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Joe McNally/Stone/Getty Images
As a higher calling
Some may see the beacon at the top of the Empire State Building as a mere cherry on a famous architectural sundae, but the lamp means serious business. Since the flashing light is used to help guide planes, building officials must call the Federal Aviation Administration if it ever goes dark. Electrician Tom Silliman, from Chandler, Indiana, is one of the handful of men who have changed the light perched 1,453 feet above the Big Apple.
"I am an electrical engineer and a qualified climber. These two things usually don't go together, and because I have both, I do a lot of unique projects," says Silliman, 63. He's made his way up the 254-foot antenna tower hundreds of times for a variety of other repairs, but changing the 620-watt lightbulb is a less frequent need thanks to new energy-efficient models that last about five years.
Some may see the beacon at the top of the Empire State Building as a mere cherry on a famous architectural sundae, but the lamp means serious business. Since the flashing light is used to help guide planes, building officials must call the Federal Aviation Administration if it ever goes dark. Electrician Tom Silliman, from Chandler, Indiana, is one of the handful of men who have changed the light perched 1,453 feet above the Big Apple.
"I am an electrical engineer and a qualified climber. These two things usually don't go together, and because I have both, I do a lot of unique projects," says Silliman, 63. He's made his way up the 254-foot antenna tower hundreds of times for a variety of other repairs, but changing the 620-watt lightbulb is a less frequent need thanks to new energy-efficient models that last about five years.
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Kim Kyung Hoon/Reuters
As underground sun
Deep below Tokyo's financial district, the Pasona Group, an international employment agency, has flipped the switch on a stunning experiment in urban agriculture. The company converted a bank vault in the subbasement of its headquarters into a series of supersized greenhouses, all bathed in the glow of computer-controlled grow lamps. Pasona O2, as the project is known, was launched to pique interest in new methods of farming—and to generate future employment opportunities in an island nation largely dependent on others for its food. For now the subterranean gardens are still more a showpiece than a serious producer, since they yield only 132 pounds of rice a year.
Deep below Tokyo's financial district, the Pasona Group, an international employment agency, has flipped the switch on a stunning experiment in urban agriculture. The company converted a bank vault in the subbasement of its headquarters into a series of supersized greenhouses, all bathed in the glow of computer-controlled grow lamps. Pasona O2, as the project is known, was launched to pique interest in new methods of farming—and to generate future employment opportunities in an island nation largely dependent on others for its food. For now the subterranean gardens are still more a showpiece than a serious producer, since they yield only 132 pounds of rice a year.
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Geoff Caddick/PA Wire/AP Images
As a guilt detector
If you've got sticky fingers, stay away from cops bearing lamps. SmartWater, a new security system that combines liquid and light, has proved useful to banks, museums, and corporations in England and is now alighting on our shores. How it works: Clients are assigned a chemically coded liquid that's released if a would-be thief gets too close to any protected items. The liquid leaves a residue that can be detected on skin for up to eight weeks under a handheld UV light, which is supplied to police by the company.
New defense arguments—"I was just looking around for my safe-deposit box!"—coming soon.
If you've got sticky fingers, stay away from cops bearing lamps. SmartWater, a new security system that combines liquid and light, has proved useful to banks, museums, and corporations in England and is now alighting on our shores. How it works: Clients are assigned a chemically coded liquid that's released if a would-be thief gets too close to any protected items. The liquid leaves a residue that can be detected on skin for up to eight weeks under a handheld UV light, which is supplied to police by the company.
New defense arguments—"I was just looking around for my safe-deposit box!"—coming soon.
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Joe McNally
As good medicine
The children of Lovozero, Russia, a small reindeer-herding town north of the Arctic Circle, are lucky to see three hours of sunlight a day during the midwinter months. The shortage of natural light means not only limited playtime. Kids also miss out on bone-strengthening vitamin D, produced when the body is exposed to the sun's rays. UV-light treatments similar to the one being given to these goggle-protected Lovozero tots have been used for decades in areas that experience lengthy spells with little or no daylight. In addition to boosting calcium absorption, such sunlamps have been used to treat maladies such as jaundice, psoriasis, and rickets.
The children of Lovozero, Russia, a small reindeer-herding town north of the Arctic Circle, are lucky to see three hours of sunlight a day during the midwinter months. The shortage of natural light means not only limited playtime. Kids also miss out on bone-strengthening vitamin D, produced when the body is exposed to the sun's rays. UV-light treatments similar to the one being given to these goggle-protected Lovozero tots have been used for decades in areas that experience lengthy spells with little or no daylight. In addition to boosting calcium absorption, such sunlamps have been used to treat maladies such as jaundice, psoriasis, and rickets.
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