Recent content by Maccara

  1. M

    Why is Silver Not Widely Used in Electrical Wires?

    Copper is still a better conductor than gold. Gold is mainly used in connectors due to its resistance to corrosion. (unless with high end you mean hifi, where there are claims gold cables "sound" better :rolleyes:) (of course not backed up by any science at all, but that's not surprising...
  2. M

    Using Regulator ICs In Parallel to Increase Output Current?

    Why not just use a transistor/darlington with the regulator to handle the load?
  3. M

    Simple Electronic Millamp question

    In short, yes. (In principle it would be possible to connect through a single resistor, but the LEDs have to match exactly (which they almost never do) and if one LED fails other is bound to go too, so I wouldn't recommend that)
  4. M

    Simple Electronic Millamp question

    Normally, LEDs are not too easily damaged by heat and wouldn't need any special precautions (heat sinks/clamps on legs) while soldering them on a PCB, for example, unless one doing the soldering is really slow. I have no idea about high power / extra bright LEDs however. If heat really is a...
  5. M

    How can I solder and glue extremely small components?

    Sorry, I missed completely the sizes and just assumed imperial 0603. :) That indeed is quite annoying to solder. I gather one can pretty much forget wire type solder and paste is a must. Applying the paste is also a bit more complex at that pitch, but some have used stencils to help that and...
  6. M

    How can I solder and glue extremely small components?

    Not sure about "best" technique for soldering wires, but 0603 components are still pretty trivial to handle with hot air, flux and solder paste. Some examples (various techniques): http://amiga.serveftp.net/SMD_soldering.html" . Those examples are for a bit larger pitch, but works for smaller...
  7. M

    Simple Electronic Millamp question

    How about a single JFET variation, which eliminates needed BJT matching and possible thermal runaway? Example circuit: http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_6/chpt_5/15.html"
  8. M

    How can I solder and glue extremely small components?

    Well, you don't usually do this by hand on a large scale, especially not with an iron (some hot air rework station is much more suitable). Automated pick&place and reflow soldering is usually used to automate on commercial scale. See for example...
  9. M

    Re-installing Windows without deleting files

    The obvious answer to this problem (besides the first given) would be XP repair install (Vista probably has something equivalent), which should fix all system errors without deleting existing files. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/doug92.mspx" Just...
  10. M

    Why Do Rally Drivers Use Handbrake Turns?

    This is a bit overly simplified, but the function of handbrake turn is to cause the rear wheels to lock up, instantly changing from static friction to kinetic friction causing the rear wheels to lose traction more than the front wheels. Centrifugal force takes care of the rest.
  11. M

    Special Relativity for the School Going Child

    Well, I haven't been 12-15 for quite a while, but I managed to skip SR in school altogether (here it is skipped almost only as a passing reference unless you're going to actually study physics "seriously"), so I might say how it appears for me... :-p Very comprehensible reading, but one...
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