letters...
Detecting
Land Mines
Ken Fyfe, Edmonton, Alberta 		To the Editor: It is a promising sign that national and international lobbying is starting to precipitate action from various governments to curtail and even eliminate the production and deployment of land mines ("Searching for Land Mines," April 1996). However, more than 100 million existing land mines are a lingering problem that will continue to indiscriminately destroy the lives of innocent victims for decades to come unless demining efforts are stepped up and improved detection methods are developed.

Current research devoted toward improved land-mine detectors focuses predominantly in high-tech methods such as magnetic resonance imaging, infrared, X-rays, and microwave imaging, to name a few. These methods are expensive to develop and deploy, and still require much research. According to the Defense Research Establishment Suffield (DRES), a division of Canada's Department of National Defense, more-direct mechanical methods to detect land mines deserve another investigation.

At the invitation of DRES, the 120-student senior design class in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, undertook the challenge of designing systems to detect land mines using direct mechanical means. These students, the majority of whom expressed disgust that engineers had helped design land mines in the first place, developed many unique design concepts to detect both antipersonnel and antitank mines.

One of the top designs from this course recently won a national design competition with a method that featured automated prodding and probe vibration analysis. With funding from DRES, work continues at the university over the summer to develop a prototype that will synthesize some of the more-promising concepts uncovered during the design course. We hope that a device like this soon can be used to quickly and safely alleviate the suffering of innocent civilians who continue to be terrorized by land mines.

Measuring the
Space Station
Bill Gibson, West Orange, N.J. 		To the Editor: In "Building the Space Station" in the July 1996 issue, what exactly is this new measurement scale, the football field? Is it a peewee football field, a high school field, a college field, a National Football League field, or perhaps a Canadian Football League field? (These vary by about a factor of 9.) Is area or volume represented? How is the volume of this International Space Station compared with that of a jumbo jet? Forget whales, football fields, and the like - we engineers are entitled to precise definitions.

More important, the article opines that the International Space Station will operate at a radius of roughly 7,000 kilometers (at least as I can estimate it). At this orbit, the temperature of the atmosphere is almost irrelevant. What is important is the solar radiation, the solar wind, and the ability to radiate excess heat during shade periods.

The Difficulties of Learning a Living
Sid Forbes, Knoxville, Tenn. 		To the Editor: I've done "continuous learning," as you discuss in your June 1996 Editorial ("Learning a Living"). I believe in this concept - I'm a generalist - but I still have been unable to find work in my area for the last eight months now.

Yes, I have imposed a restriction to stay in the area. My sons are 14 and 11 years old, and having a father at home is important. I know there is a job with my name on it; I just have to find it. It is so hard to resist taking the $8-an-hour service job. Finding the right job will take more time.

Staying Educated
Is No Guarantee
Linda
Montgomery, Tennessee Education Network Paris, Tenn. 		To the Editor: Having been married to a mechanical engineer for many years, I have had the opportunity to read Mechanical Engineering magazine each month. Your July 1996 Editorial, "Educating Engineers," is of special interest to me. The display quote - "Engineers in midcareer and new graduates face similar challenges" - is particularly noteworthy.

However, I feel that a 51-year-old mechanical engineer with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, who has stayed current with educational theory and technology, and suddenly finds himself in the job market (because of a company's desire to lower the bottom line and sell the company) will face trying times that a new graduate will never know.

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© 1996 by The American Society of Mechanical Engineers