Science Scrap by George Hernandez

Scrap notes on science, engineering, and technology that I am parking here for exploring, refining, and sorting later.

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Biology
Mobile Devices
Self-Organizing Systems
Miscellany

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

Much like the human mind is enmeshed with the human body, advances in AI and robotics are tied together.
Here are some major characteristics of AI:
- Must follow The Three Rules of Robotics.
- Aware of environment, sensory capable.
- Reacts to stimuli.
- Self-teaching, self-adapting, language adaptive/flexible.
- Reproductive?
A mix of notes.
- AI (pronounced AYE-EYE) or artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. These processes include learning (the acquisition of information and rules for using the information), reasoning (using the rules to reach approximate or definite conclusions), and self-correction. Particular applications of AI include expert systems, speech recognition, and image recognition.
  - Here is An Introduction to AI that includes a brief illustrated history and a survey of approaches.
  - The American Association for Artificial Intelligence provides resource lists and upcoming conference schedules.
  - One center of research is The Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT.
- An expert system is a computer program that simulates the judgment and behavior of a human or an organization that has expert knowledge and experience in a particular field. Typically, such a system contains a knowledge base containing accumulated experience and a set of rules for applying the knowledge base to each particular situation that is described to the program. Sophisticated expert systems can be enhanced with additions to the knowledge base or to the set of rules. Among the best-known expert systems have been those that play chess and that assist in medical diagnosis.
- Smart matter is another term for micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), a technology that combines computers with tiny mechanical devices such as sensors, valves, gears, mirrors, and actuators imbedded in semiconductor chips. Paul Saffo of the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto, California, believes MEMS or what he calls analog computing will be "the foundational technology of the next decade."
  
  MEMS are already used as accelerometers in automobile air-bags. They've replaced a less reliable device at lower cost and show promise of being able to inflate a bag not only on the basis of sensed deceleration but also on the basis of the size of the person they are protecting. Basically, a MEMS device contains micro-circuitry on a tiny silicon chip into which some mechanical device such as a mirror or a sensor has been manufactured. Potentially, such chips can be built in large quantities at low cost, making them cost-effective for many uses.
  
  Among the presently available uses of MEMS or those under study are:
  - Global position system sensors that can be included with courier parcels for constant tracking and that can also sense parcel treatment en route
  - Sensors built into the fabric of an airplane wing so that it can sense and react to air flow by changing the wing surface resistance; effectively creating a myriad of tiny wing flaps
  - Optical switching devices that can switch light signals over different paths at 20-nanosecond switching speeds
  - Sensor-driven heating and cooling systems that dramatically improve energy savings
  - Building supports with imbedded sensors that can alter the flexibility properties of a material based on atmospheric stress sensing
  Saffo distinguishes between sensor-effector type microcomputing (which he calls "MEMS") and micro-devices containing gears, mirrors, valves, and other parts (which he calls "micro-machines").
  
  Much support for MEMS has come from DARPA's Research and Development Electronics Technology Office.
Keywords: Cyc, alice, FutureAI.com, SingInst.org. Mind.ilstu.edu/ (The Mind Project)
AI
- A "Data" like robot can respond and think like a human.
- At what point in technological development would a creation be equivalent to a human?
- Compare and contrast the naturalness of the origin of animals v automations.
- Rights and responsibilities of the creators.
- When doe a creator become cease to be a creator but a fellow being instead?
- A thing may have the ability to respond, recreate, is unique, and is conscious of its own existence and existence.
- The survival instinct and "caring" whether or not the thing dies.
- Human cells and organs are like robots.
- Can a collective of cells/robots form a consciousness?

Biology

Taxonomy, aka Systematics, Biological Classification. Taxonomy is the classifying and ordering of organisms into logical tree-like structures. Modern taxonomy is based off a system devised by Carolus Linnaeus (1707/1778) but has been revised for consistency with evolution (esp. the principle of common descent) and genetic analysis.
- The tree structure is often memorized with a mnemonic like "Kings Play Chess On Funny Green Squares"
  - Organism. 'a living complex adaptive system of organs that influence each other in such a way that they function as a more or less stable whole. An organism is in a non-equilibrium thermodynamic state, maintaining a homeostatic internal environment, and a continuous input of energy is required to maintain this state.'
  - Domain. Aka superregnum, superkingdom, or empire. The most recent variation (Woese) has three (Woese) domains.
    - Eukaryota. A eurkaryote is an organism with a nucleus or nuclei.
    - Prokaryota. A prokaryote is an organism without even a single nucleus.
      - Archaea or Archaebacteria. An archaeon, archaeum, or archaean is a prokaryote that has genetic transcription and translation process performed more like a eurkaryote than a eubacterium.
      - Bacteria or Eubacteria. A bacterium or eubacterium is a prokaryote.
    - There is has been some talk of a fourth domain for viruses, especially when you take into account the giant sized (400 nm) Mimivirus [W].
  - Kingdom. There are variations but the most recent variation has 6 kingdoms. The recent variations include arguments over phylogenetic trees.
    - Eukaryota
      1. Animalia. An animal does not have cell walls and is a heterotroph that ingests food.
      2. Fungi. A fungus has cell walls and is a heterotroph that absorbs food.
      3. Plantae. A plant has cell walls and is an autotroph that makes food via photosynthesis.
      4. Protista, Protists, or Protoctista. A protist is a eukaryote that isn't an animal, plant, or fungus.
    - Monera or Prokaryota
      1. Bacteria. The most abundant of organisms.
      2. Archaea.
  - Phylum (for animals) or Division (for plants).
  - Class.
  - Order.
  - Family. Sometimes broken into subfamily and then tribe before reaching genus.
  - Genus. Genera for plural.
  - Species.
- Intermediate ranks are made by funk words like subspecies, variety, subvariety and form, but should preferably be made by prefixes.
  - Superspecies
  - Species
  - Subspecies. EG: Homo sapiens sapiens is a subspecies of Homo sapiens. Also form. EG: Acanthocalycium spiniflorum forma klimpelianum.
  - Infraspecies. Also variety or subvariety. EG: Pinus nigra subsp. nigra var. caramanica.
  - Microspecies
  - Nanospecies
- See my History Intro for the human taxonomy.

Mobile Devices

Personal Phones.
- Why pay for a home phone (plus long distance) when you can have a mobile personal phone?
- We should be able to keep the same phone number regardless of phone company or geography.
- Organizations however will still require immobile phones.
- All phones should have GPS capability. If you ever get lost or need 911, you can get help.
- Video phones are possible with the combination of LCD displays, pea-sized cameras (TransChip), and the Internet.
Nuclear Powered . NASA is switching from solar panels and such to plutonium pellets. The non-NASA applications will be interesting.
Internet Connections . Users should use wireless (IEEE 802.11, etc.). Servers should use wires (IEEE 802.3, etc.).
Computing Devices . Handhelds won't really make it until they make an interface that's as good a 101 keyboard. Tablet PCs might be cool, especially if they can really master handwriting recognition.
Open spectrum . The FCC's opening up the spectrum!
Smart Fabrics . Solar powered clothing, self-adjusting fabrics, fabrics that change in response to user signals, fabrics that do things and have new or extended properties.
RFID (Radio Frequency ID). People are pushing to tag humans like sheep. Convenient but a loss of privacy.
Super sturdy personal devices. Keywords: Itronix.com .

Self-Organizing Systems

Between the boredom of the static and the insanity of the chaotic lies the fascinating critical state systems whose exploration reveals math, music, and beauty.
"Critically interacting components self-organize to form potentially evolving structures exhibiting a hierarchy of emergent system properties." -Basic definition of complexity theory from the comp.theory.self-org-sys newsgroup.
The Shape of Things to Come [2003/05]. "Instead of being high in the center and low on the sides, this new distribution is low in the center and high on the sides. Call it the well curve." Clumping at the extremities as opposed to the mean. EGs: huge v tiny companies, rich v poor, big v small screens, conservative v liberal.
"Self-organization can be defined as the spontaneous creation of a globally coherent pattern out of local interactions". -Francis Heylighen.
Keywords: non-equilibrium, power law, chaos theory, self-similarity, fractals, scale-free networks, Stanley Milgram, bell curve-hubs-nodes, Martin Bohner, cybernetics, complexity.

Miscellany

FACS (Facial Action Coding System). Keywords: Paul Ekman, microexpressions, Diogenes project.
What are the basics of electronics?
Distinguish between accuracy (37 C = 98.6 F) versus precision (37 +/- 2 C).
The most common elements in the Universe:
- H = Hydrogen
- He = Helium
- O = Oxygen
The most common elements on Earth
- Si = Silicon
- O = Oxygen
The most common element in seawater
- O = Oxygen. 1st by mass but 2nd by molarity.
- H = Hydrogen. 1st by molarity but second by mass.
- Cl = Chlorine.
- Na = Sodium.
- Mg = Magnesium
- S = Sulfur.
The most common coumpounds in the atmosphere
- N = Nitrogen 78.084%
- O = Oxygen 20.946%
- H₂O = Water 1% average
- Ar = Argon 0.934%
- CO₂ = Carbon Dioxide 0.035%
The most common elements of organic chemistry:
- C = Carbon
- H = Hydrogen
- N = Nitrogen
- O = Oxygen
- S = Sulfur
The big three chemical elements in agriculture:
- N = Nitrogen
- P = Phosphorous
- K = Potassium
Fundamental chemical compounds
- H₂0 = Water. Stuff we drink.
- O₂ = Oxygen. Stuff we breath in.
- CO₂ = Carbon dioxide. Stuff we breath out.
- NaCl = Sodium Chloride. Table salt.
- CH₄ = Methane. Main component of natural gas.
- C₆H₁₂O₆ = Glucose. Sugar.
- NH₃ = Ammonia
- H₂O₂ = Hydrogen Peroxide.
The Perseids [W] meteor shower is very dear to my wife and I and hence my family. We saw it on our honeymoon in early August and we try to watch it every year.
- Observing the Perseids [meteorshowersonline.com/perseids.html]. The latest info.
- The radiant, or where the meteors seem to come from is in the Perseus constellation [W]. Some of the other nearby constellations include Taurus [W] and Auriga [W]. The Pleiades star cluster [W], near Taurus, is aka M45; the Seven Sisters; Subaru (in Japanese).

Page Modified: (Hand noted: 2007-10-28 15:22:26Z) (Auto noted: 2010-12-24 22:59:22Z)