'A World Perspective' Newsletter
Thank-you for your support last year in keeping the Newsletter vibrant and fun to publish. The emphasized topics of chemistry and mathematics were quite a learning experience. The companion web pages will continue to be updated with perspectives as the year progresses.
Keep on reading!
Special Newsletter Offers
| Description | Mailed Paper Version | E-mailed PDF Version |
|---|---|---|
| New Subscriber (1 year) | ||
| New Subscriber (2 years) | ||
| Add One New Subscriber[1] | ||
| Add Two New Subscribers[2] | ||
| Package Deal[3] of "Vintage Voices: A Toast to Life" and a 1 Year AWP Subscription | ||
| Package Deal[3] of One Short Story - Choose either Cornbot, Chloromaton, or Death Finds a Way - and a 1 Year AWP Subscription | ||
| Package Deal[3] of Yvonne Koslowsky's "Tommy the Turtle Takes a Tumble" children's book and a 1 Year AWP Subscription | ||
| Year 3 Newsletter CD with Index - Chemistry and Math Themes | ||
| Year 2 Newsletter CD with Index | ||
| Year 1 Newsletter CD with Index | ||
[1] then next year’s subscription for an existing subscriber is half price
[2] then next year’s subscription for an existing subscriber is no charge
[3] includes shipping and handling of book or short story to U.S. or Canada only and PDF versions of AWP Newsletter
The newsletter, A World Perspective, extends ideas and adds further insight to many of the ideas found in my associated book. With the time pressures of the day and in the technical specializations in which we operate, there is precious little surplus energy available to us for leisure of our choosing. I trust that this monthly summary will reinforce and amplify specific scientific and technological issues that the reader can readily digest. To this effort, I believe the reader will find his or her surplus energy well spent.
The Fourth Year of A World Perspective
Themes: Astronomy and Medicine
July Newsletter on the Way!
The July issue is in the mail for our hardcopy readers. If you would prefer an electronic copy (PDF file) please let us know. Most subscribers have been renewing in favor of electronic distribution.The theme of this month’s Newsletter revolves around the need for higher education and more trained engineers to fill the demand for high-tech jobs.
Two News Tidbits highlight the affect of electric fields on weather and the ranking of the world's megacities.
Perspective 1 looks at the pace of technological change.
| Technological evolution moves at a breakneck pace as Alvin Toffler popularized in his book ‘Future Shock,’ by building on Mead’s principle of a cofigurative society. | 
|
|---|
Perspective 2 looks at the impact of the solar wind on global warming.
| One theory posits that the solar wind and its associated magnetic field alters earth’s cloud cover and adjusts the atmosphere’s water vapor content, which leads to the steady temperature rise known as global warming. This type of global warming is caused by a stream of plasma, or high-energy charged particles, propelled from the sun’s upper atmosphere. |
|
|---|
This month's featured scientist is Carl von Linnaeus.
Enjoy!
June Newsletter
The theme of this month’s Newsletter revolves around the 25th anniversary of the Compact Disc (CD).Two News Tidbits highlight the advances made in determining the age of the Universe and the imminent replacement of the DVD with a different version of DVD.
An extended Perspective looks at the role of science in the Middle Ages.
| The mechanical arts that emerged included agriculture, hunting, textile manufacture, medicine, navigation, and armament. As the thirteenth century progressed, natural philosophy validated technology by demonstrating the need for geometry by carpenters and masons, and the necessity of astronomy for navigators. Water wheels were used to provide energy. This image shows Grant's Mill in Winnipeg Canada as a later example of the popular water wheel used in agriculture. Photograph courtesy of Darryl Jones. |  |
|---|
May Newsletter
The theme of this month’s Newsletter revolves around the importance of girls entering the fields of science.Three News Tidbits highlight the advances made in fighter jet avionics, toxic chemical detection, and the opening of the Global Seed Vault.
Perspective 1 looks at the synthesis of our biological and cultural evolution.
| The domestication of fire was a major advancement for humanity in its desire to build settlements. Applied to food, the source of human energy, cooking is considered one of the most important milestones in our cultural evolution. Fire was needed to transform organic matter into foods that were more digestible. Boiling the hard kernels of rice made it easier on the teeth to chew. Roasting meat killed any bacteria making it easier on the stomach to digest. The practice of cooking was found in every large tribe and civilization that ever appeared on earth. In fact, cooking is considered by many anthropologists to be more characteristic of Homo sapiens than the emergence of language. |  |
|---|
Perspective 2 addresses advances made in waterpower. Grant's Mill in Winnipeg, Canada represents an undershot water wheel.
 | Rotating waterwheels powered the nation’s first industrial cities until the opening of canals brought cheap coal to the mills of the Midwest in the mid-nineteenth century. |
|---|
Feedback on the April Newsletter
One reader writes:
...speaking of planetary eccentricity...We have entered sunspot cycle 24, which is good news for radio propagation. While the entire cycle is about 11 years long, the next sunspot cycle maximum is scheduled for 2011-2012. [Please visit these web sites for more information:]
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/01/07/100/
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2007/s2847.htm
Sunspot maximums are great for very low power communications. The ionosphere does all the work! This will be the first sunspot cycle that I will be able to experience since getting re-licensed [as a ham operator] a few years ago. I am looking forward to it.
[Sunspots are] not all fun and games. "During an active solar period, violent eruptions occur more often on the sun. Solar flares and vast explosions, known as coronal mass ejections, shoot energetic photons and highly charged matter toward Earth, jolting the planet's ionosphere and geomagnetic field, potentially affecting power grids, critical military and airline communications, satellites, Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, and even threatening astronauts with harmful radiation. These same storms illuminate night skies with brilliant sheets of red and green known as auroras, or the northern or southern lights."
April Newsletter
The theme of this month’s Newsletter revolves around the importance of video being used to “prove the story.” We have become, what I call, the “Missouri Nation.” The use of video is most prevalent in the current U.S. political campaign as past events involving both Democratic candidates Clinton and Obama have hit the airwaves. Video footage is proving to be a key element of the historical record. The same can be said of footage captured in the world of astronomy and space flight as images of an avalanche on Mars have been captured, building of the space station orbiting the earth are documented, and more.Three News Tidbits highlight the status of the Voyager spacecraft, potential security risks of mathematics, and an update on Apple Computer's "Spotlight" feature.
Perspective 1 looks at the orbital parameter of eccentricity.
| Astronomer Johannes Kepler discovered that the planets travel in an elliptical orbit. The parameter of eccentricity determines how circular or how oval a planetary orbit is. |  |
|---|
Perspective 2 addresses the need and availability of active water management systems to help conserve a natural resource becoming more and more valuable as time goes by.
 | Satellites are used to monitor weather conditions and soil conditions and then determine when to turn automated irrigation systems ON or OFF. |
|---|
Perspective 3 is a fun application of calculus on the human throat to determine the speed of air passing through the trachea.
March Newsletter
The newsletter introduction addresses the rise of a new language, BACN, on the World Wide Web. It comes in handy for all of those text messagers out there.Three News Tidbits highlight the Apple iPhone, the media critics challenging pollsters, and the richness of volcanic soils.
Koslowsky Korner returns with Melissa Koslowsky and her thoughts on brain research and its applicability to education.
| Melissa Koslowsky is an elementary school teacher in northern California. |  |
|---|
This month's perspective describes the relationship between mathematics and physics. The discussion ranges from probability and statistics to the Uncertainty Principle.
 | Rolling the number 4 is an event or subset of the sample space. It is a set of possible outcomes that can be converted into algebraic equations. |
|---|
February Newsletter
The newsletter introduction addresses the rise of music on the World Wide Web as a companion to last months introduction that looked at video on the Web.Two News Tidbits highlight the major expansion to the International Space Station that Space Shuttle STS-120 delivered in the form of the Harmony module and astronomical observations of a star system in Cancer that may be harboring planets.
This month's perspective looks at the push for cleaner vehicles embodied in both gas-electric hybrids and fuel cell-driven automobiles.
| To the right is an image of three popular electric propulsion systems used by automobile manufacturers. |  |
|---|
 | To the left, Melissa Koslowsky appears to be debating whether to cycle or take the gas electric hybrid (Prius) with its parallel propulsion design. |
|---|
January Newsletter
The newsletter introduction addresses the rise of video on the World Wide Web.Three News Tidbits highlight the survivability of bacteria in space, the 2007 Nobel Prize in Medicine, and details about the emptiest place in the Universe.
The first perspective looks at the early days of Industrial Chemistry.
| One of the early industrial chemical countries was I.G. Farben, based in Germany. The powerhouses of the early chemical industry were based in Germany. |  |
|---|
The second perspective describes a bit more about the useful Bessel function employed by both mathematicians and engineers.
 | Bessel functions were first defined by Daniel Bernoulli and generalized by Friedrich Bessel. They are solutions y(x) of Bessel's differential equation shown here for an arbitrary real or complex number α. The most common and important special case is where α is an integer n, then α is referred to as the order of the Bessel function. |
|---|
December Newsletter
The newsletter introduction addresses the need for change to preserve a thriving society.Two News Tidbits highlight the second demotion of Pluto in less than a year and the orbital speed of the Space Shuttle.
The first perspective looks at some of the early telegraphs from the point of view of an English curator who has studied the history of the telegraph.
| "The instrument on show, and which you photographed, I have asserted to be a demonstration model made in about 1849 for a patent infringement trial and has been subsequently misidentified as one of the original 1837 instruments." - John Liffen |  |
|---|
The second perspective describes a night at the planetarium.
 | The image on the left shows Polaris, the North Star, which is in the center of this time-lapse photograph, taken from the Lake Sonoma area in California. All other stars appear to rotate around it. However, it is the earth that is in motion. Photo courtesy of Lindsay Koslowsky |
|---|
November Newsletter
The newsletter introduction addresses the power of collaboration in today's society.The only News Tidbit in this issue explains how each flush of your toilet contributes to global warming.
We start our fourth year of AWP with a Koslowsky Korner featuring Lindsay.
| Lindsay shares with us a brief history of the discipline of astronomy, one of the most ancient of sciences. |  |
|---|
This month's Perspective looks at climate change from the perspective of a scientist, Jill Nephew, a climatologist at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego.
 | The image on the left shows the ever-increasing concentration of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere, which drives global warming. As Nephew tells us, it is impossible to isolate the Earth from the Sun when it comes to global warming. Look for articles by Koslowsky to be published in the soon to be released "Encyclopedia of Global Warming" on the Solar Wind, and earth's orbital parameters including its tilt, elliptic orbit, and precession that can contribute to global warming. |
|---|
The Third Year of A World Perspective
Themes: Chemistry and Mathematics
Recently, I received a fair amount of feedback on my October Newsletter regarding the introduction on “Religion and Science.” Some of the feedback received was as follows:“A really good article. For your information, the language of the Greek philosophers was classical Greek in its various forms. The language of the New Testament was Koine Greek, [which was] the language of the common man of the first century. Each type of Greek is a bit different from the other with respect to [Jesus] Christ. Of course, Hebrew was used [to communicate too,] but the basic language used by Christ was Aramaic [as depicted by Mel Gibson in his movie about Jesus’s crucification], but the Greek Koine was the language used through out the Mediterrannean World. Your insight is basically correct and your article and your research is amazing and extremely informative.”
Another bit of feedback arrived:
“The Syriac language was also in vogue at Christ's time in the 1st century. In your article, your first sentence is challengeable. Not too many scholars would agree with it. The words 'rooted in' are too strong. Greek philosophical thought as well as Roman utilitarian and pragmatic thought all played parts in shaping the 1st century culture, as well as Egyptian and Barbaric thought in the good sense. See the information on the Essenes [a Judaic religious group], Hebraic Settlements [in the land of Canaan], and the whole Old Testament view of worship and society. It is true that Paul popularized the Christian faith as no other in the 1st century. Check out St. Paul’s education and upbringing. He was a Roman citizen and a Pharisee of the Pharisees, the highest ranking. Paul was both a solid Jew AND a Roman citizen, a cosmopolitan man. He planted the first Christian churches in many Mediterranean cities [during his travels]. Your piece does not take into account the complexity of the 1st century or the complexity of St. Paul himself. With respect to Christ, check out the Church year in any Lutheran hymnal to see how the Church interprets Christ for the world. [Note] that Christ was immersed in Hebraic family concepts and in the Essene community as a young man, apart from the Greek and Roman influences. Also note the great Lutheran theologian Paul Tillich, who tried to bridge the chasm between Philosophy and Theology. Some say that he halfway succeeded while others say that he did not succeed. Your idea is great to get some kind of synthesis between science and religion. Keep up the attempt and effort.”
October Newsletter
The newsletter introduction addresses the fact that religion and science share a common heritage, rooted in Greek philosophical traditions.News Tidbits include details on protecting personal information and a comparison between solar energy and pyramid building.
Perspective 1 looks at the Inca and quinine.
| The Inca used quinine as a medicine. During work in the nineteenth century to synthesize quinine, artificial color dyes were discovered by Sir Henry Perkin. |  |
|---|
Perspective 2 addresses the Inca and the use of the khipu for mathematics.
 | Knots in the khipu define the language of mathematics and maybe more. The khipu is an early form of data storage used by the Inca. |
|---|
Perspective 3 looks at the evolution of the hard disk drive over the last fifty years or so. A more detailed analysis can be found oon the "Innovator's" web page.
| A 5 1/4" floppy disk drive was used in PC products of the 1980s. Here, the internal guts of an IBM PCJr hard drive are shown. |  |
|---|
September Newsletter
The newsletter introduction raises the concern of politics getting in the way of conducting pure science. The two major cold war combatants, Russia and the U.S., both apear to be medling in the pursuit of scientific investigations. Politics and science do not mix.News Tidbits include details on acceptance of mobile phones, the UN ranking of best countries to reside, a view of the "No Child Left Behind" effort, and the affects of sitting to close to the television.
This month's extended Perspective looks at solar energy and how it has arrived on the scene in a big way - especially if that scene is Germany, Japan, and California.
| Solar panels along a highway in the Netherlands. |  |
|---|
August Newsletter
News Tidbits include details on green roofs popping up across America, video eyewear, recognition for Dr. Frances Allen, the close call we had with asteroid 2004 XP14, and the number of people who have never had a negative experience with customer service.This month's Perspective 1 shares the story of Bing Crosby and his role as an early venture capitalist in giving rise to the video cassette recorder. Part 1 of the story is found in the previous July issue of the Newsletter.
| "Crosby was a user of technology, eager to pre-record his radio programs. The crooner disliked the regimentation of live broadcasts, preferring the relaxed atmosphere of the recording studio." |  |
|---|
 | Archaeologists identify mummified remains by interpreting the cuneiforms and hieroglyphics of the ancients. |
|---|
Perspective 3 looks at the power and dangers of the chemical compound Benzene.
July Newsletter
News Tidbits include details on the travels of Mariner 4 in the 1960s, the American scientific community, and the twin drivers for video content on the Internet.This month's Perspective shares the story of Bing Crosby and his role as an early venture capitalist in giving rise to the video cassette recorder. Part 2 of the story is found in the upcoming August issue of the Newsletter.
| Fred Pfost, one of the creators of the first magnetic tape recorders for video playback is shown here recalling his experiences during the 1950s. At that time, Pfost was part of the Ampex team developing video recording technology for the broadcasters. |  |
|---|
Enjoy the poem by Ashley Koslowsky called, "A Dream in Darkness."
June Newsletter
News Tidbits include details on how scientists are using Claude Monet's paintings to determine the pollution content of the air at the turn of the 20th century in London, the use of MEMS in the Wii game controllers, and the use of the Internet for washers and dryers.Perspective 1 addresses computer animation - past, present, and future.
| Perspective 2 looks at the common chemical, ammonia water (or ammonium hydroxide), and its role in our lives today. |  |
|---|
May Newsletter
News Tidbits include details on how scientists are using pencil lead to test Einsten's theory of relativity, the use of computers in toothbrushes, and the status of the twin rovers on Mars.Perspective 1 shares the story of how four Santa Rosa Junior College female professors beat the odds to become "women in science."
| Perspective 2 looks at the chemistry of powdered non-dairy creamers. You may want to consider using real cream or milk for your coffee or tea instead. |  |
|---|
April Newsletter
News Tidbits include details on thought-controlled robots, solar-powered swimsuits, and how Stradavari chemically-treated his violins.  | Koslowsky Korner returns with a perspective from Melissa Koslowsky on vegetarianism. |
|---|
Perspective 1 looks at the power of mathematics in our day to day lives, while Perspective 2 examines a popular chemical compound, aluminum oxide.
March Newsletter
News Tidbits include details on Kazakhstan's recent public health success, space trash, and the warnings issued by gibbons in the wild.| This month's first perspective looks at the continued story of the extraction of petroleum from Alberta's oil sands deposits. This article is part 2 of a 2-part series. Rob recently interviewed a reservoir engineer at Petro-Canada for the latest on the extraction of oil from the oil sand deposits. |  |
|---|
The second perspective provides a climate change update in the form of a discussion on what can be done by local, state, and federal agencies to reduce the impact of global warming. The event was hosted by California's 6th District Congressional representative Lynn Woolsey in August 2006.
February Newsletter
News Tidbits include details on music emitted by supernova explosions, robots in service to humanity, and the ability for ants to teach one another.  | This month's extended perspective looks at extraction of petroleum from Alberta's oil sands deposits. It is part 1 of a 2-part series. Rob worked for Petro-Canada as a summer intern in 1980 conducting numerical analysis simulations on electrical preheat of oil sand wellbores. |
|---|
January Newsletter
News Tidbits include details on Japan's electronic toll collections, foot power used to produce electricity, the growing use of the Internet over reading for news, and positive trends for men shopping for women.  | This month's extended perspective looks at the Cartier Wind Energy project in Quebec, Canada and briefly touches on Manitoba's St. Leon wind farm too. Shown is one of the wind turbines being installed at Cartier's Baie des Sables site in June 2006. Image courtesy of Cartier Wind Energy |
|---|
In the November and December issues of A World Perspective, we touched on the academic, government, and industry views of nuclear power generation. We must remember, however, that the peaceful use of nuclear power emerged from the destruction sought by the military in the form of an atomic bomb. The peaceful intent of nuclear energy was a fallout of the horrific result of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Recently, Lisa O’Neill, the daughter of my wife’s cousin experienced Nagasaki’s ground zero in November 2006 and she had this to report:
“The most impressive part of Nagasaki was the A-Bomb Museum. Aside from the building itself being very beautiful (which is rare in Japan) it was a totally moving and informative experience. The main hall is dark but for mood lighting, projected on actual ruins from the bomb: a water tower, remains of a primary school and cathedral remains. The room is very eerie, with a featured clock, shattered from the explosion, with its' hands stuck on 11:02, when the bomb struck. Nagasaki was completely obliterated. Within a 1 km radius of the hypocentre there was a 100 percent death rate. I hadn't really understood the power of a nuclear bomb until then. People basically just melted away, and those who survived died one by one from horrible health problems, even 40 years later. Anthony and I spent most of our time in the 1 km radius of the hypocentre, so every once and a while I'd realize I would have died instantly, and so would have everyone around me. Several artefacts from the bomb were found, such as warped glass bottles, spectacles, watches and clocks (all showing 11:02) and a lunch box with carbonized rice in it,belonging to a young girl of whom they had the school picture of. It's crazy to think that people still want to posses these horrible weapons. Needless to say, the A-Bomb Museum left me quiet and subdued.
One of the many statues at the Memorial Peace Park, courtesy of Lisa O'Neill.
An appropriate follow up to the museum is the Memorial Peace Park. The Peace Park is uplifting with many statues donated from various countries. There is a large fountain and remains from a prison. The centrepiece is a very large statue of a man representing peace and the still present threat of nuclear war. Thousands of paper cranes strung together at peace sights all around the city are very colourful and admirable.”
 |  |
|---|
Lisa O’Neill also had the opportunity to visit Hiroshima, Japan, the first city to be hit by an atomic bomb in November 2006. She goes on to say that,
“Hiroshima's Peace Museum, just as Nagasaki's, had a lasting impact on me. These museums have forced me to understand the awesome destruction of their cities, and the posing threat of countries owning these arms. It is a simple message employed by the ruins left in the city, the poems and first hand accounts [of survivors], and the gruesome photos in which the recipient is left dumfounded and teary-eyed. The Mayor of Hiroshima has sent thousands of letters of objection and continues to send letters to each and every country that detonates an atomic bomb; unfortunately this task seems almost futile.
Following a familiar course, I visited the Peace Memorial Park, containing the "Flame of Peace", which will be extinguished once the last nuclear weapon is destroyed. The A-Bomb Dome [and the] remains of prefectural industrial building, floodlit at night, are a bold reminder of the bomb.”
 |  |
|---|
This very human expression of horror against nuclear weapons bleeds over to the emotion of fear of nuclear power generation. Regardless of assurances by utility operators and the nuclear industry as to the safety of nuclear power plants, the well documented destruction of such nuclear explosions continues to haunt the public persona.
December Newsletter
News Tidbits include details on 'cloaks of invisibility,' no-swipe credit cards, archaeology aided by global warming, and atomic energy used by the art world.  | This month's extended perspective reflects on the Chernobyl disaster and provides an anti-nuclear position as presented by a physicist in academia - Professor Lynda Williams. A memorial dedicated to the victims of Chernobyl in Luhansk, Ukraine. |
|---|
November Newsletter
News Tidbits include details on synthesized chemicals, Moscow power shortage avoidance, the 2006 Nobel Prize in physics, and a motorcycle that can achieve 100 mpg - the ENV.  | This month's Perspectives 1 and 2 touch on pro-nuclear positions as presented by a representative from academia - Professor Vujic - and another representative from government - David McCallen. A handful of uranium pellets is shown courtesy of the Southern Company. These pellets have the power of many tons of coal. |
|---|
Pespective 3 briefly explores what people would do if they owned a truly robotic car.
Rob and the Southern Company exchanged views on nuclear power generation during the summer of 2006. For the complete Q&A, please pop over to the 'Evolving Stories' web page.
Year 2 of A World Perspective
- Nov 2005 thru Oct 2006
October Newsletter
News Tidbits include advances in Intel's microprocessors, plans for self-cooling beverage containers, the patriotic views of Canadians and Americans, and population growth in America.  | This month's Perspective 1 touches on some of the future challenges facing us in year 2007, while Perspective 2 completes our coverage of the ancient Greek scientific thinkers that we started last month. The image on the left is the Venus de Milo, an ancient Greek statue, believed to represent Aphrodite. The ancient Romans knew her as Venus. |
|---|
September Newsletter
News Tidbits include advances in LED development, NY State's PHEV upgrades, progress on decoding Archimedes' writings, and today's favorite jobs as ranked by the undergrads.| This month's Perspective covers the ancient Greek scientific thinkers. The quote, "It was [the Greek ability] for scientific inquiry and discovery, even more than the enjoyment of political freedom that allowed the human mind in Greece to flourish," sums up the scope and tone of the piece best. Part 2 is found in the October Newsletter. |  |
|---|
August Newsletter
News Tidbits include details about the second and third Moons orbiting Earth, the power of 'an apple a day,' the popularity of green roofs, and plans for space tethers.  | Perspective 1 addresses the evolution of biometrics. Dr. James R. Young (left), a pioneer in the field, recently attended a talk on biometrics at Stanford. |
|---|
 | Perspective 2 is an extended look at the water molecule and its 'magical' and practical properties. The image illustrates water's latent heat of vaporization property that makes one feel really cold on a sunny day. |
|---|
July Newsletter
News Tidbits include ethanol dilution of the U.S. gasoline supply, how every household can reduce greenhouse gas emissions - just walk, and the desire of phone companies to charge you for the right to see content on the Internet.Perspective 1 addresses doing the right thing in business.
 | Perspective 2 looks at the unbalancing of the ecosystem wrought by large companies like Kimberly-Clark. |
|---|
 | Perspective 3 addresses the potential dangers of toxic benzene forming in your favorite soft drink. |
|---|
June Newsletter
News Tidbits include the supersizing of American homes, HP's efforts to recycle its customer's old electronic products, the speed of life and Liquid Plumr, and confirmation that the Trojan War is more than an ancient myth.Perspective 1 addresses mercury poisoning and the FDA.
Perspective 2, looks at the history of fiber optics and the glassing of the globe.
The tracking of comets to uncover the origins of the solar system is reviewed in Perspective 3.
May Newsletter
News Tidbits include two ways of obtaining embryonic stem cells, the latest in "smart labels" using RFID technology, an Oscar award for a scientist, and nanoscale particles used in batteries.Perspective 1 addresses corporate idleness in the automobile industry.
Perspective 2, in part 2 of a 2-part series, provides an update on Stem Cell Research, based on a recent talk held at Stanford's Medical Center.
The competitiveness of America in the 1980s as applied to the 21st century is reviewed in Perspective 3.
April Newsletter
News Tidbits include a thought on the pace of life and BBQing, the latest in battery energy featuring the ultracapacitor, and a thought from the Pope on scientific progress.Perspective 1 looks at mathematical rigor applied to politics. It was Kenneth Arrow's work in the 1950s that led us to realize that voting systems do not meet all the principles of democracy.
Perspective 2, in part 1 of a 2-part series, provides an update on Stem Cell Research, based on a recent talk held at Stanford's Medical Center.
The impact of satellites on society is found in Part 2 of 2 of Perspective 3.
March Newsletter
News Tidbits include the progress of the Voyager 1 spaceship, the use of cow dung to produce an alternative fuel source, how much carbon dioxide per gallon of gas burned is generated, and the introduction of Project HyFly.  | Perspective 1 looks at the mathematical rigor applied to society. It was Thomas Hobbe's 1651 work, The Leviathan, that had the unintended consequence of setting the foundation for game theory - a modern day mathematical tool. |
|---|
Perspective 2 looks at Christoph Scheiner and scientific metaphors.
The question regarding if life's building blocks came from outer space is found in Perspective 3, while the impact of satellites on society is found in Part 1 of 2 of Perspective 4.
February Newsletter
News Tidbits include the use of biometrics in tracking employees, the importance of digital cameras in helping the environment, the changing commuting habits in London, England, and the innocence of Grade 1 students.  | Perspective 1 looks at the instantaneous connections made possible by the telegraph in the 1800s. Pictured here is the telegraph key (or switch) that was used to transmit Morse code from telegraph stations. |
|---|
Perspective 2 discusses the advances made in the field of telecommunications with the invention of the telephone.
Early electrical innovations, which led to the introduction of radio is found in Perspective 3.
January Newsletter
News Tidbits include the USAF's introduction of the PHaSR, the use of algae to reduce pollution, how L'Oreal is using nanotechnology for the makeup of the future, and savings using plug-in electric hybrid cars.  | Perspective 1 looks at the impact of continental drift and how it shaped our view of the earth. Alfred Wegener challenged the established dogma of how the earth's geology evolved with his theory of continental drift. This phenomena as well as earthquakes and meteor impacts alter the surface of the earth continually. The image here shows a crack in the earth's surface near Rincon Valley Rd. in Santa Rosa, CA. |
|---|
Perspective 2 discusses the advances made in the field of particle physics during the 20th century, while a parent's wish for their child is found in Perspective 3.
December Newsletter
News Tidbits include a hydrogen fuel cell development for wastewater treatment plants, competition for automobile sales dollars from bicycles, customer toleration for poor customer service, and Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft.| Perspective 1 addresses the impact of electricity on society. The power of electric current allowed many appliances of convenience to be produced. Microwave ovens are one of the more popular cooking appliances found in kitchens around the world. |  |
|---|
Perspective 2 discusses McCarthyism and the Red Star Incident of Santa Rosa, California.
Perspective 3 is an essay on setting the record straight on Nikola Tesla.
November Newsletter
News Tidbits include details of the Shuttle's exterior inspection system, advances in intelligent automobiles, biometric systems being tested by the airlines, and global acceptance of broadband.Perspective 1 addresses the value of Daylight-saving Time.
 | Perspective 2 discusses the engineering impact on society. The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is an example of outstanding civil and mechanical engineering combined with artistic flair. The bridge is the most photographed landmark in the world. Also, in light of the outsourcing of high-tech jobs, a segment on the shift of electrical engineering jobs is also included. |
|---|
Perspective 3 discusses clocks and the measurement of time.
Year 1 of A World Perspective
- Nov 2004 thru Oct 2005
Please contact the author for the Year 1 index of the 12 newsletters.Newsletter Subscription
Each newsletter is $2.50 USAnnual subscription is $25.00 US (print) or $20.00 US (electronic)
Year 1's 12 Newsletters on CD complete with index is $25.00, shipping and handling included -- order now!
Feedback for RKK:
bravenet.com