The great Pablo Picasso once said: “Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.” And although Picasso was a visionary who is often best remembered for his revolutionary Rose and Blue Periods and his avant-garde interpretation of the barbaric bombing of Guernica, he too would well have had difficulty imagining that a century later an artist would create a work of art with the use of an electromagnetic field.

In 2004, the British artist Richard Box planted 1301 fluorescent tubes vertically on a piece of land covering circa 3,600 m² and called his piece “Field”. The land was in close proximity to an electricity pylon which supported overhead power lines carrying 400,000 volts of electricity. The electromagnetic field discharged by the power lines caused the fluorescent tubes to glow in warm, gentle colours, which looked especially spectacular when seen in the dark.

Electromagnetic fields are all around us. If you live in an industrial country, there is really no way of getting away from them. Mobile phones, WLAN routers, cordless phones, radio and TV transmitters, microwave ovens – they all emit electromagnetic fields which you can normally neither see, hear, feel, taste nor smell. So how then can you know whether the dose that you are getting is good for you? Guidelines drawn up by the ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) clearly state that the thresholds for microwave radiation should not exceed 0.2 or 5 mW/cm², depending on the type of application.

So wouldn’t you want to know just how high the emissions are in your home, your flat, at your office or in your workplace? The BR15 microwave radiation meter from TROTEC makes invisible electromagnetic fields visible by transforming the measurements it takes into clear and concise readings on an easy-to-read, crisp display.

Of course we don’t claim to be in the same artistic league as Richard Box whose exposition is currently being shown as a documentary at the Uferhallen in the Kulturzentrum (Culture Centre) in Berlin-Wedding. The exhibition, which runs until October 10th, showcases a variety of exhibits with the conservation of nature and the environment as their central theme. Art becomes a medium that has a special influence on conscientious consumer behavior and a sustainable way of living.

But what we do think is that we have done a really good job of one of the things we do best: manufacturing and developing measuring equipment for industrial, commercial and private use.

TROTEC – the new name in measuring technology.

In times of tumbling economies, fears of double dip recessions and falling house prices what better a way to spend your money than on something that not everybody has, something really special. No, not a piece of land or a hole on the moon – or a square foot of the rain forest, which is at least a very commendable start – no, as of September the 29th 2010 you can give your name, or somebody else’s, to a heavenly constellation that is this time not a star or group of stars but a system of either high or low pressure moving across the face of Europe!

The perfect gift one could be excused for thinking. Imagine the surprise when your wife of twenty years finds out that instead of buying her those wickedly expensive earrings, that timelessly-elegantly classic cashmere cardigan or those luxuriously soft lamb leather boots which she has always wanted for your china wedding anniversary, you get in touch with the Freie Universität Berlin (Free University of Berlin) and pay 199 euros to have a system of low pressure which brings misery and suffering to whole nations named after her.

And what about Christmas? Don’t forget – only 108 days to go. If you feel like digging a little deeper into your pocket this time, you can tack an extra one hundred euros onto your bill by splashing out on a system of high pressure that you have decided to name after one of your family members, which unfortunately does not include the dog, who most families would probably regard as being more than just a trusted companion and faithful friend. Men’s names are allowed – and so are women’s – but no double names and no company names either.

But just in case you’re thinking that this is a hoax, this is where we set you straight. The whole idea of sponsoring systems of low and high pressure across Europe is the brainchild of the meteorologists at Freie Universität Berlin who thought that this would be a good way to generate income for the Institute of Meteorology at their progressively modern university. If you’re interested, just go to http://www.met.fu-berlin.de/wetterpate/ and make somebody happy in 2011.

By the way, although the low pressure systems in 2010 all had and will have women’s names and the high pressure systems men’s, the situation will be reversed in the coming year when the high pressure systems will then be called Brunhilda, Helga or Hannelore and the low pressure systems will be called Hans, Christian – or Eric. This is a result of the pressure put on the met office by women campaigners who went up in arms at the practice established in 1954 of giving high pressure systems which account for gloriously sunny, pleasantly dry weather men’s names and low pressure systems, which are responsible for drab, damp and overcast weather, women’s.

But if all this talk about high pressure systems and low pressure systems has turned your thoughts to the weather and the effect it could have on your day – sticky, hot weather in the summer, dipping temperatures, cold, crispy days in the winter and wet. rainy weather with high humidity levels the rest of the year round, then you will be pleased to hear that Trotec, the brand name in heating solutions, dehumidification and climate control has just the right heaters, dehumidifiers and air conditioners for you and your own individual application. Just follow the link below and find out for yourself.

Trust Trotec. The name in heating solutions, dehumidification and climate control.