Elasticity and conductivity are often mutually exclusive in industrial materials, making it difficult to find a material that one could twist and bend and use for electric conduction at the same time. Electrical wires, often made out of copper or some other metal stretched out into threadlike widths, were invented to try and bridge the gap but was impractical if one wished to apply them to a surface. Metals are also highly reactive to chemicals and this is a problem if one wanted to use them for
[ read more ]
Photolithography is the process of making integrated circuits through optical erosion. Rather than directly cutting into an integrated circuit, photolithography is used due to its ability to perform more precise incisions. Photolithography is a highly complex technique and requires both an extremely clean substrate surface and ideal temperature conditions. It can only be used to produce flat surfaces. Despite this, photolithography is the most popular technique used to make integrated circuits.
[ read more ]
Vegetable glycerin is a carbohydrate that is usually derived from plant-based oils and is used in consumer products like cosmetics and electronic cigarette liquids. A commonly used term for vegetable glycerin is vegetable glycerol.
Vegetable Glycerin (VG) is organic. In order for it to be considered “food-grade” it must be 99.7% pure and the remaining percentage must be water. VG is naturally sweet, but since it is metabolized in a manner different from the way sugar is, it is not known
[ read more ]
A rotameter is a device that measures the flow rate of a liquid or gas in a tube. Karl Kueppers invented the rotameter in 1908, which has been widely used since then for a variety of applications. Rotameters are included in a class of devices known as "variable area meters" that depend on the substance they are measuring to change the area of the test field being measured.
How Rotameters Work
Rotameters consist of a tube, generally made of glass, and an object known as a "float." The float
[ read more ]
Maglev (Magnetic Levitation) trains are the first practical use of Magnetic Levitation Technology in vehicles.
In the present moment there are several countries working on the development of Magnetic Levitating trains: Japan and Germany were pioneers; USA and Australia are working in on it now. China, not being a pioneer, already has a magnetic levitating train from the airport of Shanghai to the city.
Magnetic Levitation and Propulsion: The trains are floating in a magnetic cushion about
[ read more ]
Lightning can be described as a massive discharge of electrical energy that can reach the speed of 130,000 mph and can exceed temperatures of 30,000 degrees Celsius. Although we know a lot about this phenomenon, it is still unclear how and why lightning forms. We will mention some of the theories on how lightning is created.
History
In June 1756, Benjamin Franklin attached a silk string to a kite and launched it during a thunderstorm. He then attached the string to a key and tied it to a p
[ read more ]
The ability to add fractions is a skill that many learn in elementary school and by the time they graduate from high school, seem to have forgotten because it is a skill used so sparsely. However, a quick mind refresh of the steps reveals that adding fractions is a straight forward process that requires three very basic steps. These steps, when combined with an understanding of what a fraction is makes solving addition of fractions very simple.
To begin with, a fraction is a part of a whole.
[ read more ]
Photosynthesis is the process that plants, some bacteria, and some animals use to convert light energy and other sources into sugar and other essential proteins that they need to survive. This article will go over how photosynthesis works and the many different aspects of this process. We will talk about photosynthetic membranes, light reactions, solar panels, and even address the types of animals that are capable of using photosynthesis.
What is Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis describes the pro
[ read more ]
The term "big endian" describes the order in which a sequence of bytes is stored in computer memory. In the big endian storage sequence, the most significant value in the sequence, or the “Big” end, is stored at the lowest storage address (ie the first position). The alternative method of memory storage is referred to as little endian, where the least significant value in the sequence is stored first. For example, if the hexadecimal number 4E51 was stored in big endian format it would be sav
[ read more ]
An inclinometer is a device that measures both positive and negative slopes. Inclinometers are also known as tilt meters, tilt indicators, gradiometers, declinometers, clinometers, etc. They measure tilt, levelness, and angles. Most inclinometers are based on conversion formulas that allow an angle to be calculated across a specific distance. While early inclinometers were based on fluids, most modern inclinometers use digital sensors.
How Inclinometers Work
Early inclinometers used a device
[ read more ]
