Recent content by sophiecentaur

Possibly the picture is totally clear in your mind but we can only give an answer / opinion if you explain things in more detail. A sketch or photo would help but your words so far could be describing anything. Are you referring to an experiment you have seen in a book?

The 'good manufacturers' establish a reputation for taking care of that sort of thing. It's one aspect of 'peace of mind' that is worth paying for. Soft spanner (wrench) jaws and bad drill chucks are a nuisance but a fire in your car is worse.

Both valid points but particle physics uses 'convenient' units according to the needs. The electron Volt (eV) as a measure of energy is very elegant. Visible photons have energies in the order of 1eV and the voltage of your accelerator tells you directly what energies you are dealing with...

And don't forget the phase problem over long cables and the need for synchronisation between multiple generators. Power factor always needs to be corrected when high powers are involved That's a popular idea amongst futurists but terrestrial transmission is controllable and safe. and most of...

Some more than others. The choices are always practical to suit the application. And often the choice is often made to facilitate making local standards for distant locations / labs.

At school, I found it hard to 'ignore' just how loony the basic unit of Energy was - An Erg, being a Dyne Centimetre. A system like that simply breeds extra zeroes at every twist and turn. Amazing that the system was introduced at a time when such fine measurements were not very convenient to...

Well, THANKS guys. You have just managed to convince me that my battery power is going to cost me a fair bit more in the future. Back to clockwork toys, I think.

Interesting and informative reply - thanks. I seem to remember it was called an 'accelerating resistor'. The thermostat used to operate at higher frequency and gave a more steady temperature. I can well appreciate that 'better' feedback will give a steadier temperature / heading / position...

We're slowly inching our way to a conclusion here.

We could discuss all that stuff over a Pint of Best!

Warnings all over instructions for using portable equipment fitted with AA cells. They say their units will not work 'properly' with rechargeable.

I have recently acquired some remotely controlled radiator valves in an attempt to control our domestic heating better. The water enters at the bottom of the radiator and the valve opens proportionally to let just enough hot water through to bring the local room temperature to your chosen...

That video is truly scary but what to do about the problem? I imagine the CT technology will always be expensive; even for small items. I have an appointment for a CT scan on Saturday and I looked up the probable cost. It seems the NHS will be paying quite a few hundred quid for it. A...

It was a great thing for US to move away from yards feet and inches for most scientific purposes. SI bridges seamlessly between Engineering and Physics. A building structure, described in cms and g would be bizarre and Imperial quantities are not far from the equivalent SI numbers. I started my...

That comment is a bit pessimistic. Reducing losses will help both supplier and customer. You'd be paying for losses anyway. But I'm an engineer, basically and a total innocent where money is concerned. I have to agree. One chooses the words of a reply very carefully, with a mixture of...