Each week, the Planet Analog section of the print version of EETimes features two small text boxes, entitled “Also of Interest” and “Elementals”, in addition to one or two feature articles, an editor's column, and new products. Each of these boxes cites items from publications outside the Planet Analog and EETimes portfolio. The first box highlights a few items of general interest to the engineer, while the second highlights some basic and tutorial electronic-engineering material.

In this week's print edition (May 12, 2008) you would have seen these items–except we ran out of room for them, at the last minute! (note: there are also links to previous weeks' editions, at the bottom):

Also of Interest:

• For use in measuring the orientations of human heads:
  “Inertial Orientation Trackers With Drift Compensation,”
  NASA Tech Briefs , February 2008
• To create the next generation of prosthetic arms, Dean Kamen had to reinvent the prosthetic socket:
  “Re-engineering the Prosthetic-Arm Socket,”
  IEEE Spectrum , February 2008
• The “sensor” which animals use to orient themselves using magnetic fields is still very much a mystery:
  “Magnetoreception in animals,”
  Physics Today , March 2008

Elementals:

• To ensure their components protect your circuits, Littelfuse engineers may damage or destroy their parts, sometimes in spectacular fashion:
  “Protection at full power,”
  Test & Measurement World , Month Day, Year
• Accurate testing of portable power systems, such as those based on fuel cells or primary batteries, requires testing under realistic load conditions:
  “Testing a power system with an appropriate load platform,”
  RF Design , February 2008
• Power sources substituting for batteries must respond unlike conventional supplies:
  “Nomadic products put power sources to the test,”
  Test & Measurement World , March 2008

Previous Editions:

• May 5, 2008
• April 28, 2008
• April 21, 2008
• April 14, 2008
• April 7, 2008