On Dec 3, 4:58*pm, Richard Clark wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2009 14:47:25 -0800 (PST), Bill wrote:
It's soot from the sun.

If the shuttle could only get close enough to trim its wick....

The antenna sold today as a "slinky" is not the slinky of old as shown
in Jasik's book.
If one is to put a lumped load into the schematics of an antenna then
one MUST add a cancellation to the structure as the intent for maximum
efficiency of radiation is the correct use of distributed loads only.
The present day slinky consists of continuous length of wound
inductance or a "lumped" load. The true slinky consists of equal
amounts of clockwise and clockwise turns such that the lumped
inductance is canceled leaving only distributed loads.

O.T
As far as the "soot" term being presently bandied around, it is an
adjective which describes the chemical effects of combustion. Only
those old in the tooth or unfamilier with physics describe it solely
as a product of burning coaland nothing else!
This is similar to the use of "waves" in physics with respect to
particles. One is a noun,
where the other is a adjective that describes the action of same.