The museum explores the global social impact of electrical and information sciences and technologies, and demonstrates engineering and engineers relevance to society. It contains audio and video clips, interactive features and exhibits. The first two exhibits are "Socket to Me! How Electricity Came to Be" (see below for an introduction) and "The Beat Goes On: How Sounds are Recorded and Played." Three more exhibits will be released by the third quarter. They will highlight microwave's applications, Thomas Edison's works and women's contributions to electrical and information technologies. The museum is supported by the IEEE Foundation, the IEEE Life Members and the IEEE History Center Trustees.
Excerpts from "The E- Behind Everything," introduction to "Socket to Me!"
Ancient Greeks knew rubbing amber generated static electricity, but they didn't know why. The Greek word for amber is elektron.
Experiments using friction to generate static electricity led to machines that could produce large amounts of static electricity on demand. In 1660 German Otto von Guericke made the first electrostatic generator with a ball of sulfur and some cloth. The ball symbolized the earth, and he believed that this little replica of the earth would shed part of its electric "soul" when rubbed.
As scientists continued to study electricity, they began thinking of it as an invisible fluid and tried to capture and store it. One of the first to do this was Pieter van Musschenbroek of Leyden, Holland. In 1746 he wrapped a water-filled jar with metal foil and discovered that this simple device could store the energy produced by an electrostatic generator. This device became known as the Leyden jar.
Leyden jars were very important in other people's experiments, such as Benjamin Franklin's famous kite experiment. Many people suspected that lightning and static electricity were the same thing, since both crackled and produced bright sparks. In 1752 Franklin attached a key to a kite and flew it in a storm-threatened sky. When a thundercloud moved by, the key sparked. This spark charged the Leyden jars and proved that lightning was really electricity.
Franklin was not the only scientist inspired to conduct experiments with electricity. In the 1780s, the Italian scientist Luigi Galvani made a dead frog's leg move by by means of an electric current. Galvani called this "animal electricity." He thought that the wet animal tissue generated electricity when it came in contact with metal probes. He even suggested that the soul was actually electricity.
Fellow Italian Alessandro Volta was skeptical of Galvani's conclusions. In 1799 he discovered that it wasn't animal tissue alone producing the electric current at all. Volta believed that the current was actually caused by the interaction of water and chemicals in the animal tissue with the metal probes. Volta stacked metal disks separated by layers of cardboard soaked in salt water. This so-called voltaic pile produced an electric current without needing to be charged like a Leyden jar. This invention is still around today, but we call it the battery, making Volta the first person to generate electricity with a chemical reaction.
The exhibit continues with sections on Making Electricity Work: Putting Theory into Practice; Telegraphs and Telephones; Light and Power; Radio; Television; Transistors and Chips; Computers; Nuclear Power; Lasers, Fiber Optics and Other Bright Ideas; and Electricity and the Body.
IEEE-USA ENDORSES SENATE BILLS ON HOMELAND SECURITY - In testimony before a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space on homeland security and technology, IEEE-USA endorsed two Senate bills designed to provide a coordinated technology response in the event of a major emergency, and strengthen our nation's security against computer attacks: S. 2182, the Cyber Security Research and Development Act and S. 2037, the Science and Technology Emergency Mobilization Act. IEEE-USA previously backed a companion bill (H.R. 3394), which passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 400-12 on Feb. 7. The cyber security bills would create new research and education programs to address the nation's extraordinary vulnerability to attacks upon computer systems and networks, and the critical national infrastructures that rely upon them (e.g., water systems and electricity grids).
IEEE-USA-ASME CO-SPONSOR CONGRESSIONAL WORKSHOP ON TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT - IEEE-USA joined with the ASME Int'l to co-sponsor an April 17 congressional workshop on "Technology Assessment: Identifying the Needs of Congress" for congressional staffers and representatives of interested scientific, engineering and technology organizations. The workshop offered participants the opportunity to learn about technology assessment legislation currently pending in the House and Senate. Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) introduced IEEE-USA-backed legislation to reestablish the congressional Office of Technology Assessment (H.R. 2148). IEEE-USA also endorsed Title XVI of the Senate Energy bill (S.517), which contains provisions offered by Senator Fritz Hollings calling for creation of a National Science and Technology Assessment Service in Congress.
NSF DATA SHOWS DECLINES IN ENGINEERING/PHYSICS DOCTORATES - A National Science Foundation info brief surveying doctorates awarded in physics and engineering during the period 1993-2000 reports a 22% decline in physics doctorates in 2000 and a 15% decline in engineering doctorates awarded between 1996 and 2000. The declines are lead by an even larger drop in the number of non-US citizens (especially those from China, Taiwan and Korea) earning physics and engineering doctorates from US institutions since 1994-1996.
The degree trend runs counter to graduate engineering enrollments, which rose 3% in 2000.
IEEE BOARD APPROVES MEMBER DIGITAL LIBRARY FOR 2003 - The IEEE Board of Directors voted to approve a new member benefit for 2003: The IEEE Member Digital Library. Subscribers to the IEEE Member Digital Library will pay a monthly fee to download a pre-set number of papers from IEEE magazines, journals and conference proceedings.
IEEE ANNOUNCES NEW NEURAL NETWORKS SOCIETY AND NANOTECHNOLOGY COUNCIL - The IEEE Board of Directors has established the IEEE Neural Networks Society and the IEEE Nanotechnology Council. They replace the IEEE Neural Networks Council and the IEEE Nanotechnology Committee, respectively. This brings the total number to 37 IEEE societies and four technical councils. An IEEE Society is made up of individuals interested in a specific area of technology. An IEEE Technical Council is made up of individual IEEE Societies. The IEEE Nanotechnology council is co-sponsored by eighteen different IEEE societies.
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING PARTNERS WITH IEEE - Harvard Business School Publishing (HBSP) has joined the growing list of premiere university partners of IEEE. HBSP provides selected online courses at a 10% discount for IEEE members. Currently thirteen courses in leadership, management, and strategy are being offered to IEEE members along with one powerful performance resource called Harvard ManageMentor [registered trade mark].
HBSP courses utilize Harvard Business Review articles, interactive case studies and expert feedback from instructors. Each course is self-contained with all the resources you need provided for you online. In one to two hours at your desktop, you can acquire both new and classic business concepts to apply immediately to your job.
See http://www.ieee.org/eab/verify/hbsp/verify.htm or contact Jason Prue.
IEEE STANDARDS ASSOCIATION BOARD APPROVES PROJECTS - The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Standards Board approved the IEEE Standard 802.15.1 called "Wireless MAC and PHY Specifications for Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs(TM))," which is adapted from portions of the Bluetooth wireless specification. The IEEE-SA Standards Board also approved work to begin on five new standards for learning technology. IEEE P1484.11.1 and 11.2 concern the data model used for computer managed instruction (CMI) and CMI data transfer, respectively. IEEE P1484.14.1, 14.2 and 14.3 will provide documentation for CMI system developers.
Jean Eason, Editor