It’s handover time
Techno Talk
Mark Nelson
After 20 years of writing this column, I feel it is time to take a rest and let somebody else take a share
of the fun. From next month, this column will be written by the indefatigable cool bean who goes by the
name of Max Maxfield.
I
n last month’s article we
examined how mushrooms can
magically make PCBs and other
kinds of substrate for supporting electronic components. But mixing applied
electronics and plant life is not just a
one-way process. Bioelectronics can
also return the favour and promote
sustainability in the great outdoors.
For example, a young German start-up
called Treesense (https://treesense.net)
which is a spin-off of the Technical
University of Munich, is one organisation that’s turning the tables.
Making trees talk
All of its products combine the disciplines of arboriculture, electrical
engineering and advanced data science. ‘By using technology, our aim is
to precisely understand the world of
plants and contribute to the ecological
sustainability of the planet’ is its motto.
One example is Treesense Pulse, a
sensor the size of a small smartphone
that plots the relative change in water
content in a tree based on regular impedance measurements in the tree’s
xylem channels. Understanding changes
in a tree’s water transport system indicates tree activity, and ultimately, its
true health. This ‘wearable for a tree’
offers potentially vast cost saving – a
city can use the Internet of Things to
deploy and maintain the sensors, while
bespoke data analysis provides predictive maintenance for vital tree irrigation.
Arcs and sparks
Have you ever walked in the dead of
night through a place where high-voltage
electricity pylons cross your path? If you
have, you may well have encountered
the cacophony caused by leakage from
the power lines, with constant crackling
and sizzling that sounds like bacon being fried, only much louder. The effect
is normally audible but not visible.
Invisible that is to you and me, but
not to all wildlife. A 2014 report by
University College London stated that
animals may deliberately avoid highvoltage power cables because of flashing
ultraviolet light that is undetectable to
8
humans. Although the suspended cables
are not a physical barrier, the avoidance
may persist for decades after the lines
are built. Scientists’ findings indicated that power lines give off ultraviolet
as irregular flashes at insulators and
as a standing corona along the cables.
Ultraviolet sensitivity is widespread
among mammals, including reindeer;
birds are able to see it too.
The subject is particularly problematic in Scandinavian countries, where
people are demanding that power lines
be located away from wild and semidomesticated reindeer – the latter are
herded by indigenous Sámi people, who
depend on the animals. The hapless animals find the flashing UV light terrifying,
even at distances of several kilometres,
and choose to avoid the power lines.
The effect may be more pronounced in
snowy areas where the ultraviolet light
is reflected and scattered by snow.
The herders, who rely on the animals
for their livelihoods, cultural identity
and food, are now suffering substantial
loss of grazing land for which they have
successfully sued power companies.
New nixies
Do you like nixie clocks? For me, they
have an irresistible fascination and
maybe for you as well. If so, and you
feel like indulging your urges, take a
look at the XXL-size examples made
in Ukraine and offered by Millclock
(https://millclock.com). That website is
fascinating enough, but since a 22-minutes-long video is even more impressive,
visit https://youtu.be/S677EQZ_wns to
get your fill. In another Millclock video
– https://youtu.be/uHv1f4_tDv4 – you
can watch the nixie tubes actually being made – amazing stuff! And if that’s
not enough, just pig out some more at:
https://youtu.be/wxL4ElboiuA
Repair and reuse?
You may have heard about a proposed
‘right to repair’ for electrical and electronic products under discussion by
the European Commission, with a view
to saving expense for consumers and
minimising the amount of potentially
repairable goods that end up in landfill.
This right to repair is seen as a key element of the European Green Deal, the
EU’s roadmap to reach climate neutrality by 2050. My response is ‘what’s not
to like about this?’ and my only regrets
about it is that, a) it is unlikely to apply
to goods that you have already bought,
and b) it may not be adopted in countries
like ours that are not members of the EU.
For tinkerers like me and (presumably)
you, it’s great news as now we should
be able to buy spare parts and technical
manuals. After all, there is something
intensely appealing about repairing
things instead of junking them. Now,
armed with a service manual and easy
access to spare parts, the likelihood of
reviving them should be high. All the
same, this good news will only intensify
the frustration of being unable to repair
other consumer durables of greater age
that have suddenly given up the ghost.
This thought brings to mind a stimulating blog post article entitled, The
Death Of Schematics, which echoes
the growing difficulty of repairing older
electronic devices. It will not take long
to read, so I won’t spoil your enjoyment
by trying to summarise it here. Instead,
just go to: https://bit.ly/pe-mar23-rep
Who on earth still uses floppy discs?
Since you ask, many important, even
critical organisations around the world.
Most of them are in the manufacturing
or aviation industries, But, there may
now be only one firm that still sells and
recycles the raw discs. If you wish to
discover more, I recommend you visit
https://bit.ly/pe-mar23-disk – its surprising content is well worth a read!
And finally
I am signing off for the last time and
hope you found something of interest. I
thank you for your eyeballs and restate
my particular thanks to the loyal readers
who, over the years, sent in thoughtful
comments or submitted ideas and topics for discussion in this column. Please
continue to do this for the new scribe,
and do carry on enjoying our uniquely
satisfying hobby of practical electronics.
Practical Electronics | March | 2023
