Electric Field Imaging System

The technology presents a fundamental change in the way electrical devices are designed, using an open circuit in conjunction with a floating electrode, or an electrically conductive object not connected to anything by wires, and powered through a wireless device. This system uses inductor-capacitor thin-film open circuit technology. It consists of a uniquely designed, electrically conductive geometric pattern that stores energy in both electric and magnetic fields, along with a floating electrode in proximity to the open circuit. When wirelessly pulsed from the handheld data acquisition system (U.S. Patent Number 7,159,774, Magnetic Field Response Measurement Acquisition System), the system becomes electrically active and develops a capacitance between the two circuit surfaces. The result is a device that acts as a parallel plate capacitor without electrical connections.

When a lightning leader propagates through the atmosphere in the vicinity of an aircraft, the lightning electromagnetic emissions generated from the moving electrical charge will radiate the aircraft surface before the actual strike to the aircraft can occur. As the lightning leader propagates closer to the aircraft, the radiated emissions at the aircraft will grow stronger. By design, the frequency bandwidth of the lightning radiated is in the range for SansEC resonance. Hence the SansEC coil will be passively powered by the external oscillating magnetic field of the lightning radiated emission. The coil will resonate and generate its own oscillating magnetic and electric fields. These fields generate so-called Lorentz forces that influence the direction and momentum of the lightning attachment and thereby deflect/spread where the strike entry and exit points/damage occurs on the aircraft.

This technology is a flexible, lighter weight radiation shield made from hybrid carbon/metal fabric and based on the Z-grading method of layering metal materials of differing atomic numbers to provide radiation protection for protons, electrons, and x-rays. To create this material, a high density metal is plasma spray-coated to carbon fiber. Another metal with less density is then plasma spray-coated, followed by another, and so on, until the material with the appropriate shielding properties is formed. Resins can be added to the material to provide structural adhesion, reducing the need for mechanical bonding. This material is amenable to molding and could be used to build custom radiation shielding to protect cabling and electronics in situations where traditional metal shielding is difficult to place.

The electrical transmission lines used to transmit power are optimized for 50 to 60 Hz waveforms, but are suitable for waveforms of higher frequencies, into the megahertz range. Therefore, powerline conductors are capable of transmitting signals which could be used for geolocation. Indeed, frequencies in the 100 kHz range are used for diagnostic purposes in contemporary power grids today. Signals transmitted in this band are used to verify the operation of sites along the power grid, are used to configure the power grid (for example, throw a circuit breaker). The technology takes advantage of the suitability of electrical conductors employed in power transmission for signal transmission in the sub-megahertz range, and, in the preferred embodiment, utilizes the existing diagnostics signals in this range for geolocation.

Research has shown that exposure of mammalian cartilage and bone tissue to tuned magnetic fields modifies genetic regulation at a cellular level. PEMF therapy relies on modulation and resonance of weak metals (ions) such as Ca2+, K+, Li+, and Mg2+ which can be made to move at the sub-cellular level when exposed to magnetic flux. This NASA technology is a device and method for modifying genetic regulation of cartilage and bone in response to PEMF therapy and may serve as the basis for development of novel therapies for cartilage diseases. In initial studies, cultured human chondrocyte cells (HCH) from patients with early-stage osteoarthritis were exposed to PEMF stimulation using a variety of tuned electro-magnetic pulse characteristics such as flux magnitude, slew rates, rise and fall times, frequency, wavelength, and duty cycle. Waveforms used in testing were monophasic, bi-phasic, square, sinusoidal, and triangular in nature. Frequencies were generally low, ranging from 6-500 Hz, and the waveforms used high rising and falling slew rates on the order of Tesla/sec, promoting pulses or bursts. Cellular catabolic and anabolic gene expression analyses comprised of fold-change (in expression) were accomplished by a survey of 47,000 human genes using an AFFYMETRIX® Gene Array. Results show that variation of waveform used in PEMF therapies, independent of flux intensity, influences genetic regulation of HCH from patients with early-stage osteoarthritis.