Letters - Letter to the Editor

Science News, May 13, 2000

Prime example

In "Great computations" (SN: 3/4/00, p. 152), you state, "The first Fermat number is [2.sup.2] 1, or 5," and later, "the first four Fermat numbers are prime, but [among] the rest, up to and now including the 24th, none are prime."

Almost all number theorists consider the first Fermat prime to be [MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSION NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], so that the first five Fermat numbers are prime.

Solomon W. Golomb University of Southern California Los Angeles, Calif.

Another side of depression

As many wives of depressed men will tell you, depressed husbands don't just mope around ("Tough talk for depressed husbands," SN: 3/11/00, p. 171). They are often angry, upset, unpredictable, and short-tempered. Kind words are often followed by angry words and periods of self-pity. The wife lives in a minefield and often finds it difficult to believe or accept positive comments. There is very little support for the wives of depressed men. Comments by Johnson and Jacob don't really get to the core of the situation.

Ann Robbins Merrick, N.Y.

Speak out

Hickling and Lee, whose work was described in the article "When ants squeak" (SN: 2/5/00, p. 92), might consider a piezoelectric crystal as a point-source speaker. One would need to figure out a proper coupling-to-substrate scheme to separate the acoustic and substrate vibrational pathways.

Yves Kraus Mansfield Center, Conn.

Signal intensity

We've seen many expositions about the risk and danger of radiofrequency emissions from cell-phone antennae ("Researchers probe cell-phone effects," SN: 2/12/00, p. 100). As a bystander to the whole issue, I don't understand why the manufacturers don't design the phones so the antenna comes out by the mouthpiece. First, it would be a more natural location for grabbing and extending, and second, it would put the antenna out in front of the face instead of alongside the head.

Jeff Struck Fergus Falls, Minn.

Okay, so there seem to be some effects, negative and positive, of using these devices, but so much more needs to be known. How much use leads to various effects, and how do the many confounding factors enter the equation? The preliminary research done in Sweden is an example of what we don't need right now: uncontrolled studies. Occupational stress and ergonomic issues must be controlled or else conclusions about the casual role of phone use in producing headaches and other complaints are useless.

Marc Bekoff Boulder, Colo.

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