CircuiTree - September 2008 - (Page 6)

[ My Line ] Group Publisher • Tom Esposito (610) 436-4220, espositot@bnpmedia.com Senior Editor • Stephanie J. Church (734) 997-9235, stephanie@circuitree.com Technical Editor • Karl Dietz technicaleditor@circuitree.com Technical Packaging Editor • Ken Gilleo Ken@ET-Trends.com India Editor • Muniswamy Anil Kumar Editorial Advisor • Happy Holden Global Sales Manager • Christopher Wilson (248) 244-8264, wilson@circuitree.com West Coast Sales Manager (AZ, CA, CO, NV, OR) • Ed Lohmann (925) 648-2562, lohmanne@bnpmedia.com Inside Sales Manager • Vito Laudati (630) 694-4018, laudativ@bnpmedia.com Art Director • Mike Holmes (412) 306-4358, holmesj@bnpmedia.com Production Manager • Nann Barkiewicz barkiewiczn@bnpmedia.com Marketing/Reprints Jill L. DeVries – Editorial Reprints, (248) 244-1726, devriesj@bnpmedia.com Nanotech, Energy, and Snake Oil N anotech is still a media darling though it predates good old alchemy. Ancient red stained glass cathedral windows used nanogold. And we’ve been using nanocarbon in tires since the 1920s—and that’s okay, but don’t sell us old as new. Energy is back on the front burner, like in the 1970s, when we were shocked by the oil embargo energy crisis. And snake oil is that real or imagined cure-all elixir—a term applied to over-promised and under-delivered items. Do the three have anything in common? Well, too many nanotech and energy “solutions” seem more like snake oil. And it’s becoming increasingly difﬁcult, even for technical people, to separate valuable ideas from snake oil substitutes. Dishonesty that goes far beyond hype hurts everyone, especially the honest entrepauners and researchers. Too many press releases describing nanotech and energy lie by exclusion—by leaving out the whole truth that would alert us to the oldness, or point out the showstopper. Here are examples, using hypothetical cases to protect the guilty. “New Nano Blockbuster Breakthrough Delivers Disruptive Cosmetic Filler.” Wow! But you check and ﬁnd out that such ﬁller was manufactured at nanoscale for three decades and Egyptians used nanopigments in cosmetics. How about “Astonishing New Hydrogen Source Solves Storage Problem”? Just put this (old) alloy in water and “presto—instant hydrogen.” Hey, this is the old active metal hydrolysis trick learned in high school. Plenty of metals displace hydrogen from tap water—it’s Chem 101. But here’s the showstopper ignored by PR. These active metals only exist as ores—they all are produced by energy-intensive processes. The hydrogen from metal has terrible energy economics, and the metal winning process may use expensive grid electricity. Let’s get back to honest reporting of honest work. Today’s very fast-paced, understaffed media can’t hope to uncover the deception. Marketing Manager Senna M. Shehadeh, (248) 786-1604, shehadehs@bnpmedia Audience Development Christine A. Baloga – Corporate Audience Development Director Christina Gietzen – Audience Development Coordinator Megan Unsworth – Multimedia Coordinator Catherine M. Ronan – Corporate Audience Audit Manager For subscription information or service, please contact Customer Service at: Tel. (847) 763-9534 or Fax (847) 763-9538 or e-mail: CTR@halldata.com www.circuitree.com Contact Info for List Rental Customers: POSTAL: Robert Liska, List Manager 800-223-2194 • robert.liska@edithroman.com EMAIL: Shawn Kingston, Account Manager 800-409-4443 • shawn.kingston@epostdirect.com Back Issues – Ann Kalb – (248) 244-6499, kalba@bnpmedia.com Correction – In the July issue of CircuiTree, Figure 3 in Intelligent Design (pg. 29) was incorrect. Please see the correct figure online under our archives section at www.circuitree.com. 6 September 2008 • circuitree.com http://www.circuitree.com http://www.circuitree.com http://circuitree.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CircuiTree - September 2008

CircuiTree - September 2008 Contents My Line Industry Review Tech Talk Flexible Thinking New Halogen-Free Materials: Their Time Has Finally Arrived Asian Section IPC Issues PCB and Package Convergence Ask the Flexperts Market Outlook IPCA Showcase Technical Product Spotlights Classified Ads Upcoming Events Ad Index

CircuiTree - September 2008

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