Over time I have become convinced that in electrostatics there is an electrostatics commonality within the three states of matter: solids, liquids and gases. Like the half-empty glass, I can not deny that many properties of solids, liquids and gases behave differently. However, like the half-full glass I continually see evidence of sameness in charge behavior. For example, in solids, liquids and gases a non-linear relationship exits between voltage and current at high potential. This is a part of my half-full glass of electrostatic sameness.
For another example, when two pieces of matter touch, all that I actually see in my half-full glass are charges that are forced to arrange themselves based on mechanisms still not fully understood. Nevertheless, the charges make their arrangement, and then I marvel at the result. When the two pieces of matter are solids, we say the arrangement creates (depending on the situation) triboelectrification, contact potential, thermocouple voltage, etc. When one is a solid and the other a liquid, we claim (depending on the situation) that we have a double layer, a zeta potential, an action potential, a streaming current, etc. Myself, I simply see all these situations as different embodiments of a set of charge arrangement rules in my half-full glass. Others want separate glasses to explain (what they see as) separate phenomena.
You may think my half-full glass is missing something. Ah, you say, I am being too simplistic, there is no analog for the solid and gas. That has always bothered me too -or at least up to now. Yet, now there is something new in my glass. Would you believe it if I told you that you can take a (weakly-ionized) neutral gas, pass it by a solid, and the rules of charge arrangement will allow separation of the charge polarities in the gas? Until just recently I would not have believed it myself. However, a few weeks ago I came across a fascinating paper, presented almost two decades ago, at the Fifth Conference on Electrostatic Phenomena. The paper by Lars Wahlin is titled "Static electrification in the atmosphere by the electrolytic process" (Electrostatics 1979, IOP Ser. No. 48, pp. 309 96 315). I found this paper absolutely engaging in several respects. The author's main purpose was to argue that winds over the ocean will separate sufficient charge in the air at the surface of the earth to account for the tremendous amount of charge that occurs in lightning. To do this, Wahlin showed the commonality between the electrode-electrolyte of a solid-liquid interface and of a solid-gas interface.
Wahlin presented the following interesting laboratory experiment: Wahlin separated two football-sized clumps of steel wool by 7 cm, positioned them vertically one above the other and suspended them inside a Faraday cage2E Ionized air produced with the help of a small radioactive source (Am 241, 16 uCi) was forced to travel upward through the first section of steel wool, continue on through the empty 7 cm separation section and finally through the second steel wool section. Wahlin argued that the solid-gas interface of the first steel wool section causes the gas ions to follow a charge arrangement; i.e., an electrochemical arrangement. In the arrangement the negative gas ions are more tightly held around the wool. The positive gas ions are less tightly bound and, due to the gas flow, move more easily to the second wool section. Wahlin produced potential differences up to 100 volts between the two wool sections. Imagine, obtaining 100 volts from a (weakly-ionized) charge-neutral air stream! Now that's a half-full glass and fascinating sameness at its best. I just love it when I come across these little examples that keep my glass half-full. I can hardly wait to attend our June 23-26 "1998 ESA-IEJ Joint Symposium on Electrostatics" at Stanford. It is a great time to renew old friendships, learn new things and find out what others are doing. And every once in a while someone puts into my glass a little more information regarding the fascinating sameness of electrostatics. To all of you who plan on attending our Symposium, my wish is that your glasses overflow.
For the Friendly Society,
Albert E. Seaver
Happy first birthday to the Societe Francaise d'Electrostatique which was born on June 4th 1997. The ESA takes great pride in the fact that the Societe modeled itself after the "friendly atmosphere" found in our Friendly Society. The ESA congratulates the Societe on its successful initial international meeting, and we wish the Societe the very best in its future scientific contributions.
We have been informed that John Moran passed away recently. Mr Moran was a founding member of ESA and a Fellow in IEEE. From 1947 to 1955 he worked for Allis Chalmers where he was in charge of the High Voltage Laboratory. In 1955 he joined the Lapp Insulator Co. where he remained until retiring as Chief Electrical Engineer in 1968. Mr Moran was involved in a large number of working groups and IEEE activities, has authored or co-authored a number of technical papers and holds four patents.
The American Society of Agricultural Engineers presents the
Cyrus McCormick Gold Medal Award to the researcher and educator
for exceptional and meritorious engineering achievements that
result in new concepts, products or methods that advance the
development of agriculture. Professor S. Edward Law (Applied
Electrostatics Laboratory, University of Georgia, Athens) is to
receive this most distinguished honor at the joint meeting of the
International ASAE and the Institute of Biological Engineers in
Orlando, July 12-15.
Congratulations, Ed!
The British Aerosol Manufacturers Association; The Institution of Chemical Engineers; The Institution of Electrical Engineers; The Institution of Civil Engineers; The Societe Francaise de Physique; The Institute of Materials; The Institution of Mechanical Engineers; The Society of Chemical Industry; The Institute of Materials; Electrostatics Society of America; Electrostatic Society of Japan; ESD Association
The Conference on Electrostatics organised by the Static Electrification Group of the Institute of Physics will be held from 28 - 31 March 1999 at Homerton College, University of Cambridge. Accommodation will be available on the university campus.
This is the tenth in the series following successful conferences previously held in York and Oxford. This year the beautiful city of Cambridge has been selected as the venue to take advantage of the many historical attractions the city has to offer.
* Assessment of Materials
* Electrostatic Sensors Transducers & Motors
* Atmospheric Aspects and the Environment
* Electrostatic Spraying of Powders & Liquid
* Biological Applications
* Electrostatics in Polymer Processing
* Charge Particle Physics
* Electrostatic Hazards
* Computer Modelling
* Gas Discharge Reactions
* Corona and Gas Discharge
* Liquid Metal Ion Source* Electrohydrodynamics
* Methods of Measurements* Electrofluidization
* Novel Materials* Electrects
* Numerical & Analytical Techniques* Electrophotography
* Separation & Sorting* ESD/EOS
* Static Elimination* Electrostatic Precipitation
* Scanning Probe Microscopy
Contributions are invited for both oral and poster sessions and authors are asked to submit their abstracts for consideration no later than 14 September 1998 with an indication of the preferred method of presentation. Abstracts should be 400 - 450 words long, which may include figures. Please note one figure equals 100 words. Maximum number of figures accepted is three.
Abstract submissions should be sent electronically by 14 September 1998 using one of the following methods: o WWW: full online submission of your personal details, abstract text and references and figure(s) is available via the conference website at http://www.iop.org/IOP/Confs/ESTAT. This method is the preferred option and offers the highest degree of flexibility and security.
* E-mail: instructions and an abstract template can be obtained by sending a blank e-mail to confs@ioppublishing.com with 'ESTAT instructions' as the subject.
* FTP: instructions and an abstract template can be obtained by down loading the files `readme.txt' and `ESTATtem' from: ftp.ioppublishing.com/outgoing/conferences/submissions/ESTAT/
Please contact the organisers at the address given at the end of this document if you are unable to submit your abstract using any of these methods, though note that the deadline for hard-copy submission is 1 September 1998.
Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to submit full papers for refereeing with a view to publication in the official conference proceedings. Instructions will be sent in October.
An exhibition of electrostatic equipment will be staged in association with the conference. Details on the exhibition can be obtained from:
Mr Ian Pavey,
Chilworth Technology, Beta House,
Chilworth Research Centre, Southampton, SO16 7NS
Tel: + 44 (0)1703 760 722
Fax: +44 (0)1703 767 866
Email: ipavey@chilworth.co.uk
Before the conference an Electrostatic Workshop is planned on Sunday 28 March 1999 to provide an easy to understand overview of electrostatics from a broad practical point of view. It can be used either separately to understand static, its problems and remedial actions or as a primer for the conference. Details of the workshop can be obtained from:
Dr J N Chubb,
JCI, Unit 30, Landsdown Industrial Estate, Gloucester Road, Gloucester GL51 8PL
Tel: +44 (0)1242 573347
Fax: +44 (0)1242 251388
Email: jchubb@jci.co.uk
The conference will be held at Homerton College, the University of Cambridge, situated in an attractive setting close to the City centre. Accommodation will be available on the University Campus. Cambridge is a combination of the old and the new, an ancient heritage and modern facilities, which makes this is an ideal venue for the conference. Cambridge is within easy reach of London, Heathrow and Stansted airports, with good motorway, rail and bus connections to other parts of the United Kingdom. Cambridge Airport has some domestic services and facilities for charter flights.
June 1998 Final Call for Papers1 September 1998 Hardcopy submission of abstracts
14 September 1998 Electronic submission of abstracts
12 October 1998 Receipt of authors' kit by authors of accepted abstracts
4 December 1998 Programme & Registration
26 January 1999 Deadline for Manuscripts
1 March 1999 Deadline for Registration
28 March 1999 Conference Opens
Further Information on this conference is available from the address below:
Miss Belinda Hopley
Conferences Department,
The Institute of Physics,
76 Portland Place,
London W1N 3DH
Tel: +44 (0)171 470 4800; Fax: +44 (0)171 470 4900
Email: conferences@iop.org http://www.iop.org
In the Jan/Feb issue we reported that Dan Hays had received the 1997 American Institute of Physics prize for Industrial Applications of Physics. Since then he has received two more honors.
On March 25, 1998, Dan received the 1998 Civic Award for Science and Technology from the Rochester Chamber of Commerce. Dan points out that Bob Gundlach received the first such award in 1989. The award recognizes an individual whose leadership and work has contributed to scientific or technological development leading to new products or the enhancement of existing ones.
On April 15, 1998, Dan was presented with the 1997 Xerox President's Award which is Xerox's highest award for individual achievement. (It should be noted that Dan also received this award in 1981.) The 1997 award was for "groundbreaking and internationally recognized contributions to the science of xerography over three decades. Products that incorporate subsystems invented by Hays have generated $50 billion in revenues for the company, a figure that could reach $100 billion."
Bob Gundlach writes, "Dan has worked in research at Xerox Corporation since 1968. Dan's research and technology accomplishments in electrophotography have spanned the areas of contact electrification, charged particle adhesion, and xerographic development system design. His contributions have reached beyond his own laboratory; he has been a team leader throughout the technical community of research engineering, inspiring the best in others through his quiet example."
ESA congratulates Dan on his accomplishments and is proud to have him as a member!
ESA member Dr. Ju Jin has joined ADE Corporation in the Optical Systems Division located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ju is the project leader of ADE's newly started "Advanced Wafer Inspection Systems for 400 mm Silicon Wafers (AWIS 400) Project." Our best wishes go to Dr. Jin as he begins his new assignment!
Monroe ESVMs and probes, HV Power Supply-Controller-Amplifier, Trek Resistivity meters, ETS decay time meter, Semtronics ion current meter, as well as numerous ion-generating bars, nozzles, blowers and lab supplies. For a list, contact George Mooza, 32 Locust Ave., Lexington, MA 02173, Phone: 781-861-0211 email: gmooza@aol.com
ESA member Edward R. Frederick in 1996 published a 155 page book, Utilizing Electrical Effect in Nonaqueous Filtration, which is available from him at Filter Media Specification, 294 Sunset Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15237-4966, in either hardcover ($57.00) or softcover ($42.00) plus $3.00 postage and handling.
If you missed the ESA-IEJ Joint Symposium at Stanford this June, you missed a lot. The warmth of the attendees and the friendliness of the information exchanges at ESA meetings are well known. The international community was well represented, and it was especially heartwarming to have the Institute of Electrostatics Japan (IEJ) as the joint host of the Stanford meeting. All the presentations and demonstrations helped advance the many diverse areas of electrostatics.
The ESA owes a special thanks to the IEJ. The IEJ was the impetus for the creation of the ESA's Annual Meeting Proceedings. Prior to four years ago the ESA had been an organization that existed without any written documentation on its meetings. Although this allowed the ESA members who attended an annual meeting access to the information of that meeting, it did little to transfer the information to ESA members who could not attend. Four years ago we held the first ESA-IEJ Joint Conference on Electrostatics. For IEJ members to attend any meeting they are required to have a written record. As a result, the ESA had to come up with the proceedings of that first ESA-IEJ meeting. Thanks to Joe and Barb Crowley and Laplacian Press, the ESA was able to supply that first written record. Since those times the ESA Proceedings have been part of our ESA Annual Meeting. With the ESA Proceedings we have the best of all worlds. A talk can be given as a full written paper, as an abstract-only presentation or as a title-only presentation. In the Proceedings the full papers and the abstracts are published, and this allows the rest of the ESA Membership access to the content of the meeting. I would suggest that anyone who missed the Stanford meeting contact The Electrostatic Source (see information inside this Newsletter) and order a copy of the Proceedings. In fact, anyone who works in electrostatics would be wise to request that their company subscribe to these Proceedings on an annual basis.
As ESA President I want to express my sincere thanks to all who attended the ESA-IEJ Symposium and to extend a special thanks to Joe and Barb Crowley for all their efforts in making this symposium so successful. I also want to thank Humphrey Wong and the members of his Awards Committee as well as all those who nominated the many exceptional people for awards. Special congratulations go to those who were honored (see details inside Newsletter): Bernard Vonnegut, Ed Law, Emery Miller and Jeremy Ahern. Their contributions to electrostatics are an inspiration to all of us.
For the Friendly Society,
Al Seaver
Four people were recognized this year with ESA Awards at the ESA/IEJ Joint Symposium Banquet, held on June 25, 1998.
The Teacher of the Year Award was presented to Jeremy C. Ahern of Edge Grove, Aldenham Village, U.K. At Edge Grove, Jeremy teaches the full range of sciences up to 13-14 year olds, and has often used Electrostatics in his demonstrations to generate enthusiasm in his students. From building van de Graaf generators to performing experiments with "water boules," Jeremy is well-known for his ability to bring electrostatics alive for his audiences. Earlier in the day, the symposium was treated to a series of demonstrations by both Tom Jones (of the University of Rochester) and Jeremy. Many of us had the chance to see water boules and their behavior under electric fields for the first time. Along with the plaque, Jeremy was also awarded $500 in bills prominently displaying an earlier ESA Award winner, Benjamin Franklin.
Two Lifetime Achievement Awards were also presented. One was given to Emery Miller for his many contributions in the area of Electrostatic Finishing and one to S. Edward Law for his skillful application of Electrostatics in the field of Agricultural Engineering.
Emery has published numerous articles, given talks, and was granted over 20 US patents and many corresponding foreign patents relating to methods and apparatus for electrostatic finishing. He started his career as a physics instructor and became an assistant professor of physics at Purdue. After several years of consulting with Harold Ransburg in developing the first practical electrostatic spraying process, he joined a company that later became the Ransburg Corporation and in 1943 was named its Director of R&D. In 1956, he became Vice President, R&D for Ransburg Corp and was elected to the Board of Directors where he served until his retirement in 1973. Emery is a past president of the ESA as well as of the Association of Finishing Processes. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and is a Fellow of that Society.
Ed Law is the author of 20 refereed publications, holds 4 US patents, 1 US patent pending, and 1 Canadian Patent, and has given many presentations for the ESA, IEEE-IAS, and others in the application of Electrostatics in Agricultural Engineering. This is an area he has practically created over the years and to which he continues to contribute as Brooks Distinguished Professor at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA. He is a Fellow of the IEEE-IAS and the American Society of Agricultural Engineers as well as being elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He has received Inventor of the Year Award and the Creative Research Medal from the University of Georgia Research Foundation, and has received seven ASAE and IEEE Superior Awards for research publications. Last year, he was the organizing chairman for the 25th Annual Meeting for the ESA and serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Electrostatics. Finally, Bernard ("Bernie") Vonnegut entered the ESA Hall of Fame (Part II) for promoting interest in Electrostatics, particularly in the community where he was known and loved for his iconoclastic ideas --- Atmospheric Science.
Bernie was an atmospheric scientist who, at the start of his long career, invented cloud-seeding with silver iodide crystals during his work at GE, Schenectady. Later, at Arthur Little and as a professor at the State University of NY at Albany and the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, he took on the mantle of "gentle iconoclast" as he proposed and argued the merits of his theory of convective cloud electrification, which at the time was considered nearly heretical. His observations and hypotheses sparked an active debate which added significantly to the area of Atmospheric Electricity. Through his life, Bernie published over 190 refereed papers, most of them on one aspect or another of the role of electrostatics in defining our planet's weather, whether it was thunderstorms, tornadoes, or even volcanic eruptions. He also received 28 patents for various types of instrumentation. He was a Charter Member of the ESA and his signature appears on the original incorporation papers for our organization. He served as a member of the USAF Scientific Advisory Board, was named Distinguished Research Professor by the State University of NY at Albany, and helped establish the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Bernie passed away on April 25, 1997, but he is still well-remembered and well-loved by those who knew him.
Please join me in offering warm congratulations to our ESA Award winners of 1998!
Humphrey Wong
My experience with electrostatics over the years has taught me that (1) when two bodies that have been close together for some time are separated a shock will be experienced; (2) that the magnitude of the shock will be directly proportional to the magnitude of the separation; (3) that the reason for the shock is not always completely understood; (4) the occurrence of the shock usually is described as having something to do with electrostatics. When Bill Smart, upon his return from the recent Electrostatic Conference in California, handed me the plaque which the Members of ESA had awarded to me I was shocked, pleased and rightly appreciative. It was not until later that I fully realized just how appropriate my shock had been. Certainly the two bodies, myself and the members of ESA, had been close for some time and now were in a sense separated since I had not attended the Conferences for some time and had recently given up my job as Sect.-Treas. We were also separated, distance wise, by some thousands of miles, which would account for the size of the shock.
Certainly I did not fully understand the reason that had prompted the award and so the shock. Lastly as is usually the case the shock was certainly connected with electrostatics. QED the shock was real, large and met all the criteria of a shock. Now I want to express to the members of ESA my appreciation for extending this award to me. I would ask only that when the matter is discussed that everyone realizes that such awards are made to individuals but are really earned by many others who have contributed from behind the scenes. We can reach higher if we have someone to give us a boost.
Emery Miller
I have often wondered if Franklin had ever received a shock when he was carrying out his early electrical experiments. My wonderings were answered recently when I came upon the following quotation from his writings.
In 1750 during which time he was experimenting with Leyden jars he wrote about an experience he had just before Christmas. "Being about to kill a turkey by the shock from two large glass jars, containing so much electrical fire as forty common phials, I inadvertently took the whole through my own arms and body, by receiving the fire from the united top wires with one hand while the other held a chain connected with the outsides of both jars. The company present (whose talking to me, and to one another, I suppose occasioned my inattention to what I was about) say that the flash was very great and the crack as loud as a pistol; yet, my senses being instantly gone, I neither saw the one nor heard the other; nor did I feel the stroke on my hand.... I then felt what I know not well how to describe: a universal blow throughout my whole body from head to foot, which seemed within as well as without; after which the first thing I took notice of was a violent quick shaking of my body, which gradually remitting, my sense as gradually returned That part of my hand and fingers which held the chain was left white, as though the blood had been driven out, and remained so eight or ten minutes after, feeling like dead flesh; and I had a numbness in my arms and in the back of my neck which continued till the next morning but wore off....I am ashamed to have been guilty of so notorious a blunder; a match for that of the Irishman who, being about to steal powder, made a hole in the cask with a hot iron.
It was comforting to learn that even the great Dr. Franklin could, and did, do the same thing that I have done myself on occasion. I am forced to wonder further if he finally got around to preparing the turkey. In all fairness I hope he did, but on the other hand I feel certain that there may have been one of his friends who hastened away tot try to find financing for the manufacture of his "New Electric Turkey Killer"....or maybe his friends were not so modern minded.
Emery Miller
If you missed the Stanford conference you can still keep up with the latest developments. A copy of the 436 pages of the proceedings of the 1998 ESA-IEJ Joint Symposium on Electrostatics can be purchased from the Electrostatic Source (phone: 408-779-7774, fax: 408-779-3638, email: electro@electrostatic.com) for a cost of only $30.00.
Mark your calendars. The 27th Annual ESA Meeting will be held at Boston University, Boston, MA, June 23-25,1999.
The February 11,1998 issue of the London Times carried the headline, "Remains of ten bodies at Ben Franklin's home". ESA member Jeremy C. Ahern sent a clipping of the article to Anne S. Benninghoff, who sent a copy to us. It ran as follows:
Workmen have dug up the remains of ten bodies hidden beneath the former London home of Benjamin Franklin, the founding father of American Independence.
The remains of four adults and six children were discovered during the A31.9 million restoration of Franklin's home at 36 Craven Street, close to Trafalgar Square. Researchers believe that there could be more bodies buried beneath the basement kitchens.
Initial estimates are that the bones are about 200 years old and were buried at the time Franklin was living in the house, which was his home from 1757 to 1762, and from 1764 to 1775. Most of the bones show signs of having been dissected, sawn or cut. One skull has been drilled with several holes. Paul Knapman, the Westminster coroner, said yesterday: "1 cannot totally discount the possibility of a crime. There is still a possibility that I may have to hold an inquest."
The principal suspect in the mystery is William Hewson, like Franklin a Fellow of the Royal Society, and the husband of Polly Stevenson, the daughter of Franklin's landlady, Mary Stevenson.
In the early 1770s Dr Hewson was in partnership with William Hunter, who, with his brother John, was one of the founders of British surgery. Dr Hunter and Dr Hewson ran a school of anat~ my in Soho, but after an argument Dr Hewson left to live in Franklin's house, where he is believed to have established a rival school and lecture 'theatre. Dr Knapman added yesterday: "It is most likely that these are anatomical specimens that Dr Hewson disposed of in his own house, but we are still not certain about the bones' exact age or origin."
Evangeline Hunter-Jones, deputy chairman of the Friends of Benjamin Franklin House, the charity concerned with restoring the property and opening it to the public, said: "The bones were quite deeply buried, probably to hide them because grave robbing was illegal. There could be more buried, and there probably are."
Brian Owen Smith has volunteered to lead researches on behalf of the friends. He said yesterday: "The discovery represents an important insight into very exciting years of medical history. Benjamin Franklin, through his support for Polly and Dr Hewson. socially and scientifically, was very much part of that"
To the suggestion that Franklin might have been a grave robber, or an accomplice to Dr Hewson, Hilaire Dubourcq, of the Friends of Benjamin Franklin House, responded: "It is possible that he has an alibi. It seems likely that he actually let Dr Hewson have use of the whole house for his school for a time, and went up the street to live with Mary Stevenson. He did not necessarily know what was happening below stairs in the house during his absence."
Dr Hewson fell victim to his own researches at an early age. He accidentally cut himself while dissecting a putrid body, contracted septicemia and died in 1774, aged 34.
Franklin, who wrote the opening words to the Declaration of Independence, continued to support the widowed Polly, and when he returned to Philadelphia he invited her there to live as his neighbour Both her sons became eminent medical men, as have successive generations of Hewsons in America.
If the first Dr Hewson did obtain bodies for his experiments and demonstrations by robbing local graveyards, he risked the death penalty or deportation. He might have had the help of his students in secretly burying the remain beneath the four-storey house where the dissections may have been performed.
It is hoped to reopen the house to the public at the end of the year. Regular visitors during Franklin's residency included Pitt the Elder (the Earl of Chatham), Edmund Burke, James Boswell, Adam Smith and Thomas Paine, the author of The Rights of Man
Jay Hennigan who is not an ESA member found our address on our home page and has a question he hopes one of our members can help him with. He writes as follows." I have just acquired a rather interesting US Navy surplus electrostatic demo kit. This item is in a wooden box with black imitation leather covering (much like the early Zenith T-O radios, Kickock tube testers, etc.).
It has a high voltage generator (tube type), numerous metal spheres for corona discharge demonstration, plastic rods, thread, a little spinner, and other items. It appears to have been made in the early 1950s judging from the tubes. The unit was apparently made as some type of training or demonstration kit, and has the following nomenclature:
ELECTROSTATIC KIT
NAVPERS 70126
CONTRACT N8sp 3180
PARKER ENGINEERING PROD. CO.
Has anyone ever seen this or a similar unit? Any source for a manual or other documentation as to the demonstrations and experiments it was intended for? The kit appears to be complete except for the documentation, and in really good shape. It is an intriguing piece of equipment, and I'd like to fix it up for one of the local schools where my wife is a teacher."
If you can help, contact Jay at jay@west.net or 1-805-884-6323.
Much thanks to Professor Inan who gave ESA members at our annual conference at Stanford University a grand tour of the STAR Labs (Space, Telecommunications and Radioscience Laboratory). It was complete with whistlers recorded at the Antarctic stations.
He is the author of the just published book, Fundamentals of Electromagnetics, ISBN 0-8053-4423-3 by Addison Welsey Press which includes a chapter on Electrostatics.
We understand that Professor Inan is planning to join the ESA and perhaps will keep us updated on his research through our Annual Conferences. and the Newsletter.
Anne S. Benninghoff
In rain's domain, hell's fire doth reign
Clouds rent burning from electrons blown astray
Separated from their more massive mates
Demanding reunion in a thunderous way.
Lightning forks the hapless clouds
Like tender, floating, morsels-to-be
Plucked down and around off Heaven's plate
And swirled like spaghetti into funnel shapes.
Oh, which the creator and which the created?
The debate roars on..
Lightning or rain, droplets or thunder?
Who's to say in a whirling dance
Of black clouds waltzing in sunset red,
Who is the leader...and who, the led?
Dedicated to the memory of Bernard "Bernie" Vonnegut
Locating historical physics collections is now easier thanks to the recent launch of the World Wide Web version of ICOS, the international Catalog of Sources for History of Physics and Allied Sciences. Prepared by the American Institute of Physics' Center for History of Physics, ICOS lists information on over 500 repositories of the worlds historical scientific documents. The catalog can be reached at http://www.aip.org/history/ Additional information is available via e-mail at nb@aip.org
The 20th Annual International EOS/ESD Symposium And Exhibits
will be held in Reno, NV on October 4-8, 1998. For information
contact: 1998 EOS/ESD Symposium, 7900 Turin Rd., Bldg. 3, Suite
2, Rome, NY 13440-2069, Phone; 315-339-6937, Fax: 315-339-6793.
As I write this President's Message I have had over a week of
almost uninterrupted thought to contemplate the concept of a
paradigm shift. I'll explain how I came about looking at the
idea of paradigm shift in a moment. However, first let us look
at the concept of a paradigm. A paradigm is any pattern or
example. In life a paradigm is a set of rules that we follow.
For example, before the electric light was invented, the paradigm
for keeping a house lit at night was to light candles or oil
lamps. However, with the invention of the electric light there
was a paradigm shift. The new paradigm for keeping a house lit
at night is simply to turn on light switches.
In science we are constantly faced with paradigms, and
occasionally we must look at the possibility of a paradigm shift.
A few years before ESA member Bernard Vonnegut died he wrote an
interesting article (The Atmospheric Electricity Paradigm,
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Vol. 75, (1994)
pp. 53-61) in which he asked whether we needed to look at a
paradigm shift in order to understand the mechanisms involved in
the electrical thunderstorm. His argument is that if we start
out with a basic set of premises and build a theory around these
premises then the basic premises become our paradigm. If after
many years of developing our theory we still do not get theory
and experiments to agree, then perhaps we must abandon our basic
premises and start over again. This abandonment of the basic
premise is analogous to a paradigm shift. The alchemists believed
they could use earth (base metals), fire, water and air in
certain ratios to make gold. That paradigm was soon abandoned
even though the wealthy and greedy who funded the alchemists
thought the paradigm had a wonderful sound to it. In time the
periodic table became the paradigm shift and the goal of making
gold has been replaced by the goal of making plastics,
semiconductors and other useful materials. I recently slipped on
some black ice and broke my ankle in three places. This has
given me the opportunity of looking at a paradigm shift in my
life. The old paradigm to get to work was to just hop in the car
and drive to work. The new paradigm is to accept dependence on
others: my wife, our children, my colleagues at work and even
perfect strangers who happen by and lend me a hand. My paradigm
shift is only temporary (I hope), but a paradigm shift
nevertheless.
The lightning storm, the electrical discharge and
triboelectrification are three areas where we have had paradigms
for many years and where we still must admit that we lack basic
understanding.
Albert Einstein once said "You can never solve a problem with
the same kind of thinking that created the problem in the first
place." Perhaps we should look at our assumptions in
triboelectrification and other electrostatics areas and determine
if a paradigm shift is in order.
For the Friendly Society,
Al Seaver
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), the Croatian-American inventor who
made numerous important contributions to the development of radio
transmission and to the field of electricity. His inventions
included the development of alternating current, an arc-lighting
system, the Tesla induction motor, the Tesla coil, and various
generators and transformers. His ideas had relevance to such
fields as robotics, computers, and missile science, and paved the
way for advances in satellites, microwaves, beam weapons, and
nuclear fusion. His friends included author Mark Twain and
industrialist George Westinghouse; his adversaries included
Thomas Edison and Guglielmo Marconi.
In Tesla: Man Out of Time (1981), Margaret Cheney gives the
following explanation of the Tesla-Edison feud:
The personality differences between the two men doomed their
relationship from the start. Edison disliked Tesla for being an
egghead, a theoretician, and cultured. Ninety-nine percent of
genius, according the Wizard of Menlo Park [Edison], was "knowing
the things that would not work." Hence he himself approached each
problem with an elaborate process of elimination.
Of these 'empirical dragnets' Tesla would later say amusedly,
'If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed
at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after
straw until he found the object of his search. I was a sorry
witness of such doings, knowing that a little theory and
calculation would have saved him ninety-nine percent of his
labor.
The well-known editor and engineer Thomas Commerford Martin
recorded that Edison, unable to find Tesla's obscure birthplace
in Croatia on a map, once seriously asked him whether he had ever
eaten human flesh. Even the most cometic genius has its orbit,'
Martin wisely wrote, and these two men are singularly
representative of different kinds of training, different methods,
and different strains. Mr. Tesla must needs draw apart ... for
his own work's sake.
In so basic a matter as personal hygiene they could not have
been more different: Tesla, afraid of germs, fastidious in the
extreme, once observed of Edison, "He had no hobby, cared for no
sport or amusement of any kind, and lived in utter disregard of
the most elementary rules of hygiene. If he had not married later
a woman of exceptional intelligence, who made it the one object
of her life to preserve him, he would have died many years ago
from the consequences of sheer neglect..."
The irreconcilable differences, however, went beyond
personality. Edison sensed the talented foreigner's threat to his
[Edison's] direct-current system, erroneously thinking DC was
vital to the manufacture and sale of his incandescent light
bulbs. It was the old story of vested interest. At the
beginning Edison himself had met with violent resistance from the
gas monopolies. He had beaten down the gas companies with his
natural gift for propaganda, putting out regular bulletins in
which he gleefully described the dangers of gas-main explosions.
His salesmen were sent out to cover the country, reporting every
incident of 'industrial oppression' in which workers' health
allegedly had been 'injured' by gas heat or their vision damaged
by gaslights. Now it looked as if he might have to lash out
against an even newer technology than his own.
Our Archivist, Anne S. Benninghoff requests any member
attending the conference who has materials which should be in the
official ESA Archive to bring them to the conference with them
for transfer to her.
- Atmospheric Electricity
- Biological Applications
- Breakdown and Discharges
- Charging and Neutralization
- Coating and Painting
- Computational and Analytical Methods
- Display Devices
- Electrets
- Electrohydrodynamics
- Electrophotography and Printing - Electrostatic Propulsion
- Electrostatic Demonstrations
- Electrostatics Education
- ESD Prevention and Detection
- Instrumentation and Control
- Particle Control and Transport
- Precipitators and Cleaners
- Safety and Hazards
- Sprays and Droplets
- Triboelectrification
-Formal Paper: Authors may submit a full-length written paper to be
published in the ESA proceedings. An oral presentation will be given at
the conference.
-Oral Presentation With Abstract: Authors may submit a one to two
page abstract which will be published in the ESA proceedings. An oral
presentation will be given at the conference.
-Informal Oral Presentation: Speakers may offer informal presentations
that inform attendees of recent developments, observations, or
preliminary results that are not extensive enough to warrant a formal
presentation. The author need only provide a title to the Conference
Chair by the April 15 deadline.
-February 28, 1999: Tentative titles. (Submit to Conference Chair)
-April 15, 1999: Final deadline for all titles: formal, oral, and
informal. (Submit to Conference Chair)
-April 15, 1999: Full manuscripts and abstracts (Send to Publications
Committee Chair)
Instructions for preparing and sending full manuscripts and abstracts
can be found on the ESA web site: www.electrostatics.org. Preparation
instructions also will be sent to all authors who submit titles.
Registration and detailed conference information will be included in
the February ESA newsletter and also will be available on the ESA web
site: www.electrostatics.org. Information also may be obtained by
contacting the Conference Chair.
CONFERENCE CHAIR:
Dr. Mark N. Horenstein
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Boston University, 8 Saint Mary's St.
Boston, MA 02215
Ph: 617-353-9052 Fax: 617-353-6440
email: mnh@bu.edu
PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIR:
Dr. Joseph M. Crowley
Electrostatic Applications
16525 Jackson Oaks Drive
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Ph: 408-779-7774 Fax: 408-779-3638
e-mail: electro@electrostatic.com
Arrangements are being made to move the ESA web site to the much
simpler address:
Watch for the move during the month of September.
Be sure to change the bookmark on your webserver!
ELECTROSTATICS NEWSLETTER
March/April 1998 No.
137
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
THE PARADIGM AND THE PARADIGM SHIFT
TESLA'S FEUD
ARCHIVE MATERIALS
Electrostatics Society of America
27th Annual Conference
Boston, Mas sachusetts: June 23 - 25, 1999
Call for Pa pers and Meeting Announcement
TOPICS OF INTEREST INCLUDE:
TYPES OF PAPERS SOLICITED:
DEADLINES:
REGISTRATION:
From the Webmaster
THE ESA WEB SITE IS MOVING!
WWW.ELECTROSTATICS.ORG