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<ul><li>The new system can track human movement behind walls. </li><li>Currently, the system can estimate movements with 83% accuracy. </li><li>Radio waves are being used to detect movements and postures.</li></ul>Scientists from the <keyword id="50375" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Massachusetts-Institute-of-Technology">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</keyword> (MIT) in the US, have <a href="https://www.csail.mit.edu/news/artificial-intelligence-senses-people-through-walls">developed </a>an <keyword id="107950" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="artificial-intelligence">artificial intelligence</keyword> (AI) based <keyword id="1764375" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="X-ray-vision">X-ray vision</keyword> system that can track and sense movements of people and their postures. And what’s exciting about this technology is that it can track human movements through walls. So, our dream to have X-Ray vision may soon be a reality. How does it work? The new project, which is being called the “RF-Pose”, uses AI to track people using a wireless device. The model works by creating stick figures of people's movement in real time, by analysing radio signals that bounce off people’s bodies. Researchers are using thousands of gathered images of people during different activities, like sitting, walking or opening a door to train the AI model. Each of the gathered photos is then shown to a camera that creates a stick figure. This is then analysed by the model’s neural network along with the corresponding radio signals. 
 
 
 
 
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 Where can it be used? Scientists believe that the technology has multiple applications in medical sciences, including monitoring people suffering from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_disease">Parkinson's disease</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_sclerosis">Multiple Sclerosis(MS)</a>. The new tracking system will be able to provide a better understanding of how the disease progresses and will also allow doctors to adjust medications according to the data analysed. This technology can even be used by the military and special forces to conduct rescue missions and help locate lost survivors. It can even be integrated into multiplayer gaming platforms, which will enable users to move around in the house or a gaming arena to create new experiences. For example, laser tag could be played in a virtual environment with this tech tracking each player providing much realistic gaming experience. Future of the Tech Currently, the tech has an accuracy of 83% to identify movements. After the devices training is complete, the wireless device, <keyword id="6614608" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="RF-Pose">RF-Pose</keyword>, would be able to estimate a person’s posture and movement with complete accuracy by just using wireless reflections of radio waves. Researchers are working to improve the system. As of now, the model gives just a 2D stick figure representation, but the team is working towards creating 3D figures that would enable them to even identify micromovements.

Scientists at MIT are using AI to develop X-Ray vision-like technology

<ul class="summary-list"><li>US fighter aircraft shot down an object threatening airspace over Alaska on Friday.</li><li>F-22 pilots who saw the object said it "interfered with their sensors" and had no propulsion system.</li></ul>A week after shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that floated over the country, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-fighter-shot-down-object-over-alaska-that-threatened-flights-2023-2">F-22 jets shot down an unidentified object threatening flights over Alaska</a> on Friday. Reports offer conflicting details about the object's capabilities and origin, and US intelligence officials have released limited information about its design or intended purpose.Recently, unidentified anomalous phenomena have been observed not just over the United States, but floating above Canada, Colombia, and Costa Rica. <h2>It's been an extraordinary week for UAPs in North America</h2>In addition to the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/timeline-after-a-week-adrift-china-spy-balloon-deflated-2023-2">first surveillance balloon seen over the country beginning January 31</a>, a second balloon was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/second-chinese-surveillance-balloon-spotted-over-latin-america-2023-2">spotted floating over Latin America</a> on February 4, and two <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-fighter-jet-shoots-down-unidentified-object-flying-over-canada-2023-2">unidentified objects were shot down</a> over Alaska and Canada on Friday and Saturday.An additional object was shot down on Sunday over Lake Huron, in Michigan near the US-Canadian border, prompting a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/faa-closes-airspace-above-lake-michigan-due-to-national-defense-2023-2">brief closure of the airspace around Michigan</a> to "support Department of Defense activities." Airspace over Montana was also briefly restricted on Saturday after reports of radar anomalies in the region, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement posted to <a href="https://twitter.com/NORADCommand/status/1624596337890058240">Twitter</a>, but after an investigation, no additional object was found.A Sunday statement from the Pentagon suggested that the radar anomalies detected in Montana on Saturday were related to the object shot down less than 24 hours later in Michigan."Based on its flight path and data we can reasonably connect this object to the radar signal picked up over Montana, which flew in proximity to sensitive DOD sites," the <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3296111/statement-on-todays-actions-by-north-american-aerospace-defense-command/">statement</a> read.According to the Pentagon, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-global-spy-balloon-operation-gather-intel-on-countries-militaries-2023-2">China has a global operation of surveillance balloons</a> collecting data on military bases, including the balloon downed last week, but the object shot down Friday has not been confirmed to be linked to Chinese officials — or anyone else. Here is what we know about the objects shot down over the weekend.<h2>3 UAP were at an altitude that conflicted with civilian flights</h2>"I can confirm that the Department of Defense was tracking a high-altitude object over Alaska airspace in the last 24 hours," White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at a Friday briefing. "The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight."The balloon seen floating above the country last week hovered at around 60,000 feet, according to the <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3288141/pentagon-press-secretary-brig-gen-pat-ryder-holds-an-on-camera-press-briefing/">Pentagon</a> — which is well out of the general cruising altitude of commercial aircraft, which normally operate between 33,000 and 42,000 feet. <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/latest-flying-objects-shot-down-over-north-america-were-balloons-schumer-says-7c2c63ec?mod=hp_lead_pos1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a> reported the object shot down on Sunday, the third shot down in three days, was shaped like an octagon and hovered at an altitude of 20,000 feet. Pentagon officials said in a Sunday <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3296111/statement-on-todays-actions-by-north-american-aerospace-defense-command/">statement</a> it also posed a "hazard to civilian aviation."<h2>Officials haven't confirmed the origin of the objects</h2>Kirby said officials first became aware of the Alaskan high-altitude item on Thursday night, but even after shooting it down could not confirm its origin, saying: "We do not know who owns it, whether it's state-owned or corporate-owned or privately owned. We just don't know.""If it was another Chinese spy balloon, that indicates that China is either incompetent in operating these platforms or potentially deliberately provoking the US," Michael P. Mulroy, a former Pentagon official, told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/10/us/politics/unidentified-object-shot-down-alaska.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>. "It is also important for the US and China to maintain direct communications during times like this. Especially between the militaries."Officials confirmed the origin of last week's Chinese surveillance balloon <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/timeline-after-a-week-adrift-china-spy-balloon-deflated-2023-2">two days after it was first sighted</a>. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-spy-balloon-china-admits-ownership-says-not-for-spying-2023-2">Chinese officials have acknowledged the first balloon came from their country</a>, but maintain it was a civilian airship used mainly for "meteorological research." "We're calling this an object because that's the best description we have right now," Kirby said Friday. China has not made any claims regarding the objects shot down in Canada and Alaska, but authorities in the eastern Shandong province said Sunday they had also seen an "unidentified flying object" near the Yellow Sea and planned to shoot it down, according to China's state-affiliated tabloid, <a href="https://twitter.com/globaltimesnews/status/1624734766057803776?t=UDMomXYYbJy3PbzWWFRtiw&amp;s=19" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">The Global Times</a>.During a Sunday interview with <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-2-12-23-sen-chuck-schumer/story?id=97057961">ABC News</a>, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he had been briefed on the objects shot down on Friday and Saturday and had been told they were likely balloons."But much smaller than the first one," Schumer said, reiterating that the object's altitude could have interfered with commercial airspace, prompting the decision to bring it down immediately. "The first balloon, there was a much different rationale, which I think was the appropriate rationale. We got enormous intelligence information from surveilling the balloon as it went over the United States."Schumer did not confirm whether the objects shot down Friday or Saturday had come from China. The interview aired prior to the third object being shot down on Sunday.<div type="image" title="Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023." height="666" width="888" msid="97849276" hostid="261"></div><h2>There may be surviving evidence in the debris</h2>Officials are working to recover the debris from the object shot down on Friday, which landed on frozen water off the Alaskan coast near the Canadian border. <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-shoots-down-high-altitude-object-alaska/">CBS News</a> reported the object was downed near Prudhoe Bay.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-charles-schumer-jake-sullivan-china-acc1a333326c50ee9649760c569c300f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Associated Press</a> reported the device was described by officials familiar with the devices as a type of airship. The officials spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-fighter-jet-shoots-down-unidentified-object-flying-over-canada-2023-2">object shot down on Saturday</a> was spotted in the Northern Canadian territory of Yukon. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-still-gives-no-details-about-alaska-ufo-new-object-seen-over-canada-2023-02-11/">Reuters</a> reported Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadian officials would recover and analyze the debris.The Yukon high-altitude object was described by Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand as cylindrical in shape, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-still-gives-no-details-about-alaska-ufo-new-object-seen-over-canada-2023-02-11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters</a> reported, though no other details have yet been officially released. The items shot down on Friday and Saturday were both believed to have a payload attached to or suspended from them, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-charles-schumer-jake-sullivan-china-acc1a333326c50ee9649760c569c300f">AP reported</a> officials said. The item shot down on Sunday over Lake Huron was described as having strings hanging from it, but carrying no discernible payload.All three were described as smaller in size than the balloon shot down on the South Carolina coast on February 4. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-sailors-pull-downed-chinese-balloon-ocean-photos-2023-2">The debris field in the Atlantic Ocean after the first balloon was shot down</a> measured "15 football fields by 15 football fields," with a depth of around 50 feet, General Glen VanHerck, commander of NORAD and US Northern Command, told reporters on Monday. He added that the balloon was about 200 feet tall with a payload the size of a "jet airliner" and estimated it weighed a few thousand pounds. Schumer told <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-2-12-23-sen-chuck-schumer/story?id=97057961">ABC News</a> on Sunday it remains unclear what intelligence China was able to gather from the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-sailors-pull-downed-chinese-balloon-ocean-photos-2023-2">balloon shot down on February 4</a>, but the debris would be pieced back together to determine what information may have been collected."So that's a huge coup for the United States," Schumer said.<h2>Conflicting reports from pilots</h2>Prior to shooting down the object on Friday, Kirby told reporters, the pilots of the F-22 jets that took it down circled it and determined it was unmanned — and lacked the ability to maneuver midair and change its speed like previous balloons have been seen doing.He did not share additional details about the object.While official government sources are quiet on the object, others are sharing reports from the pilots who tracked it."Some of the F-22 Pilots who Tracked the Aircraft that was downed over Alaska yesterday said that it 'Interfered with their Sensors' and that 'They could see No Propulsion Systems on the Aircraft not knowing how it could possibly be staying in the Air,'" <a href="https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1624532938262994945?s=46&amp;t=YfPUmC4vWfd22rdJBytuUA">according to</a> the public military and intelligence scanner, Open Source Intelligence Monitor.Some of the pilots, OSIM reported, did not experience interference with their systems and could not agree on a description of the object.Open Source Intelligence Monitor did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/11/politics/unidentified-object-alaska-military-latest/index.html">CNN</a> reported an anonymous source with knowledge of the briefing said the pilots shared conflicting observations about the object, including whether it had interfered with their systems, and said that they could not explain how it stayed in the air.<a href="https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1624532938262994945" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><div type="image" title="f22" height="618" width="1236" msid="97849278" hostid="261"></div><h2>Unidentified anomalous phenomena are showing up in more places than the sky</h2>In December, the Department of Defense <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3249317/dod-office-moving-ahead-in-mission-to-identify-anomalous-phenomena/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">established</a> the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office to identify "unidentified anomalous phenomena" — in space, in the air, on land, or in the sea — that may threaten national security. The term UAP replaces the traditional "unidentified flying object" or UFO designation, as officials expect to evaluate anomalies "across all domains."While it is unclear if unknown terrestrial objects have been seen recently, former Navy pilots David Fravor and Alex Dietrich told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/navy-ufo-sighting-60-minutes-2021-05-16/">CBS News</a> in 2021 about an encounter with an unknown object while conducting pre-deployment training in 2004.The pair described flying their aircraft over the ocean, and seeing an area of roiling whitewater on the surface below. Just above the whitewater was a "white Tic Tac looking" object with "no predictable trajectory." "It was unidentified," Dietrich said. "And that's why it was so unsettling to us. Because we weren't expecting it. We couldn't classify it."Footage released by the Pentagon in 2020 also revealed unknown objects speeding across the ocean surface that had been spotted by Navy pilots. "Dude, this is a f--king drone, bro," <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-trump-reacts-newly-released-ufo-footage-the-pentagon/">CBS News</a> reported one of the pilots exclaims in the video. Another person says "there's a whole fleet of them.""They're all going against the wind," the first pilot said. "The wind's 120 knots to the west. Look at that thing, dude! It's rotating!"A <a href="https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf">2021 report</a> from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said "in 18 incidents, described in 21 reports, observers reported unusual UAP movement patterns or flight characteristics. Some UAP appeared to remain stationary in winds aloft, move against the wind, maneuver abruptly, or move at considerable speed, without discernible means of propulsion. In a small number of cases, military aircraft systems processed radio frequency (RF) energy associated with UAP sightings."The <a href="https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Unclassified-2022-Annual-Report-UAP.pdf">2022 report</a> noted that, among the 171 uncharacterized incidents, "some of these uncharacterized UAP appear to have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities, and require further analysis."Representatives for the Pentagon and US Northern Command did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.Officials have acknowledged surveillance balloons have been seen floating in US airspace several times over the last few years, though they have not always been immediately identified — three devices <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-spy-balloons-seen-during-trump-administration-classified-as-ufos-2023-2">spotted during the Trump administration were initially classified as UFOs</a>. This story has been updated.

The US has shot down 3 suspicious flying objects in 3 days. Here's what we know about the UAP floating over North America.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Many residents in Fairfield, <keyword id="3046" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Iowa">Iowa</keyword>, home to thousands of disciples of a deceased Indian guru, claim that radiation emitted by <keyword id="6608045" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cell-phones">cell phones</keyword> and other devices is harmful to human health. </li><li>Those beliefs created a problem for a local utility that began deploying radiation-emitting <keyword id="705422" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="smart-meters">smart meters</keyword> in 2017.</li><li>Through administrative proceedings, Fairfield residents fought back against the utility's smart meter program — and, for the most part, won. </li><li>At its core, the fight wasn't about the health effects of smart meters. It was about the freedom to exercise a set of beliefs, as unusual as they may be.</li></ul>FAIRFIELD, IOWA — I was standing outside my childhood home on an unseasonably warm spring day when I saw my neighbor approaching from across the street. It was May, and I had been staying with my parents months after escaping New York City. In their home, more than 80 miles away from the nearest airport, the threat of a pandemic felt distant. But to our neighbor, Lewis Weiss, the real danger was lurking inside our house, radiating through every room — our wireless internet, or wifi. "It's poison," Weiss told my parents, who were listening through the kitchen window. Standing in our front yard, Weiss said he was picking up our wifi signal in his house and it was harmful. He offered us a few suggestions: switch to ethernet, sheath our router with a product called SignalTamer, or turn our wifi off at night."Frankly, this is ridiculous," I said from the porch. "We're not doing that." But such requests are actually not seen as ridiculous in Fairfield. In fact, Weiss is among at least 1,000 or so people in this town of roughly 10,000 who believe the radiofrequency (RF) radiation emitted by routers and all kinds of other devices is harmful to human health. And those beliefs don't just irritate wifi-addicted New Yorkers. They've rubbed up against an adversary of enormous scale: A $12 billion utility that began deploying smart meters in 2017 that communicate using <keyword id="58295" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Radio-waves">radio waves</keyword>.<a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/power-line">Click here to subscribe to Power Line</a>, Business Insider's weekly <keyword id="6357014" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="energy">energy</keyword> newsletter.Over the last two years, Fairfield residents fought the utility for the right to keep their simple analog meters, in lieu of the smart ones. And for the most part, they won, forcing the utility to change its plans.For the power company, smart meters are the future, offering big savings and granular info about energy use. For some residents of my hometown, they pose an unacceptable health risk.But the fight against them was about something much bigger: protecting a way of life and the freedom to exercise a set of beliefs that big corporations and advancing technologies put at risk.<h2>A meditation mecca flanked by cornfields</h2>For most of the 20th century, Fairfield was like any other Iowa town, with a couple of distinctions. It was the first site of the famous <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Fairfield-Iowa">Iowa state fair</a> and home to a small liberal arts school, Parsons College. <div type="image" title="Fairfield Iowa Electricity" height="1667" width="2500" msid="76120612" hostid="261"></div>Then in the early 1970s, Fairfield went through a seismic shift. Parsons closed and the followers of a guru from India, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, bought the campus and moved in. My parents were among them, and in the following years, they helped establish a university in Parsons' footprint called Maharishi International University.Most notably, Maharishi's disciples practice a technique called Transcendental Meditation. It was first popularized by the Beatles in the 1960s and later by celebrities like Oprah and David Lynch. (Fun fact: I meditated with the comedian and actor Russell Brand once in high school.) It's hard to say when meditators first developed an aversion to RF, a type of electromagnetic radiation, but it fits neatly among some of the other beliefs that meditators here share. Growing up, I'd often hear of the "Maharishi Effect," for example. It goes something like this: If a large group of people is meditating together, they'll radiate waves of bliss that would reduce crime and create peace — so for many, there's clearly power in invisible waves. Another idea popular among meditators is that achieving higher states of consciousness is easier with a pure body. And so there's a tendency to repel anything seen as a pollutant, whether it's genetically modified food or electromagnetic radiation.Maharishi himself, who passed away in 2008, suggested that radiofrequency is harmful. In a book published in 1996, he said that electromagnetic fields in the environment "can disturb the harmony between the individual and the Cosmic Pulse."<div type="image" title="Fairfield Iowa Electricity" height="3474" width="5211" msid="76120618" hostid="261"></div>He "strongly urged" that there be no wifi at facilities associated with the meditation community and that people avoid carrying cell phones, according to Jon Lipman, an architect in town.Lipman specializes in an ancient form of architecture closely tied to Maharishi's teaching, known as Maharishi Vastu. Vastu homes are designed to "provide cosmic harmony and support to the individual," according to Maharishi. They share common properties, such as east-facing orientations, plenty of ethernet ports, and rooftop structures that look like ornate Hershey's Kisses, which Lipman says connect the inside of the house to the cosmos. "This is a system that exists in order to nourish the occupants of buildings," said Lipman, who lives off the grid in a house of his own design powered by solar panels. "From the beginning of the revival of this ancient system, about 30 years ago, there has been an awareness of health hazards that can occur from exposure to electromagnetic radiation."<h2>Alliant finds pushback in Fairfield</h2>For many of its residents, Fairfield is a refuge in a world being poisoned by modern technologies. Here, people can live in neighborhoods where non-GMO food is the norm, wifi is turned off at night, and cell phones are used sparingly and away from the ear. Energy utilities put that refuge at risk. For years they've been rolling out smart meters that communicate with power companies using RF. Most towns don't oppose them. Most people, for that matter, hardly think about their electricity or where it comes from.<div type="image" title="Fairfield Iowa Electricity" height="1667" width="2500" msid="76120621" hostid="261"></div>But Fairfield is nothing like other towns. In 2018, after its residents caught wind of the local utility's plan to replace about 500,000 electric meters across the state with smart meters, they hatched a plan of their own. Their main concern was a proposal that the utility submitted to the state regulator that spring, which would have made it difficult to opt out of smart electric meters. The utility, a subsidiary of Alliant Energy, would charge $15 a month for electric meter opt-out fees, according to its proposed tariffs. Plus, customers wouldn't be able to retain their old, non-emitting analog meters — the ones with dials on the front, like elaborate watches. Instead, customers choosing to opt out would receive non-emitting digital electric meters.To be clear, Alliant and other utilities don't want people opting out of their smart meter programs. For one, smart meters save utilities a ton of cash, since they get rid of the need for manual readings. Randy Bauer, Alliant's director of operational resources who oversaw the smart meter rollout, told me they will save the company more than $250 million over 15 years. Another big benefit is that they collect more granular data on energy usage, which Bauer says helps Alliant better manage its systems — for instance, by more accurately tracking peak energy demand. Bauer also points out that smart meters benefit customers. They reduce billing errors and allow for remote service activation and deactivation. They also automatically alert the utility if a customer's power goes out. But to many residents in Fairfield, those benefits come at an unacceptable risk. <div type="image" title="Fairfield Iowa Electricity Jay Marcus" height="1667" width="2500" msid="76120623" hostid="261"></div><h2>'It was like David against Goliath'</h2>In the summer after Alliant proposed its opt-out terms, two Fairfield residents — including Lipman — launched their attack. They submitted petitions to the state regulator, the Iowa Utilities Board, to intervene in the process whereby the board reviews Alliant's proposal. "We opposed the whole smart meter program," said Jay Marcus, an attorney in Fairfield who represented Lipman. "We think it's dangerous, and there should be a moratorium." The board granted their petition and in late 2018 held a hearing. In a fluorescent-lit room in the state capital, Des Moines, Alliant and the intervenors presented witnesses for cross-examination. "It was like David against Goliath," said Marcus, through a New York accent worn away by years of living in Iowa. The intervenors opposed several aspects of Alliant's smart meter program including the cost and criteria to opt out, which they said were unduly burdensome.They also argued that smart meters would lower the value of Vastu homes in town, often purchased by people who try to avoid RF, and make the university less appealing to students and faculty.<div type="image" title="Fairfield Iowa Electricity" height="3596" width="5395" msid="76120628" hostid="261"></div>"The adverse effect is not entirely predictable but, in all candor, could be extremely harmful to our community," Bill Goldstein, the general counsel of Maharishi International University, said in a letter to the board.Above and beyond business considerations, the intervenors argued that smart meters and even digital non-emitting meters are harmful to human health — especially for people who are "electro-hypersensitive." Thus, they believe it's reasonable that anyone who wants to opt out should be able to do so conveniently. <h2>Experts say there's little evidence that cell phones and smart meters are harmful </h2>When talking with any smart meter opponent, they're likely to mention studies published in 2018 by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), a division of the US Department of Health and Human Services.The NTP researchers exposed rats and mice to RF radiation, similar to older generation cell phones, all over their bodies at high levels and for long durations. The lowest exposure levels in the studies were equal to the maximum "local tissue exposure" allowed by current cell phone regulations. The research took 10 years and the results were revealing. The scientists <a href="https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/whatwestudy/topics/cellphones/index.html">found</a> "clear evidence" of malignant tumors in the hearts of male rats, in addition to "some evidence" of tumors in their brains and adrenal glands. In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/em.22343">follow-up study</a>, the researchers also found some evidence that RF was linked to DNA damage in some mice and rats.People who denounce RF say that these results are strong proof that cell phones and smart meters cause harm. But even the researchers themselves advise against applying these results directly to humans. Some of the tumors they found have been seen in humans, the researchers write, "so they may have relevance." However, the rodents were exposed to much higher amounts of radiation than is typical for cell phone users. And even so, the proportion of rats that developed cancerous tumors was low. I asked an official at the US Food and Drug Administration about this. Judging by his tone, he had experience addressing such questions."The scientific consensus remains that the amount of radiofrequency radiation that's emitted by cell phone handsets and smart meters does not cause any human health problems whatsoever," the official said. "The <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">science</keyword> is unequivocal. Given that the primary function of us as an agency is to protect public health, if we had any concern or doubts or suspicions we would have acted by now." As for the NTP studies, he says their conclusions are often taken out of context."As you can imagine, people will cherry-pick individual sentences," he said. But to many smart meter opponents, claims from officials like this are just a sign that government agencies are stacked with ex-industry executives. "I think it's industry in their pockets," said David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany who's outspoken about the negative effects of RF radiation. "I don't think there's any question about that." <div type="image" title="Fairfield Iowa Electricity" height="1667" width="2500" msid="76120630" hostid="261"></div><h2>A victory for the smart-meter opposition</h2>After the hearing in late 2018, both sides submitted pages and pages of briefs, summarizing their positions and addressing claims from the opposition. Then it was up to the board to decide how to proceed: Allow Alliant to limit opt-out options for its customers, or force them to loosen their requirements. The board issued a decision in February 2019. And for the most part, Fairfield's intervenors won.In the 50-page ruling, the board rejected Alliant's proposed tariffs, it said Alliant's customers would be able to opt out of smart meters on an ongoing, permanent basis, and that they would be able to hold on to their analog meters until they failed. What's more, the board ruled that Alliant would have to provide another alternative — a low-transmission smart meter that emits a signal once a month. "It was almost Solomonic in its findings," Lipman said of the board and its verdict. "I wanted people to be able to have some agency towards protecting themselves. This gives us quite a bit of ability to make choices." At first, the victory caught me by surprise. Many of the intervenors' claims were based on the supposed negative health effects of RF radiation, which don't really align with mainstream science.But as I thumbed through the ruling — from within my parents' Vastu home, no less — I realized it wasn't about science, and the board said as much: "The board has decided to allow residential customers the opportunity to opt out of having an AMI meter regardless of their reason for doing so."<div type="image" title="Fairfield Iowa Electricity" height="1667" width="2500" msid="76120633" hostid="261"></div>Instead, it came down to meeting the needs of a large number of customers who were unhappy with the service Alliant was providing. A monthly fee of $15 is unreasonable (in a later proceeding the board settled on about $4 a month). And swapping out an analog meter for a non-emitting digital one won't provide much benefit to the customer. "Ideally, we wanted to sunset non-AMI meters, but I also understand the board's position," said Bauer of Alliant, seemingly unphased. "I don't think it gave any more or less legitimacy to the anti-smart-meter movement." But the fight isn't quite over, said Marcus, who has, himself, opted out of getting an AMI meter.According to the ruling, people who own solar panels are still required to use smart meters. They help measure the energy that solar users put back on the grid, which can result in a credit on their utility bills. With no choice but to use smart meters, some of the 70 or so solar users in town have shut off their arrays."We are turning it off because we just don't want the smart meter on it," said one solar owner in Fairfield, who spent about $100,000 on several arrays, not including a tax credit. "I would have never put an investment in if I had known that it would require smart meters and what smart meters do." The resident requested anonymity for reasons of privacy. Marcus said he's now waiting for the appropriate time to ask the utility board to give solar owners the option to use reduced-transmission smart meters. Otherwise, he said, the many solar users in Fairfield "either have to throw away their investment or be stuck with a smart meter."<div type="image" title="Fairfield Iowa Electricity" height="1667" width="2500" msid="76120636" hostid="261"></div><h2>Why smart meters draw so much attention</h2>As I learned while reporting this story, smart meters ignite a passion among RF opponents that doesn't emerge with such intensity in discussions of cell phones. What is it about these dull-looking gadgets? My sense is that it's partly an issue of personal freedom. Based on my conversations, people don't want someone else determining what they can and can't have next to their homes. Certainly, for Weiss and our wifi, that was the case. "It's all about property rights," said Weiss, who runs a company called Radiation Analysis and Mitigation, when we spoke last week. "Wifi extends to other people's property lines, so that's where the issue comes into play." Like the battle against GMOs, which is never short a soldier in Fairfield, there's also a sense of distrust for big corporations. Monsanto isn't selling smart meters, but there is a big company on the other end that stands to gain. This made me think back to something the FDA official said: Sunlight, another form of radiation and the very energy source that many people here are trying to harvest, is far more dangerous than radiation from smart meters. But there's another important difference — no company is in charge of the sun. Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/a-small-towns-battle-against-smart-meters-and-a-utility-2020-5">Business Insider</a>

Inside the fight between my small Iowa hometown and a $12 billion utility over smart meters and the radiation that some residents call 'poison'

<ul><li>The sixth annual <keyword id="4677686" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Asteroid-Day">Asteroid Day</keyword> will kick off tomorrow, June 30. </li><li>Some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) about <keyword id="6549794" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="asteroid">asteroid</keyword>s include — what is an asteroid, which asteroid is the biggest and if they really do pose a threat of hitting Earth.</li><li>Here are the answers to the 10 most common FAQs about asteroids. </li></ul>Asteroid Day is just around the corner and there are many questions that people have about asteroids. From what exactly is an asteroid to if any of them really do pose a serious threat of hitting Earth one day. Asteroid Day is celebrated on June 30 to mark the anniversary of the Tunguska event in 1908 which flattened 2,000 square kilometres of forest. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Asteroid Day will be celebrated digitally with the events and panel live broadcast on the <a href="https://asteroidday.org/">official site</a> from Luxembourg. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="76668783" title="Asteroid Day is on June 30 — and it’s the one day no asteroid will be making its close approach" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> Here are some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) about asteroids to get you ready for Asteroid Day on June 30. <ol><li>What is an asteroid? Asteroids are small rocky objects that orbit the sun. They are the remnants from the beginning of the universe that never got a chance to turn into a planet — but scientists believe they hold the secrets to how our solar system was formed. Most of them live in the asteroid belt but can also be found in orbits around planets.</li><li>What is the asteroid belt? The asteroid belt is the region between Mars and Jupiter where most of the asteroids in our solar system are known to orbit the Sun. The asteroid belt contains millions of asteroids. All asteroids come in different shapes and sizes. While some are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/an-asteroid-nearly-half-the-size-of-mount-everest-might-be-on-a-collision-course-for-earth-in-less-than-a-year/articleshow/70698774.cms">less than a kilometre</a>, others can be as big as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/an-asteroid-nearly-half-the-size-of-mount-everest-might-be-on-a-collision-course-for-earth-in-less-than-a-year/articleshow/70698774.cms">Mount Everest</a>. </li><li>When was the first asteroid discovered? The first asteroid to be discovered was 1 Ceres in 1801 by astronomer Guiseppe Piazzi.</li><li>What is the largest asteroid in the solar system? The largest and biggest asteroid in the solar system, by far, is 1 Ceres with a massive diameter of 974 kilometres. In fact, it’s so big that scientists have labelled it a dwarf planet in 2006. It’s the only object in the asteroid belt that has been rounded by its own gravity. It’s curst is 60% rock and the rest is ice. It takes 1 Ceres 4.6 Earth years to complete one orbit around the Sun.</li><li>What are the other biggest asteroids in the solar system? The next largest asteroids in the solar system are 2 Pallas, 4 Vesta and 10 Hygiea which are between 400 and 525 km in diameter. All three also lie within the asteroid belt. Every other asteroid discovered so far is less than 340 km across. Making 2 Pallas, 4 Vesta and 10 Hygiea the biggest ones by far — second only to 1 Ceres.</li><li>Can an asteroid hit Earth? The chances of an <keyword id="4678476" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Asteroid-hitting-Earth">asteroid hitting Earth</keyword> are slim — but it’s not impossible. That is why space agencies like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) are on a constant lookout for close-approaches. Once they spot an asteroid, it’s put on a watch list and the chance of impact is calculated to ensure that no asteroid slips between the cracks. However, spotting asteroids can be a challenge due to blind spots created by the Sun.</li><li><keyword id="9481940" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="What-asteroid-is-most-likely-to-hit-Earth">What asteroid is most likely to hit Earth</keyword>? The asteroid that has the highest likelihood of hitting Earth according to the <a href="http://neo.ssa.esa.int/risk-page">ESA</a> is 2010RF12. There’s a one in fourteen chance that it could crash into the planet when it makes its close approach on 5 September 2095. The asteroid is only 9 metres in diameter, so it probably won’t wipe out the planet, but the ensuing impact could still be devastating depending on where it lands or explodes.</li><li><keyword id="9481936" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="What-asteroid-is-most-likely-to-hit-Earth-in-2020">What asteroid is most likely to hit Earth in 2020</keyword>? The top 10 asteroids that hold the highest risk of hitting Earth also includes an asteroid that set to make its close approach on 2 November 2020. There’s only one in 193 chance that will actually crash into the planet and it’s also considerably smaller measuring only 2.4 metres in diameter. So, <a href="http://neo.ssa.esa.int/search-for-asteroids?sum=1&amp;des=2018VP1">Asteroid 2018VP1</a> is on the risk list — it is not on ESA’s priority list. </li><li>Why is it important to study asteroids? Scientists believe that asteroids are leftover from what should have been planets when the solar system was born and could hold secrets to the early universe. In addition to the academic insight they could provide, asteroids contain resources. </li><li>What kind of resources do asteroids have? NASA’s studies have determined that there are two types of asteroids that could be of interest to the mining community — achondrites and chondrites. The first group of asteroids are rich in platinum group metals like ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium and platinum. The second group of asteroids are rich in water — a resource running out on Earth and is even more rare to find in outer space. </li></ol>SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/asteroid-day-is-next-week-top-five-things-you-need-to-know/articleshow/76661638.cms">Asteroid Day is next week — top five things you need to know</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/asteroid-day-is-on-june-30-and-its-the-one-day-no-asteroid-will-be-making-its-close-approach/articleshow/76668783.cms">Asteroid Day is on June 30 — and it’s the one day no asteroid will be making its close approach</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/the-10-biggest-asteroids-that-pose-a-threat-to-earth-in-2020/articleshow/73054066.cms">The 10 biggest asteroids that pose a threat to Earth in 2020</a>

Asteroid Day — everything you need to know about the rocks in our solar system that could one day hit Earth

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Reuters/Charles Platiau</div></div></div><ul><li>The California Department of Public Health issued guidelines to help people reduce their exposure to mobile device radiation for health reasons.</li><li>Most studies that have examined links between cell phone use and cancer rates have not found evidence that our phone use is dangerous.</li><li>Still, there are some good reasons not to keep our phones in our hands all the time.</li></ul> Perhaps the biggest difference between life now and life a generation ago is that we are all constantly connected to each other and to the internet. The devices many of us use more than any other - both <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2015/12/03/458225197/the-daredevils-without-landlines-and-why-health-experts-are-tracking-them">to talk on the phone</a> and <a href="http://bgr.com/2016/11/02/internet-usage-desktop-vs-mobile/">connect to the internet</a> - are cell phones.So it may seem scary that the California Department of Public Health has <a href="https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/NR17-086.aspx">issued guidelines</a> to help people "decrease their exposure to the radio frequency energy emitted from cell phones." The department said the information was intended to help people who are <a href="https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/EHIB/CDPH%20Document%20Library/Cell-Phone-Guidance.pdf">concerned about health risks</a> including brain tumors, lowered sperm counts, and effects on learning, memory, and sleep.But California's new guidelines - and some of the <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/893893/cancer-symptoms-brain-phone-mobile-radiation">news coverage</a> they <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/sleeping-mobile-phone-cancer-infertility-radiation-health-officials-california-a8116126.html">have inspired</a> - can make it seem like using a cell phone carries far more risk than scientific evidence suggests.Although some researchers are worried about the long-term effects of cell-phone use, so far there's not actually any evidence that the radiation emitted by smartphones causes harm.The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/cell_phones._faq.html">CDC's position</a> is that there are no scientific findings that provide a definitive answer to the question of whether cell phone radiation causes cancer. Most large studies documenting cancer rates haven't found significant evidence that cell phone use raises cancer rates or causes other negative health effects.There are some good reasons to limit cell phone use, however. <h2>What <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">science</keyword> says about cell phone radiation and health</h2>California's department of public health suggested that people who want to reduce their risk of radiation exposure could take the following steps:<ul><li>Keep the phone away from the body</li><li>Reduce cell phone use when the signal is weak (since searching for a signal could use more energy)</li><li>Reduce the use of cell phones to stream audio or video, or to download or upload large files</li><li>Keep the phone away from the bed at night</li><li>Remove headsets when not on a call</li><li>Avoiding products that claim to block radio frequency energy, since such items may actually increase your exposure</li></ul>The main concern people have about cell phones is that they emit radio-frequency (RF) energy, a type of radiation.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Wikimedia CommonsCancer cells in tissue culture.</div></div></div>Researchers have long wondered whether that could pose a threat to human health. But RF energy doesn't cause the DNA damage that radiation from the sun or from X-rays does, <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet">according to the National Cancer Institute</a>. (DNA damage is the thing that leads to cancer.)The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) <a href="http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2011/pdfs/pr208_E.pdf">classifies RF energy</a> as "possibly carcinogenic," but almost everything is "possibly carcinogenic," including coffee and pickled vegetables. It's hard to definitively say that any substance doesn't cause cancer, even when we have evidence that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/coffee-effects-on-health-include-reduced-disease-risk-2017-12">substances like coffee</a> are linked with lower cancer rates. (Out of 968 substances IARC has evaluated, the only one they've concluded is "probably not carcinogenic" is a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/almost-everything-causes-cancer-2016-5">chemical used in yoga pants and toothbrush bristles</a>.)Given the widespread adoption of cell phone use, scientists would expect cancer rates to have spiked if usage was really risky. But that hasn't happened.Most large scale studies looking at cancer rates don't show changes related to cell phone use. One <a href="http://interphone.iarc.fr/interphone_results.php">study that looked at more than 5,000 brain cancer cases</a> in 13 countries found no increase in risk related to phone use, though it called for more research on the topic. Two other studies looked at close to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/43/1/275/731253">800,000 women</a> and more than <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11158188">350,000 people in Denmark,</a> and found no significant increase in cancer risk associated with cell phone use in either population.The most recent scare on the topic came from an <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cell-phone-cancer-study-results-2016-5">unreleased study being conducted by the US National Toxicology Program</a>. Researchers blasted rats with full-body doses of RF radiation (mostly at higher levels than those associated with cell phones) from the time they were born until they were two years old for nine hours a day. They found that some male rats had higher tumor rates. But none of the control rats developed brain tumors as would have been expected, and the male rats exposed to radiation actually outlived their non-exposed counterparts."I'm not going to stop using my mobile phone in the light of this," Kevin McConway, emeritus professor of applied statistics at The Open University, said <a href="https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/expert-reaction-mobile-phone-exposure-linked-to-cancer-in-rats">in a statement</a> about that study.However, heavy phone users who want to reduce their exposure to RF radiation in case future research reveals new risks can consider using a headset.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/calvin83/17233526462/">Flickr/Calvin Lee</a>Walking while using your cell phone is actually dangerous.</div></div></div><h2>No reason to panic</h2>The California guidelines describe the science as "evolving," which is accurate. It's always possible that there's some small increased risk scientists haven't identified yet.Plus, some of the recommendations could be good ideas no matter what.Research shows that people (<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-your-phone-makes-you-less-productive-2015-7">especially children</a>) don't sleep as well when they have immediate access to their phones, even if they don't use them. So keeping your phone away from the bed could help you sleep better.Other research has shown that interruptions from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-your-phone-makes-you-less-productive-2015-7">phone notifications impair productivity</a> and make people more prone to making mistakes. That means there could be other benefits to storing your cell phone in a backpack or desk instead of keeping it next to your body.Furthermore, psychologists like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/smartphone-obsession-is-like-the-obesity-epidemic-psychologist-says-2017-11">Sherry Turkle argue that our obsession</a> with our phones - or the apps on them - comes at the expense of human relationships. That's not a radiation issue, but it may be a good reason to consider keeping your mobile device at arm's length.Beyong the threat of radiation, there are many good reasons to continue studying how cell phones affect our lives. But California's new guidelines are just suggestions. And while there may be benefits to reducing your cell phone use, there's no reason to panic about cancer. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-satellites-see-formation-new-island-hunga-tonga-hunga-haapai-2017-12">An underwater volcano has made a mysterious new island in the South Pacific - and NASA satellites captured the amazing process</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

California has issued a warning about the dangers of cell phone radiation - but the science is far from settled

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Navy aircraft carriers, and the airwings they bring with them, have projected US power around the world for decades.</li><li>That airwing has evolved, and its pilots have flown some of the most advanced aircraft to see combat.</li></ul>American aircraft carriers are one of the most dominant naval weapons in existence. Since their trial by fire in World War II, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-us-navy-aircraft-carriers-supercarriers-to-ford-class-2020-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US carriers have played key roles in all US wars</a> and become essential to US force projection.Virtually all of that is due to each carrier's air wing. Despite humble beginnings, US naval aviators have flown some of the most sophisticated aircraft ever built.Here is how carrier air wings have secured control of the seas, dominated the sky, and supported ground operations.<h2>The first <keyword id="10663809" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="carrier-aircraft">carrier aircraft</keyword></h2><div type="image" title="Navy USS Langley aircraft carrier takeoff" height="1618" width="2136" msid="80490157" hostid="261"></div>The first American plane to take off from a US <keyword id="42406" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="aircraft-carrier">aircraft carrier</keyword> was the <a href="https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=714" target="_top">Vought VE-7 "Bluebird."</a> The carrier, <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/langley-i.html" target="_top">USS Langley</a>, was a collier that had been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-navys-first-aircraft-carrier-was-a-converted-ship-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">converted into an aircraft carrier</a> in an effort to catch up to other naval powers.The first generation of carrier aircraft were biplanes. The VE-7 was the Navy's frontline fighter until 1928. The arrival of Lexington-class carriers in 1927 gave the Navy the ability to field dedicated carrier aircraft, including torpedo bombers. As a result, the Navy went through a whole slew of biplanes.The prime examples were <a href="https://pimaair.org/museum-aircraft/curtiss-f6c-4/" target="_top">Curtiss F6C Hawk</a>, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNjGI_KlyyY" target="_top">Martin T3M</a> and <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-70000/NH-70991.html" target="_top">T4M</a> torpedo bombers, and the <a href="https://www.cradleofaviation.org/history/exhibits/exhibit-galleries/the_golden_age/grumman_f3f-2.html" target="_top">Grumman F3F</a> - the last biplane in service with the US military.<h2>The heroes of WWII</h2><div type="image" title="Douglas SBD Dauntless USS Enterprise Saratoga" height="1741" width="2191" msid="80490160" hostid="261"></div>By the start of World War II, almost all US carrier aircraft were monoplane designs. Navy carrier aircraft saw little action in the inter-war period, and it was during World War II that they really proved their worth.The most famous carrier fighters of the war were the <a href="https://www.worldwariiaviation.org/chance-vought-f4u-corsair/" target="_top">Vought F4U Corsair</a> and <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/grumman-f6f-3k-hellcat/nasm_A19610107000" target="_top">Grumman F6F Hellcat</a>. The <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/douglas-sbd-6-dauntless/nasm_A19610109000" target="_top">Douglas SBD Dauntless</a> dive bomber, and the <a href="https://www.nasflmuseum.com/the-avenger.html" target="_top">Grumman TBF Avenger</a> torpedo bomber were also vital to Allied victory in the Pacific.Easily identifiable from its distinct gull-wing design, the Corsair was adopted in 1942. Though it initially faced technical problems, Corsairs claimed over 2,000 victories with 189 losses to enemy aircraft, a ratio of over 11:1.But the Hellcat was the Navy's best fighter. Entering service in 1943, Hellcats claimed over 5,000 kills in the Pacific to 823 losses to enemy fire. It was also a superb escort fighter, with only 42 carrier-based bombers and torpedo planes lost between 1943 and 1945.The Dauntless and Avenger were vital against the Japanese Navy. Dauntlesses helped sink 300,000 tons of enemy shipping, including 18 warships, six of them carriers. Avengers also helped sink a large number of Japanese vessels, including 30 submarines, three carriers, and three battleships - two of which, the Yamato and Musashi, were <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/leyte-gulf-biggest-naval-battle-ever-last-time-battleships-fought-2020-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the largest and most powerful battleships ever built</a>.<h2>Strategic bombers</h2><div type="image" title="EA 3B_VQ 2_CV 63_1987" height="1317" width="2000" msid="80490164" hostid="261"></div>With the end of World War II, the US Navy had few enemies with developed navies that posed serious threats. As a result, carrier aircraft shifted to supporting operations inland.A new emphasis was placed on bombing capability, especially with nuclear weapons as the Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) was not yet developed.The Navy had three strategic bombers in service during the Cold War. The first two, the <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nnam/explore/collections/aircraft/a/aj-2-savage0.html" target="_top">North American AJ Savage</a> and the <a href="https://www.boeing.com/history/products/a3d-a-3-skywarrior.page" target="_top">Douglas A-3 Skywarrior</a>, could carry either 12,000 pounds of conventional bombs or nuclear weapons, while the <a href="https://www.boeing.com/history/products/a3j-1-a-5-ra-5c-vigilante.page" target="_top">A-5 Vigilante</a> was intended solely for dropping nukes.The Savage had a troublesome service record and eventually operated mostly from land. Some Skywarriors saw limited bombing service in Vietnam, but most were converted for surveillance and aerial-refueling duty, with some seeing service up to Operation Desert Storm.The Mach-2 capable Vigilante had an interesting design, with its internal bomb bay accessible only through a hole between its two jet engines. But by the time it entered service, the Navy had switched to SLBMs as their primary delivery method for nuclear weapons.As a result, the remaining A-5s were turned into reconnaissance aircraft and saw extensive service in Vietnam.<h2>Fighter-bombers and electronic warfare</h2><div type="image" title="Navy Vought F-8 Crusader Bon Homme Richard aircraft carrier" height="1323" width="1891" msid="80490169" hostid="261"></div>The Vietnam War was an important experience for naval aviation, as North Vietnamese surface-to-air missiles and MiG aircraft proved troublesome opponents. The Navy found itself conducting five types of missions: dogfighting, bombing, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and aerial refueling.The best fighter for the Navy during the war was the <a href="https://www.historynet.com/last-gunfighter-f-8-crusader.htm" target="_top">Vought F-8 Crusader</a>.Crusaders were the first US aircraft to fight North Vietnamese MiGs and eventually claimed 19 killed against just three losses in aerial combat, giving it the best kill ratio of any American aircraft in the war. (The Crusader also had a reconnaissance variant, the RF-8, which was vital during the Cuban Missile Crisis.)The Navy's primary attack aircraft was the Grumman <a href="https://www.avgeekery.com/six-things-you-probably-never-knew-about-the-mighty-a-6-intruder/" target="_top">A-6 Intruder</a>. Its long range and payload of 18,000 pounds, combined with its all-weather flight ability, made it the most important weapon for the Navy at the time.Navy and Marine Intruders flew more than 35,000 sorties during the war, and it stayed in service until 1997.The aircraft was versatile enough to be used for multiple missions, including enemy air defense suppression, aerial refueling, and electronic warfare (EW). In 1971, a dedicated EW aircraft based on the Intruder, the <a href="https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/26863/the-ea-6b-prowler-has-been-retired-but-its-impact-on-air-warfare-will-live-on-forever" target="_top">EA-6B Prowler</a> was introduced and remained in service until 2009.<h2>The <keyword id="10663810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="f-14-tomcat">F-14 Tomcat</keyword></h2><div type="image" title="Navy F-14 Tomcat aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln" height="1338" width="2000" msid="80490174" hostid="261"></div>Perhaps the <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a27350643/f-14-tomcat/" target="_top">most loved</a> carrier aircraft is the Grumman <a href="https://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/f14/" target="_top">F-14 Tomcat</a>. Meant to replace the McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II, the Tomcat was a twin-tail variable-sweep wing multirole fighter primarily tasked with the interceptor and air-superiority roles.The unique wing design served more than an aesthetic purpose. During takeoff, the wings were positioned forward, expanding the surface area and providing greater lift. When it reached supersonic speeds, the wings would fold backward to be more aerodynamic, enabling it to achieve a top speed of Mach 2 - faster than today's F-22 or F-35.The Tomcat was a US carrier's first line of defense against incoming enemy aircraft and could even track and engage cruise missiles. Ten hardpoints enabled it to carry over 14,000 pounds of ordnance, including rockets, bombs, and missiles.Tomcats were used in a number of air interception and bombing missions during its 32 years of service.The most eventful actions were in the Middle East and North Africa. American Tomcats shot down five enemy aircraft, including two Libyan Su-22s and two MiG-23s, during the <a href="https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1982/january/gulf-sidra-incident-legal-perspective" target="_top">first</a> and <a href="https://theaviationist.com/2015/10/31/impressive-previously-unreleased-footage-shows-how-two-f-14-tomcats-shot-down-two-gaddafis-mig-23s/" target="_top">second</a> Gulf of Sidra Incidents, and one Iraqi Mil Mi-8 during the Gulf War. Only one Tomcat was ever lost to enemy fire.<h2>The Navy's current and future workhorses</h2><div type="image" title="Navy F-35C aircraft carrier" height="1434" width="1912" msid="80490179" hostid="261"></div>With the Cold War over, the F-14's high maintenance costs were hard to justify, especially since upkeep of the <a href="https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2383479/fa-18a-d-hornet-and-fa-18ef-super-hornet-strike-fighter/" target="_top">McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet</a> was much cheaper.The Navy decided to retire the F-14 in 2006, but rather than seen them go to Iran, one of the only other countries to operate the F-14, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-destroyed-old-f14-tomcats-so-iran-couldnt-use-them-2020-8" target="_top">the US destroyed </a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-destroyed-old-f14-tomcats-so-iran-couldnt-use-them-2020-8" target="_top">its</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-destroyed-old-f14-tomcats-so-iran-couldnt-use-them-2020-8" target="_top"> remaining Tomcats</a>.The Hornet, in service since 1984, has been a versatile workhorse for the Navy, seeing combat in Libya, Iraq, and Syria. The platform has been so capable that an electronic-warfare version, the <a href="https://www.boeing.com/defense/ea-18g-growler/" target="_top">Boeing EA-18G Growler</a>, was adopted in 2009 to replace the Prowler. An upgraded version, the <a href="https://www.boeing.com/defense/fa-18-super-hornet/" target="_top">Super Hornet</a>, arrived in 1999.The Navy plans to buy more than 250 of the <keyword id="7379160" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="F-35C">F-35C</keyword>, the carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter. The F-35 program and efforts to equip carriers to operate it have both struggled, but the Navy is moving ahead - the first two F-35C pilots <a href="https://news.usni.org/2020/06/17/first-f-35c-pilots-graduate-from-topgun" target="_top">graduated</a> the Navy's TOPGUN course in summer 2020.In the future, the Navy also <a href="https://insideunmannedsystems.com/navy-to-seek-pilots-for-revolutionary-aerial-refueling-drone/" target="_top">plans</a> to acquire at least 72 <a href="https://www.boeing.com/defense/mq25/" target="_top">MQ-25 Stingray</a> carrier-based aerial refueling drones. The Stingrays are expected to substantially increase the range of a carrier's airwing, enabling carriers to stay outside the range of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-and-russian-weapons-threaten-us-aircraft-carrier-dominance-2021-1" target="_top">so</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-and-russian-weapons-threaten-us-aircraft-carrier-dominance-2021-1" target="_top">phisticated anti-ship weapons</a>.In a sign that the MQ-25, and other unmanned aircraft like it, are a major part of the Navy's future, the service's newest carrier, John F. Kennedy, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-aircraft-carrier-john-f-kennedy-seal-has-mq25-drone-2019-11" target="_top">features a Stingray on its seal, alongside mainstays like the F-35C and F/A-18</a>.

From biplanes to drones: How the Navy's carrier aircraft have dominated battlefields for almost a century

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>Google told federal regulators that its plan to conduct airborne wireless tests across the US, likely related to&#xa0;its Project Loon balloons, does not pose any health or environmental risks.In a&#xa0;<a href="https://apps.fcc.gov/els/GetAtt.html?id=171957&amp;x=.">filing with the&#xa0;Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday</a>, Google said that its planned testing of experimental radio transmitters at altitudes of 75,000 feet, as well as terrestrial transmitters, fits within existing rules and is basically harmless.&#xa0;"The proposed experimental operations in fact present vastly less risk from RF exposure than other transmissions the Commission routinely authorizes. Thus, although we respect that the commenters' concerns are genuinely held, there is no factual basis for them," Google wrote in the filing.The filing&#xa0;was in response to <a href="https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/els/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?id_file_num=0747-EX-PL-2015&amp;application_seq=68637">dozens of informal objections</a> submitted&#xa0;to the FCC about the planned tests, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/google-appears-set-to-test-loon-across-all-50-us-states-2015-11">after Business Insider wrote about Google's test plans&#xa0;in November</a>. Many of the objections raised concerns about the potential radiation risk of the airborne experiment. Some companies also objected that Google's plans could cause interference with their own wireless operations.Google has asked the Federal Communications Commission for a license to test experimental radios that use wireless spectrum in the millimeter bandwidth in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Google said in the heavily redacted filing that it wants to begin the tests this year for a period of 24 months.<h2>The Loon clues</h2>Google's initial application and Tuesday's letter does not specifically mention Project Loon, the fleet of solar-powered balloons&#xa0;- flying at an altitude of 60,000 to 90,000 feet -&#xa0;that Google is developing to beam internet access down to earth.But several clues in the original filing, which calls for airborne operations of radio transmitters at a maximum altitude of 75,459 feet, make it likely that the test is related to&#xa0;Loon.The name of the applicant on the filing is Astro Teller, Google's so-called Captain of Moonshots, who oversees the Google X Labs that is working on Loon - as well as projects such as self-driving cars and drones.&#xa0;And Google notes that the test is an expansion of earlier tests in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/google-appears-set-to-test-loon-across-all-50-us-states-2015-11">Winnemucca, Nevada, which Business Insider has reported was among the early sites for Google's Loon experiments</a>.The broad US tests would appear to mark a significant expansion of Google's ambitions for Loon.Google has previously said that it believes Loon's&#xa0;"floating cell towers in the sky" could one day become a business that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/google-project-loon-will-be-a-10-billion-business-2015-3">generates billions of dollars in revenue</a>. But until now, Google has primarily spoken of Loon as an effort focused primarily on&#xa0;developing parts of the world that lack adequate communications&#xa0;infrastructure.We've reached out to Google and will update if we hear back.Here's a video of Google's Project Loon balloons in action:<div></div><div id="categorypromo" style="border:1px solid silver; min-height:114px; padding:4px;"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/research-store?IR=T&amp;utm_source=House&amp;utm_term=CtgrPr-Drones&amp;utm_campaign=CtgrPr#!/THE-DRONES-REPORT/p/47962272/category=11987294"></a> Get THE DRONES REPORT now! Commercial drones are already a reality. BI Intelligence takes an in-depth look at the most important aspects, including market forecasts for commercial applications, regulatory process, and the leading players. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/research-store?IR=T&amp;utm_source=House&amp;utm_term=CtgrPr-Drones&amp;utm_campaign=CtgrPr#!/THE-DRONES-REPORT/p/47962272/category=11987294">Get the Report Here »</a></div>

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