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Off-piste racing
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clearly be abused. Does that mean it should not have gone past the conceptual stage of invention? The pursuit of understanding cannot be held responsible for hypothetical abuses, nor should it be impeded to reform society. Virginia Water, Surrey, UK
Call response From Frank Fahy Your item on Jurassic katydid calls suggests that sounds at 6.4 kilohertz “can travel long distances” (11 February, p 18). In fact, there is nothing special about this frequency: lower frequencies can travel further because atmospheric absorption increases as the square of frequency. The problem of locating a tonal source is exacerbated by wave interference caused by multiple reflections, as drivers know only too well when trying to work out the direction of emergency vehicles. Multiple reflections from forest trees would confuse katydid predators. Crickets in the grass cause similar confusion. King’s Somborne, Hampshire, UK
Dog days From Rex Newsome Your article on dingo conservation and the Azaria Chamberlain inquest (18 February, p 28) reminded me of a pup I bought for my daughter from a dog pound many years ago. As she grew, the dog seemed untameable and tried to escape at every opportunity. She would snap at anyone who tried to pat her. Finally, she jumped over the fence, took off down the road and was run over. Years later, I opened a book on Australian flora and fauna and there was a photo of what could have been our dog, entitled Canis familiaris dingo, supplied by Alan Newsome of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Canberra. He was the Australian dingo expert who
gave evidence at the original Chamberlain trial. I had to laugh – Alan was my cousin. Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
The wrong teeth From W. Duncan Robertson I am a little concerned that the biomedical research department of the University of Hasselt in Belgium seem to have placed a set of upper teeth on the fabricated titanium lower jaw shown in the photo accompanying your report on printing jawbones (11 February, p 7). One can spot the mistake by the size of the teeth and the natural curve they should assume in the
whenever I felt drowsy, which happened four or five times a day, I immediately found somewhere to sleep for 10 to 30 minutes. Contrary to what you might think, this cycle was easy to adopt, and it kept me awake and alert for about 18 out of 24 hours. Acton Park, Tasmania, Australia
Off-piste racing From Maris Lauva Your report on electric racing cars mentions charging mats built into the track to allow inductive charging on the go, and suggests the mats be on the racing line that cars generally follow (11 February, p 22). But having the mats off the racing line would allow more passing, increase the spectacle and introduce a further dimension in team tactics. It would stimulate technology by encouraging designers to make the most of what is already on board. Dianella, Western Australia
Damascus, via India mouth. I would hate readers to think that these teeth were the outcome for this patient. I am, however, very impressed by the titanium jawbone. Edinburgh, UK
Power naps From Chris Henderson Further to your Instant Expert on sleep (4 February), I found a way to maximise the efficiency of sleep cycles when in Antarctica during the summers of 2009 and 2010. As a doctor and engineer in a small, isolated party at Mawson’s Huts, I was very busy with numerous projects. Unencumbered by a domestic timetable or darkness, I would sleep heavily for about 2 hours around midnight. Thereafter,
From Ravindra Nadkarni In your lost scientific treasures article, you mentioned Damascus steel (4 February, p 40). This material was made from highcarbon “wootz” steel made in southern India, which contained small amounts of vanadium, giving it its banded structure. This, with heat treatment, was essential for the flexibility of the famed Damascus blades. No one realised the importance of vanadium at the time, and wootz made from other sources, after the original ores were exhausted, was not as good. Wrentham, Massachusetts, US
Virtual swat From Suzy Chapman I realised I had become as much “at one with the machine” as Pam
Lunn treating a real book like an e-book reader (11 February, p 33) when the futility of attempting to nudge a fly off the edge of my laptop screen by poking it with my on-screen mouse pointer dawned on me. Lytchett Matravers, Dorset, UK
Gremlin twins From Rick Cryer, proofreader Did you notice that “colour palate” should be “palette” (14 January, p 44), and “the palette it was standing on” should be “pallet” (Last Word, same issue)? What are the chances of that? Sheffield, UK
For the record n The story about a fire at a Brazilian Antarctic base (3 March, p 5) should have said most bases use nonflammable building materials. n Part way through our review of Mark Pagel’s book Wired for Culture (3 March, p 50) we misspelt his name. We also note that Pagel is an evolutionary biologist whose specialisations are not limited to evolution of language.
Letters should be sent to: Letters to the Editor, New Scientist, 84 Theobald’s Road, London WC1X 8NS Fax: +44 (0) 20 7611 1280 Email: [email protected] Include your full postal address and telephone number, and a reference (issue, page number, title) to articles. We reserve the right to edit letters. Reed Business Information reserves the right to use any submissions sent to the letters column of New Scientist magazine, in any other format.
17 March 2012 | NewScientist | 31
clearly be abused. Does that mean it should not have gone past the conceptual stage of invention? The pursuit of understanding cannot be held responsible for hypothetical abuses, nor should it be impeded to reform society. Virginia Water, Surrey, UK
Call response From Frank Fahy Your item on Jurassic katydid calls suggests that sounds at 6.4 kilohertz “can travel long distances” (11 February, p 18). In fact, there is nothing special about this frequency: lower frequencies can travel further because atmospheric absorption increases as the square of frequency. The problem of locating a tonal source is exacerbated by wave interference caused by multiple reflections, as drivers know only too well when trying to work out the direction of emergency vehicles. Multiple reflections from forest trees would confuse katydid predators. Crickets in the grass cause similar confusion. King’s Somborne, Hampshire, UK
Dog days From Rex Newsome Your article on dingo conservation and the Azaria Chamberlain inquest (18 February, p 28) reminded me of a pup I bought for my daughter from a dog pound many years ago. As she grew, the dog seemed untameable and tried to escape at every opportunity. She would snap at anyone who tried to pat her. Finally, she jumped over the fence, took off down the road and was run over. Years later, I opened a book on Australian flora and fauna and there was a photo of what could have been our dog, entitled Canis familiaris dingo, supplied by Alan Newsome of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Canberra. He was the Australian dingo expert who
gave evidence at the original Chamberlain trial. I had to laugh – Alan was my cousin. Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
The wrong teeth From W. Duncan Robertson I am a little concerned that the biomedical research department of the University of Hasselt in Belgium seem to have placed a set of upper teeth on the fabricated titanium lower jaw shown in the photo accompanying your report on printing jawbones (11 February, p 7). One can spot the mistake by the size of the teeth and the natural curve they should assume in the
whenever I felt drowsy, which happened four or five times a day, I immediately found somewhere to sleep for 10 to 30 minutes. Contrary to what you might think, this cycle was easy to adopt, and it kept me awake and alert for about 18 out of 24 hours. Acton Park, Tasmania, Australia
Off-piste racing From Maris Lauva Your report on electric racing cars mentions charging mats built into the track to allow inductive charging on the go, and suggests the mats be on the racing line that cars generally follow (11 February, p 22). But having the mats off the racing line would allow more passing, increase the spectacle and introduce a further dimension in team tactics. It would stimulate technology by encouraging designers to make the most of what is already on board. Dianella, Western Australia
Damascus, via India mouth. I would hate readers to think that these teeth were the outcome for this patient. I am, however, very impressed by the titanium jawbone. Edinburgh, UK
Power naps From Chris Henderson Further to your Instant Expert on sleep (4 February), I found a way to maximise the efficiency of sleep cycles when in Antarctica during the summers of 2009 and 2010. As a doctor and engineer in a small, isolated party at Mawson’s Huts, I was very busy with numerous projects. Unencumbered by a domestic timetable or darkness, I would sleep heavily for about 2 hours around midnight. Thereafter,
From Ravindra Nadkarni In your lost scientific treasures article, you mentioned Damascus steel (4 February, p 40). This material was made from highcarbon “wootz” steel made in southern India, which contained small amounts of vanadium, giving it its banded structure. This, with heat treatment, was essential for the flexibility of the famed Damascus blades. No one realised the importance of vanadium at the time, and wootz made from other sources, after the original ores were exhausted, was not as good. Wrentham, Massachusetts, US
Virtual swat From Suzy Chapman I realised I had become as much “at one with the machine” as Pam
Lunn treating a real book like an e-book reader (11 February, p 33) when the futility of attempting to nudge a fly off the edge of my laptop screen by poking it with my on-screen mouse pointer dawned on me. Lytchett Matravers, Dorset, UK
Gremlin twins From Rick Cryer, proofreader Did you notice that “colour palate” should be “palette” (14 January, p 44), and “the palette it was standing on” should be “pallet” (Last Word, same issue)? What are the chances of that? Sheffield, UK
For the record n The story about a fire at a Brazilian Antarctic base (3 March, p 5) should have said most bases use nonflammable building materials. n Part way through our review of Mark Pagel’s book Wired for Culture (3 March, p 50) we misspelt his name. We also note that Pagel is an evolutionary biologist whose specialisations are not limited to evolution of language.
Letters should be sent to: Letters to the Editor, New Scientist, 84 Theobald’s Road, London WC1X 8NS Fax: +44 (0) 20 7611 1280 Email: [email protected] Include your full postal address and telephone number, and a reference (issue, page number, title) to articles. We reserve the right to edit letters. Reed Business Information reserves the right to use any submissions sent to the letters column of New Scientist magazine, in any other format.
17 March 2012 | NewScientist | 31