A PENCIL, A PIECE OF PAPER, A MAGNET AND YOU
What do a pencil, a piece of paper and a magnet have to do with electrostatics? The answer is simple. Every smart electrostatics professional can use a pencil to write important information down on a piece of paper. Here it is 1996 only four years from the turn of the century. As we approach the year 2000 everyone will be talking about what has happened over the last 100 years. Fission, Fusion, computers, polymers, it will all be discussed. But what about electrostatics? Who will discuss it? If we want it to be on the "discussed list" then we need to let everyone know how important electrostatics has been over the last 100 years. Consequently, I am calling on every ESA member to write down as many useful applications of electrostatics that he or she can think of which occurred in this century. The magnet can then be used to hold your list on your refrigerator. As the magnet implies this is a continuing list which is expanded as new applications come to mind. What will happen to your list? Periodically I will be asking each of you to send your list to me or to other members of the ESA Newsletter Staff so that we can incorporate it into a master list. If we are lucky, when we are done we should have at least 100 (if not several hundred) applications of electrostatics that the average person will recognize as useful. You can then say you contributed (fill in a number here) suggestions to this list. In late 1999 we will ask our ESA membership to vote on the most influential 10 applications of electrostatics developed in the 20th Century. It would be equally impressive if you could say you contributed (fill in another number here) suggestions to this top 10 list. Lastly, we must ask the question, "why me?" The answer is, "if not you, then who?" If you are involved in electrostatics then surely you are among the most knowledgeable in the field. Sure, you could leave it to other members of ESA (or maybe the News Press), but what would that say about your interest in electrostatics if you could not come up with the names of at least two or three useful applications of electrostatics over the last 100 years. So I ask each of you to put up a little piece of paper with a magnet on your refrigerator door. Next time you are taking a shower, vacuuming a rug, or doing any number of those repetitive tasks we all do every day where we let our mind wander, let it wander on a search of electrostatic applications. Here are a few electrostatic applications that just came to my mind.
*Water Purification - using electrostatic ozone generators.
*TV Picture Tubes - using electrostatic deflection and/or acceleration.
*Air Filtration - using electrets and/or electrostatic plates, wires, needles or fibers.
*Plasma Display Panels - using electrostatics to create gaseous plasma discharges.
Since we all think differently, each of our lists will be a little different. If we all keep that little piece of paper on the refrigerator, together we will have an impressive list by the year 2000. From time to time send me your list and I'll include it in the master list. From time to time I'll put the list in an ESA Newsletter so we can all see what is still missing.
For the Friendly Society (Happy thoughts),
Al Seaver, ESA President
Generators! Big sparks! Come see them! On display will be a Wimshurst, several Dirods, several Van de Graaffs and some of A. D. Moore's original apparatus. The latter has been newly repaired and lovingly restored by Lance Jerale.
EARLY HOTEL DETAILS
Our headquarters hotel will be MIDWAY HOTEL - Milwaukee Airport. All technical sessions and the banquet will be in the hotel. We have a special rate of $62 per night per room. No extra charge is made if two members share a room, and no extra charge if children share with parents. More details later. Want to reserve now? Call 414-769-2100, and tell them you are with ESA. The hotel will assign our members to a block of rooms.
GETTING TO MILWAUKEE
If you are flying, try Northwest Airlines. They have many non-stop flights. It is also very easy to connect through Detroit or Minneapolis. If you are driving, we are one and one-half hours (90 miles) north of Chicago.
We've all heard about a problem with cows. Charges build up on feeding equipment or small currents enter at each cow hoof. Then, when milk production changes, or when disease enters the herd, a lawsuit starts. Who is to blame? Not surprisingly, past juries have split in their decisions. Now a new twist. A veterinarian in Michigan has sued the local power company over dogs that allegedly died of stray voltage. Thanks to Ann Benninghoff, I have a clipping on my table today. The vet says, "They jumped back while drinking water and there were times when at least a third of the kennel wouldn't eat." The American Electric Power denied blame, but a jury gave the vet $113,000 in December 1995.
At the University of Uppsala, Sweeden, Goran Ramme has been performing some experiments on soap bubbles. In a recent report he describs placing a hemispherical bubble on a glass plate, and then covering it with a clean plastic dome. The dome provides protection from stray air currents etc.. When he rubs the cover with a paper towel, charging occurs, and the inner bubble is greatly distorted. In some cases the dome cover was about 70 cm in diameter, and the bubble was strongly affected, even though it wasn't within 25 cm of the dome. Lance Jerale will probably have his students doing this next month.
A capacitor has a voltage, V, across it. Find the work needed to move a charge, q, along the dotted path shown (from A to B). A "regular" student will say there is no problem. Just Work = Vq. It comes from the definition of voltage. Another student may say that the field outside a capacitor is zero; therefor Work = zero. What gives? Answer in next Newsletter. From: Glenn Schmieg
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