Science Ain't So Bad

We “met” last night to discuss LectricLifter (c) (US patent numb 7517221) (See previous post, “LectricLifter (c)”), using the video conferencing abilities of oovoo.com. Boy is THAT handy for a pick-up team of developers like us! I had created a 3-D CAD (Computer Aided Model) so that we could understand better how the pieces go together. It’ll continue to evolve as we hone in on a final prototype but this is what it looks like now There are “knobs” to wrap the cord up and a rotatable plug in the back side. Progress.


Note to our readers: PLEASE comment. Please. It’ll help make this a vigorous blog instead of the lonely ramblings of one person. MUCH appreciated.:)

Another product we’re working on- one that’s still in the patent office – is aimed at saving people buried in the rubble of a collapsed structure http://tinyurl.com/SonicBeacon . Good thing to do, right? Imagine if we had such a thing in the Twin Towers. Studies show that it’s a bad idea to wait for the rescue teams with the dogs and the equipment to show up. The first 24 hours are the golden ones. After that, it’s close to hopeless. So. What to do?

Our Sonic Building Rescue Beacon’s a smoke alarm-ish module that gets attached to the ceiling. When its circuits sense that the structure has collapsed, it starts jabbering away (prompting) to see if anyone within audible range can respond. If it can verify a response (this is done verbally and a “response” can be as simple as tapping three times) than it goes into “beacon” mode, sending out audible pulses to rescuers. We chose sound, by the way, because rubble often has a lot of steel in it and can block radio waves. The system continues to alert rescuers even when the victims become too weak to respond so it really could be quite helpful. We do believe the system has the potential to save many lives but we might like to gain additional data. Maybe we’ll try to do a study next – maybe an SBIR grant if we can find an appropriate “Principal Investigator”. More on this one as it goes along.

As far as the chimp story is concerned, it’s starting to lose scientific interest as it deteriorates into a tabloid story. Maybe the owner made some bad choices. The chimp certainly did.

LYIN’ EYES

Another topic. Did you know that your impression of “stuff” (matter) is, mostly, an illusion?

The material that you’re made of – atoms ‘n all – is much more “space” than stuff. Tiny particles very, very far apart. If the space were taken away from your body and only the protons, electrons, and neutrons – the particles you are made of – were pushed into contact with one another, you would be so tiny you couldn’t be seen without a microscope. If you could REALLY see what you looked like, you would see emptiness with barely perceptible glitter here and there. So why do our lying eyes, ears, and minds perceive matter as solid? As a matter of fact, why is war a problem? Why don’t bullets pass right through us? Why is sex enjoyable? What’s to rub up against, anyway?

The answers to these important questions? Next post.