Forward from [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Akira Kawasaki) > [Original Message] > From: What's New <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: 8/11/2006 2:18:48 PM Subject: [BOBPARKS-WHATSNEW] What's New Friday August 11, 2006
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 11 Aug 06 Washington, DC 1. JAMES VAN ALLEN: THE FIRST AMERICAN SPACE HERO, DEAD AT 91. Almost nothing was known about conditions beyond the ionosphere when the US launched Explorer I on 31 Jan 58. The Cold War was at its peak, and the Soviets seemed to own space. Sputnik I, launched 4 Oct 57, carried no instruments. Sputnik II, a month later, could only send back Geiger counter readings taken when it was in sight of the ground station. In June, however, at a conference in the USSR, James Van Allen, a physics professor at the University of Iowa, announced that Explorer I had discovered the first of the two "Van Allen radiation belts." Soviet space scientists were crushed; the "space age" was not a year old and already the U.S. had taken the lead in science. Two years ago I visited Prof Van Allen in his office at the U. Iowa. At 89 he was down to a 7-day work week. He showed me an op-ed he was sending to the NY Times in which he described human space flight as "obsolete" http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN04/wn072304.html . I don't believe they used it. Van Allen said using people to explore space is "a terribly old fashioned idea." 2. CLIMATE: FUEL PRICES MAY DO WHAT THE ADMINISTRATION WON'T. The Wall Street Journal, which is not exactly the voice of environmental extremism, commented today on NASA satellite measurements that show melting of the Greenland ice sheet to be more rapid than expected. On the same page was a story about General Motors cutting production of big SUVs. It seems that rising gas prices are causing sales to sag. An editorial by Donald Kennedy in today's issue of the journal Science, says the public is concerned about climate change and favors government action. State and local governments are voluntarily assuming what Kennedy refers to as a "neglected federal mandate." I say, "stay the course." When the world runs out of fossil fuel the greenhouse problem will begin to solve itself. 3. MAGNETS: MAYBE YOU JUST NEED TO GET YOUR MOLECULES ALIGNED. Whatever the problem, someone will sell you a magnet to fix it. Gas prices brought out the usual magnets that attach to the fuel lines to get the fuel molecules pointed right. Or you could walk instead of driving, but you may need magnets in your shoes to keep your feet from getting tired. When all else fails, turn to wine, but you may want to give it a little polish by attaching a magnet to the bottle neck (available from Bev Wizard, $30). 4. FREEDOM OF SCIENCE: OR WHY THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD WORKS. In my mail this week was "The First Open Letter about the Freedom of Science" from somebody named G.O. Mueller in Germany. It went to 290 "public figures" in Europe and the USA. Must be a lot of G.O. Muellers in Germany. This one thinks the Special Theory of Relativity is nonsense. He says 2896 publications agree with him. He's probably right, I've been sent about that many over the years. I would say the system is working just about right. 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=bobparks-whatsnew&A=1
