The Egyptian Cubit

I have decided to continue my "researches" here where postings are less restricted.

We can compare various feet which have been used and the nsec,

1 pes (Roman foot) = 296 mm
1 pous (Ionian foot) = 296 mm
1 English foot = 305 mm
1 Egyptian bd = 300 mm

1 nsec = 300 mm

The Egyptian bd is 4 "hand breadths" of 4 fingers and there are 7 hand breadths to a cubit so the bd was 16 fingers and the cubit was 28 fingers. If the bd was the primary unit the cubit would be 7/4 of it. Is there any significance to this?

7 = 1 + 2 + 4 → 7/4 = 1 + 1/2 + 1/4

These are Eye of Horus fractions and the representation of integers as a sum of powers of 2 was used for multiplication.

The Egyptians made the conversion 2/7 → 1/4 +1/28 so 4/7 = 1/2 + 1/14 could also be easily represented and calculations involving 4/7 would not pose any difficulty.

Eye of Horus fractions would have been of greater significance to the Egyptians. 7/4 was more fundamental.

Update on Ancient Units of Measurement vs the Nanosecond

Lately, as some already know, I have been researching ancient units of measurement and their approximation of the nanosecond (nsec) as a measure of length. Some of the ancient "feet" are a little too close and we can speculate on whether or not they knew about the light foot. We will most likely end up with a reductio ad absurdum or an incredible mystery.

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An Impression

Impression by Monet

This painting is eponymous for the Impressionist movement.

Surrogates (2009)

I saw this trailer for Surrogates (2009) starring Bruce Willis when I went to see Terminator: Salvation on Sunday. The movie is based on the graphic novel The Surrogates written by Robert Venditti, drawn by Brett Weldele and published a just few years ago. The storyline takes a stab at the question of what would happen to people if life was a day dream which they experienced through disposable bodies. Would the dream take the place of reality? It is due for release on September 25, 2009.

Terminator was good. The new robot had a lot of character. And it would seem that there is still some hope for humanity.

Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Top Five

#1 Alexander Rubak - Fairytale (Norway)



#2 Yohanna - Is It True? (Iceland)



#3 AySel & Arash - Always (Azerbaijan)



#4 Hadise - Düm Tek Tek (Turkey)



#5 Jade - It's My Time (UK)

Recommendation: Do a cost benefit analysis

There is going to be some EM waste energy dumped in the area of the receiving station for the Solaren's space based power generator. The antennas typically receive about 95% of the energy transmitted and they have a conversion efficiency of about 85%. The receiving station will be connected to PG&E's electrical grid* and its service area ranges from Eureka to Bakersfield in California. So it is possible that a portion of Fresno County will end up as a dump for the waste energy that will be used by the Fresno Metropolitan Area and/or other regions of the state. The major question is how the energy will be distributed? And will the benefits outweigh the costs?

*Edit: The power lines in west Fresno County run north-south along the I-5 corridor connecting to the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas and the rest of the electrical grid.

Problems with Space Based Power

Solaren which recently signed an agreement with PG&E to purchase power in 2017 is an upstart company with an address in Manhattan Beach, California. Their plans for space based power generation are certainly not finalized and they are still looking for a site for their facility.

The power levels that they are looking at are 200 megawatts with a receiving station covering a few square miles. Let's say 4 square miles or 10 million square meters. This would imply an energy density of about 20 watt per square meter of surface area. It will be a little higher perpendicular to the direction of the beam since it strikes the surface at an angle. By comparison the solar constant is 1,366 watts per square meter. They will probably claim that the power transfer is point to point rather than being broadcast but can they guarantee confinement of the beam to their property and not expose the public to risk on nearby highways and byways?

That raises the question of the right of free passage and who has the right of way. Will the facility create a hazard to navigation? Not just in the air but also in space? A space based facility may need international approval. It is not just the company's decision or California's decision. International boundaries are crossed and so the federal government will have to be involved.

With respect to geosynchronous orbit there may be no construction code in effect but the launches need to be approved. And there are concerns about geosynchronous orbit becoming overcrowded. So it is still a waiting game to see what happens.