Paraffinum Liquidum (mineral oil) is a petroleum by-product and is created through distillation. Mineral oil is completely transparent and is basically a liquid form of petroleum jelly. It is produced in large quantities and is used in many different ways all over the world, mostly due to its low toxicity and low cost. Mineral oil …
Hurricanes are caused by immense low pressured formed over the warm oceans in the summer and early fall months. With this low pressure, water vapor is evaporated off of the ocean surface. This water vapor releases the latent heat of condensation which causes all of the water to begin forming into clouds. This condensation forms …
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 …
Interferometry is a series of techniques that uses a series of superimposed electromagnetic waves to extract data and other insights regarding the waves. The device used to measure the waves is an interferometer. Interferometry is primarily used in the fields of fiber optics, engineering metrology, optical metrology, seismology, oceanography, astronomy, particle and nuclear physics, quantum …
As society is trying to slowly ween itself off of oil-dependency, the search for alternative fuels continues. One source of alternative "fuel" that already exists, however, is the electric motor. Electric motors are commonly found in vehicles, toys, and other electronic devices but there is still a campaign to improve the quality and efficiency of …
A driverless car (also autonomous/autopilot/auto-drive car) refers to a car that does not need human intervention to function. The first driverless car achieved a maximum speed of 20 miles-per-hour and was built by Tsukuba Mechanical Engineering Laboratory in 1977. The Mercedes Benz robot van built during the 1980s achieved a full speed of 60 miles-per-hour …
Electrosurgery is the the term used when high-frequency electrical current is used to cut, fulgurate, desiccate, or coagulate tissue with very little blood loss during surgery. The Harmonic scalpel is one of two competing brands in this field that help increase a surgeon’s efficiency and reduce the overall recovery time for patients. The device consists …
A volcano is typically found where two or more tectonic plates are either converging or diverging. The result is a rupture in the surface of the planet which then allows hot ashes, gas, and volcanic lava to rise up from the magma chamber located underneath the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere. Some of the common …
An acrylic adhesive is a resin-based adhesive that is comprised of acrylic or methylacrylic polymers. It is rather complicated to produce acrylic adhesives as they must be formed into a polymer, suspended in a catalyst, and cured. Acrylic adhesives are very strong and efficient at bonding multiple objects together. They are resistant to sunlight, not …
DNA fingerprinting is the process of taking a cell sample from a person and analyzing it. This technique involves analyses of less than 0.1% of human DNA (which is different for each person). Though small, this 0.1% of DNA is enough to distinguish one individual from another and can be used to determine maternity/ paternity …