Science > Physics > WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 25 Jul 03 Washington, DC
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Science > Physics |
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"Sam Wormley" |
| Date: |
25 Jul 2003 05:11:07 PM |
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WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 25 Jul 03 Washington, DC |
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 25 Jul 03 Washington, DC
(Andrew Essin contributed to this issue of What's New.)
1. DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS: 9 YEARS AND 100 DEATHS LATER. The 1994
Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act left the industry
almost unregulated, exempting manufacturers from proving safety
or effectiveness. If you have never used the WN search engine,
start now. Go to www.aps.org/WN/ , type in "Dietary Supplement."
The current scandal involving the herbal supplement ephedra
erupted with the death of Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler (WN 14
March 2003). It may bring about a change; Secretary of Health
and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, asked the Congress on
Wednesday to revise the law to give the FDA greater authority.
2. CLIMATE CHANGE: NOW HERE'S THE PLAN, WE STUDY THE PROBLEM.
Yesterday, the Administration released its Climate Change Science
Program, a draft of which was circulated in December (WN 6 Dec
2002). The White House is sticking to its standard solution:
wring your hands about the problem and call for more research.
In all, the various agencies spent a year and a half putting the
plan together. The aim is to address the most crucial questions
in the next four years. It's hard to object to a call for more
research, but we seem to be using science to stall action.
3. VOTING MACHINES: "HANGING CHAD" WASN'T SO BAD. There is no
way to independently verify results of electronic voting machines
that run on proprietary code (WN 25 April 03). Worse yet, teams
at Johns Hopkins and Rice analyzed one leading company's system
and found gaping holes in security, leaving the system open to
both insider and outsider attacks.
4. PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM: THE NATION'S TOP CIVILIAN HONOR
Weapons of mass destruction are hard to find in Iraq, but in this
country, contributions to methods of mass fatality are recognized
with the Medal of Freedom. Recipients this week included: Edward
Teller for the H-bomb, Charlton Heston for the Saturday-night
special, and Dave Thomas for Wendy's square hamburger with fries.
5. INFINITE ENERGY: REVOLUTIONARY AIRCRAFT IS POWERED BY GRAVITY.
An ad in the Wall Street Journal last week sought investors for a
fuel-less aircraft. The idea is refreshing; unlike free-energy
scams that tap the zero-point energy, or shield gravity, Hunt
Aircraft Corp. proposes to do it the old-fashioned way, i.e.,
violate Conservation of Energy. Helium bags lift the winged
craft vertically, whereupon the helium is compressed to make the
craft heavier than air. It then glides downward. At low
altitude, the cycle is repeated. Aha!, you say, compressing the
gas takes work. These guys aren't that dumb. As it glides, a
wind-turbine will generate the power. The inventor has applied
for a patent, but our research uncovered the shocking similarity
to Tom Swift's "Black Hawk" airship described in Tom Swift and
His Electric Rifle (Grosset & Dunlap, New York, 1911).
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND and THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY.
Opinions are the author's and are not necessarily shared by the
University or the American Physical Society, but they should be.
.
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