Faster than Light Travel Part 2: Traversable Wormholes
Warp drives, as previously discussed here, are not the only candidates for future faster than light travel. Another common topic in both modern science and science fiction is the wormhole, which creates a throat (i.e. tunnel) of spacetime to connect two points in spacetime. A wormhole connecting two distant locations would allow near-instant travel between them.
The typical depiction of a wormhole is the Schwarzschild wormhole, shown below in Figure 1. This type of wormhole is symmetric and typically very unstable due to its geometry.
Figure 1. A n-1 (2nd dimensional space) depiction of a Schwarzschild wormhole; Image source
Visser has proposed a different class of wormholes with a different geometry that leads to stable wormholes in some states (Visser 2008).
Even this stable geometry would not automatically allow the wormhole to be traversed. For a human to be able to travel through a wormhole, the throat would need to be expanded and upheld by a matter with a negative energy density. This matter is called “exotic matter” due to how little we know about it (Morris et al. 1998). The existence of this matter directly violates the weak energy condition, yet Visser states that “It cannot be strongly enough emphasised that the weak energy hypothesis has been experimentally tested in the laboratory, and has been experimentally shown to be false” (Visser 2008). Further, the weak energy condition implies the neutral energy condition, which is known to be violated in many small instances in quantum physics (Visser et al. 2008).
If this exotic matter exists, it is in our best interests to minimize how much of it we need to stabilize a wormhole. Visser (et al.) showed that the amount of exotic matter required can be made “infinitesimally small” by altering the geometry of the wormhole and therefore the wormhole throat (Visser et al. 2008).
One of the biggest issues with the usage of FTL travel is that it may inadvertently invent time travel by letting objects travel faster than the information (e.g. light) they carry. Krasnikov suggests that wormholes cannot cause the proper time of a journey to decrease, although the journey can be near instantaneous when viewed by an observer (Krasnikov 1998). Crawford details that wormholes do not inherently violate causality, and Hawking goes as far as to propose that “the laws of physics do not allow the appearance of closed timelike curves,” i.e. that spacetime cannot be bent into a way as to allow time travel (Crawford 1995, Hawking 1991).
The current scientific community does not know enough about wormholes and their relevant physics to properly speculate on any future usage of them. Our understanding so far is that wormholes may be traversable with some arbitrarily advanced technology, but we are still many years away from detailing exactly how.
References:
Morris MS, Thorne KS, Yurtsever U. 1988. Wormholes, Time Machines, and the Weak Energy Condition 1446:1449
Visser M. 2008. Traversable wormholes from surgically modified Schwarzschild spacetimes 1:12
Visser M, Kar S, Dadhich N. 2008. Traversable wormholes with arbitrarily small energy condition violations 1:4
Krasnikov SV. 1998. Hyperfast interstellar travel in general relativity 1:18
Crawford IA. 1995. Some Thoughts on the Implications of Faster-Than-Light Interstellar Space Travel 205:206, 209:210
Hawking SW. 1991. Chronology projection conjecture 603:611
Psychological Well-being in Long-term Space Mission
Though the physiological dangers of a long-term space mission are always going to pose an immediate threat to the health of an astronaut, research and technology can help prevent or reduce the magnitude of their effects. Radiation and microgravity are two such examples of these physical dangers. A much more difficult problem to address is the psychological trauma that results from high level of stress, from dealing with relevant dangers of space to executing tasks with efficiency, and from the general deprivation of space, social contact, and recreation.
A study of in-flight medical events for space shuttle flights between April, 1981 and January, 1988 determined that there were 318 cases of “nervous system and sensory organs” related issues, the second most common, at 17% of all in-flight medical events. There were 34 cases of “behavioral signs and symptoms” related issues, or 1.8% of all in-flight medical events (Slack et al., 2016).
Figure 1 is from a study of 545 journal entries recorded by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The bar graph shows that among comments regarding how astronauts felt about adjustment to life on the ISS, 58 and 76 entries were in the category of “low morale,” and “thoughts of home,” while in less numbers were “problems adjusting,” and “fatigue.” Also, the majority of these complaints were recorded in the second and third quarters of the mission, indicating that these issues are not just introductory problems, but lasting and developing ones (Stuster, 2010).
Figure 1: Bar graph showing the categorical distribution of journal entries by astronauts aboard the ISS regarding the mental adaption to working in the ISS, with number of journal entries on the x-axis and the categories on the y-axis. The entries are also divided by the quarter of the mission in which they were written.
Negative mood states might seem like temporary obstacles, but besides their direct interference with work and focus during a space mission, they might have prolonged effects. 60 male Marines participated in a study by filling Profile of Mood States, or POMS, before and after a 30-day, high-altitude flight training. The study found that the challenging and lengthy training session not only resulted in negative mood states of the Marines, but that most of the Marines’ POMS indicated negative and stressful mood states 90 days after the training session ended (Bardwell et al., 2005).
Figure 2 is from a source I have used previously in my writing assignments, but I believe these eight graphs do a fine job of illustrating the positive correlation between time in a mission and negative mental states. The figure comes from a study of 6 males in a 520-day Mars mission simulation, whose psychological evaluations were taken in the form of questionnaires throughout the simulation. Figure 2 shows how the majority of subjects had an increase in their levels of stress, depression, and exhaustion throughout the mission (Basner et al., 2014).
Figure 2: Six line-graphs, with each line representing a participant of the simulation, mission days on the x-axis, and psychological score on the y-axis. Each graph reflects one aspect of the questionnaire.
Stress and negative mood states may also interfere with proper sleeping routines, whose consequences not only worsen stress but deprive of focus and cognition. 21 astronauts in space missions aboard the ISS participated in a study on sleep deprivation. The study found that the crew-members had an average of 5.86 hours of sleep 11 days before the flight, 6.09 hours during the ISS mission, and 6.95 hours of sleep in the first week post-mission. These are alarming numbers for anyone who wishes to productively carry out a day’s worth of tasks, let alone an astronaut. Additionally, 12 out of 16 astronauts, or 75%, reported using sleep-promoting drugs. This study shows the effects of the training, work, and stress of a short-term space mission on sleep (Barger et al., 2014).
Works Cited
Bardwell, Wayne A., Wayne W. Ensign, Paul J. Mills. “Negative mood endures after completion of high-altitude military training.” Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 29, no. 1 (February, 2005) [Cited 20 November 2016].
Barger, Laura K., Erin E. Flynn-Evans, Alan Kubey, et al. “Prevalence of sleep deficiency and use of hypnotic drugs in astronauts before, during, and after spaceflight: an observational study.” The Lancet. 13, no. 9 (August, 2014) [Cited 20 November 2016].
Basner, Mathias, David F. Dinges, Daniel J. Mollicone, et al. “Psychological and Behavioral Changes during Confinement in a 520-Day Simulated Interplanetary Mission to Mars.” PLOS ONE. 9, no. 3 (March, 2014) [Cited 20 November 2016].
Slack, Kelley J., Thomas J. Williams, Jason S. Schneiderman, et al. “Evidence Report: Risk of Adverse Cognitive or Behavioral
Conditions and Psychiatric Disorders.” (19) National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (April, 2016) [Cited 20 November 2016]
Stuster, Jack. “Behavioral Issues Associated with Long Duration Space Expeditions: Review and Analysis of Astronaut Journals
Experiment 01-E104 (Journals): Final Report.” (17) National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (April, 2016) [Cited 20 November 2016]
An Introduction to eSports and Its Rise in The Industry
More likely than not, many of us have played a video game at least once in our lives. Whether it be on a video game console, phone, or internet, we are all familiar with playing games and its verb “gaming.” At its early stages of development, games were merely played for their entertainment value, such as during a slow train ride or a boring day at home, or when you needed something to do to kill time. “Over the latter half of the twentieth century games have grown in visual fidelity and complexity allowing for more skill to be applied resulting in very good players emerging and standing out from the average gamer at the time. This led to competitions and championships being held for many games and professional gaming starting to emerge” (Hewitt, 2014). Now-a-days, gaming has completely evolved from just being a time killer. Merit such as full college scholarships are now being awarded for being skilled at a game. Even so, people are still not convinced that gaming is no longer what it once was – a “waste of time.”
eSports is a term many people are not familiar with. eSports, or electronic sports, is “considered equivalent to ‘professional gaming’, a competitive way of playing computer games within a professional setting” (Wagner, 2006). Surprising to some, the eSports industry is already massive and it will only keep growing. “While precise numbers are not known… a worldwide audience of 71 million people… watch competitive gaming in 2014. In 2015, the viewership statistics reported by Riot Games, the publisher of League of Legends (LoL), reported 36 million unique viewers for the world finals. The number of players active in the gaming community is increasing, with… a reported 27 million daily active players” (Schubert, 2016). The eSports fanbase and playerbase is incredibly large – compare these numbers to the viewership numbers of sports events and it is even more shocking.
Figure 1: Viewership numbers of several sports events in 2013 (Hollist, 2015)
It is baffling to believe that more people would watch people playing video games than people playing sports such as basketball and baseball. As stated before, the eSports industry is huge. “It would not be surprising if these gaming tournaments and teams were advertised on mainstream television in the coming years” (Hope, 2014).
References
Hewitt, E. (2014). Will eSports Ever Become Widely Accepted as Official Sports and How Will They Affect the Way We Entertain Ourselves If They Do?
Hollist, K. E. (2015). TIME TO BE GROWN-UPS ABOUT VIDEO GAMING: THE RISING ESPORTS INDUSTRY AND THE NEED FOR REGULATION. ARIZONA LAW REVIEW, 57(3), 823-847.
Hope, A. (2014). The Evolution of the Electronic Sports Entertainment Industry and its Popularity.
Schubert, M., Drachen, A., & Mahlmann, T. (2016, February). Esports Analytics Through Encounter Detection. MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.
Wagner, M. G. (2006, January). On the Scientific Relevance of eSports.
Prevalence of Fraud in Yelp’s Review System
Yelp is a global phenomenon in that it has infiltrated businesses throughout the world while having a lasting impact on the future of their financial success. However, there are no requirements to make a Yelp account besides owning an email which can be easily made for free. This means that anyone is able to make a review that may influence a business. This makes Yelp a double-edged sword for businesses as it can either have a positive or negative impact. There is a chance that it could bring more customers if the reviews are great. Unfortunately, competition can get dangerous on Yelp if they hire malicious reviewers to reduce the reputation and popularity of a business. This is very commonplace and has provoked Yelp to create a detection algorithm for fraudulent reviews. In a study, it was shown that up to 25% of reviews may be fraudulent (Rahman, et al.).
Figure 1: Spikes in positive reviews for three different businesses (Rahman, et al.)
With the increase of risk using Yelp, how much benefit would those who abuse the service in their favor? It has been studied that every incremental star leads to a 5-9% increase in revenue and every extra-half star increases the chances of selling out by 19%. As seen in figure 1, one factor that can help spot a company that utilizes fake reviews for their own benefit is a spike in positive reviews. Those who are hired to produce fake content are called opinion spammers (Mukherjee, et al.). As seen in the graphs, we can see that the problem of opinion spamming has greatly increased since around 2010. For small businesses, this is extremely suspicious because the span of customers that they can advertise to would be small. Furthermore, if it was the superb quality that brought about many customers, they should have in the past as well and that is not seen pre-2011 for the three businesses.
There are multiple ways that can increase the chances of spotting a fake reviewer. This is interesting as it can be nearly impossible to even tell by reading them manually. It requires a lot of data analysis as it’s not reliable to directly process subjective and objective text yet alone differentiate them. One method called the quasiclique extraction creates graphs that link nodes that represent users. If they are connected, then that means they have reviewed the same business recently. Doing this, you can spot the army of review mercenaries that are supposedly a “clique” (Jain, et al.). It’s ironic to note that some of these cliques were actually Yelp scouts – reviewers hired by Yelp to basically pave the way for future Yelpers. Another method for detecting fake reviews employs a strategy of correlation between users that write positive reviews for businesses that have more negative reviews than positive and vice versa (Akoglu, et al.).
While fraudulent reviews may be positive, they can also be negative. The logic behind this is to reduce the reputation of competitors in order to wipe them out. It is indeed a nasty way to survive in the business world but it works so it’s not surprising to find this. As computer algorithms to detect these type of false reviews are flawed, it can easily flag a legitimate Yelper. As such, this brings about a controversial topic of the Freedom of Speech. By silencing negative reviews, this creates a potential problem as many may not only be dissatisfied in the future, but consumers also should have the right to voice their opinions (Castro).
Works Cited
Akoglu, Leman, Rishi Chandy, and Christos Faloutsos. “Opinion Fraud Detection in Online Reviews by Network Effects.” ICWSM 13 (2013): 2-11.
Castro, Daniel. “Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation US Senate November 4, 2015.” (2015).
Jain, Paras, et al. “Poster: Spotting Suspicious Reviews via (Quasi-) clique Extraction.”
Mukherjee, Arjun, et al. “Spotting opinion spammers using behavioral footprints.” Proceedings of the 19th ACM SIGKDD international conference on Knowledge discovery and data mining. ACM, 2013.
Rahman, Mahmudur, et al. “To catch a fake: Curbing deceptive Yelp ratings and venues.” Statistical Analysis and Data Mining: The ASA Data Science Journal 8.3 (2015): 147-161.
Quasicrystals: Symmetry and Characteristics and Their Application as an Art Form
Part of artist M.C. Escher’s work focused on tessellations in the second dimension, many of which would periodically tile the plane. However, tilings can also be aperiodic, not having a set repeating pattern. Roger Penrose and his Penrose tilings are examples of these types of tiles. Penrose tilings have another characteristic about them as well: they are also quasicrystals. A quasicrystal is an ordered, non-periodic structure, which differs crystals that do have periodic structure. These quasicrystals also exist in the third dimension, and there is “an infinite set of 2D and 3D lattices that exhibit self-similarity properties of a crystal, but have quasiperiodic, rather than periodic, translational order” [1].
As with two dimensional tessellations, groups and the symmetries they are characterized by play an important role. For crystals, rotational symmetry must be of a fold number k, where k ∈ {1,2,3,4,6} in the second and third dimensions. This is known as the crystallographic restriction [2]. However, a specific crystal produced by Peter Kramer in 1984 icosahedral symmetry, which is not allowed under this crystallographic restriction [3]. This crystal became known as the quasicrystal, or quasiperiodic crystal, due to its quasiperiodic nature resulting from the symmetry group it is in. Quasicrystals are able to fill space, as they can be tessellations. Yet, they do not have translational symmetry, like Penrose tilings.
Quasicrystals also exhibit some other interesting properties. Second and third dimensional quasicrystals are shown to be projections from higher dimensional structures. One example of this is of De Brujin proving Penrose tilings to be planar projections of hypercubic tessellations, namely that of 5 space [3]. Electron diffraction patterns for icosahedral quasicrystals show 10-fold diffraction patterns, in which inflation symmetry can be seen [1].
Figure 1. Diffraction patterns of various quasicrystals. The top icosahedral quasicrystal contains pentagonal shapes, which inflate out from the center [1]
These quasicrystal shapes have inspired the mathematician Tony Robbin to create art with these shapes, namely that of sculptures [4]. These sculptures would need to exist within space, however, so their rigidity needed to be taken into account. In order to create the quasicrystals with enough support, computer programs were used to identify the hidden makeup behind the “seemingly random patterns.” One such sub structure was that of parallel ribbons that adjacent cells have with one another, which are called multigrids, and are residues of the higher dimensional shapes that produce quasicrystals. The multigrids can then be used to identify where to place braces in the structure to give it support. Along with other characteristics of the quasicrystals, Robbin was able to produce large scale version in space. In this way, the mathematical analysis of the structures is used to inform the art and its creation.
Figure 2. The ribbon multigrids of a quasicrystal, as well as sites for braces in a three dimensional model [4].
Figure 3. One of Tony Robbin’s quasicrystal sculptures [4].
References:
[1] Levine, Dov, and Paul Joseph Steinhardt. “Quasicrystals: a new class of ordered structures.” Physical review letters 53.26 (1984): 2477.
[2] Baake, Michael. “A guide to mathematical quasicrystals.” Quasicrystals. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2002. 17-48.
[3] Senechal, Marjorie. “Coxetering Crystals.” Renaissance Banff: Mathematics, Music, Art, Culture. Bridges Conference, 2005.
[4] Robbin, Tony. “The Visual and Structural Porperties of Quasicrystals.” Proceedings of the International Conference Transformables. 2013.
[5] Kramer, Peter, and Roberto Neri. “On periodic and non-periodic space fillings of Em obtained by projection.” Acta Crystallographica Section A: Foundations of Crystallography 40.5 (1984): 580-587.
Finding their way home: Different ways that cell messengers reach their destination
Cell communication contains various methods in order for its messengers to reach their target cells for both eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms.
In bacterial cells, we know that they use quorum sensing (QS) as a form of cell communication. This method of communication mirrors how hormones are used in eukaryotic cells. A strand of E. Coli that uses QS was actually found to be able to communicate with eukaryotic cells (Sperandio, 2003). The fact that it can replicate the shapes of our hormones in order to infiltrate our cells shows how advanced bacteria can adapt in order to survive.
However, hormones in some species have been found to work around the specificity for a certain cell. In certain rat ovarian granulosa cells and mouse myocardial cells, it was discovered that hormones for a certain cell were able to reach their target through an unrelated cell and their intercellular communication (Lawrence, 1978). The non-target cell and target cell communicated through a mediator that brought the hormones to the target cell.
In long distance cell communication, it was found that exosomes are a mediator that assist different messengers (Bang, 2012). Exosomes are vesicles that can carry a variety of objects. It was found they could also carry proteins, messenger RNAs and microRNAs. And since exosomes are secreted by a variety of cell types, they can be mediators for all different kinds of pathways and communications between the many cells of the body.
Plant cells also have its own way of long distance communication. Similar to the human body and its circulatory system, plants have phloem transport tubes that connect the most distant organs of plants (Kehr, 2007). The messengers that plants use include RNAs that correspond with physiological processes that are crucial to the plant. The RNA can be translated to important proteins that help the plant function and protect itself.
An example of the phloem tubes in plants. This representation shows how sugar molecules and water travel through the plant cells. (Boundless)
References
Sperandio, V., A. G. Torres, B. Jarvis, J. P. Nataro, and J. B. Kaper. “Bacteria-host Communication: The Language of Hormones.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100.15 (2003): 8951-956.
Lawrence, Theodore S., William H. Beers, and Norton B. Gilula. “Transmission of Hormonal Stimulation by Cell-to-cell Communication.” Nature 272.5653 (1978): 501-06.
Bang, Claudia, and Thomas Thum. “Exosomes: New Players in Cellâcell Communication.” The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology 44.11 (2012): 2060-064.
Kehr, J., and A. Buhtz. “Long Distance Transport and Movement of RNA through the Phloem.” Journal of Experimental Botany 59.1 (2007): 85-92.
“Transportation of Photosynthates in the Phloem.” Image: Translocation to the Sink. Boundless, n.d.
Variations Of Black Holes and Different Physical Properties
As intriguing as black holes are, just in their simplest forms, there are other phenomena related to them. Just as about anything else, they have their variations to them as well. All of these variations share the similarity of fundamentally being incredibly massive structures forming from a massive star collapsing on itself, A.K.A., a black hole. Variations arise, however, leading to different features and characteristics such as range of mass, possibly temperature, size, etc., and this leads to differing names and differences in expectations for the event horizon (Ionescu & Klainerman, 2008). A few examples include, mini black holes, Schwarzschild black hole, Kiselev and Dilaton black holes, and many more.
The phenomenon of mini black holes has gained popularity as type of an experiment on earth. This recent project is still very much under development and only an idea being debated, thus it is at a current halt for the time being. The idea suggests that “making mini black holes may be possible when the world’s largest particle accelerator — the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) — goes online outside Geneva, Switzerland” where “particles will smash together at nearly the speed of light, producing temperatures 100,000 times hotter than the core of the sun” in the new machinery, allowing for this project to advance (Landsberg, 2008). The debate arises in the problem concerning the black hole, in which there is fear that the black hole will go out of control, essentially ending all life on earth, but there is feedback to this and tells us that the black hole will die out before it is able to cause harm, as it will radiate away due to Hawking radiation. Hawking radiation shows an inversely proportional relation between size of the black hole and its temperature, and with more temperature, the more it radiates, thus a small one would radiate away incredibly fast (Landsberg, 2008).
Another type of black hole that can be seen is the Schwarzschild black hole. They are typically called the “moving Schwarzschild black holes” and can be observed for their thermodynamic properties, “identifying the temperature and entropy in a relativistic scenario” (Hinojosa & López-Sarrión, 2015). This type of black hole is to be analyzed with respect to an observer, and is carried out “by means of a Lorentz boost to the stationary solution,” allowing for the calculation of the geometrical temperature and analysis of the structure of the partition function (Hinojosa & López-Sarrión, 2015).
Kiselev and dilaton black holes are also examined. More specifically, their thermodynamics and phase transitions are examined. Values and quantities were able to be calculated, “relating the surface gravities, surface temperatures, Komar energies, areas, entropies, horizon radii, and the irreducible masses at the Cauchy and the event horizons” (Majeed et al., 2015). The product of the surface gravities, surface temperature, and Komar energies at the horizons weren’t universally applicable quantities for Kiselev black holes. For charged dilaton black holes however, all the projects just vanish, according to this article, (Majeed et al., 2015).
In terms of the event horizon, as seen by the external observer, “the region just outside the horizon, stretched horizon, acts like a hot membrane which absorbs, thermalizes, and emits and information that falls into the black hole,” and from the view “of a freely falling observer, there is nothing special at the horizon so a freely falling observer, can cross the horizon in his way to the singularity… no membrane, no stretched horizon, and nothing irregular at the event horizon” (Ge & Shen, 2005). Lastly from the view of the freely falling observer, all the information entering the black hole seems that it will never come back, with the black hole essentially engulfing everything (Ge & Shen, 2005).
Figure 1. Heat capacity undergoing phase transition from unstable to stable (Majeed et al., 2015).
Works Cited
Barrera Hinojosa, Cristian, and Justo López-Sarrión. “Moving Schwarzschild Black Hole And Modified Dispersion Relations.” Physics Letters B 749.(2015): 431- 436.
Ionescu, Alexandru D., and Sergiu Klainerman. “On The Uniqueness Of Smooth, Stationary Black Holes In Vacuum.” Inventiones Mathematicae 175.1 (2009): 35-102.
Majeed, Bushra, Mubasher Jamil, and Parthapratim Pradhan. “Thermodynamic Relations For Kiselev And Dilaton Black Hole.” Advances In High Energy Physics 2015.(2015): 1-11.
“The Menace Of Mini Black Holes.” Discover 29.8 (2008): 45-46.
Xian-Hui, Ge, and Shen You-Gen. “Relating Quantum Information To Charged Black Holes.” International Journal Of Modern Physics D: Gravitation, Astrophysics & Cosmology 14.8 (2005): 1321-1331.
How Well Are Green Buildings Performing?
With the growing interest in green building, many studies have been conducted to evaluate the performance of sustainable buildings that were constructed over the past two decades. It is important to note the advantages and disadvantages of past projects in order to learn the most effective methods of green building. The effectiveness of sustainable buildings can be measured by analyzing the scores given to them by green building rating systems and by their occupants.
In order to evaluate the progress of green building in the United States, a particular study looked at the scores given to buildings by the green rating system LEED. This study involved 490 certified buildings, built from 2002 through 2009, selected from the US Green Building Council’s database. Of the buildings chosen, 52% were commercial and 30% while the rest were classified as “other”. Using the information collected from the GBC database, an analysis was conducted to see how “green” the average certified building is. This was done by noting the amount of points granted to each building. Figure 1 illustrates the percentage of earned points in each LEED category for each level of certified buildings. In the category sustainable sites, the assessed buildings on average received fewer than 50% of the available points. It is important to note, however, that site selection is limited as a result of municipal policies and previous land uses. The buildings also received an average of 38%, 56%, 62%, 40%, and 66% in the categories energy and atmosphere, indoor environmental quality, water efficiency, material and resources, and innovation and design respectively. From this study it was deduced that although energy performance is considered the most important in green building, it has been difficult to effectively achieve thus far. This is a result of the lack of preparedness of engineers and construction workers regarding green building (Berardi, 2012). In another study conducted, the utility billing data of 21 federal buildings was examined to determine the energy efficiency of the buildings. Out of the 17 possible points available in the energy efficiency category of LEED-NC, the buildings received an average score of 5.6. In addition, out of the 12 buildings with ENERGY STAR scores, only 4 qualified to receive ENERGY STAR certification (Diamond, Opitz, Hicks, Von Neida, and Herrera, 2011). The results from this study further prove that the energy performance of recently built green buildings falls below expectations. Since the concept is fairly new, engineers and construction workers must research about how to include green building concepts in their designs.
Figure 1: Earned Points in LEED Categories by LEED-Certified Buildings, Source: Berardi, U. (2012). Sustainability Assessment in the Construction Sector: Rating Systems and Rated Buildings. Sustainable Development, 20(6), 411-424.
To further assess the performance of recently constructed green buildings, occupants have been asked to rate their experience in these buildings. In a study conducted by the New Building Institute, it was found that 30% of LEED-rated buildings perform better than expected while 25% perform worse than expected. A handful of LEED buildings have also been reported to have serious energy consumption problems. When looking at post-occupancy user evaluations, it is important to note that there are various factors that could be affecting the occupants’ opinions. Problems caused by technical failures, too high expectations, and inappropriate use of technologies are a few of these factors (Hauge, Thomsen, and Berker, 2011). A study conducted by the Center for the Built Environment involved surveying occupants of 215 buildings, classified as either conventional or green, in the United States, Canada, and Finland on the indoor environmental quality of the building they used. Occupants were asked to rate their satisfaction from a scale of -3, meaning very dissatisfied, to 3, meaning very satisfied. Table 1 shows the results from the conducted survey. Overall, occupants in LEED-certified buildings seemed to be on average satisfied with the office furnishings, thermal comfort, air quality, cleaning and maintenance, and workspace. In comparison to the conventional buildings, the LEED-certified buildings received an overall satisfaction rate of 1.47 to 0.93 (Abbaszadeh, Zagreus, Lehrer, and Huizenga, 2006). In another study, workers at a Canadian company were asked to evaluate their satisfaction with the conventional building they were initially working in and with the new green building they recently moved into. They were specifically inquired about the building design, work requirements, comfort, health, productivity, their knowledge of the building, their engagement with personal control, and their perceptions of organization culture. Occupants reported to be on average 36% more comfortable, 41% more healthy, and 73% either neutral or more productive in the green building. As for complaints, occupants reported that there was too much indoor noise and that indoor temperatures during the winter were low. Overall, however, it was concluded that the performance of the green buildings was better than that of the conventional buildings (Brown, Cole, Robinson, and Dowlatabadi, 2010).
Table 1: Survey Scores of Database Conventional and Green Buildings, Source: Abbaszadeh, S., Zagreus, L., Lehrer, D., & Huizenga, C. (2006). Occupant Satisfaction with Indoor Environmental Quality in Green Buildings. Center for the Built Environment.
Based on the studies conducted on recently constructed green buildings, it is evident that the implementation of the green building concept can still be improved on. Despite their inability to reach the desired level of energy saving, green buildings are still deemed to perform better than conventional buildings. Overtime the process of green building is expected to improve as the idea is further developed.
References
Abbaszadeh, S., Zagreus, L., Lehrer, D., & Huizenga, C. (2006). Occupant Satisfaction with Indoor Environmental Quality in Green Buildings. Center for the Built Environment.
Berardi, U. (2012). Sustainability Assessment in the Construction Sector: Rating Systems and Rated Buildings. Sustainable Development, 20(6), 411-424.
Brown, Z., Cole, R. J., Robinson, J., & Dowlatabadi, H. (2010). Evaluating user experience in green buildings in relation to workplace culture and context. Facilities, 28(3/4), 225-238.
Diamond, R., Opitz, M., Hicks, T., Von Neida, B., & Herrera, S. (2011). Evaluating the Energy Performance of the First Generation of LEED-Certified Commercial Buildings. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Hauge, Å. L., Thomsen, J., & Berker, T. (2011). User Evaluations of Energy Efficient Buildings: Literature Review and Further Research. Advances in Building Energy Research, 5(1), 109-127.
Infrared Reflectography: More Noninvasive Techniques in Art Conservation
What is Infrared Reflectography (IRR) and How Does It Work?
Infrared Reflectography (IRR) is a noninvasive technique used in the art conservation field. One of its prime implementations is to identify the bottom layers of a painting, which allows scientists to observe and identify any preliminary sketches made on the material surface, among other layers (AIC). The longer wavelengths of infrared radiation and thinner paint layers allows infrared reflectography to reveal those layers beneath the surface top (Duffy). This is especially important when examining paintings because it can reveal important information regarding the initial drawings and paint guides created by the artist that are not visible to the naked eye. This is especially important when examining paintings because it can reveal important information regarding the initial drawings and paint guides created by the artist that are not visible to the naked eye, such as the Tibetan Thanka painting depicted in Fig 1. Scientists studied these Thanka paintings in order to document the sketches on the ground layer made by artists for their apprentices to follow. With knowledge of these plans, conservators and art historians can compare such results to the final product, and learn more about the painting process specific to a particular piece.
IRR: Vidicon
Infrared vidicon is the most common device used for infrared reflectolography. This technique was developed in the 1960s by Dutch physicist RJ van Asperen de Boer with hopes of improving the results of infrared photography. Vidicons are portable, and therefore rarely stay inside conservation labs – they are usually on-site at museums, private collections, and other places where art is located. The vidicon is housed inside a high-resolution television camera, along with a television monitor that displays the infrared image, called a reflectogram. It is through this monitor that the reflectogram can be viewed, documented by scientists, and sent to a computer for further research (Faries).
Infrared Photography and Other Resources
Cosentino’s article briefly mentions vidicons and InGaAs cameras being used in addition to infrared reflectolography. He notes that infrared photography is a general term that indicates that a particular art examination is being performed with digital cameras. The use of IR imaging encompasses more than just art historical and conservational terms – it can be used for archeology and other fields regarding cultural preservation.
IR image of Tibetan Thanka, from the Boston Museum of Fine Art
Bibliography
Cosentino, Antonino. “Infrared Technical Photography for Art Examination” e-Preservation Science. Morana RTD, 2016. 1-6. Print.
Faries, Molly. “Analytical Capabilities of Infrared Reflectography: An Art Historian’s Perspective.” Scientific Examination of Art: Modern Techniques in Conservation and Analysis. (March 2003.): n. pag. Web.
Duffy, Kate I. “An Investigation of Palette and Color Notations Used to Create A Set of Tibetan Thangkas.” Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice. The J. Paul Getty Trust, 1995. 78-84. Print.
“Infrared Reflectography.” The Art Institute of Chicago. The Art Institute of Chicago, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.
Maev, GR, D. Gavrilov, A. Maeva, and I. Vodyanoy. “MODERN NON-DESTRUCTIVE PHYSICAL METHODS FOR PAINTINGS TESTING AND EVALUATION.” 9th Int. Conference on NDT of Art 2008 Jerusalem, Israel, May 2008 (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
Improper Medical Waste Treatment Raise Public Concern
The concern for hazardous medical waste started in the 1980s when medical waste was washed up on several east coast beaches (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2016). The improper management of potentially infectious medical waste posed a serious health risk to the public and health care workers. In response this, the Congress drafted the Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988 (MWTA), which is a United States federal law that imposed heavy penalties for illegal disposal of blood wastes, body tissues, and other contaminated biological materials (Speaker of the House of Representatives, 1988). The law created a two-year program that was enacted in four coastal states (Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey) and Puerto Rico. After the program expired in 1991, incineration reminded as a popular method for medical waste treatment in the United States.
Before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) passed strict regulations on incinerator ashes emission in August of 1997, over 90% of the potentially infectious medical waste was treated by this method (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2016). In addition to the regulations, EPA’s Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory also initiated a study to investigate the risk of medical waste treatments and particularly focused on incineration. It was well known that medical waste contains many toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury (Hickman, 1987). During the incineration process, metals can break down into different phases when they were burned at a high temperature. Toxic metals presented in different physical phases were produced after incinerated, but these substances cannot be destroyed and can leak out of the incinerator by many ways. For example, air pollution may be resulted after incineration if the air pollution control equipment is not working properly or the appropriate control equipment configuration is not even installed. Hence, the control of metal emissions is still a remaining issue for the environment (Lee and Huffman, 1988).
Table 1. EPA’s Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory found the air concentrations for 6 types of toxic metals after incineration. Table retrieved from Lee and Huffman, 1988.
Incineration may be a decent way to kill off infectious microorganism from medical waste, but its resulting residues can cause unexpected issues. Incinerator ashes are mutagenic and can lead to respiratory problems, heart diseases, and cancer (Allsopp et al., 2001). For this reason, EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards promulgated stricter incineration emission standards. The Council State of Government strongly encouraged public education on medical waste treatments and set up a guideline on the proper ways of treating medical waste in terms of treatment technologies, disposal, and transportation (The Council of State Governments, 1992). Government and environmental researchers are still working to improve medical waste treatment. As recent as 2013, EPA is still on progress in revising the Hospital Medical Infectious Waste Incinerator to reduce medical waste incinerator ashes and improve the air quality (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2016).
Work Cited
Allsopp, M., Costner, P., and Johnston, P. (2001). Incineration and Human Health. Greenpeace Research Laboratories. University of Exeter, UK.
Hickman, D.C. (1987). Cadmium and Lead in Bio-Medical Waste Incinerators. Master of Science Thesis. University of California, Davis.
Lee, C.C., Huffman, G.L. (1988). Metals Behavior During Medical Waste Incineration. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory. Cincinnati, Ohio.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Vice president of the United States, and president of the Senate. (1988). Report for H.R.3515 Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988. One Hundredth Congress of the United States of America at the Second Session. City of Washington.
The Council of State Government. (1992). Model Guidelines for state Medical Waste Management. Lexington, Kentucky.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2016). Medical Waste. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/rcra/medical-waste
