Ever since the proliferation of cameras and digital technology, you find that fewer and fewer people believe in ghosts. Paranormal phenomena used to be a prevalent theme in stories in our culture. However, with the progress of technology, people have been able to study these phenomena and find there is usually a valid scientific explanation for strange occurrences caught on video.
For instance, if you've ever been to Alaska or St. Petersburg, Russia, you may have seen a colorful 'spirit' light up the night sky. However, this phenomenon, known as aurora borealis, or northern lights, is actually explained as the collision of charged particles from the magnetosphere with gases in the atmosphere.
Knowing the science behind such an occurrence does not take away from the wonder of actually witnessing something of such beauty.
If you happen to be in Marfa, Texas, you will certainly not see northern lights. However, Marfa has lights of its own. 'Marfa lights' are best viewed nine miles east of Marfa, Texas on U.S. Route 90.
These lights appear to be about the size of a basketball and move in strange patterns through the desert. These are only visible about 10-20 times a year, so sightings are quite rare. There is no long-term study of which I am aware that has determined the pattern of these lights.
One explanation for this occurrence is the piezoelectric effect discovered by French physicist Pierre Curie in 1883. The piezoelectric effect is the ability for certain crystals to generate a voltage when mechanical stress is applied. The rocks around Marfa are made up of quartz, which has the capacity to generate current through the piezoelectric effect. Some researchers belief that the change in temperature results in the expansion and contraction of the quartz and the resultant voltage is released in a manner similar to lightning.
Up until now, the piezoelectric effect has been used in recording or generating sound, such as in microphones and loudspeakers. However, this phenomenon has aroused an interest at the U.S. Department of Defense. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is funding research on ways to harvest energy using the piezoelectric effect. The idea is that soldiers' boots could be coated in a voltage-producing crystal so that they will produce electricity as the soldier walks or jogs. The energy could then power electronic equipment that could aid soldiers in the battlefield.
For anyone not familiar with DARPA, this agency was responsible for the creation of ARPANET, which became what we know today as the Internet. The Internet has greatly increased the capacity for future findings at DARPA and other research institutions given the ability to share large amounts of information easily. If DARPA is successful in finding a way to generate and story electricity simply by walking, this finding will further free researchers to be able to conduct experiments in the far reaches of the world. They can connect to the Internet through satellites and power their computers simply by going for a walk.
These technologies have so much potential because they rely on localized, clean, renewable energy sources and lessen our reliance on centralized and costly forms of energy production. A huge market will be opened up, and consumers will pay the full cost of their own energy usage. These technologies will completely remove subsidies on energy production since the consumer will buy the shoes and then be responsible to walk in order to produce the needed amount of electricity.
This technology has so much promise in the marketplace. Just imagine a video game system that could only run off the electricity generated from these shoes. If your child wanted to play a half hour of video games, he or she would first have to play a half hour of basketball.
More than likely, this technology will be coupled with solar collectors on clothing and backpacks. In this way, renewable energies could offer an uninterrupted supply of electricity no matter what the atmospheric conditions are.
http://www.thebulletin.us/site/news.cfm ... 6361&rfi=6
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
