What's New Robert L. Park 31 Dec 2010

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 31 Dec 2010   Washington, DC

1. WHOLEBODY SCANNING: THE TRADE-OFF BETWEEN MODESTY AND RISK.
In a dangerous world people are often asked to trade some of their freedo=
m=20
for increased security. In the face of increased terrorist threats, the=20
Transportation Safety Agency is investigating whole-body scanning devices=
=20
as an alternative to pat-down by agents searching for weapons or other=20
forbidden items. There are two scanning strategies for whole-body=20
searches:  high sensitivity x-rays and sub-millimeter radio waves. The=20
public is clearly not happy with either alternative. The health community=
=20
properly objects to any additional x-ray burden, but if the added exposur=
e=20
is small compared to the natural x-ray exposure at high-altitude it might=
=20
be acceptable. Sub-millimeter radio on the other hand is perfectly safe,=20
but many people have been led to believe it=92s not by the terminally stu=
pid=20
campaign against cell phone radiation. So where does that stand?

2. PHOTONS: WHAT ALBERT EINSTEIN KNEW ABOUT CELL-PHONE RADIATION.
Maybe I missed it, but I have seen nothing from major media sources=20
refuting the preposterous claim that radiation from cell phones and other=
=20
wireless devices is linked to human health problems.  We are bathed in=20
microwave radiation.  Most of it is as natural as sunshine, but wireless=20
communication, including cell phone radiation, is not.  What do we know=20
about the effect of this stuff on the human body, and how long ago did we=
=20
know it?  The starting point is 1905, sometimes called "Albert Einstein's=
=20
miracle year." One of the four "miracle" papers he published that year=20
dealt with the photoelectric effect.  He treated the light striking an=20
object as particles called quanta, having energy equal to the frequency=20
times the Planck constant.  This predicted a photoelectron threshold at t=
he=20
extreme blue end of the visible spectrum, below which there would be no=20
photoemission.  Almost nobody believed him, including Robert Millikan,=20
perhaps the world's greatest experimentalist.  The photoelectric effect h=
ad=20
already been explained with Maxwell=92s wave theory, but experimental=20
confirmation was lacking.  Einstein wasn't bothered; he had other great=20
things to do while waiting for confirmation.  Millikan did the experiment=
=20
in 1917; it agreed perfectly with Einstein's theory.  The 1921 Nobel Priz=
e=20
in Physics was awarded to Einstein for his theory of the photoelectric=20
effect.  Millikan won the Prize two years later.  Their results show that=
=20
microwaves are great for warming pizza and they don't cause cancer.=20

3. THE DYSPROSIUM WAR: EVEN WITHOUT CANCER, CELL PHONES SUCK.
Cell phones, along with electric cars, wind turbines, and a host of other=
=20
high-tech products rely on rare earths, 97% of which come from China. Thi=
s=20
week, China announced plans to reduce exports of rare earths, which may b=
e=20
a warning to potential competitors such as US Molycorp that China plays=20
hardball. China is also investing in rare earth mining sites in East Afri=
ca=20
and is seeking to build a highway through the Serengeti. A friend who jus=
t=20
returned from a visit to Kenya describes the view from the air as looking=
=20
like Haiti. The forests have disappeared over vast regions to supply=20
firewood for the tiny, unproductive, shambas created by dividing the grea=
t=20
farms in the name of redistribution of wealth.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
---
Archives of What's New can be found at http://www.bobpark.org
What's New is moving to a different listserver and our
subscription process has changed. To change your subscription
status please visit this link:
http://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dbobparks-whatsnew&A=3D1