Some technology events widely unrelated-
From the WSJ:
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A fusionlike reaction was created by nuclear scientists using a tabletop device that bombards dissoved bubbles with sound waves, a study in Science says. Unlike the 1989's cold fusion phenomenon, rejected in the end by scientists, the work was peer-reviewed.
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EEPROMs, so often the storage device for computer BIOSes, may be replaced by a new technology developed by Intel and Ovonyx Inc. Existing EEPROMs use a higher voltage to write new data in alimited number of write cycles. EEPROMs cannot store of often changing data. Ovionic Unified Memory (OUM) technology, first proposed in the 1960s, writes by heating individual alloys. The amount of cooling sets the 'programmable volume' in amorphous or pollycrystalline phases thereby creating a logical one or zero according to 1K or 10K ohm resistance. The device can be read indefinitely and has tested to over 1 trillion write cycles without failure making seminconductor R-W CDroms a future possibility - currently a problem for data storage in portable, environmentally harsh environments - such as in the hands of store employees. Also under investigation are ferromagnetic EEPROM - memory using iron although FRAMs are sold by Ramtron.
Belden has created what could become Cat6 cable. Twisted wires are held apart by what looks like a distorted I-beam meaning less signal distortion even by twisting and kinking - events that adversely change wire impedances. Twisted pair are twisted at different twist per meter rates causing less cross talk. CAT3 cable is for data rates up to 16 Mhz. CAT5 for above 100 Mhz - to be limited at 250 Mhz. CAT6 makes Gigabit Ethernet possible as defined by TIA 568-B which also defines how your network cable attaches to its connector.
Sanyo has developed a detergent-less washing machine that uses ultrasound and electrolysis in water. Ultrasound created by air bubbles knocks dirt out of clothes. Electrolysis breaks down water into ozone and hypochorous acid from chorine in tap water. Of course detergent companies are already 'proving' the technology defective. It does have a weakness. The machine must adjust to different water conditions and is not effective on more subborn stains such as barbaque sauce.
Need a charger for your laptop, cell phone, etc while on a trip? ChargeSource Universal AC adaptor can attach to any rechargeable device and adjust electrical parameters as required. One 250 gram recharger replaces many 300 and 400 gram rechargers.
http://www.targus.com/accessories_power.asp
One industry that was boosted by 11 Sept was free space optics. A 20 gigabit per second network was quickly established between NYC and new offices in Hoboken. One concept that has alluded me is quantum key distribution - where two computers share a quantum encrytption key. It requires a dedicated, direct interconnection not always possible with hardwired networks. One problem is reliability. Free space optics suffer from 99.999% reliability due to weather or a flock of birds. 10 km quantum encryption has been successfully demonstrated. Have yet to read a good description of Quantum Encryption.
Entropy is a concept fundamental to Shannon's laws of data capacity. Those equations define, for example, the theoretical limits of a 56K modem (which runs more often at its reality data rate of...). The phrase "The Cat in the Hat", in theory, could be compressed to "abeh". "abeh" has greater entropy. But to make sense of it, one would require the compression algorithm. This is made more complex when the same phrase reads "El gato en sombarro". Clearly the same thought in a different language would not compress to same text. However Dr Caglioti in Physical Review Letters developed a program that can categorize high entropy documents by language and authorship using text as small as 20 characters.
To test his program, he chose a document that (according the Guiness Book of Records) is the more translated in the world. Not the bible. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Using 52 languages, the program identified family trees of all languages grouping, for example, Romance, Celtic, Germanic, and Slavic into one group AND identifying unique Basque and Maltese into separate groups. It was also able to identify the author with 90% accuracy after having 'read' 89 texts from famous Italian writers. DNA matching? I would love to better understand this.
Schizophrenia is a disease most commonly found in colder environments and in cities. Research at Griffith University in Brisbane suggests that schizophrenia may be traceable to a vitamin D deficiency in mothers - more common in children of mothers who fail to obtain at least a few minutes of sun every day.
In 10 developing nations, a trend has developed that was previously believed to be a 1st world phenomena. Malnutrition and obesity co-exist even within same families. This phenomena is believed to exist in 10% of third world families. It is understandable. Take the carrot which is high in Vitamin A. Eat a large carrot and receive high nutrition - 100% of the required Vitamin A. Each a second carrot and get fat. Since the first carrot provided all necessary nutrition, the second carrot only provides junk food - excessive sugar. This is the problem with obesity. People falsely think they are hungry because the body required food. False. People are hungry because their body required and did not receive nutrition. Eat the wrong things, and the body is hungry again. Obesity and malnutrition often coexist from the same problem. Even in the developing world, where food is becoming more available, obesity is found in malnourished people.
How obese? The CNN now says that 80% of American adult men are overweight. They provide a Body Mass Indicator (BMI) calculator at:
http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/03/05...oll/index.html
25 is normal. 30 is overweight. The NY Times now says that 35% of adult are obese. I observe same. At over twice their age, I output more energy than volunteers I work with in a public service project. Most cannot even carry a single sheet of plywood alone. I vary between 24 and 26 on that calculator and use what I learned from wrestling to eat. MacDonalds - all crap. It once was not that bad. Burger King - the high fat leaves me dragging during the day. Superior is Wendy's, for example. Subway - excellent. I get hungry from two Quarter Pounder meals quickly. One 12 inch sub from Subways means no hunger for the day.
How to get fat? Diet Soda. Starving to lose weight. They don't work. One becomes obese because they eat the wrong things, then quickly get hungry again, and eat more wrong things.