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March 31, 2002 by admin

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN | MARCH 2002

Defying Gravity Download PDF

A small Swiss firm develops an innovative G suit for fighter pilots.

Col. Hank Morrow, commander of the 149th Fighter Wing of the Texas Air National Guard, has been flying for more than two decades. In that time, he has seen aircraft push the high-performance envelope: planes today are so fast and nimble that standard evasive maneuvers can add nine times the weight of gravity, or nine g’s, to the mass of a pilot’s body. That amount of force causes fatigue, blackouts, even death as gravity drives blood and oxygen from the brain, lungs and heart. G suits are supposed to protect pilots by filling with compressed air and squeezing the lower extremities to shove bodily fluids upward. Yet G-suit technology has stagnated for almost half a century, while rapid innovations in aircraft design have put many pilots at the mercy of their machines. All that could change if the air force chooses to outfit its aviators with a revolutionary liquid-filled G suit called the Libelle.

The suit is the brainchild of Andreas Reinhard, a former Swiss Air Force fighter pilot turned inventor and founder of Life Support Systems, a company he launched in 1996 to develop the Libelle. Instead of using air, the Libelle forms a liquid barrier around the pilot, much like a baby is protected in the womb. Morrow recently tested the suit at Edwards Air Force Base in California and was so ecstatic with the results that he told the members of the Libelle team he would write them a personal check on the spot if they would sell him one. Continue reading →

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March 24, 2002 by admin

THE ECONOMIST | MARCH 2002

Heavenly Music Download PDF

A handful of satellite start-ups are hoping to deliver global digital audio to the last analogue holdout: radio. Meanwhile, conventional AM and FM broadcasters are responding with their own digital scheme.

The launch of America’s first satellite-radio service was not without its hitches. XM Satellite Radio, the first firm to go live in the United States, began broadcasting late last year. But its start had already been postponed following September 11th. Eventually, when Hugh Panero, XM Radio’s chief executive, was able to flip the switch, the company’s two geostationary satellites began beaming 100 channels of CD-quality music and talk to listeners in San Diego and Dallas—the two first test markets.

But no sooner had the trials started than another problem emerged. The solar arrays on both of XM’s Boeing 702 satellites were found to be degrading faster than expected. The estimated 15-year lifespan of the $150m satellites was suddenly cut in half. It is a good thing that XM keeps a spare. Continue reading →

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March 2, 2002 by admin

THE WASHINGTON MONTHLY | MARCH 2002

The Broadband Militia Download PDF

A new breed of underground Internet entrepreneurs could end the recession. If only Washington would let them.  

On a recent crisp sunny day in Manhattan, I strolled up to a faded wrought-iron bench in Tompkins Square Park, flipped open my new Sony Vaio laptop, and as I sipped a cappuccino, began downloading my email. While new messages zipped into my PC at speeds many times faster than a dial-up connection, I scanned the day’s headlines on CNN.com, then clicked over to E*TRADE to eye the market. In a handful of New York City’s parks, coffeehouses, and other public areas, many are doing the same: getting online, surfing the Web, and checking email. And, like me, they’re doing it wirelessly. What’s more, they’re avoiding the aggravations typically associated with getting high-speed Internet: no more waiting months for DSL providers to switch on service or for cable providers to upgrade your building. Wireless broadband is happening now, and best of all, it’s free. Continue reading →

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