What's New Robert L. Park Friday, March 5, 2010

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 5 Mar 2010   Washington, DC

1.  ALARM!  AHMADINEJAD SAYS IRAN HAS LASER ENRICHMENT.
"For now," the Iranian President said on Saturday, "we do not intend to u=
se=20
it." He is, of course, a notorious liar.  Whether he has it or not, the=20
worst thing the United States could do at this point is to allow Global=20
Laser Enrichment to proceed with plans to construct the first commercial=20
laser enrichment plant in the US.  It would be hailed by Ahmadinejad as=20
justification for Iran to proceed with such a facility.  His announcement=
=20
focuses attention on the timely Opinion article in yesterday's=20
Nature: "Stop Laser Uranium Enrichment," by Francis Slakey and Linda Cohe=
n.=20
The article calculates that the mean US household savings from laser=20
enrichment of uranium would probably be less than two dollars a month. =20
Because of its relatively small size the laser technology could be=20
misappropriated to secretly enrich uranium for weaponry. The authors urge=
=20
the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to assess proliferation risks in the=
=20
licensing process.

2.  MANNA: ISN=92T THAT A GIFT FROM HEAVEN?
The town of Odessa, MO, population 4,818, located somewhere east of Kansa=
s=20
City, needs jobs.  So when a company, Manna of Utah, said it wanted to=20
build a plant there employing 3000 people, folks cheered.  All the town h=
ad=20
to do was provide $90 million in revenue bonds and a site.  The company=20
even flew local officials to Florida for a demonstration of the "world-
changing" technology that would be built there.  It's a home generator=20
developed by Maglev Energy in Largo, Florida, which is leasing the=20
technology to Manna of Utah. State Representative Mike McGhee (R-Odessa)=20
said the product would be the "equivalent of the light bulb."  Steve Ever=
ly=20
of the Kansas City Star thought it might be a good idea to check with=20
scientists and engineers, including Bob Park.  The mayor of Odessa, Tony=20
Bamvakais, who went on the trip to Florida, says it's not a perpetual=20
motion machine, but it's "so efficient that it keeps on producing power=20
when it's unhooked from an outside power source." =20

3.  PATENT NONSENSE:  CASE LAW ON PERPETUAL MOTION MACHINES.
When Joseph Newman was refused a patent for his Energy Machine he sued th=
e=20
US patent office. Legendary US District Court Judge Robert Penfield Jacks=
on=20
ordered Newman to turn his machine over to the National Bureau of Standar=
ds=20
for testing. It was found to be a motor/generator of a design vastly=20
inferior to those on the market.  The case, Newman v. Quigg (Quigg was th=
e=20
patent Commissioner) is cited as case-law giving the patent office=20
authority to reject perpetual-motion claims out of hand. The only effect =
is=20
that they are no longer called "perpetual motion machines."  They are=20
called over-unity devices, or zero-point-energy machines.  Coverage of th=
e=20
Joe Newman case in Wikipedia is terrible. It's a remarkably useful=20
encyclopedia, but you need to verify.=20

4.  BELIEF:  FRANCIS COLLINS IS FREE TO HOLD ANY BELIEFS HE LIKES.
This week, saw the publication of his new book, "Belief: Readings on the=20
Reasons for Faith.=94  But he is now the director of the nation=92s large=
st=20
science agency, having promised to set his personal quirks aside for the=20
time. The argument is made that the book is work he did before he became=20
director, but that's pretty thin cover.  He could wait until he steps dow=
n.=20
Modern science had its birth with the assertion of the Greek philosopher=20
Thales in 585 B.C. that every observable effect has a physical cause.  We=
=20
should not regard any person as educated unless he understands those word=
s,=20
including the director of NIH.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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