Lewis Loflin is an independent researcher and educator from Bristol, Tennessee.
He has studied physics, chemistry, and related sciences since the 1970s.
Though not formally trained in geology, he became proficient in both through decades of
self-teaching, experimentation, and applied projects. His work emphasizes verifiable physical principles,
practical experimentation, and critical evaluation of scientific claims.
Lewis has built hundreds of educational projects in applied electronics, microcontrollers, and general science.
His website, Bristolwatch.com,
presents this work as a modern “hands-on science lab,” encouraging readers to build, measure, and understand
how the natural world and electronic systems truly operate.
With extensive experience servicing and studying vintage televisions and vacuum-tube electronics since the 1970s,
Lewis possesses first-hand knowledge of components such as selenium high-voltage rectifiers, CRT circuits, and flyback transformers—knowledge often absent from modern literature.
His detailed analyses frequently correct misconceptions about these technologies, particularly in high-frequency horizontal-deflection and high-voltage rectifier applications.
Lewis continues to use the electron-flow model when describing circuits and devices.
This reflects the actual physical direction of charge movement in vacuum tubes, semiconductors, and gas-discharge devices,
and avoids the conceptual confusion introduced by the older “positive-flow” convention.
Understanding electron flow is essential for explaining how these devices truly function at the physical level.
While ChatGPT by OpenAI has been used for writing assistance and discussion support,
all technical material is independently verified through direct experimentation, testing, and
comparison with official datasheets and reference sources.
Learning Past the Walls: A 1970s Electronics Student’s Path
I didn’t “opt out” of school—I learned beyond it. Even in the 1970s, classes moved too slowly, textbooks were left unfinished, and the system had no lane for students who wanted to sprint. I blew through senior chemistry by 10th grade and chose vocational school out of boredom. Back then, that path was branded as a dumping ground. In practice, it’s where I actually learned something real.
Snapshot: How School Worked (and Didn’t)
Pacing: Classes stalled; we never finished a single textbook.
Misplacement: Advanced students sat idle while the class “caught up.”
Labeling: Vocational programs were treated like holding tanks, not talent pipelines.
Why Vocational Was the Right ‘Wrong Place’
Hands-on reality: Tools, meters, scopes, parts—cause and effect you can measure.
Feedback loop: Build → test → fail → fix—faster than any lecture could deliver.
Transferable skills: Troubleshooting, documentation, shop discipline, and safe practice.
What I Had to Teach Myself
Math for electronics: algebra, logs (dB), basic trig, and complex numbers for AC analysis.
Explain it to someone: Teaching forces clarity—write it up with diagrams and data.
Core Principle
Electronics is applied physics. If the program dodges math and physics, the only way to become competent is to learn them yourself—and prove it on the bench.
Closing
In the 1970s I learned early that waiting for the class to finish the book was a dead end. I built anyway. Today, with even more gaps in formal programs, the same rule applies: if you want real skill, you’ll need to push past the curriculum and let the instruments be your judge.
Electronics Education: From Applied Physics to Plug-and-Play
A concise historical and technical overview of how electronics education shifted from
applied physics (1960s–1980s) to today’s black-box approach, with a recommended
restoration path for curricula that teach how devices actually work.
Snapshot: Then vs. Now
Aspect
1960s–1980s (Applied Physics)
2000s–Today (Black-Box Focus)
Curricular spine
Electronics + technical physics taught together
Electronics + programming; physics minimized
Current model
Electron-flow and charge motion emphasized
Conventional current; often treated as literal flow
Comparator/threshold: Vacuum-tube style thought demo vs. silicon comparator vs. TL431 threshold behavior.
Assessment That Actually Builds Technicians
Short practicals: “Diagnose this PSU,” “Explain this I-V curve,” “Why did this rectifier fail?”
Measurement reports with uncertainty, repeatability, and error sources documented.
One capstone: design, build, measure, and defend a rectified, regulated supply or switching stage.
Key Takeaways
Electronics is applied physics; students must see charges, fields, and materials behavior—not just block diagrams.
Electron flow provides a consistent physical model across batteries, metallic conductors, rectifiers, and semiconductors.
Restoring device-level labs rebuilds the troubleshooting skill that modern programs often fail to produce.
What’s Really Inside a PC Motherboard?
A stripped desktop motherboard (with heat sinks, CPU, and major connectors removed) looks metallic, but most of its weight is actually
non-metallic fiberglass epoxy laminate (FR-4). Only about one-quarter is metal, and of that, copper dominates.
Typical Composition by Weight
Material
Approx. % by Weight
Notes
Fiberglass Epoxy (FR-4)
~55–65%
Main structural board; non-recyclable composite of glass cloth and resin.
Copper
~15–20%
Traces, ground planes, and vias; main recoverable metal.
Tin / Solder (SnPb or SAC)
~2–4%
Found on pads and component joints; newer boards use Sn–Ag–Cu.
Iron / Steel
~2–3%
Connector shells, small shields, and screws.
Nickel
~0.1–0.3%
Used in lead plating and connector contacts.
Gold
~0.02–0.05%
Thin plating on edge connectors and IC leads—valuable per gram but rare.
Silver / Palladium
~0.01–0.05%
Found in connector plating and thick-film resistors.
Aluminum
~1–2%
Capacitor casings and small shields.
Plastics
~5–10%
Sockets, headers, and connector bodies; usually nylon or ABS.
Ceramics / Silicon
~1–3%
From chip packages, capacitors, and resistors.
Observations
The board’s appearance is deceiving—only about 25–30% of its weight is metal.
Copper is the primary recoverable element.
Precious metals (gold, silver, palladium) make up well under 0.1% of the weight.
The fiberglass-epoxy base and brominated resins become toxic waste if burned or ground.
Bottom Line
A PC motherboard is a complex, mixed-material assembly where valuable metals form a small fraction of total mass.
Effective recovery requires industrial-scale chemical and mechanical processing; small-scale efforts
yield little value and generate hazardous waste.
How Much Recycling Is Done in 3rd World Countries?
A significant portion of the world’s electronic and battery recycling—especially at the low-cost end—occurs in
developing or “third world” countries. Much of this activity takes place informally, with limited safety
controls and almost no environmental oversight.
1. Informal / Hand Recycling
In parts of Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, workers manually dismantle electronics to recover metal scrap.
While lead-acid batteries dominate, lithium-ion cells from discarded phones and laptops are increasingly present.
Recovery often involves crude heating or acid baths to strip away plastic and plating.
This process releases acid vapors, heavy-metal dust, and toxic smoke, exposing workers directly to contamination.
2. Exported Waste from Developed Nations
Developed countries frequently export e-waste labeled as “recyclable material.”
Containers arrive in poorer regions, where they are dismantled by hand or openly burned to extract copper and aluminum.
Lithium-ion and other rechargeable batteries present fire and explosion risks when handled crudely.
This practice effectively outsources pollution to regions with weaker regulation.
3. Industrial Recycling in Developing Economies
Some countries, notably China, India, and South Africa, have built legitimate industrial recycling plants.
However, even in these cases, smaller operators sometimes dump chemical effluents or manage waste improperly.
China alone handles an estimated 70–80% of global lithium-ion recycling, much of it through semi-regulated facilities.
4. Environmental and Human Cost
Water and soil contamination from acid dumping and heavy metals.
Worker health issues such as respiratory illness, chemical burns, and chronic poisoning.
Child labor and unprotected manual work remain problems in informal scrap industries.
5. Why It Happens
Battery and electronics recycling is labor-intensive and low-margin.
Weak environmental enforcement and low wages make developing regions the path of least resistance.
Many nations find it cheaper to export e-waste than process it domestically under strict environmental laws.
Bottom Line
A large share of global e-waste and battery recycling takes place in developing countries, often
under unsafe and polluting conditions. True high-standard lithium-ion recycling remains confined to a handful of
industrial nations. Much of what’s called “recycling” globally is, in practice, pollution displacement.
🧬 Meteorites and the Origins of Life – A Critical Perspective
My question: I find this as bunk that DNA, etc. originated in meteorites. Earth forms these compounds naturally. In addition, they find many chemicals in meteors, and life works with left-handed isomers. Note the following headline: All RNA and DNA Base Types Are Found in Meteorites, Study Claims The discovery could add weight to the hypothesis that the building blocks of life on Earth originally came from space, but some scientists note the possibility of contamination.
A recent headline claims: "All RNA and DNA Base Types Are Found in Meteorites, Study Claims." This suggests support for the panspermia or exogenous delivery hypothesis — that life's building blocks (like nucleobases) may have been delivered to Earth from space. However, this raises several valid questions.
🚫 Skeptical Considerations:
Contamination Risk: Many scientists note the non-trivial risk that meteorite samples are contaminated with Earth-based organic material during collection or handling.
Chirality Matters: Life on Earth uses left-handed (L-form) amino acids and right-handed (D-form) sugars. Most meteoritic organics (e.g., amino acids) are found as racemic mixtures — equal left- and right-handed forms. This lacks the selectivity life requires.
Abiotic Synthesis on Earth: Many of these compounds (e.g., purines, pyrimidines, amino acids) can be formed under plausible early Earth conditions — lightning, UV radiation, hydrothermal vents, or volcanic reactions. Miller-Urey-type experiments showed this decades ago.
Low Concentrations: Even if present in meteorites, nucleobases are often found in minute quantities, making it unclear whether they contributed meaningfully to Earth’s prebiotic chemistry.
🌍 Terrestrial vs. Extraterrestrial Origin:
Earth already had the ingredients: Water, carbon compounds, energy sources, and catalytic surfaces were abundant. There's no compelling reason to require extraterrestrial seeding to explain prebiotic chemistry.
Panspermia lacks mechanism: While intriguing, panspermia doesn't explain how life began — only where the ingredients may have come from. It shifts the problem elsewhere.
🧪 Summary:
The presence of nucleobases in meteorites is interesting, but it does not prove they seeded life on Earth. Earth has ample means to form these compounds naturally. As you noted, chirality and contamination are major challenges to the meteorite-origin argument. In science, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence — and that bar hasn't yet been met here.
