sweetener, artificial, substance used as a low-calorie sugar substitute. Saccharin, cyclamates, and aspartame have been the most commonly used artificial sweeteners. Saccharin, a coal-tar derivative three hundred times as sweet as sugar, was discovered in 1879. Cyclamates were approved for consumer use in 1951; they are 30 times sweet as sugar and, unlike saccharin. have no bitter aftertaste at high concentration. They were banned in 1969 because of suspected carcinogenic properties. Aspartame, an amino-acid compound that is about 160 times as sweet as sugar, was discovered in 1965 and is a widely used low-calorie sweetener. It cannot be used in cooking because it is destroyed on boiling in water. People who are sensitive to the amino acid phenylalanine should not use aspartame. Neotame, an aspartame analog, is 30 to 60 times sweeter than aspartame, more stable at high temperatures, and far less likely to pose a risk to people sensitive to phenylalanine. Sucralose, which is manufactured by adding chlorine to sugar, is not destroyed by heat and is widely used as a sweetener in packaged foods that have been baked or otherwise heated during their processing. About 600 times sweeter than sugar, it was first synthesized in 1976. Stevioside, which is 300 times as sweet as sucrose, is a terpene derivative and is available in several countries.

satellite, artificial, object constructed by humans and placed in orbit around the earth or other celestial body (see also space probe). The satellite is lifted from the earth's surface by a rocket and, once placed in orbit, maintains its motion without further rocket propulsion. The first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, was launched on Oct. 4, 1957, by the USSR; a test payload of a radio beacon and a thermometer demonstrated the feasibility of orbiting a satellite. The first U.S. satellite, Explorer I, launched on Jan. 31, 1958, returned data that was instrumental in the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts. During the first decade of space exploration, all of the satellites were launched from either the United States or USSR. Today, there are more than three dozen launch sites in use or under construction in more than a dozen countries.

Satellite Orbits

If placed in an orbit high enough to escape the frictional effects of the earth's atmosphere, the motion of the satellite is controlled by the same laws of celestial mechanics that govern the motions of natural satellites, and it will remain in orbit indefinitely. At heights less than 200 mi (320 km) the drag produced by the atmosphere will slow the satellite down, causing it to descend into the denser portion of the atmosphere where it will burn up like a meteor. To attain orbital altitude and velocity, multistage rockets are used, with each stage falling away as its fuel is exhausted; the effect of reducing the total mass of the rocket while maintaining its thrust is to increase its speed, thus allowing it to achieve the required velocity of 5 mi per sec (8 km per sec). At this speed the rocket's forward momentum exactly balances its downward gravitational acceleration, resulting in orbit. Once above the lower atmosphere, the rocket bends to a nearly horizontal flight path, until it reaches the orbital height desired for the satellite.

Unless corrections are made, orbits are usually elliptical; perigee is the point on the orbit closest to the earth, and apogee is the point farthest from the earth. Besides this eccentricity an orbit of a satellite about the earth is characterized by its plane with respect to the earth. An equatorial orbit lies in the plane of the earth's orbit. A polar orbit lies in the plane passing through both the north and south poles. A satellite's period (the time to complete one revolution around the earth) is determined by its height above the earth; the higher the satellite, the longer the period. At a height of 200 mi (320 km), the period of a circular orbit is 90 min; at 500 mi (800 km), it increases to 100 min. At a height of 22,300 mi (36,000 km), a satellite has a period of exactly 24 hr, the time it takes the earth to rotate once on its axis; such an orbit is called geosynchronous. If the orbit is also equatorial, the satellite will remain stationary over one point on the earth's surface.

Tracking and Telemetry

Since more than 1,000 satellites are presently in orbit, identifying and maintaining contact requires precise tracking methods. Optical and radar tracking are most valuable during the launch; radio tracking is used once the satellite has achieved a stable orbit. Optical tracking uses special cameras to follow satellites illuminated either by the sun or laser beams. Radar tracking directs a pulse of microwaves at the satellite, and the reflected echo identifies both its direction and distance. Nearly all satellites carry radio transmitters that broadcast their positions to tracking antennas on the earth. In addition, the transmitters are used for telemetry, the relaying of information from the scientific instruments aboard the satellite.

Types of Satellites

Satellites can be divided into five principal types: research, communications, weather, navigational, and applications.

Research satellites measure fundamental properties of outer space, e.g., magnetic fields, the flux of cosmic rays and micrometeorites, and properties of celestial objects that are difficult or impossible to observe from the earth. Early research satellites included a series of orbiting observatories designed to study radiation from the sun, light and radio emissions from distant stars, and the earth's atmosphere. Notable research satellites have included the Hubble Space Telescope, the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Infrared Space Observatory, and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (see observatory, orbiting). Also contributing to scientific research were the experiments conducted by the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space stations launched by the United States (Skylab) and the Soviet Union (Salyut and Mir); in these stations researchers worked for months at a time on scientific or technical projects. The International Space Station, currently under construction, will continue this work.

Communications satellites provide a worldwide linkup of radio, telephone, and television. The first communications satellite was Echo 1; launched in 1960, it was a large metallized balloon that reflected radio signals striking it. This passive mode of operation quickly gave way to the active or repeater mode, in which complex electronic equipment aboard the satellite receives a signal from the earth, amplifies it, and transmits it to another point on the earth. Relay 1 and Telstar 1, both launched in 1962, were the first active communications satellites; Telstar 1 relayed the first live television broadcast across the Atlantic Ocean. However, satellites in the Relay and Telstar program were not in geosynchronous orbits, which is the secret to continuous communications networks. Syncom 3, launched in 1964, was the first stationary earth satellite. It was used to telecast the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo to the United States, the first television program to cross the Pacific Ocean. In principle, three geosynchronous satellites located symmetrically in the plane of the earth's equator can provide complete coverage of the earth's surface. In practice, many more are used in order to increase the system's message-handling capacity. The first commercial geosynchronous satellite, Intelsat 1 (better known as Early Bird), was launched by COMSAT in 1965. A network of 29 Intelsat satellites in geosynchronous orbit now provides instantaneous communications throughout the world. In addition, numerous communications satellites have been orbited by commercial organizations and individual nations for a variety of telecommunications tasks.

Weather satellites, or meteorological satellites, provide continuous, up-to-date information about large-scale atmospheric conditions such as cloud cover and temperature profiles. Tiros 1, the first such satellite, was launched in 1960; it transmitted infrared television pictures of the earth's cloud cover and was able to detect the development of hurricanes and to chart their paths. The Tiros series was followed by the Nimbus series, which carried six cameras for more detailed scanning, and the Itos series, which was able to transmit night photographs. Other weather satellites include the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), which send weather data and pictures that cover a section of the United States; China, Japan, India, and the European Space Agency have orbited similar craft. Current weather satellites can transmit visible or infrared photos, focus on a narrow or wide area, and maneuver in space to obtain maximum coverage.

Navigation satellites were developed primarily to satisfy the need for a navigation system that nuclear submarines could use to update their inertial navigation system. This led the U.S. navy to establish the Transit program in 1958; the system was declared operational in 1962 after the launch of Transit 5A. Transit satellites provided a constant signal by which aircraft and ships could determine their positions with great accuracy. In 1967 civilians were able to enjoy the benefits of Transit technology. However, the Transit system had an inherent limitation. The combination of the small number of Transit satellites and their polar orbits meant there were some areas of the globe that were not continuously covered—as a result, the users had to wait until a satellite was properly positioned before they could obtain navigational information. The limitations of the Transit system spurred the next advance in satellite navigation: the availability of 24-hour worldwide positioning information. The Navigation Satellite for Time and Ranging/Global Positioning Satellite System (Navstar/GPS) consists of 24 satellites approximately 11,000 miles above the surface of the earth in six different orbital planes. The GPS has several advantages over the Transit system: It provides greater accuracy in a shorter time; users can obtain information 24 hours a day; and users are always in view of at least five satellites, which yields highly accurate location information (a direct readout of position accurate to within a few yards) including altitude. In addition, because of technological improvements, the GPS system has user equipment that is smaller and less complex. The former Soviet Union established a Navstar equivalent system known as the Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS). The Russian-operated GLONASS will use the same number of satellites and orbits similar to those of Navstar when complete. Many of the handheld GPS receivers can also use the GLONASS data if equipped with the proper processing software.

Applications satellites are designed to test ways of improving satellite technology itself. Areas of concern include structure, instrumentation, controls, power supplies, and telemetry for future communications, meteorological, and navigation satellites.

Satellites also have been used for a number of military purposes, including infrared sensors that track missile launches; electronic sensors that eavesdrop on classified conversations; and optical and other sensors that aid military surveillance. Such reconnaissance satellites have subsequently proved to have civilian benefits, such as commercially available satellite photographs showing surface features and structures in great detail, and fire sensing in remote forested areas. The United States has launched several Landsat remote-imaging satellites to survey the earth's resources by means of special television cameras and radiometric scanners. Russia and other nations have also launched such satellites; the French SPOT satellite provides higher-resolution photographs of the earth.

pacemaker, artificial, device used to stimulate a rhythmic heartbeat by means of electrical impulses. Implanted in the body when the heart's own electrical conduction system (natural pacemaker) does not function normally, the battery-powered device emits impulses that trigger heart-muscle contraction at a rate that is preset or is determined by demand. The device today may be as small as one inch (2.5 cm) in diameter and weigh as little as 0.5 oz. (14 gm). It is implanted, using local anesthetic, under a flap of skin in the chest or abdomen. One or more electrodes are threaded through a vein from the device to the right side of the heart. First developed in the 1960s, pacemakers originally sent one steady beat to the heart. Modern versions can monitor the heart and activate only when necessary; they are also less sensitive to outside sources of electromagnetic radiation than earlier versions. Most pacemakers run on lithium batteries, which need to be replaced about every 10 years. See also arrhythmia.

kidney, artificial, mechanical device capable of assuming the functions ordinarily performed by the kidneys. In treating cases of kidney failure a tube is inserted into an artery in the patient's arm and blood is channeled through semipermeable tubes immersed in a bath containing all the normal blood chemicals except urea and other metabolic waste products. Since the concentration of harmful metabolic wastes are higher in the blood than in the bath, they pass through the walls of the tubes into the bath and purified blood is returned to the body. This process of blood purification, called hemodialysis (see dialysis), is continuous or intermittent, depending on the residual kidney function in the patient. Kidney transplants usually make hemodialysis unnecessary.

heart, artificial, external or surgically implanted mechanical device designed to replace a patient's diseased heart. The first one used on a human being, the Jarvik-7, was implanted (1982) in Barney Clark, who lived for 112 days; another patient, William Schroeder, lived 620 days. Two major drawbacks of the Jarvik-7 were the danger of stroke from clots formed in the artificial heart and the need for the patient to be hooked to the external air compressor that powered the pump. By 1989 such devices had largely become a bridge to human heart transplants (see transplantation, medical).

Beginning 2001, however, a second type of artificial heart, the AbioCor, was implanted in a number of patients. Unlike the Jarvik-7, the AbioCor is powered by electrical energy that is transmitted from a battery across the skin to an internal coil and backup battery. Because an opening in the skin is not needed to allow passage for tubes or wires, the risk of infection is greatly reduced. In addition, the external battery pack is designed to worn on a belt or suspenders, enabling the patient to be mobile. On average, the patients who received the heart from 2001 to 2004 and survived the operation lived for five months; the longest lived not quite 17 months. In 2006 the AbioCor was approved for use in patients who do not qualify for a heart transplant if their life expectancy as a result of heart failure is less than month; the device is also approved as a temporary measure for patients awaiting a transplant.

A related device, the ventricular assist device (VAD), or "artificial ventricle," is an internally implanted pump designed to aid a person with a failing left ventricle; unlike an artificial heart, it does not require removal of the patient's heart. A version for temporary use was developed in 1964. In 1991 doctors implanted the first portable VAD; it was powered by a battery pack. Its pump used a special interior lining to promote the growth of a surface similar to that which lines the blood vessels, reducing the risk of the formation of blood clots, which can cause stroke.

artificial sweetener: see sweetener, artificial.

artificial respiration, any measure that causes air to flow in and out of a person's lungs when natural breathing is inadequate or ceases, as in respiratory paralysis, drowning, electric shock, choking, gas or smoke inhalation, or poisoning. Respiration can be taken over by an artificial lung (especially in respiratory paralysis), a pulmotor, or any other type of mechanical respirator (see resuscitator). In emergency situations, however, when no professional help is available, rescuers undertake the mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-nose method of artificial respiration. First, any foreign material is swept out of the mouth with the hand. The victim is placed on his back, with the head tilted backward and chin pointing upward so that the tongue does not block the throat. The reviver's mouth is then placed tightly over the victim's mouth or nose, with the victim's nostrils or mouth held shut. For a small child or infant, the reviver places his mouth firmly over the mouth and nose. The reviver takes a deep breath and blows into the victim's mouth, nose, or both. If there is no exchange of air, the reviver checks the position of the head. If there is still no exchange, the victim should be turned on his side and rapped between the shoulder blades to dislodge any foreign matter that may be blocking the air passages. A child can be held by the ankles and rapped between the shoulder blades. The reviver stops blowing when the chest expands, turns his head away, and listens for exhalation. If the victim is an adult, blowing should be vigorous, at the rate of about 12 breaths per minute. A child's breaths should be shallower, about 20 per minute, and an infant's breaths should come in short puffs. When victims vomit, they must be turned on their side and the airway cleaned before continuing artificial respiration. If the victim has had the larynx removed, the above method is used, but the reviver must breathe into the stoma (surgical opening made in front of neck for breathing). Breathing into the subject should be continued until natural breathing resumes or until professional help arrives. Since the heart often stops beating when breathing is interrupted, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is typically administered simultaneously. This entails compressing the chest above the heart at 60 or more thrusts per minute, with two breaths being administered after every 15 chest thrusts. See first aid.

artificial limb, mechanical replacement for a missing limb. An artificial limb, called a prosthesis, must be light and flexible to permit easy movement, but must also be sufficiently sturdy to support the weight of the body or to manipulate objects. The materials used in artificial limbs include willow wood, laminated fibers and plastics, various metallic alloys, and carbon-fiber composites. One model of artificial leg is made of layers of stockinette cloth coated with plastic; it has duraluminum joints at the knee and ankle, rubber soles on the feet, and a leather cuff cushioning the stump. The cuff fits around the thigh like a corset, holding the artificial leg firmly in place, and connects to a leather belt around the waist. Often, spring joints are employed on foot pieces to give natural-looking movements. Microprocessors and an array of sensors are used to operate the mechanical and hydraulic system of some artifical legs, providing more natural locomotion. Other artificial legs sacrifice a natural appearance to achieve greater mobility, such as the C-shaped carbon-fiber Flex-Foot used by amputees to participate in track-and-field sports. Artificial legs may also be secured by suction between socket and stump.

Artificial arms, not having to support the weight of the body, may be made of lighter metals and plastics. They are usually strapped to the trunk and controlled by a shoulder harness. Prototype bionic arms have been developed that permit a person to use thought to control the limited movements of the motorized prosthesis. The commands are transmitted through chest muscle that has been surgically connected to the remaining nerves associated with the lost limb; electrodes linked to the artificial arm convert the sensed electrical signals of the muscle into arm movement. Tests with monkeys have shown that robotic arms can also be controlled by the brain's electrical signals directly, using probes implanted in the brain and computer software to interpret the signals.

Artificial hands vary in structure and utility; research and development has resulted in devices that are both cosmetic and functional. For example, an artificial hand has been devised that utilizes a split hook resembling a lobster claw; this is enclosed within a flexible plastic glove that can be made remarkably lifelike, even having fingerprints. The biceps muscle can be attached to the prosthesis by a surgical procedure called cineplasty, which permits grasping in the terminal device while dispensing with shoulder harnesses. A more recent artificial hand has separate motors for each finger, allowing for a more natural and useful grip and movement; the prosthesis is controlled by electrical signals generated by the arm muscles that normally control the hand.

artificial life support, systems that use medical technology to aid, support, or replace a vital function of the body that has been seriously damaged. Such techniques include artificial pacemakers, internal defibrillators, dialysis machines (see kidney, artificial), and respirators. The use of life-support systems to prolong the life of a patient who has suffered apparently irreversible damage to a vital organ system may raise such ethical issues as the quality of life, euthanasia, and the right to die, and has been the subject of much legal and moral debate. Some people specify their wishes concerning prolonged artificial life support, especially should they be in a persistent vegetative state (see coma), in a living will. A health-care proxy is another legal means of insuring that a person's wishes regarding artificial life support are respected, even if the person is unable to communicate those wishes.

artificial languages, languages that are invented by one or more human beings as opposed to languages that develop naturally among peoples. Examples of artificial languages are Volapük, Esperanto, and Ido. See international language.

artificial kidney: see kidney, artificial.

artificial intelligence (AI), the use of computers to model the behavioral aspects of human reasoning and learning. Research in AI is concentrated in some half-dozen areas. In problem solving, one must proceed from a beginning (the initial state) to the end (the goal state) via a limited number of steps; AI here involves an attempt to model the reasoning process in solving a problem, such as the proof of a theorem in Euclidean geometry. In game theory (see games, theory of), the computer must choose among a number of possible "next" moves to select the one that optimizes its probability of winning; this type of choice is analogous to that of a chess player selecting the next move in response to an opponent's move. In pattern recognition, shapes, forms, or configurations of data must be identified and isolated from a larger group; the process here is similar to that used by a doctor in classifying medical problems on the basis of symptoms. Natural language processing is an analysis of current or colloquial language usage without the sometimes misleading effect of formal grammars; it is an attempt to model the learning process of a translator faced with the phrase "throw mama from the train a kiss." Cybernetics is the analysis of the communication and control processes of biological organisms and their relationship to mechanical and electrical systems; this study could ultimately lead to the development of "thinking" robots (see robotics). Machine learning occurs when a computer improves its performance of a task on the basis of its programmed application of AI principles to its past performance of that task.

In the public eye advances in chess-playing computer programs have become symbolic of progress in AI. In 1948 British mathematician Alan Turing developed a chess algorithm for use with calculating machines—it lost to an amateur player in the one game that it played. Ten years later American mathematician Claude Shannon articulated two chess-playing algorithms: brute force, in which all possible moves and their consequences are calculated as far into the future as possible; and selective mode, in which only the most promising moves and their more immediate consequences are evaluated. In 1988 Hitech, a program developed at Carnegie-Mellon Univ., defeated former U.S. champion Arnold Denker in a four-game match, becoming the first computer to defeat a grandmaster. A year later, Gary Kasparov, the reigning world champion, bested Deep Thought, a program developed by the IBM Corp., in a two-game exhibition. In 1990 the German computer Mephisto-Portrose became the first program to defeat a former world champion; while playing an exhibition of 24 simultaneous games, Anatoly Karpov bested 23 human opponents but lost to the computer. Kasparov in 1996 became the first reigning world champion to lose to a computer in a game played with regulation time controls; the Deep Blue computer, developed by the IBM Corp., won the first game of the match, lost the second, drew the third and fourth, and lost the fifth and sixth. Deep Blue used the brute force approach, evaluating more than 100 billion chess positions each turn while looking six moves ahead; it coupled this with the most efficient chess evaluation software yet developed and an extensive library of chess games it could analyze as part of the decision process. Subsequent matches between Vladimir Kramnik and Deep Fritz (2002, 2006) and Kasparov and Deep Junior (2003) have resulted in two ties and a win for the programs. Unlike Deep Blue, which was a specially designed computer, these more recent computer challengers are chess programs that run on powerful personal computers. Such programs have become an important tool in chess, and are used by chess masters to analyze games and experiment with new moves.

artificial insemination, technique involving the artificial injection of sperm-containing semen from a male into a female to cause pregnancy. Artificial insemination is often used in animals to multiply the possible offspring of a prized animal and for the breeding of endangered species. Prepared semen can be preserved for long periods by refrigeration, and it is frequently shipped over great distances.

The method has also been used in humans, when traditional fertilization cannot be achieved (see infertility). It has become a significant issue in recent years, particularly in debates revolving around surrogate motherhood, in which a woman agrees to bear a child for another couple through the use of artificially inseminated sperm from the husband (see surrogate mother). Legal issues have arisen in cases where the surrogate mother decides, upon the birth of the baby, that she wants to keep the child for herself. Likewise, there have been debates over the rights of sperm donors. Other debates on the subject have centered around the ethics of artificial insemination among humans, with critics decrying the practice as a perversion of science or pointing to the possible abuse of the process for purposes of eugenics. See also parent and child.

artificial heart: see heart, artificial.

artificial elements: see synthetic elements.

Breathing induced by any of several techniques in a person who has stopped or is having difficulty breathing. It consists chiefly of keeping the air passage open and inducing inhalation and exhalation. It does not include chest compressions to maintain circulation (see cardiopulmonary resuscitation). The primary method is mouth-to-mouth breathing, in which the rescuer breathes into the victim's mouth, with pauses to allow exhalation.

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or hemodialysis

Process of removing blood from a patient with kidney failure, purifying it with a hemodialyzer (artificial kidney), and returning it to the bloodstream. Many substances (including urea and inorganic salts) in the blood pass through a porous membrane in the machine into a sterile solution; particles such as blood cells and proteins are too large to pass. This process controls the acid-base balance of the blood and its content of water and dissolved materials.

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Ability of a machine to perform tasks thought to require human intelligence. Typical applications include game playing, language translation, expert systems, and robotics. Although pseudo-intelligent machinery dates back to antiquity, the first glimmerings of true intelligence awaited the development of digital computers in the 1940s. AI, or at least the semblance of intelligence, has developed in parallel with computer processing power, which appears to be the main limiting factor. Early AI projects, such as playing chess and solving mathematical problems, are now seen as trivial compared to visual pattern recognition, complex decision making, and the use of natural language. Seealso Turing test.

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Introduction of semen into a female's vagina or cervix by means other than sexual intercourse. First developed for animal breeding in the early 20th century in Russia, it is now also used to induce pregnancy in women whose partners cannot impregnate them. The partner's (or other donor's) semen is inserted with a syringe. Though reasonably successful, artificial insemination in humans raises moral issues that are not yet fully resolved. In livestock, deep-frozen semen from a male animal can be stored for long periods without losing its fertility, thus allowing a single bull to sire as many as 10,000 calves a year.

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Machine or mechanical pump that maintains blood circulation in the human body. The heart-lung machine, a mechanical pump, can maintain circulation for a few hours while the heart is stopped for surgery. It shunts blood away from the heart, oxygenates it, and returns it to the body. No device has yet been developed for total, long-term replacement of the heart; existing artificial hearts reduce the heart's workload by pumping between beats or acting as an auxiliary ventricle and are suitable only as temporary replacements in patients awaiting transplant. Seealso pacemaker.

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