Why Can't You Use Your Cell Phone on an Airplane

In 1991, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned passengers from using their cell phones while on board an airplane that is in flight. The ban was instituted because the FCC suspected that the radio frequency emitted by cell phones could malfunction an airplane's equipment systems. In complying with this rule, different airlines have instituted different policies about when phones can be turned on and off. In 2005, the FCC announced that it might consider lifting the ban on the use of cell phones on airplanes, with certain restrictions. 

The FCC regulates the use of all electronic devices, including cell phones, on airplanes under the assumption that they may affect the communication systems on board. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) agrees with the FCC that cell phones may cause substantial interference with aircraft systems and supports the ban for all commercially operated airplanes. The use of cell phones on private or charter planes is not regulated, however, and many private flights permit passengers to use cell phones while in flight. 

Lots of debate has surrounded the use of cell phones on airplanes. The primary concern is that cell phones may interfere with the navigation and communication systems of the plane, potentially resulting in devastating failure. Numerous airlines have reported disruptions in cabin pressure, compass function, and wireless navigation systems associated with the use of cell phones on board. The FCC, it seems, erred on the side of caution when it enforced an outright ban on the use of radio frequency emitting devices which could potentially cause an aircraft to crash. 

There have also been some reports that the use of cell phones on planes may cause disruptions in ground communications because of interference. Others claim that the airlines and the FCC would simply prefer that consumers use the telecommunications systems mounted on most seat backs in commercial airplanes, because these phones are said to be highly profitable. Newer cell phones are capable of operating on very low power settings, which may not interfere with the aircraft as much. The FCC is attempting to establish an acceptable threshold of radio frequency emissions, so that cell phones could be used on airplanes without any fear of the navigation system failing or service on the ground being disrupted.

How can I Make a Room Soundproof

There are many times when a person might want to reduce the amount of sound coming into or leaving a room. Making a room soundproof involves stopping or reducing sound waves by using certain building techniques or materials. There are many methods available, and choosing one will depend on the room itself and the amount of money that you are willing to spend. To make a room soundproof, you might have to make changes to the walls, ceiling, windows, doors and any cracks or openings. A few things that will help make a room soundproof include using a double layer of sheetrock on walls, with a layer of silicone or another sticky sound-dampening compound in between them; installing double- or triple-hung windows; installing a drop ceiling; and installing carpet padding and carpet on the floors.

The best way to prevent a noise problem is to construct the room with building materials and techniques that will reduce the noise that enters or leaves a room. Pre-planning in this way is not always possible, however, especially for renters. In those cases, soundproofing a room centers on how to absorb unwanted noise after the walls already are in place.

Soundproofing Walls

If you are building the walls or are willing to re-do existing walls, consider using two layers of sheetrock with a small amount of space in between. They can be glued together using a layer of silicone or a special type of sound-dampening glue. For existing walls, a layer of sheetrock can be added over the wall. Sounds waves are reduced as they travel through mass and as they go from substances of different densities, which is why two layers of sheetrock that are slightly separated are better than one layer that is twice as thick. Various sound-reducing materials also can be added to the interior of walls, such as fiberglass insulation, rockwool insulation, mass-loaded vinyl or certain types of soundproofing foam panels.

Doors and Windows

Doorways and windows can also contribute to unwanted noise problems. Thick, solid doors and double- or triple-paned vinyl-framed windows will block more sound than thin doors and single-paned windows. Also, just like the way that a draft of air can travel through leaks around a door or window, sound can enter or leave a room through them. Weatherstrips or caulk can be applied to the gaps around door frames and windows to reduce the amount of sound that sneaks through the gaps.

Floors and Ceilings

Floors and ceilings can be soundproofed as well. Carpet can be installed over carpet padding on floors. Special sound-reducing mats also can be laid under the carpeting. A ceiling can be soundproofed by adding a drop ceiling, which is sometimes called a false ceiling or suspended ceiling. This type of ceiling consists of special panels hung from the ceiling.

Less-Expensive Options

If money is a concern or time is limited, a less drastic, inexpensive approach to making a room soundproof might be needed. This might include using a large bookcase or other furniture against a wall, effectively making a thicker wall through which the sound must travel, or using thick curtains over windows to help keep sounds from traveling through the window as easily. Other simple techniques that can reduce the noise in a room involve absorbing the sound that is already in the room, rather than blocking it from entering or leaving the room.

Sound-Absorbing Surfaces

Hard, smooth surfaces in a room typically do nothing to help eliminate sounds, and they might make the noise problem worse. Soft rugs, carpet and curtains can absorb sound. Rough surfaces on walls and ceilings, such as sprayed-on texture, can help reduce the sound waves in a noisy room.

Wall Treatments

Wall treatments or decorations also can help make a room soundproof. This usually involves tacking on or hanging some sort of heavy material that will block sound waves. The material can range from carpeting to blankets to manufactured paneling — even cardboard egg cartons are an option in some situations. As with most soundproofing materials, the thicker, the better.

What is Technology

Technology is a broad term that refers both to artifacts created by humans, such as machines, and the methods used to create those artifacts. More broadly, technology can be used to refer to a way of doing something or a means of organization: for instance, democracy might be considered a social technology. Technology comes from the Greek technologia, which is a combination of “techne”, meaning “craft”, and logia, meaning “saying”. So technology might be considered the articulation of a craft. The word is also used to describe the extent to which a society can manipulate its environment.

When the word “technology” is used today, it is most often used to refer to high technology – computers, cell phones, rockets – rather than technology in general. But when anthropologists use the word “technology,” they go all the way back to the controlled use of fire (from about 500,000 – 1 million years ago), the invention of the wheel (c. 4000 BCE), and beyond. The first technological tools were simple hand-axes made by our hominid ancestors millions of years ago.

The earliest technological divisions are from mankind’s early history, divided into the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age depending on the primary tool and weapon-making material at the time. Each building material is superior to the one before it, but more difficult to develop requisite metallurgical techniques. The Iron Age began in about 1400 BCE. 

Since the formulation of the scientific method in the 15th century, technological progress has apparently been accelerating. Some technologies developed since then include the telescope, the microscope, the clock, the engine, the electric generator and electric motor, radio, nuclear power and weapons, television, computer, and many others.

Technological development continues strongly today, fueled by the multibillion-dollar economies of the world’s most prosperous nations. The hottest developments in technology today are happening in computers, nanotechnology, materials science, renewable energy, entertainment, space travel, and medicine.

Philosophers as well as laypeople often debate whether or not technological progress is, on the whole, a good thing for humanity. On the pro-technology side of the spectrum are techno-progressivists such as transhumanists, on the anti-technology side are anarcho-primitivists, and Neo-Luddites.

What Is 4G Mobile Technology

4G mobile technology is the name given to the next generation of mobile devices such as cell phones. It became available from at least one provider in several parts of the US in 2009. There is not yet an agreed industry standard for what constitutes 4G mobile, so for now it is merely a marketing term.

The use of G, standing for generation, in mobile technology covers the major advances of the past 20-30 years. 1G technology involved the first widely available mobile phones. 2G technology, which began in the early 1990s, switched to a digital format and introduced text messaging. 3G technology improved the efficiency of how data is carried, making it possible to carry enhanced information services such as websites in their original format. The latest iPhone is the best known example of 3G technology.

4G mobile is not yet established as an agreed set of standards, so its features are currently simply goals rather than requirements. As well as drastically increasing data transfer speeds, 4G mobile should use enhanced security measures. Another goal is to reduce blips in transmission when a device moves between areas covered by different networks. 4G mobile networks should also use a network based on the IP address system used for the internet.

Within the United States, there are two major systems using 4G mobile technology. One is known as WiMax and is backed by Clearwire, a firm whose majority owner is Sprint Nextel. It began testing services in Baltimore in 2008 and was set to expand this into major new markets in 2009. Sprint intended to have 80 cities covered by the end of 2010.

The rival system, Long Term Evolution or LTE, is backed mainly by Verizon. It was expected to be ready for testing in 2010 but not available for widespread use until 2012. LTE's backers hoped to overcome this disadvantage by offering faster speeds and producing cheaper equipment.

Unlike previous generations of mobile technology, 4G mobile will be widely used for internet access on computers as well as carrying cell phone communications. Customers in areas which have strong 4G coverage will be able to use it for a home broadband connection which doesn't require any cabling to their household. It can also be used for accessing the internet on the move without having to be in a wireless hotspot such as those offered by some coffee shops, airports and libraries.

What Is Microfiche

A microfiche is a four by five-inch (10.2 by 15.2 cm) piece of photographic film, used to store printed information in miniaturized form. To read a microfiche, a user places the film card under the lens of a microform reader, magnifying it greatly. Its thinness and small size enables it to be stored very easily and efficiently, allowing libraries, museums and businesses to increase their resource collections without the need for additional space. While many libraries and businesses now store records digitally, microform records are still in use and, in fact, have some advantages over digital storage options.

How it Works

Microfiche is a subtype of microform, a term used to describe several mediums that provide storage for exact, miniaturized copies of documents. Unlike microfilm, which producers spin into a reel, microfiche is a flat sheet of film. These thin, flat cards take up less space than microfilm and do not require a separate canister for storage.

It is impossible for the human eye to read microform as is, one must use a specially designed machine. These machines include a magnifier and a simple projector that allows the user to read the greatly magnified image or document on a screen. These machines are usually expensive and can be found in institutions that use microform documents, such as libraries or government offices.

Advantages

The advantages of microfiche include its storability: Even a small storage cabinet could hold thousands of cards which, in turn, contain tens of thousands of pages of material. In addition, computers or specialized software is not required to read a microform document. Unlike some digital storage methods, such as CD-ROMs, microform is also remarkably stable and, if kept in a temperature controlled environment, can last as long as 500 years.

Libraries, museums and businesses that own valuable or important documents also value this data storage method as a way of providing researchers with access to important records and archives without significant risk of loss or damage. Since it is impossible to read without a special machine and has no aesthetic value of its own, microform data is of little interest to thieves. If a card becomes damaged, the organization that owns the original document can have a new one created.

Disadvantages

Microfiche lacks the portability of digital files: Special equipment is needed to both read and duplicate the cards. Microform readers, for example, are bulky and aren’t as accessible as personal computers. Making a paper copy of a microfiche also requires using a special printer integrated into the machine. It is usually impractical to use color ink in microform, meaning that documents are usually stored only in black and white.

Researchers may also have difficulty using microform documents. For example, if a needed document is only in microfilm or microfiche, a researcher may have to travel to the physical location where the record is actually stored. If the data was in digital form, the researcher could receive the data via email or a document sharing system and then read it on his or her personal computer. Machines used to read microforms are also cumbersome to use, sometimes requiring the user to scroll through the documents in order to find needed information. Digital data, on the other hand, is easily and quickly searched through the use of specialized software.

What Are LED Christmas Lights

Stringing up Christmas lights has traditionally been one of the most tortuous of holiday tasks. Untangling wires, balancing on a ladder and attaching them to the house are all chores associated with this endeavor, but the biggest problem for many people is finding that mysterious broken bulb. Hours are lost and tempers flare, but this is where LED Christmas lights can show their true benefit.

LED Christmas lights use light emitting diodes rather than the traditional miniature incandescent bulbs. LEDs are much like incandescent bulbs except that they do not have a filament inside that can burn out and take the entire string of bulbs with it. Instead, they are illuminated by the movement of electrons in a semi-conductor material. Another benefit of this light source is the absence of excessive heat and wasted electricity.

LEDs have been around for a long time, but only caught on for use as Christmas lights in recent years. One reason is that older LEDs originally came in only red. Incandescent bulbs, on the other hand, emit only white light but are encased in colored glass. Another problem was a lack of brightness of LEDs. The potential was there however, and advanced LEDs solved these problems. Today you can find LED christmas lights in all kinds of shapes and sizes. They can blink just like the regular incandescent varieties and come in a wide range of colors.

The end result is a string of lights that use about one-tenth of the electrical current of the more commonly used incandescent lights. They are also encased in thick plastic rather than flimsy glass, so broken bulbs and mistakenly stepping on one won't result in a holiday tragedy. As mentioned, the life of LEDs are extremely long-they are used often in the dashboards of jet planes-so burn out after one season is highly unlikely. One last benefit is the relative thickness of the wires used for these lights, making wires less likely to get tangled in the closet or garage.

Caring for LED lights is simple with such a long life and tough casing. Users can simply roll them up and store them at the end of the holiday and fully expect to come back next year and find them still functioning.

What Is a 4G Network

A 4G network is the fourth generation of wireless communication. While still in development, the foundations for the replacement of the present network is currently being researched and constructed by the cellular phone industry and other technology developers. The overall goal for the network is to provide a comprehensive and secure Internet Protocol solution with much faster data speeds than previous generations.

The first wireless network, known as 1G, was founded during the 1980s. 2G was introduced in the early 1990s as a way of allowing more transmissions to occur per communication channel. The foundations of 3G were established in the late 1990s and have been implemented throughout the majority of the world as of the early 21st century. While the 3G network was the first to allow for multimedia applications, 4G promises to take this basic technology and amplify its usage.

The specifics of the 4G network are geared towards a higher quality of service. Better reception and less dropped data and information exchanges are a priority. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the organization that oversees the standards of the present wireless networks, has stated that it requires substantial improvements to multimedia messaging services, including video services, in order to approve a new generation. It wants a data speed transfer rate of at least 100 megabits per second while a user is physically moving at high speeds and a one gigabit per second data rate in a fixed position. The ITU also requires interactive roaming between networks.

A variety of working groups have been established to help develop the 4G network. Proposals from these organizations include implementation of WiMax, a faster version of wireless data transfer than WiFi networks. The groups also plan to utilize packet-based information exchange based on standard IP technology. This promises to be the fastest mobile communication method without cables ever devised.

In order to make the 4G system work, the concept of smart antennas must be developed and implemented. With the establishment of the 2G and 3G networks, a number of different methods of data transmission were created. Many of these technologies can be rolled into the 4G network, however, the working groups and ITU prefer a standardized antenna system that can communicate across company lines. 

One of the proposed technologies to make this happen is known as spacial multiplexing. Spacial multiplexing uses a series of antennas linked into a single transmitter and receiver. These antennas are capable of functioning simultaneously, speeding up the space-time data exchange rates.

Overall implementation of the 3G network around the world took nearly a decade. The ITU plans to have the 4G network rolled out to the global market in a much more effective and timely manner. With the speeds and video technology, the possibilities for wireless communication will revolutionize the global communications network. However, concerns over stability and security are also prime factors in the development.