Another Ph.D. Joins SAS

Editor,

I have followed your work for many years and always found it to be interesting and useful. I particularly remember a science field trip with your son in which you measured radiation as a function of elevation on a trip from Texas through Los Alamos to Jemez Springs. As I recall, the result was that the radiation you measured pretty much followed the expected pattern versus elevation, including in Los Alamos. I also recall that the highest radiation level you found was at the natural springs near Jemez Springs, from the radon that was coming up with the water.

As a scientist from Los Alamos who has some non-scientist friends, I have occasionally found myself at the center of conversations with people who a sure that Los Alamos is a radioactive wasteland and are fearful that one radioactive decay will give them cancer. Quite often these people also like to bathe nude in the larger hot springs in the Jemez Springs/Battleship Rock area.

It gives me a great deal of pleasure to quote your study to them and point out that they are getting far more exposure to radiation in the hot springs than they get in Los Alamos.

I joined the Society for Amateur Scientists, even though I am a professional scientist, because I have a lot of interest in other areas of science besides my own specialty, and I am interested in improving science education in the US.

As to my specialty, I am an accelerator physicist and specialize in the design and building of rf linear accelerator systems and associated high technology systems, particularly high power rf. This is really applied, get your hands dirty, physics, but I like both the theoretical side and the experimental side. I got my start in science and technology through ham radio (K9GXC since 1956) and that interest stuck with me.

If you are interested, I invite you to take a look at my web site.

Jim Potter, Ph.D.
JP Accelerator Works, Inc.
Los Alamos, NM 87544

I never cease to be impressed by the number of SAS members and friends of SAS who who hold doctorates. This is as intriguing to me as the fact SAS was founded by Shawn Carlson, who holds a doctorate in nuclear physics and is a MacArthur Laureate. The common thread between those with advanced degrees and those of us with nonscience degrees or no degree at all is our diversity of interests. Nowhere is this better illustrated than at the annual SAS meetings, where the formal talks and the informal discussions cover the broadest range of science topics I've ever experienced. Glad to read your comments about the radiation measurements my son, Eric, and I made at hot springs in the Jemez Mountains. That was reported in an article published in Science Probe! magazine. Editor.

Dr. Ronald Leemhuis Comments on Pandemic Influenza

Editor,

Jeffrey Bledsoe, in his recent Backscatter letter, observed that mortality rates associated with 1918 pandemic influenza ("bird flu," if you will) were particularly high in apparently healthy young adults. In ordinary influenza outbreaks, on the other hand, mortality rates are lowest in this group. Evidence suggested, as Mr. Bledsoe pointed out, that it was an intense inflammatory reaction to the infection that did most of the damage.

I too have been intrigued by this finding. Proper functioning of body functions requires a good balance, among other things, of eicosanoids in various tissues and body fluids. Eicosanoids are locally acting hormone like chemicals that include perhaps hundreds of different forms classified generally into "Series I, Series II and Series III." We are told that those in Series I and Series III tend, in general, to have anti-inflammatory effects and other "good" effects on body functions. Eicosanoids in Series II are often thought of as "bad" eicosanoids, having in general opposite effects on body functions.

Eicosanoids in the body are derived from dietary essential fatty acids. Healthy individuals under the age of 30 or so usually have adequate ability to synthesize a proper balance of eicosanoids from plant-based oils available in the diet, as long as the ratio of linoleic to linolenic acids in the diet is not extraordinarily high. Unfortunately, typical American diets have a very high ratio of these fatty acids and often lead to a damaging proponderance of Series II eicosanoids in the body. These Series II eicosanoids can be a big factor in the inflammatory immune reaction in infections, allergy and autoimmune disorders. Healthy individuals over 30, and individuals of any age who are obese, ill, diabetic or who consume a high proportion of trans fats and saturated fats in the diet are likely to require a diet rich in oily fish in order to achieve a proper balance of eicosanoids. Some individuals are able to balance their eicosanoids by taking proper amounts of essential fatty acid supplementation in the form of fish oil capsules (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) and borage oil (gamma linolenic acid).

Using the wonders of the Internet, I checked publicly available health information pertaining to mortality rates from the 1918 flu in various countries. My theory was that since this was a pandemic, populations in all countries would have the same attack rate and that differences in reported death rates would reflect lower mortality rate per case. I suspected that the population in Japan had very high levels of series III eicosanoids and low levels of series II eicosanoids compared to populations in other countries because of their high consumption of oily fish. While I do not have the exact numbers immediately at hand, I recall noticing that the influenza mortality rate in Japan during the 1918 pandemic was very much lower than that in other countries. My idea was that this built in anti inflammatory mechanism may have protected healthy young Japanese persons from the intense reaction to the influenza infection.

Medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen and similar prescription arthritis medications block the release of Series I and II eicosanoids in certain tissues. While blocking the Series II eicosanoids reduces inflammation, the effect of blocking Series I eicosanoids can lead to stomach ulcers and other adverse effects. Newer medications such as Celebrex and Vioxx block most of the Series II eicosanoids more selectively. The hope with this new type of medication was that side effects would be less. An unanticipated effect seems to have been an increased incidence of heart attacks because when Series II eicosanoids are blocked, the precursor chemical, arachadonic acid, accumulates and takes an alternative path to form higher levels of a damaging leukotriene B4.

Cortisone drugs, or "steroids," block the release of Series I, II and III eicosanoids in a non-selective manner. While they are strong medications used for treating inflammatory conditions, they can have both favorable and unfavorable effects throughout the body. They can cause bone thinning, cataracts, stomach ulcers, muscle wasting, emotional disorders, acne. The body can become physically dependent on an external source of the medication if it is used for more than perhaps two weeks at a time. While cortisone can reduce inflammation, it is also notorious for decreasing resistance to infection. For example, quiet tuberculosis infections can become active when one takes cortisone. Anti cancer drugs and drugs for persons with transplants or rheumatoid arthritis often work by interfering with immune function.

I think Jeffrey is definitely onto something. In fact, his hypothesis to me is intuitively obvious. The real issue is what kinds of medication to use in what dose and at what point in the illness so as to achieve the best balance between risk and benefit.

Ronald Leemhuis, MD
Family Medicine

Thank you for this informative response to Jeffrey Bledsoe's letter in "Backscatter" and for your active participation in SAS. Editor.

The North Korean Nuclear Test

Dear Editor,

Concerning the SAS editorial about the N. Korean nuclear test.

Criminy, you can follow the mainstream news for a week and have less useful insight than reading about a discussion in the editorial of SAS!

I'm sure a low yield explosive may have been a possibility, perhaps to fit existing missiles or to conserve nuclear material. But it is much harder to make a very low-yield explosive because the shaped explosives, the timing of those explosives and initiating irradiator have to do their jobs so much more perfectly since you don't have a near critical mass of plutonium to help the reactions along.

Tim Kraemer

More About Temperature Conversion

Editor,

This letter is in reference to Dr. James Potter’s letter in "Backscatter" relating to my article “Algorithms for Mental Conversion between the Fahrenheit and Celsius Scales” (The Citizen Scientist, 9 December 2005).

I’m not surprised to learn that someone else discovered, what I named in my article, the A.M.S. temperature conversions, before I did, because these conversions are based on such a simple, easy-to-percieve concept. The Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature scales have been known in their present form for over 250 years, and I imagine that during this period of time, quite a number of people probably have discovered this method independently. I independently discovered the A.M.S. conversions sometime in the late seventies.

I wonder if Dr. Potter can tell us the name of the person whose independent discovery of the A.M.S. temperature conversion method led to his 1961 knowledge of it? Or did he discover the conversion method independently himself?

I would like to know the name of the first person who published the A.M.S. method, and when and where it was published. Perhaps some of your readers can send in some information relating to this question?

It is unfortunate that the A.M.S. temperature conversion method never became widely known in times past. I’m grateful that by publishing my temperature conversion article, The Citizen Scientist has finally made this superior temperature conversion method well known.

Bob Warren

Temperature Conversion Comment

Editor,

Nice article on mental F2C and C2F. I personally like to add 11%, instead of 10%. It's not much harder to multiply a whole number by 11% in the head and then round it up to one decimal.

Eddie Adiwinata

Commending George Hrabovsky's LuLu Adventure

Mr. Hrabovsky,

I too, like the idea of Lulu, although I would also like to see short, low cost introductions into various areas of hands-on amateur science as well. I also wish Lulu was a little better known too. I am anxious to get your next book that you mentioned will soon be published by Lulu.

While I am writing, I have been using math in one way or another for many years as an amateur scientist but on your web site at MAST you had that simple process of converting non-variables to 1 in order to see the nature of the graph it makes. It has been very useful for helping me to get insight into various equations. I realize it is not a complex idea but, you always know when something is a good idea when you come upon it and then say to yourself, "Well, of course! How come I have never seen that anywhere else before?"

Thank-you for all you do!

Tim Kraemer

This is part of a correspondence between Tim Kraemer and George Hrabovsky, which Tim has kindly agreed to share, regarding George's new book venture at LuLu.com. You can find out more by visiting LuLu and entering "Hrabovsky" in the search window. Web publishing is the future, and George is among those leading the way for the rest of us. Editor.

Model Rockets and Amateur Science (again)?

Editor,

After seeing the recent feature article in The New York Times about model rocketry, it occurred to me that I've read very little on this subject in SAS publications. There was Shawn Carlson's discussion of the onerous BATF rules that would have effectively outlawed the hobby, but what I'd really like to know is whether anyone in the rocketry community is using these inexpensive launch platforms for real amateur science.

Maybe the problem is that rocketry is dominated by engineering types rather than scientists, a tendency that is not unique to the amateurs (e.g., the International Space Station). It's not hard to come up with scientifically interesting payloads that would fit on a hobby-size rocket (accelerometer, barometer, fruit fly larvae, etc.). An active amateur science presence in model rocketry won't fix the shortage of science on NASA's agenda, but it certainly wouldn't hurt. So is anyone doing experiments with rockets?

Alan Dove, Ph.D.

This letter appeared in The Citizen Scientist of 3 November 2006, and it is so important it is being repeated here. Model rockets have been used for a wide variety of scientific tasks since they were first introduced in the late 1950s. Model Rocketry magazine included a number of science projects involving model rockets. I personally launched many model rockets that carried various sensors, including those that measured roll rate, temperature and so forth. In 1969 I helped form Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) in Albuquerque, NM, to sell these kinds of products. We sold a few hundred of these items before moving on to other products. In 1975, MITS began the personal computer era with its Altair 8800, which figures prominently in STARTUP, a new gallery at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. This gallery also displays the only surviving MITS rocket, complete with a MITS telemetry transmitter. Miniature GPS systems, video cameras and related devices are perfect for rocket science, and some individuals and groups have made impressive achievements. Others seem much more interested in what we used to call the "whoosh...bang" side of model rocketry. Unfortunately, e-mails to various rocket organizations requesting articles about rocket science have gone unanswered. Readers who are doing science with model or high-power rocketry are encouraged to contact The Citizen Scientist. Shawn Carlson and I are very interested in project articles related to doing science using rockets. Editor.

Phytoplankton, Toxic Algae and Dead Zones

Editor,

I have released winter phytoplankton into salt water seven times and into fresh water four times. After plankton release, marine toxic plankton disappeared from three counties, during three years, and life has returned to an oregon coastal dead zone and toxic algae have disappeared from two treated lakes, four times (http://www.sas.org/tcs/weeklyIssues_2005/2005-08-26/backscatter/index.html and http://www.climateark.org/blog/2006/08/oregons_ocean_dead_zone.asp).

However, fish died in a Washington Pacific bay treated with plankton. Reasons for this failure are unknown, and new experiments are being concentrated in a small area of Hood Canal, as requested by a county health department.

Glen Hemerick

An Exchange on Scintillation in the Ionosphere

Forrest,

I found your site via an article on the Make magazine blog. I see that you do research related to the sun. I have been interested in whether or not a photo sensor can detect variation, such as scintillation in the ionosphere, so that an interesting sound could be produced.

I have heard audio recording of radio sounds from Jupiter which were very impressive. I have not done any testing yet and would be interested in your opinion. I suspect that to get any audible sound the signal will need to be mixed up to a higher frequency.

David Fowler

David,

Starlight scintillation is unrelated to the ionosphere to the best of my knowledge. It's caused by refractive changes in the lower atmosphere. Photosensors can certainly detect changes in the intensity of the aurora, but I'm unaware of any way they can detect what you described as scintillation in the ionosphere.

The best way to detect changes in the ionosphere is through radio methods.

Forrest M. Mims III

Forrest,

I may be wrong about the scintillation in the ionosphere. I am thinking about the effect that causes stars to shimmer when passing though our atmosphere. This problem for astronomers might make an interesting sound if converted into audio. It would be interesting if changes in solar winds caused a noticeable effect you could hear as well.

I know ionospheric scintillation causes fading and other effects in radio signals and assumed it did the same to light which is electromagnetic radiation, too.

David Fowler

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