Engineering

How do the X-ray machines work? Do they have a natural scource or do they make them artificially?

i'm building a van der graff generator but i can't put it to work... i think everything is ok, the tube and the sphere (in my case a soda can) have to be closed? (i meant to be no contact with the atmospheric air)

-A Cerle Effects Generator- Can anyone help we find out any infomation on it what so ever.

Ok, I'm planning on building something involving balance. I don't want to reveal it to everyone at this time because I'm acting childish and don't want to give out the idea. basicly, with the segway as an example, i'm trying to figure out how to determine how fast the wheels should be moving (kmh or mph) to keep balance. I've looked at http://tlb.org 's explanation on how he built a segway. This is his basic algorithm: Could somebody explain this to me? I don't need any explination on overspeed or anything like that. I expect my design to be moving alot faster and it is oriented where it won't matter. So all i want to know, is based on information g…

what materials does infrared not go through?? thanx

Ok, my uncle works for a heating/cooling company. He installs heating/cooling systems. He wants to take a microwave oven to work to cook hot pockets for lunch. Is there a safe way to ghetto rigg the microwave to one of those adapter that fit into the cigarette lighter in cars? Is ther and adaper like that that has a plug in on it?

Hello, Recently I participated in a Quiz competition held at my college.The subject for quiz was electronics.I made till the finals but came third. Well one question that is still bugging me is this:: What are the four terminals of a FET? I just know the basic funda of FET....and know the three terminals..but where on earth the fourth terminal comes from? I asked this question to my teacher, but she said she will explain in detail when she will start FET chapter later this month. I am curious to know the fourth terminal Can somebody please explain? Please give me some links to good FET tutorials.

I have a voltmeter (multimeter); how can I use this to test AA and AAA batteries? If I am correct, simply touching the leads of the voltmeter to the contacts of the battery would almost always give me a reading of 1.5 volts. I think by adding a resistor, I can get a correct reading. How do I calculate what value resistor I need?

If a tube with spiral cut inner walls was filled with water and another tube of a smaller diameter with a spiral cut outer wall was placed inside the tube, but not touching the inner walls of the larger tube, and then spun... would the spinning water be able to move upward... against gravity?

A drill pump uses rubber flanges to create suction in order to draw water into it, through a garden hose and then expel it. It is a simple design but the friction caused by it being airtight makes it extremely hard to turn. If I used a smaller diameter hose, would it need less suction to draw and expel the water?

Hey everyone this is my first post, thought id throw in something fun for my first one so heres one of my photo threads ive put on other boards In a moment of mental abstraction this morning i decided to put the batteries back into my furby to see if it would still remember its mum. It was alright for about 10 minutes, singing, laughing and being genuinely annoying, nothing unusual there. Untill it seized up and started to BUZZ extremely loudly. I remembered a website i once saw, detailing how to disembowel your furby and have a look how it works, so i resolved to do so. Here is a step by step guide showing how i messed with my favourite electronic m…

I have a few questions: 1) Are there any equations for architecture, i.e. a dome can withstand x joules of force, etc. 2) How do I make a dome??? I know its an arc turned 360 degrees, but how do I make one??? How do I make a perfect arc? What is Roman cement made out of?

Can anybody help me work out how to make a steam generator.

Is There Any Electronic(s) Engineer(s) Here? Through years of hardwork & trials I have successfully designed/Invented the Radio Transmitter circuit shown below. BUt this transmitter can cover a range of 100-150meters(with an antenna of hight 3-5meters) only, and a frequency range of 90-103MHz(by adjusting the rheostat or the number / size of the copper wire inductor). I therefore need help on how to Increase the Power of this Transmitter by at least 10 times such that it can cover >1Km(1000meters). Thank you. DiAGRAM TO BE ATTACHED:Usage (Not linked)

I have been thinking about a car for some time, and thought "Hey, why not have a car that stayed still and have the world move around it?!?" Well, I was thinking it over, and couldn't figure a lot out! First, the car has to hover without any dependancy on a point, but how would I accomplish this?

Will some one make sure this circuit I've created will allow me to run each of the motors forwards and backwards? (Top two buttons control MOT1, bottom two control MOT2). Make sure there is no problem with pushing more than one button at once (make sure I won't short anything out). Why do people solder ceramic capacitors across the leads of a motor?

Well, I was taking apart this computer monitor for fun. I took the back cover off, detached the screen from the front frame, and started popping the wires out of the connector headers. I got two or three off, then turned the monitor to reach some other ones. I looked down to see a huge capacitor, the size of a can of food. 400V 390uF. From taking apart disposable cameras, I've found its not too pleasant to touch the leads of high voltage capacitors. So, out of curiosity, what would this one do to me? And how can I discharge it safely (assuming its charged now), a MOhm resistor? Thanks!

oh man, i just lost my entire post which i was typing! Argh. Il paraphrase. I am 15 yaers old and have an itch (a passion really) to do some sort of project in the field of aerospace or mechanical engineering. I like a challenge and am not afraid of something which might be alittle over my head (to a certain extent lol) and have a willingness to learn. Any suggestions which you could give me would be greatly apreciated. Also, suggestions as to what i should be learning now (cad etc) and literature which i shoudl read would be greatly apreciated. Thanks!

While visiting Germany and marveling at the smoothness of the Autobahn, I was told it didn't have as much to do with maintenance as it did with letting the asphalt cure. When Germany lays down new asphalt, no one is allowed to drive on it for 3 months. The result is a road that remains smooth as glass and pothole-free for many years. In the US, they let cars drive on new asphalt the next day after it's laid down! This insures that the roads become uneven, potholed and in need of maintenance very quickly, usually within a couple of years. This means a lot of employment, but it also represents a huge waste of economic resources. It means people get to have their …

Please can frequencies(f) in the range of [1<f<2]Hz be generated,transmitted and received by electronic circuits(oscillators)? I would also like to know the lowest possible frequency that can be generated due to the limitations of likage currents and transistor frequency response. Thank you. I hope you would help.

I am working on a prototype model for a Density Dependant Counter Gravitation Device. In order to do so, i need to construct a light weight vacuum chamber in the shape of a 3 meter cube. that said, i have NO CLUE how to do so. So i have turned to the brilliance of the engineering team at these forums. I need to know any: Materials Preconstructed, Standardized Units that could be intergrated AS materials Costs included Construction tips, or links to web sites with such tips And any other help that you guys might be able to offer. And please don't hate on me so to speak. If you find this thread absurd, or if you think it can't be done, please move on, dont…

Hi, everyone... this is my first Thread, I'm 16 years old and have an intrest in science. Anyhow, I'll get to my subject: Nanotechnology has advanced throughout these years, yet it is still a new technology that didn't even start to shed its light to our world. I have this idea of a spray that shoots out nano-bots which attach to each other forming a blob in the air. These bots would be light enough to stay aloft, or would have built-in engines that keep them flying. they would react with the air (O2, CO2, N,...) creating a sheild preventing objects from entering the perimiter of the blob. I know this may sound like nonsense, but it may have other uses such as cleaning…

Since so many cars are coming out with ONSTAR tracking I bet the crooks are already using jammers. Wouldn't it be easy to scramble a local signal? It probably wouldn't cost any more than a pager. I don't know I was just pondering and wondering if the car people have considered this. Just aman

I was taking apart a disposable camera, to see how it worked, and I was curious to see if i could seperate the flash from the circuit board with wires and still get it to fire. I didn't have much luck with that. I just cut/desoldered the two connections where the bulb attached, and ran wires to the board and to the leads of the bulb. I don't see why it shouldn't flash, (I can hear it charge...), except I think the wires might have too much resistance. Is this possible? I know the bulb requires very large voltage, so maybe the voltage drop is too great from the resistance of the wire? (The two wires are about 2.5 feet each.) By the way, if you try this at home you migh…

How do you work out the natural resonance of a building/structure and make sure that the structure is strong enough to cope with gusts of winds etc. Can you work out if a building will have structure damage with external forces? How can you make sure resonance does not cause a problem?