonton's Law. "
There have been many recent articles on use of MEMs in surgery and in sensors so it is important to know about the effect of friction. There are many articles in Compendex when you search ({MICROELECTROMECHANICAL DEVICES}) WN CV) AND ({FRICTION} WN CV). It stands to reason that there would be more at play than Amonton's Law at that scale.

Brookhaven NL: Bright light yields unusual vibes

3/26/04
"MONTREAL, CANADA -- By bombarding very thin slices of several copper/oxygen compounds, called cuprates, with very bright, short-lived pulses of light, Ivan Bozovic, a physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, and his collaborators have discovered an unusual property of the materials: After absorbing the light energy, they emit it as long-lived sound waves, as opposed to heat energy. This result may open up a new field of study on cuprates -- materials already used in wireless communications and under investigation for other applications in the electronics industry. "
I wonder if there are any communications applications for this, I suspect so.

New Scientist: Defusing fertiliser may make bomb-building harder

3/19/2004
"Now Speciality Fertilizer Products, a company based in Belton, Missouri, is patenting a water-soluble polymer coating for the fertiliser granules that repels fuel oil. The coating dissolves rapidly in soil, so it would not interfere with ammonium nitrate's main function as fertiliser.
If it works and is widely adopted, the treatment could make it harder for terrorists to turn fertiliser-grade ammonium nitrate into bombs, and could also help prevent industrial accidents."
Making a bomb is pretty easy, but this might at least raise the bar a little. Farmers now have to register and are closely monitored for what fertilzers they buy. Maybe some of those rules could be relaxed if this works and becomes widespread.

New Scientist: 100-metre nanotube thread pulled from furnace

19:00 11 March 04
"A thread of carbon nanotubes more than 100 metres long has been pulled from a fiery furnace. The previous record holder was a mere 30 centimetres long.
Carbon nanotubes are stronger than steel and better conductors than copper, but are often just a thousandth of a millimetre in length. By bundling the nanotubes together into much longer fibres, scientists hope to harness their properties on a larger scale. For example, embedding long carbon nanotube threads in plastic would give tougher composites for airplane hulls."
Woo-hoo. Space elevator, here we come! I wonder about bridges, too. ... mooring lines for ships..... hmmm.

Sandia sensor has potential to help U.S. military eliminate 'friendly fire' during combat

3/10/04 Michael Padilla (Sandia press release found and read via EurekAlert!)
"ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A device to help eliminate friendly fire during military combat has been created by engineers at the National Nuclear Security Administration's Sandia National Laboratories.
Building on more than 10 years of research and development, Sandia engineers have created a radar tag sensor that is mounted on military vehicles and is recognizable to an attack aircraft as a 'friendly.' The device, tracked via aircraft radar, can be used to identify both U.S. and coalition forces during combat to avoid fratricide." Ok, good idea, but... assumes the target/friendly forces tank will be painted by radar prior to being shot at. I'm not sure, but what about laser guided, gps, IR, etc.? The press release goes a step farther and mentions putting this on soldiers... wouldn't it just be cut off POWs and KIAs and redistributed to enemy troops? Also, if each soldier has a radar signature, what will that do for clutter (a large problem already).

ALA | Internet Resources: Gray literature

To blog or to furl... that is the question. I'll do both with this one. This is an article from C &RL News v.65 n.3 (March 2004) by Brian S. Mathews. It's a guide to gray/grey literature sources online. I think I have just about all of these marked in our library's portal but it's a nice article anyway. (thanks Gary and Resource Shelf for the link.)

Science News Article | Reuters.com Scientists Get a Computerized Grip on Ear Prints

3/8/04 By Patricia Reaney (courtesy of Topix.net)
"LONDON (Reuters) - Criminals are used to trying to avoid leaving fingerprints at a crime scene. But now British scientists have developed a computerized system that allows them to identify ear prints just as easily." So this is not surprising but it will be difficult to clean all the ink off if you ever get arrested. After all, I'm sure nose prints would also help, and what about trying to catch people who copy their butts on photocopiers? Maybe we should keep butt prints, too? Maybe we should just clone criminals so that we can measure whatever we want on them. Seriously, though. There are already problems in the two ways to do fingerprints (roll and press). A problem with the early DNA tests was using fewer datapoints so the certainty of match was not as high. How do we deal with all this data? Is it practical to measure all points of an arrestee? hmm.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Science closes in on perfect lens

3/8/2004
"New designer materials could eventually lead to 'perfect lenses' for optical devices, able to focus on features smaller than the wavelength of light." These could be pretty useful in replacing x-ray applications with something perhaps a little safer.

New Scientist: Fighting fire with a steam machine

19:00 03 March 04
"A chance discovery has transformed an engine intended for speedboats into a powerful firefighting tool that douses flames with jets of water mist.
When used for boats, the engine works by injecting steam through a rear-facing, ring-shaped nozzle into a cylindrical chamber. As the steam emerges at three times the speed of sound, it rapidly condenses, generating a shock wave that pulls in water through an intake and expels it from the rear, generating thrust (New Scientist, 29 January 2003)." Cool. I remember in firefighting school that we learned to use a mist to beat back certain kinds of fires and protect firefighters. This would be a really quick way to get a layer of AFFF (aqueous film-forming foam) on a class B fire.

Wired News: Underwater Travel Takes Wing

"The U.S. Navy plans to begin testing a prototype for an unmanned underwater glider with a flying-wing design in March, according to the Office of Naval Research, which funds the project. " Cool, makes sense. Maybe schools of these with networked sensors to monitor an entrance or choke point. My problem: "5 nautical mph" -- they're knots! kts.

e4engineering: New cheaper and quicker microwave imaging for airport security, landmine detection, etc.

From Control & Instrumentation, 02 March 2004, in Machinery & Equipment
"Scientists in the UK are developing a microwave-based technique that can generate high-quality images of hidden objects. The research may lead to the use of microwaves as an alternative to X-rays in airport security checks, building searches, landmine detection and other applications."
As the article says, it isn't that this is a new idea, it's that it could be quicker and cheaper. As we decide that we need to scan everyone everywhere (like at local high schools, etc.) we need to take these things into account. This technology could be a big money maker.

The hole in the floor of the Gulf of Mexico: from thing that killed the Dinosaurs, or 300k years later?

Dinosaur impact theory challenged By Paul Rincon BBC News Online science staff
"The controversy over what killed the dinosaurs may run and run Scientists have cast doubt on the well-established theory that a single, massive asteroid strike killed off the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. New data suggests the Chicxulub crater in Mexico, supposedly created by the collision, predates the extinction of the dinosaurs by about 300,000 years."
BUT... according to scientists on All Things Considered ... the paper isn't well considered, and the author's proof just doesn't prove her point. Read the paper, and see what you think. I guess the controversy isn't solved after all.

Science: Zinc-oxide nanorings circle new applications (via physics web)

Physicists at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US have grown nanorings of single-crystal zinc oxide. Since the material is piezoelectric and semiconducting, the nanostructures could have applications in sensors, resonators and transducers (X Kong et al. 2004
Science 303 1348) (pointed out by PhysicsWeb)

New York Times: New U.S. Land Mines to Pose Less Long-Term Danger

By STEVEN R. WEISMAN, February 27, 2004
"The Bush administration plans to announce that, in a step to lessen the dangers of land mines, it will end the use of long-lasting mines in warfare and instead concentrate on mines that go inert within hours or days, an administration official said Thursday....The official said the United States would also make its mines detectable so they can be removed when a conflict is over. But he did not say what would prevent an enemy from detecting them during a conflict."
Hmm. There are some specific situations where landmines are required, and in those situations, I'm not sure that ones that go inactive in "hours or days" will work (like the DMZ in Korea). As for making them detectable, there are quite a few patents on equipment to detect these things; so, anyone could figure out how to find them--specifically, enemy combatants, but probably not villagers or non-combatants.

New York Times: What's Next: Piercing the Fog With a Tiny Chip

by ANNE EISENBERG, 2/26/04
..."A team of electrical engineers at the California Institute of Technology has shrunk the functions of a radar system into one tiny, intricately designed silicon chip and eight minuscule antennas." The uses the author gives are in cars for warnings when backing up, etc. Argh. Maybe having a car that you can see out of would be helpful! I see many military applications in this.

Books of The Times | 'The Fabric of the Cosmos': The Almost Inconceivable, but Don't Be Intimidated

review by JANET MASLIN, 2/26/04 (although not really a review, more like discussion.)
oh-oh.... can't wait. This came out on the 10th and I'm just hearing about it now? I read the Elegant Universe and liked it. I also saw him (and my old prof from Maryland, Jim Gates) on Nova. I'll get on the list for it right away.

ScienceDaily News Release: A New Step In Spintronics: 'Organic Spin Valves' Shown Feasible For New Electronic Devices

from University of Utah, 2/26/04
"University of Utah physicists have taken an important step toward a new generation of faster, cheaper computers and electronics by building the first "organic spin valves" – electrical switches that integrate two emerging fields of technology: organic semiconductor electronics and spin electronics, or spintronics."
Article has a nice description of what spintronics are an why organic spin valves are better: "organic semiconductors are inexpensive and simpler to make, can be manufactured at lower temperatures with fewer toxic wastes, have electronic properties that can be adjusted, and are flexible so they can be molded to desired shapes."

Aerade: Aerospace and Defence

This is the coolest portal.
"The AERADE portal provides integrated access to key aerospace and defence information sources:
Aerospace and defence resources - quality assessed Internet sites
DEVISE - a special collection of military and defence resources
ESDU Series - abstracts for engineering design data and methods
Internet Aviator - an interactive tutorial.
NewsBrief - aerospace and defence news from Moreover.
ConferenceBrief - a list of forthcoming aerospace and defence conferences and events."
I did a sample search on UAVs and was really impressed with the results. Relevant and authoritative resources. Stuff to trust. I've already furl'ed it. Can't wait to get a chance to try it for/with a customer! Oh, and looks like they have a newsletter, but only quarterly and no feed. I've added their what's new page to WatchThatPage, we'll see how that goes. (pointed out by Shirl Kennedy on The Resource Shelf)

The Engineer: Shedding a new light on earthquake damage

2/20/04
Shedding a new light on earthquake damage
[new optical strain gauge]
"Detecting structural damage caused by earthquakes will be 100 times easier thanks to a new optical strain gauge, according to its US developers [URI]... the new optical gauge uses a waveguide system with coatings of semiconductors, making it up to 100 times more sensitive. "
This is already production-ready. This technology is 1) cheaper 2) more sensitive 3) independent of temperature.

NOVA: Spies That Fly

Aired on PBS 2/24/04
This was a pretty cool program. It provided a history of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and historical information about their uses. It also discussed the evolution from spy planes (like the U-2) to satellite to predator. It also discussed projects in development like Global Hawk and Dragon Eye. What they didn't discuss is multiple UAVs interoperating in a network not ground controlled. I really think this is where science is going. I just ran across UAV Forum. It appears to be a pretty helpful site.

Scientific American: Better Displays with Organic Films

"Light-emitting organic materials offer brighter and more efficient displays than LEDs. And you'll be able to unroll them across a tabletop"
by Webster E. Howard, 2/2004
There are quite a few articles now on electronic paper and also flexible batteries.

BBC News: US military creates second Earth

2/23/2004
"The US Army is building a second version of Earth on computer to help it prepare for conflicts around the world.
The detailed simulation will be drawn from a real-world terrain database and will be drawn to the same scale as the original.
The software Earth is being created for the US Army by gaming company There, which is currently working on a virtual world for gamers.
The first version of the virtual planet should be finished by September."
Interesting, but if you read the rest of the article, you'll see that they're not as far along as it makes you think.

ScienceDaily News Release: Researchers Hone Radiation Source For Terahertz Devices; Potential Applications In Medicine, Remote Sensing, Imaging And Satelli

From a news release from Lehigh.
"Terahertz (THz) frequencies, ranging from 0.1 to 10 THz, have potential applications in medicine, remote sensing, imaging and satellite communications, but are nonetheless one of the most under-utilized frequency ranges. That is because the THz range lies between the microwave frequency range and the near-infrared and optical frequency ranges, in which conventional semiconductor devices are usually operated ...Ding and his research group, which includes four Ph.D. candidates, one M.S. candidate and two post-doctoral researchers, have developed a method of focusing two high-frequency lasers to generate tunable and coherent THz waves in the range of 58 to 3540 microns. "

'Dark Energy' Backs Idea Einstein Junked (washingtonpost.com)

By Rob Stein, 2/21/04
"Astronomers announced yesterday they had found strong new evidence that a theory Albert Einstein proposed but later discarded may have been right after all, providing crucial new clues to the fundamental nature and eventual fate of the cosmos."
This is reassuring (although it sounds a little sinister). I would hate to think the universe will rip itself apart.(free registration may be required)

Wired News: Russia Tests New Wonder Weapon

"MOSCOW -- Russia has successfully tested a hypersonic anti-Star Wars weapon capable of penetrating any prospective missile shield, a senior general said Thursday.

The prototype weapon proved it could maneuver so quickly as to make "any missile defense useless," Col.-Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky, the first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, told a news conference..."
This is interesting, I wonder if it came out in response to the news reports that their missile testing the previous day had gone so wrong... Russians Fail for Second Day in Missile Test By STEVEN LEE MYERS, NY Times, February 19, 2004
"MOSCOW, Feb. 18 — President Vladimir V. Putin oversaw one of Russia's largest strategic military exercises in years for a second day on Wednesday, and, for a second day, something went wrong.

An intercontinental ballistic missile fired from the nuclear submarine Karelia in the Barents Sea veered wildly off course 98 seconds after the launching and self-destructed, a navy spokesman, Capt. Igor V. Dygalo, said. The cause of the malfunction, he said, would be investigated..."

Wired News: Russia Tests New Wonder Weapon

"MOSCOW -- Russia has successfully tested a hypersonic anti-Star Wars weapon capable of penetrating any prospective missile shield, a senior general said Thursday.

The prototype weapon proved it could maneuver so quickly as to make "any missile defense useless," Col.-Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky, the first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, told a news conference..."
This is interesting, I wonder if it came out in response to the news reports that their missile testing the previous day had gone so wrong... Russians Fail for Second Day in Missile Test By STEVEN LEE MYERS, NY Times, February 19, 2004
"MOSCOW, Feb. 18 — President Vladimir V. Putin oversaw one of Russia's largest strategic military exercises in years for a second day on Wednesday, and, for a second day, something went wrong.

An intercontinental ballistic missile fired from the nuclear submarine Karelia in the Barents Sea veered wildly off course 98 seconds after the launching and self-destructed, a navy spokesman, Capt. Igor V. Dygalo, said. The cause of the malfunction, he said, would be investigated..."

Hubble Reveals Dramatic New Phase of a Supernova Explosion

By Robert Roy Britt, 19 February 2004
"The most dramatic stellar explosion witnessed in centuries just got more interesting. New images from the Hubble Space Telescope show a dying star's "ring of fire" entering a new phase of brightness.
The remarkable event is the only one of its kind ever recorded by telescopes. "

Mars Exploration Rover Mission: SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Does a "Wheel Wiggle"

Chasse', Chasse' or is it put your right wheel in, take your right wheel out, put your right wheel in and shake it all about... Who knew that keeping up with the rovers would be this fun?

Explosive evidence that will not wash away

From The New Scientist, 11:52 19 February 04
"Bombers and bomb makers could soon be exposed by testing their hair for traces of explosives.

Jimmie Oxley, a chemist at the University of Rhode Island, Kingston, has extracted nanograms of the common explosives TNT, RDX and PETN from the hair of workers who handle these chemicals daily when training airport sniffer dogs. Even after several washes and brushing, the explosives still showed up in chromatography tests on a solvent-soaked comb that was run through the hair."
This we knew, right? A little surprised it lasts that long; however, this is for employees who handle the chemicals daily. What about if the bomb builder is not the bomb deliverer? I think this would be common. We'll have to see the paper she presents at the SPIE Defense & Security Symposium.

Scientists Accuse White House of Distorting Facts

Scientists Accuse White House of Distorting Facts
"The Bush administration has deliberately and systematically distorted scientific fact in the service of policy goals on the environment, health, biomedical research and nuclear weaponry at home and abroad, a group of about 60 influential scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates, said in a statement issued today." (courtesy of Bob Michaelson via SLAPAM-L)

Crystals Could End Up as the Fuel Tank of the Future

Crystals Could End Up as the Fuel Tank of the Future
"One hurdle in the envisioned switch to a "hydrogen economy," displacing fossil fuels, is that hydrogen, a gas at room temperatures, is bulky. ...Dr. Yaghi envisions the ephemeral crystals acting as hydrogen sponges, storing the gas at room temperatures under less pressure."

Ocean Studies May Be Heading to Space

ABCNEWS.com : Ocean Studies May Be Heading to Space: "The skills and technology used to explore the extreme depths of the Earth's oceans will soon find work in outer space. Scientists are making plans to probe the icy seas of Jupiter's moons and drop a lander to the bizarre gasoline-like lakes of Titan, a moon of Saturn"

Group adds a dash of freshness to Morse code

baltimoresun.com - Group adds a dash of freshness to Morse code
The ITU added a new character to Morse Code. AKA the "commat" it stands for the @ symbol used in e-mails. From the article it "consists of the signals for "A" (dot-dash) and "C" (dash-dot-dash-dot), with no space between them. "

The New Freedom Tower Will Host a Wind Farm

The new design to replace the World Trade Center twin towers in New York will be 1,776 feet. This places it above most of the turbulence that prevents wind power generation in urban areas. The designers hope that it will be able to generate power 40% of the time and will produce 2.6 million kWh of electricity annually.
See:
Battle McCarthy's site for more information.

How to Quickly Find Articles in the Top IS Journals

Ruth Bolotin Schwartz and Michele C. Russo. Communications of the ACM v47 i2 (February 2004): 98-101. If you are a subscriber to the ACM portal click here for the article.
These authors have pointed out what librarians have known all along: if you need to find articles on a subject, search in a research database. Your library provides these for you and can help you pick the best one.

Radical Warship Takes Shape

Navy's DD(X) May Launch Generation of Greater Efficiency
By Guy Gugliotta
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 8, 2004; Page A03
Radical Warship Takes Shape (washingtonpost.com)
This is a pretty nice overview of DD(x). It's really meant to solve a lot of the Navy's big upcoming issues

• draft - this can go closer to shore
  
• vls capacity - can carry a lot more sm-2s, sm-3s, tomahawks, VLA, etc.
  
• smaller crew - the most expensive part of the ship.
  
• lower radar cross section
  

What it won't do is be good for MIO/VBSS because it doesn't look threatening as a bigger ship does.
It actually kind of remindes me of the early iron-clads mixed with the Napoleonic era frigates. Tumblehome, indeed.

NASA really means it: No more Hubble
This article, HoustonChronicle.com - NASA says no to Hubble repair among several others reinforces NASA's decision not to continue with the Hubble although recently released internal NASA engineering documents show that Hubble could be maintained at a lower risk to astronauts. Maryland Senator Mikulski (D) is working to try to change NASA's mind because of the many Maryland jobs either directly or indirectly related to Hubble maintenance and research.

Part of Patriot Act Ruled Unconstitutional.
Federal Judge Rules Part of Patriot Act Unconstitutional (washingtonpost.com)
The judge's ruling said the law, as written, does not differentiate between impermissible advice on violence and encouraging the use of peaceful, nonviolent means to achieve goals.

"The USA Patriot Act places no limitation on the type of expert advice and assistance which is prohibited and instead bans the provision of all expert advice and assistance regardless of its nature," the judge said.

Ok, so I haven't posted for a while, but I'm pretty worried about Spirit, do you think it's going to be ok? For latest details see the JPL site .