Violence censor chip - a new law will authorize the v-chip, a senor that can detect program ratings and upon instruction from parents will zap the program from the screen - Brief Article

Science World, May 3, 1996 by Lynda Jones

President Clinton recently approved a controversial new law that may help cut down on the amount of violence kids watch on TV. Within the next two years, the law will require TV makers t6 install a "V" (or "violence") chip in every new TV set.

The V-chip is a computer chip that lets your parents zap violent shows from the television screen, says Jim Farrell of Motorola, a company that makes TV circuits. Say, for example, your parents want to block out all violent shows. They'll punch in a set of instructions using the TV remote control. These instructions ten the V-chip to read each TV program's rating, which win probably be similar to the ratings now used for movies.

The rating information will be part of the TV program's broadcast signal. That's a pulse of electromagnetic energy sent out by a television transmitter tower. Your TV set receives the signal and translates it into pictures

If the program's signal contains a "V" rating, the chip will block the electric circuits that normally translate the electromagnetic signals. Result: no TV show.

"To 'unblock'a program," Farrell says, "you'd have to key in a special code using your remote control." Chances are your parents will guard that code as closely as they guard the code for their ATM card!

It may be years before your parents can use their "V" power, though. The new law gives broadcasters one year to come up with a rating system. If they don't meet the deadline, the federal government will finish the job. And who knows how long that could take!

SUMMER SCIENCE CALENDAR

Summer's almost here. But just because school is Closing doesn't mean your brain has to go on vacation. Exercise your gray matter this summer by checking out these scientific happenings. Mid-May: Twister, a heart-pounding film about meteorologists chasing a deadly tornado, opens in theaters nationwide. May 16: Space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to launch. June 1: "Superman the Escape" ride opens at Six Flags theme park in Valencia, California. Electromagnetic motors will accelerate brave riders to a speed of 100 mph in 7 Seconds and propel then, up 41 stories - proving that physics can be a blast' Early June: A planned release of captive-bred California condors at Vermilion Cliffs, Arizona, will reintroduce this endangered species to one of its historic habitats. June 15: Regional " Partners for the Planet" Youth Summit - an environmental summit run by kids for kids - takes place in Salt Lake city, Utah. June 20: Earth reaches summer solstice, the part of its orbit where the Northern Hemisphere is tilted most directly toward the Sun. This longest day marks the official beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. June 27: The robotic spacecraft Galileo Flies by Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon. Look for fab photos and other data to follow July 19: The 26th Olympic Games begin! Check out high-tech sports science on page 6. August 1: Space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch for the fourth planned docking with Space Station Mir.