What's New Robert L. Park 4 Feb 2011

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 4 Feb 2011   Washington, D

1. SMART METERS: CONSPIRACY OF IGNORANCE.
It can be safely argued that the biggest threat to life on this planet is=
=20
ignorance, followed perhaps by global warming. The lights over most of th=
e=20
Northeastern United States and parts of Canada began to flicker at 4:11 p=
m=20
on Thursday, August 14, 2003. It was the start of the most extensive=20
electrical blackout in history, covering the entire Northeast and parts o=
f=20
Canada, yet no one understood how it happened. Five electric power=20
companies that shared a common grid pointed fingers at one another. The=20
purpose of the grid is clear: electric power cannot be stored.  Power=20
companies must generate the exact amount of power that is being used,=20
adjusting to every electrical switch that is thrown. Linking power=20
companies in a grid should mean a statistically smoother demand, thus=20
reducing local blackouts. But the grid has grown so complex no one=20
understood it. The Recovery and Reinvestment Act called for a smarter=20
electric grid that could accurately anticipate demand.  This would start=20
with the use of smart power meters. For most of you, the meter reader=20
hacking his way through your shrubs to get at the power meter has been=20
replaced by a Wi-Fi that can update consumption at frequent intervals.  =20
Accurate data on power consumption patterns would benefit both the power=20
company and the consumer. As WN has repeatedly observed, the energy of=20
microwave photons is about 1 million times too low to cause ionization.  =
No=20
ionization, no cancer. If the laws of physics don't work for you, I shoul=
d=20
point out that the radiation emitted by a smart meter adds up to about on=
e=20
Watt when it's transmitting, which it usually is not; that's less than a=20
cell phone. Moreover, people don't usually hold their power meter against=
=20
the side of their head for hours. However, if you choose to crouch down=20
behind the rhododendrons and hug your power meter all day long you will=20
still suffer no ill effects from microwaves. That's the great thing about=
=20
being a mammal; we maintain a constant temperature winter and summer.  Bu=
t=20
even if you're a frog, I don't think 1 W would be a problem. However, if=20
you're an Indian frog it might be another matter.=20

2. CELL PHONES: INDIA HEEDS THE CALL FOR MORE STUDY.
Last year the World Health Organization completed a 10 year, $14 million=20
study of mobile phone use in 13 countries. The WHO study concluded "more=20
study is needed,"  http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN10/wn052110.html . =20
India has responded to the WHO call with a 58-page study of its own=20
according to today's Science Insider.  An Indian government panel warns=20
that emissions from cell phones may pose a hazard to public health.  In a=
=20
comment certain to arouse controversy, one panelist wrote that Indians ma=
y=20
be more vulnerable to such radiation than Europeans because they live in =
a=20
tropical climate and, on average, have a lower body fat content.

3. EARTH--2: KEPLER FINDS 1200 EXOPLANETS.
In 1543 Nicolaus Copernicus published De revolutionibus orbium coelestium=
=20
describing a heliocentric solar system in which Earth is just one of=20
several planets orbiting our Sun.  Were there people on these other=20
planets?  It was a dangerous question.  Religion claimed title to creatio=
n,=20
and heresy was punishable by death. Four centuries later, the question=20
still gnaws at us.  But the Kepler exoplanets are far, far away.  What=20
could we see with a super telescope.=20

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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