Science & Technology

Who knew a red plastic box, aluminum powder, and a joystick were an initial catalyst that changed Christmas morning forever?

Serendipity describes it perfectly. It started out as some random pencil marks made during otherwise routine electrical repair at the home of André Cassagnes (1926-2013), an electrician living in Paris. Noting that these random pencil marks on an adhesive surface on the plate somehow remained visible on the other side of the adhesive surface inspired Mr. Cassagnes  to design an actual device mimicking this phenomenon. He did so utilizing alu

minum powder, a plastic case, and a joystick to engineer the L’Ecran Magique (aka Télécran), the earliest version of what we know today as an etch-a-sketch which was originally premiered at the 1959 Nuremberg Toy Fair in Germany. Though the Ohio Art Company initially was not sold on the idea when first seeing the concept in Nuremberg in 1959, they later picked up on the concept in 1960, altered the design slightly (example: replacing the joystick with the classic white knobs we know today) and through effective advertising right before the 1960 Christmas season, sold over half a million L’Ecran Magique devices almost instantly. By 1998, this popular toy was nominated to the US National Toy Hall of Fame, and was honored in the top 100 memorable toys of the 20^th century by the US Toy Industry Association in 2003.

So how does this seemingly simple, commonplace device actually work? As mentioned above, Mr. Cassagnes utilized aluminum powder in his original design. Aluminum powder in the plastic case has a unique ability to adhere to a variety of surfaces, including the thin glass layer found within the etch-a-sketch apparatus. There are plastic beads incorporated into the aluminum powder intended to minimize the chances of the aluminum powder particles sticking to themselves, thus ensuring uniform distribution of the aluminum powder on the glass plate. When you shake and/or invert the apparatus to erase your artistic creations, the aluminum evenly coats the glass plate, rendering a “blank” canvas.

When you turn one or both of the white knobs, you are activating a pulley system which pulls on a wire that is connected to a stylus. This stylus rubs off the aluminum particles from whatever area of the screen the stylus is at, resulting in the artistic creation of your choice. The lines you draw only appear black because of the absence of light present within the etch-a-sketch device.

This basic concept of an etch-a-sketch was also the basis of research conducted at the University of Pittsburgh. Using both lanthanum aluminum oxide and strontium titanium oxide instead of aluminum, and the tip of an atomic force microscope as a stylus, scientists found that the changes in voltage (movement of protons and electrons based on changes in electrical field) across the surface may yield insights for potential nanowire research; these nanowires have potential use in transistors and other potential wiring applications.

As Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior advisor to former presidential candidate Mitt Romney mentioned during the campaign,”Everything changes, it’s almost like an etch-a-sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again.” Whether on the political stage, as a gift to a child under a Christmas tree, as a model to help you survive physics class, or the basis of nanowire research, the etch-a-sketch has a noteworthy place not only within the history of the toy industry, but within society.

1.       http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/andre-cassagnes-electrician-who-invented-the-perennially-popular-toy-etch-a-sketch-8480625.html

2.       http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/03/us/etch-a-sketch-creator-death

3.       http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2012/03/22/how-does-an-etch-a-sketch-work-anyway/

4.       http://www1.union.edu/newmanj/Physics100/Light%20as%20a%20Wave/light_as_a_wave.htm

5.       http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/business/andre-cassagnes-etch-a-sketch-inventor-is-dead-at-86.html

Image Credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jack_of_hearts.jpg

GMO: From Lab to Plate – A $150 billion industry! What is it and why should I care?

Story by Noah Botwinick, contributing author for the PeoplePlanetProfitBlog.com.

GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organisms, and it is generally used in regards to crops that have been genetically altered in some way. The purpose of modifying crops is to enhance certain desirable traits in the crops themselves, and the process is generally accomplished through genetic engineering. Scientists are able to locate a specific gene that is responsible for a desired trait and then insert this gene into a different plant of the same species. As the world population continues to increase and more land is utilized for housing instead of food production, there is a growing need to grow crops in locations previously considered to be unsuitable for plant cultivation.

Genetically engineered crops can survive in areas that naturally occurring crops of the same plant species cannot survive in.

It is this advantage that makes GM crops so desirable. As a result of ever increasing population growth coupled with a decreasing amount of arable land and natural resources due to climate change and human destruction, it is now possible to foresee a time when, without GMOs, there will no longer be enough land to grow the food required to sustain the human population. The basic concept behind GM crops is that they can provide a greater food yield using less land. Scientists also believe that biotechnology provides the key to protecting soil erosion, which will enable the same lands to be constantly reused for farming.

Using genetic engineering, scientists have been improving crops in a number of ways by making them:

• Insect resistant: Crops that have been modified to be insect resistant can save farmers from serious financial loss from insects that destroy crops. It’s also healthier for people to eat foods that haven’t been sprayed with pesticides, and not using pesticides is better for the environment as well.
• Herbicide tolerant: Crops that have been genetically engineered to be resistant to just one very powerful herbicide can help prevent environmental damage and reduce growing costs by reducing the amount of herbicides needed.
•  Disease resistant: Scientists are working on genetically modified crops that will be able to withstand viruses, fungi and bacteria that cause plant diseases.
• Frost tolerant: Crops have been genetically altered to resist and survive in cold temperatures, which saves crops during unexpected cold weather and allows crops to be grown in regions that were previously considered too cold to grow crops in.
• Drought tolerant: Scientists are creating crops that require less water and thus can better survive droughts and be planted in areas that previously couldn’t sustain crops.
• Salinity tolerant: Creating plants that can withstand high salt content in soil and groundwater will help farmers grow crops in formerly infertile places.
• Healthier: Researchers are working on making crops that are genetically engineered to contain additional vitamins and minerals so as to provide more sustenance for humans. They are also are working to develop edible vaccines grown into certain crops.
• Cleaners: Certain types of plants have been genetically engineered to clean up heavy metal pollution from polluted soil and underground water, making the soil and water suitable for growing crops.
• Grown on Roofs: By using biotechnology to genetically modify plants so that they can thrive in rooftop growing conditions and vertical farms, it greatly increases the amount of land available for crop growing.
• Cheaper: Some GM crops can be cheaper to grow than naturally occurring forms of the same plant.

Despite these potential improvements that genetically modified crops contain within them, there are still those that are against their usage, due to a number of concerns with the practice of altering the genetic makeup of plant species for mass production.Some possible dangers of using GM food include; unintended harm to other organisms, reduced effectiveness of pesticides and herbicides and transferring of genes to non-target species.For each of these concerns, however, there are ways scientists can genetically alter the makeup of the plant without resulting in these negative effects. There are also potential human health risks, such as the creation of a new life threatening allergen within a particular plant species as well as any other possible unknown effects that GM food might have on human health.Still, through extensive testing researchers should be able to design GM foods that don’t pose health risks.Lastly, there are economic concerns with creating GM crops as well. The main issue with creating crops that have been genetically altered to be better than the natural form of the specific crop is that these new forms of the crop are subject to intellectual property law; in other words, these new crops can be owned by one company.This can significantly raise the prices of the seeds for that crop and make small farmers unable to afford seeds.

…new forms of the crop are subject to intellectual property law; in other words, these new crops can be owned by one company.

In 2011, the global value of genetically modified seeds alone was $13.2 billion. In the same year, commercial grain from GM maize, soybean grain and cotton was worth $160 billion. Seed companies, agrochemical companies, distributors, farmers, grain elevators and companies that develop new crops all make money in the agriculture business market from genetically altered crops. Companies that create a genetically modified crop with a desire trait can sell these crops to farmers and agriculture companies all over the world; these crops are especially desirable in resource-poor areas of the world. According to statistics by the ISAAA, roughly 15 million farmers spanning 29 countries around the world use GM crops, most of which were in developing countries.

Before these GM foods enter most national markets, they have to be cleared by the national food authorities as not possessing any health or environmental risks. Therefore, GM products that can be bought at a supermarket have all been cleared as safe by the national government’s food authorities. This holds true for GM products circulating in the international market as well. The World Health Organization is constantly working to improve the safety of GMOs by evaluating their risks and working to help solve them.

About Noah Botwinick

Currently attending Yeshiva University in New York. Majoring in political science. I’m passionate about protecting the environment and the world we live in. I believe that sustainable, clean and efficient energy practices hold the key to reversing the damaging effects we’ve had on the earth. In addition, I played on my college basketball team for 2 years and I’m the editor in chief of the YU yearbook. 

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The Coming Oil Crisis – How Much Oil And Time Do We Have?

Content provided by: CarInsurance.org
While it’s unlikely the we’ll find ourselves using the last drop of the world’s oil anytime soon, we are nearly guaranteed to face a shortage of cheap and accessible oil in the coming century. Known oil reserves are only prepared to meet today’s global demand for another 40 years. And two indicators suggest that we have even less time than that. One, anyone charting the rising middle classes in China and India can tell you, global oil demand is growing. Without new sources of energy, today’s oil supplies will not meet tomorrow’s oil demand. And second, figures for proven oil reserves aren’t so proven. Reserve figures are reported by global oil suppliers that have heavy incentives to exaggerate their reserves. Healthy global reserve estimates help to reassure investors and stabilize volatile prices. The world’s largest oil supplier since the 1980s, Saudi Arabian ARAMCO, has reported no major oil field discoveries in thirty years. Even so, the company’s reported reserves have barely changed in decades.

So, what alternatives are available to us? As of now, there seem to be only two options. Both will require serious changes to most global lifestyles. First, we can stay the course we’re on now and pay more for oil. We’ll continue to develop expensive and destructive oil extraction methods. Prices will rise until today’s high consumption lifestyle will be accessible only to the very rich.

The second and brighter alternative requires a global collaboration to wean the global economy off of oil. Nations and industries worldwide will need to prioritize sustainable energy development. We’ll use industry taxes and international regulations to make alternative energies competitive. Whatever global consumers decide to do, one fact is unavoidable: the price of oil, and energy in general, will be higher.

About Justin Ragusa

I am an Eco-Entrepreneur, author, and webmaster of PeoplePlanetProfitBlog.com I love living green and try to incorporate all I do in this industry. Let me know if you have any questions, I’ll show you how to make a rewarding and profitable career in the Energy Industry… just contact me.

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