RichC | May 17, 2024
With emissions and climate change being the primary concern for at least half the world, one would think that a carbon-free source of 24/7 energy from small nuclear reactors would be on the forefront of alternatives for our energy needs? Obviously mention “nuclear”an images of disasters rush to the forefront, but safe “small” reactors are […]
RichC | April 24, 2023
Saved this video the other day as thought it was a pretty ingenious fly trap. Now does it really work to rid a home of flies … who really knows?
RichC | March 11, 2023
When I was in high school, I headed off to Ohio Northern University to become an engineer although veered off into industrial technology, facility design and then teaching when offered a Miami University instructor position when in graduate school. Now putting that education redirection aside … and the other career moves that followed … I’m […]
RichC | September 21, 2022
The triangle with the missing block … explained (below the break).
RichC | April 13, 2021
You can take the boy out of school, but you can’t take school (and learning) out of the boy ( or older man at this point). Over the weekend, I was talking to Brenda about how I’ve been following the NASA feed (tweet below) and waiting for the helicopter to take flight on Mars. The […]
RichC | February 11, 2021
After reading about the Dzhanibekov Effect and seeing a demonstration, I just had to know more. The tennis racket theorem or intermediate axis theorem is a result in classical mechanics describing the movement of a rigid body with three distinct principal moments of inertia. It is also dubbed the Dzhanibekov effect, after Russian cosmonaut Vladimir […]
RichC | October 22, 2019
One thing about waiting for a start-up car company to build a car is that I’m learning a lot more about the automotive manufacturing process. Nowadays, many of the parts are manufactured by suppliers to the automotive industry and then assembled. The same will be true for the unique Elio Motors three wheel tandem seating […]
RichC | August 28, 2019
RichC | January 17, 2019
One of my favorite YouTube channels is Engineering Explained and in this video car guru and mechanical engineer Jason Fenske explains just how BMW used water injection to increase power at full throttle and high manifold pressures. Great stuff. And if this kind of "automotive engineering stuff" interests you and you like aviation like me, […]
RichC | January 29, 2017
Snipping an idea. Perhaps make the board with inset magnets to hold the pieces? Perhaps laminate over a peg board to more easily space Neodymium Magnets that fit in each hole?
RichC | August 18, 2016
Interesting concept — “Each floating city would be made up of 10 to 15 platforms that can house 20 people each, allowing for a total of 200 to 300 people.” Goodbye land, hello sea! Source: Floating cities could be a reality by 2020
RichC | June 17, 2016
Another Elio Motors update detailed more on a variety of engineering points (my previous posts) … particularly on how the Elio will achieve the advertised 84 mpg. Powertrain – An Efficient Union of Technology and Efficiency The other system we’re checking out this week is the Elio’s powertrain, which will help the Elio run as […]
RichC | February 17, 2016
Great video explainer for those driving manual shift cars … dos and don’ts — Engineering Explained
RichC | December 28, 2015
Google and NASA engineers announced that tests with the D-WAVE 2X, the quantum computer developed by them, showed that it’s 100 million times faster than an ordinary computer. The impressive record was achieved in a test in which the D-WAVE 2X ran an optimization problem and found a solution much faster than a conventional computer, […]
RichC | September 19, 2015
It’s probably being marveled by all things engineering that has me gravitating daily to the Interesting Engineering website and I probably browse longer than I should through the educational and “interesting” posts. Image Courtesy of Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Architecture, skyscrapers and buildings around the world are a monumental undertakings and amazing […]
RichC | August 26, 2015
A passenger who was waiting for a storm to pass to board his flight caught the exact moment when a lightning bolt struck a Delta airliner. Source: Watch this Delta airliner get struck by a lightning bolt!
RichC | June 13, 2015
If you have already traveled by airplane, chances are you’ve noticed a tiny hole on the lower portion of all airplane windows The hole is designed to balance out the pressure between the last two layers of a typical pressurized-cabin window. For more images and a more detailed explaination see the article at Interesting Engineering.
RichC | June 9, 2015
After my son returned from living in “dusty” Williston, North Dakota for a couple of years, the Chevy Trailblazer he was using came back a bit dusty. We noticed after visiting him last year that one of the big differences from Ohio were the lack of paved roads. Thankfully, we did give some thought to […]
RichC | May 5, 2015
This is the kind of story that has has one appreciating the the focus on design and safety going into the cars and SUVs being built today. Amazing … the driver, David Grimes, walked away with only a slight burn from the SUV’s air bag. A man’s SUV was pinned between two tractor-trailers, yet he […]
RichC | May 21, 2014
The Dryden Flight Research Center posted ten technology examples on their site that made a big impact on aviation. Most assume NASA has contributed to our science and engineering advancements, but the debate continues over the the high cost of the taxpayers through government funding the NASA research centers or if the private sector can […]
RichC | January 11, 2010
Who doesn’t enjoy a Palm Pre cellphone sunset photo? I’ll start with something simple that sooths my aching head … a beautiful winter sunset in Cincinnati Ohio (photo above) … and conclude with a very short comment regarding our Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter (EAA284) meeting on Sunday – one that had a subject over my […]