Comments for Ron Kollman's Blog

Comment on Thorium Power Generation by Ron Oglevie

Ron Oglevie — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:50:25 +0000

I liked your article and its promotion of an alternative nuclear power source. Ron Oglevie

Comment on The Changing Telephone by Greg Locascio

Greg Locascio — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 07:09:13 +0000

I heard that land line phones fitted with fiber optic wiring will lose power in a power outage, but that phones still fitted with copper wiring will retain power.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/01/surprise-your-high-tech-home-phone-system-could-go-dead-in-an-emergency/index.htm

Comment on Offshoring by jerry meyerhoff

jerry meyerhoff — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:49:13 +0000

Look into Re-Shoring http://www.reshorenow.org/ .
People have figured out that the TCO (total cost of ownership) is actually larger than just direct material & labor costs, DUH ! Many cases of doing a product in a distant low cost region have failed for factual real economic reasons. Check it out. There are many success stories of bring the product back to the US resulting in better quality , cycle time , optimal use of scarce (human) resources in the initiating company and still a fair profit … jerry at jdm labs

Comment on The Electromagnetic Spectrum by interactivedude

interactivedude — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:19:23 +0000

Very helpful! Thanks so much!

Comment on The Electromagnetic Spectrum by haynesbent

haynesbent — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 21:11:54 +0000

As noted in the blog, radio frequencies (WiFi or others) are a electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic waves are one of the four known forces. They carry energy/power. About WiFi in general: The two bands most frequently used are the 2.4GHz (802.11b/g/n) and 5GHz (802.11g). There are other bands but these are the most popular. They are unlicensed frequency bands that devices can use if they stay within the power limits designated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The bands are usually referred to as the ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) bands and are shared by many different applications. So, to help your student, first look at the concept of Design Of Experiments (DOE) since one of the first of the tasks is to setup a controlled environment. In this case, isolate the plants under question from all other factors and only expose them to WiFi type signals and then have a control group that is not exposed to WiFi. This is not too difficult in that electromagnetic signals decay with distance. Here is a helpful link about power levels. They vary sometimes dynamically so you also have to have a tool to measure the signal levels. A WiFi meter is not a real accurate device but, for this experiment, it may suffice for a comparative study. Also, a WiFi device is not always transmitting. Those are some comments but here are answers to your specific questions: What other forms of radio waves might contaminate this environment? Let's call them electromagnetic (EM) waves, though. - Cellphones/Cell Towers - Electrical power (i.e. household, overhead lines etc.) - Cordless Phones (esp. 2.4GHz) - Cell/Smart Phones (newer ones operate around 1.9GHz) - Bluetooth devices (share the band with WiFi) Many of these are low power devices and if you have the WiFi device nearer to the test subject than the other devices, it can still be a somewhat controlled environment. His proposal is to use household aluminum foil to block out contamination. Is this reliable? Metal can shield EM waves but, I think in this circumstance, plants will probably need light (which is an EM wave at a much higher frequency) His proposal is to “measure” the presence of wifi by using the bars on his iPad. Is this reliable? Answered above. In short, any experiment is good for young students if only to learn technology and experimental methods. I have judged Middle School projects to college Senior Engineering designs and enjoy helping where I can. Ronald Kollman - Haynes-Bent, Inc. - RF/wireless hardware design

Comment on The Electromagnetic Spectrum by interactivedude

interactivedude — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 03:45:06 +0000

Dear Ron:
There are few people in the world I would trust with answering this question in words that can be communicated to a 7th-grader!
One of my students is working on a science project. He decided to study whether “wifi” impacts the growth of plants.
I love seeing young people gain perspective on the scientific method but I am a social scientist by training. This one is a little out of my wheelhouse.
Is not “wifi” a form of radio wave transmission? (I’m assuming he’s using recent technology… I know older forms of wifi used to interfere with all sorts of stuff).
What other forms of radio waves might contaminate this environment?
His proposal is to use household aluminum foil to block out contamination. Is this reliable?
His proposal is to “measure” the presence of wifi by using the bars on his iPad. Is this reliable?
The proposal left many questions in my mind… so your guidance is critical in steering this project back into the realm of science.
Help!