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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 1979)
Page 2B THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 5, 1979 Oldest postoffice marks year 50 United Press International NEW YORK — The oldest, con tinuously operated local postal ser vice in the world marked its 50th anniversary this year by issuing a special set of five stamps. The ser vice is located on the rocky little is land of Lundy, 11 miles off the coast of England, which went into the postal business a half-century ago when the British Postal Service closed its local office. The stamps the island office issues are called Lundy Locals and they are used on about 60,000 items a year to pay the cost of getting the mail to and from the mainland. Salt-filled rods store energ United Press International SAN JACINTO, Calif. — A six- foot tall rod made of polyethylene and filled with a salt that melts at 81 degrees Fahrenheit is proposed as a good way to keep your home or office warm at night. It does nothing but absorb heat during the day and radiate it at night. Certified Energy Systems of Cali fornia recently introduced the “Energy Rod,” called, more accu rately, a “phase-change thermal energy storage unit. The rod, four inches in diameter, captures and stores heat above 81 degrees, such as sun-radiant heat streaming through windows during the daylight hours. Richard Lindholm, vice president of the company, said each rod stores 2,600 BTUs of latent heat and 16 BTUs of specific heat. A BTU, or British Thermal Unit, HERE'S OHE ENGINEERING OPPORTUNITY YOU WON'T GET IN PRIVATE INDUSTRY. If you’re thinking about a technical position after graduation, think about this. How many companies can offer you a nuclear submarine to operate? The answer is none. Equipment like this is available only in one place —the Navy. The Navy operates over half the nuclear reactors in America. So our training is the broadest and most comprehensive. We start by giving you a year of advanced technical education. In graduate school, this would cost you thousands, but in the Navy, we pay you. Once you’re a commissioned Nuclear Propulsion Officer, you’ll earn a top salary. Over $24,000 a year after four years. And you’ll be responsible for some of the most advanced equipment developed by man. The Navy also has other opportunities in surface ships ) and aviation assignments. If you are majoring in engineering, math or the physical sciences, contact your placement office to find out when a Navy representative will be on campus. Or send your resume to: Navy Officer Programs, Code 312-B923, 4015 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22203. The Navy. When it comes to nuclear training, no one can give you a better start. NAVY OFFICER. IT'S NOT JUST A JOB, IT'S AN ADVENTURE. is the amount of heat it takes to raise one pound of water by one degree. The idea is to expose a group of energy rods to sunlight or other heat sources, let them absorb heat and then radiate out the BTUs when the temperature falls below 81 degrees. “The phase change is when it freezes or liquefies,” Lindholm said. “It has a freezing temperature of 81 degrees. Above that it liquefies. And it does all its changing at 81 degrees just as water changes to ice at 32 degrees. “As a liquid it stores heat just as a battery stores power.” There are two different types of designs, he said, passive and active. “As a passive design, set it in sun light behind a window. When the sun goes down, pull the shades to close off the heat loss and it radiates heat into the room. “In an active design, you would build a storage box and duct work with fans, or you could vent a clothes dryer—which throws off a lot of heat — and then close it up and duct the heat into the room later.” A collection of 36 energy rods takes up two square feet of floor space, he said, and a single rod, weighing 34 pounds, equals the heat storage capacity of 14,577 pounds of rock or 2,624 pounds of water. The materials used in the rods in clude a high molecular weight, high density polyethylene for the contain er, and Salt Hexahydrate for the phase-change material inside. Certified Energy Systems came into being about two and one-half years ago, Lindholm said, after he, his brother, Marvin, who is presi dent of the company, and other part ners had experimented with various methods of solar heating. They began working with a pro duct made by a Nebraska! energy rods but said thefir| problems with the casings, “In the process of trying suitable storage systems, »fj across the Dow ChemicalCo j ri" 1, the salt we now use, andrl sed marketing and manufacH How much would itsaveoj gy cost for the average hora Lindholm said depen size of the home and its const savings on fuel cost couldbe t j as 60 to 80 percent. The rods require no mainte, just proper storage, carry a guarantee and wholesaleatat about $30. “The idea is,” Lindholmsai:, rods can use heat from ej from furnaces, machinery, operations, or cooking — fe can no longer afford to waste Carcinogens can be left out Science able to cure cance United Press International CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The word “carcinogen” entered the aver age American’s vocabulary when cancer-causing chemicals turned up in such things as soft drinks, ham burgers and maraschino cherries. Carcinogens — substances able to cause cancer — occur naturally in some foods, but the majority are additives put there as artificial fla vors, colors, sweeteners or preserva tives. It might be hard to imagine that Americans could lead the same life style without some of the question able chemical compounds used in the food and manufacturing indus tries. Not so, says Dr. Johnathan King, a geneticist at the Massachusetts Insti tute of Technology. He thinks it is possible to have the same quality of life — if not the same life style — without filling the world with carci nogens. “I can’t think of a really major car- LOW PRICES Bosch qT/* Plugs ^7 f V ea - and up Disc Pad q qc Sets <7.^70 and up Haynes Repair ^ niZ Manuals ^7.^0 PASSPORT AUTO SUPPLY 1403 Harvey Road on Hwy. 30 1 block west of East Bypass 693-9411 cinogen that is absolutely necessary and can’t be replaced with some thing else,” he said. Scientists have estimated 75 per cent to 90 percent of all human can cers are caused by environmental factors, including chemicals in foods or environment. Maraschino cherries were once colored with Red Dye No. 2, which has since been banned by the Food and Drug Adminstration because the chemical was found to cause can cer in test animals. The cherries are still red because they are colored with Red Dye No. 40. An FDA spokesman said No. 40 has undergone extensive tests and there is no evidence it is harmful — although the agency is still studying it. But either of these synthetic food colorings could be replaced with a natural substance. King said, and still produce red cherries. Given a choice between food with carcinogens and less colorful foods COURTS UNIVERSITY SHOE SERVICE “Expert boot and shoe repair” 104 College Main Northgate 846-6785 (formerly Holiks) without them, King said, p would inevitably chose thei al-free foods — only they rare! that option. “The trouble is people dot a choice — let them choose i want to suffer through fourt years of cancer or a slightly k maraschino cherry, and wh they choose?” The problem, therefore, is than one of making the public that companies put chemc food, King said. “It’s not sufficient to lear right choice because nooneis; to tell you they (the ingrei cause cancer,” he said. “You laws because there are vesle: terests.” Ultimately, King said, ini should use available tests toward eliminating hazardous micals from food. “With our modem scienct have the capacity to not intent: introduce products into code that are damaging to human be: he said. “Get chemicals at sAurtU, at the site of producfe fore ft gets into the maraschino ry, ” he said. v Identify it befo: man damage is done — don’ti duce it into human society fcasfiih" iMMiaiRi Battalt Class! lorf ; 845-: MSC Camera Committee's 1979 BONFIRE PHOTOS on sale Dec. 3-7 | Orders can be picked up at table on main floor MSC. FALL PHOTO ENTRIES may also be picked up at this time. ATTENTION GRADUATING SENIORS IF YOU HAVE ORDERED A 1980 AGGIELAND, PLEASE STOP BY THE STUDENT PUBU CATIONS OFFICE, ROOM 216 REED MCDONALD, AND PAY A $2.50 MAILING FEE ALONG WITH YOUR FORWARDING AD DRESS SO YOUR AGGIELAND CAN BE MAILED TO YOU NEXT FALL WHEN THEY ARRIVE.