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PHYSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE
fMRI mental translator would involve many tedious steps: first, recognizing certain fMRI patterns, converting them into English words, and
then uttering these English words to the subject. In this sense, such a
device would not correspond to the "mind meld" found on Star Trek
(but it would still be very useful for stroke victims).
HANDHELD MRI
SCANNERS
Yet another stumbling block to practical telepathy is the sheer size of
the fMRI machine. It is a monstrous device, costing several million
dollars, filling up an entire room, and weighing several tons. The heart
of the MRI machine is a large doughnut-shaped magnet, measuring
several feet in diameter, which creates a huge magnetic field of several
teslas. (The magnetic field is so enormous that several workers have
been seriously injured when hammers and other tools went flying
through the air when the power was accidentally turned on.)
Recently physicists Igor Savukov and Michael Romalis of Princeton University have proposed a new technology that might eventually
make handheld MRI machines a reality, thus possibly slashing the
price of an fMRI machine by a factor of one hundred. They claim that
huge MRI magnets can be replaced by supersensitive atomic magnetometers that can detect tiny magnetic fields.
First, Savukov and Romalis created a magnetic sensor from hot
potassium vapor suspended in helium gas. Then they used laser light
to align the electron spins of the potassium. Next they applied a weak
magnetic field to a sample of water (to simulate a human body). Then
they sent a radio pulse into the water sample, which made the water
molecules wobble. The resulting "echo" from the wobbling water molecules made the potassium's electrons wobble as well, and this wobbling could be detected by a second laser. They came up with a key
result: even a weak magnetic field could produce an "echo" that could
be picked up by their sensors. Not only could they replace the monstrous magnetic field of the standard MRI machine with a weak field;
PHYSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE
fMRI mental translator would involve many tedious steps: first, recognizing certain fMRI patterns, converting them into English words, and
then uttering these English words to the subject. In this sense, such a
device would not correspond to the "mind meld" found on Star Trek
(but it would still be very useful for stroke victims).
HANDHELD MRI
SCANNERS
Yet another stumbling block to practical telepathy is the sheer size of
the fMRI machine. It is a monstrous device, costing several million
dollars, filling up an entire room, and weighing several tons. The heart
of the MRI machine is a large doughnut-shaped magnet, measuring
several feet in diameter, which creates a huge magnetic field of several
teslas. (The magnetic field is so enormous that several workers have
been seriously injured when hammers and other tools went flying
through the air when the power was accidentally turned on.)
Recently physicists Igor Savukov and Michael Romalis of Princeton University have proposed a new technology that might eventually
make handheld MRI machines a reality, thus possibly slashing the
price of an fMRI machine by a factor of one hundred. They claim that
huge MRI magnets can be replaced by supersensitive atomic magnetometers that can detect tiny magnetic fields.
First, Savukov and Romalis created a magnetic sensor from hot
potassium vapor suspended in helium gas. Then they used laser light
to align the electron spins of the potassium. Next they applied a weak
magnetic field to a sample of water (to simulate a human body). Then
they sent a radio pulse into the water sample, which made the water
molecules wobble. The resulting "echo" from the wobbling water molecules made the potassium's electrons wobble as well, and this wobbling could be detected by a second laser. They came up with a key
result: even a weak magnetic field could produce an "echo" that could
be picked up by their sensors. Not only could they replace the monstrous magnetic field of the standard MRI machine with a weak field;