Engineering

You thought Nasa would be first, or a company like Deep Space Industries or Planetary Resources? India has been faster, with less resources but with innovative thinking. No scale is given, but it doesn't look small. Without data about how compact the soil is, it's difficult to estimate how much of the opencast mine was usable ore and what proportion landed on the slag heap. Well done!

It's good to have German newspapers, because the French population has known about nothing. On 9th April, 2014, some cooling water leaks in the nuclear power plant in Fessenheim, France. The incident is evaluated at severity 1 over 7. That's what the French citizens have learned of it up to now. Apparently, the people who have known more about didn't even bother to inform the French newspapers: they passed information to the German Süddeutsche Zeitung, definitely more useful. Details about the incident are better known through the request for information sent by the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN) to the electricity producer, Électricité de France (EDF). By the way, …

I wouldn’t attempt this if it was because of the risks associated with high voltage and X-ray radiation but would it be possibly to create a weak X-ray out of a tungsten lightbulb and and an anode on the outside or would the vacuum be too weak/other problems? Please excuse my English and lack of knowledge in the field, it was just a random question.

I am looking for some mirror setup where rotation one or more elements in the mirror setup will allow to shift the beam along its axis. Two mirrors in a galvanometer scanner type setup work well for controlling the angle of the beam. Rotating risley prisms can be used to only offset the beam without changing its angle but the possible positions are limited. Dove prisms are great for rotating the beam along itself or rotate in a circular fashion if prism center is shifted. But as for offsetting (shifting) a beam along its axis from a (-1,-1) position to (1,1) without changing the angle of the beam, I can't find any setup which involves a rotating mirror…

Need to overlay beams by having one replacing the other where they intersect rather than have the beams be superimposed. this is what I want: https://i.imgur.com/F6HIYBl.png this is what I do not want: https://i.imgur.com/ylhMeEa.png This kind of beam combining can be either achieved by the "combiner" OR later in the setup by the "projection screen". Or in other words, having the original beam not reaching the projection surface is not the only solution as somehow not displaying the original beam on the projection surface even if it has reached it will also work. The colors of the beams are for illustration purposes, so are their positions. Position of…

A bit of unsual scenario, I need to divide a video projection beam horizontally into two. Since the splitted beams in my diagram are treated as a separate beam they have to have their focus plane changed. Is that possible to do and how would one do it? http://image.ibb.co/jAu9x7/9241421.jpg If this helps the resolution of the original beam is pretty low by todays standards, 856x480 pixels.

so heres a weird one that happened to me the other day wondering if theres any ideas why? driving along in my (brand new) truck the other day, and the mirror clipped a few tree leaves hanging slightly on the road. very small so didnt think anything of it. there was a few (what looked like dirty water spots) on the mirror and passenger window, but so small i didnt care. when i got home i had a closer look at the brown spots on the mirror, and it was actually rust spots that have penetrated the glass in the mirror, meaning it cant clean off. the same brown spots on the passenger window, and a few on the paint, rubbed strait off. any idea what could have been …

So a simple question from me, would it possible, and if so how (and if not why), to turn a breathalyzer into a micro IR spectrometer. I can't understand why it wouldn't be able to detect other samples of a material through bond enthalpies as it can detect alcohol samples, so why not others? Obviously it isn't that simple otherwise purchasing a IR spectrometer wouldn't be thousands of pounds. But maybe with a bit of programming knowledge it would be possible to build your own, maybe by modifying the fuel cell or bypassing it through a different system to sense other compounds. Albeit far less accurate, it would still be cool to have a tiny little IR spectrometer. Chee…

Always found my circular saw to be awkward to operate. Is it because there is left and right-hand types, with no markings on the box, depending on the buyer to recognize it right away ? Have goofed too long time to notice it... Pictures borrowed from the web; top seems right handed.

Hi! Can you recommend any good documentaries on engineering in English or even French? I'm especially interested in topics related to mechanical, chemical or civil engineering, but other branches will do too. Some topics I'm particularly interested in include anything related to mining engineering, engineering disasters (if the documentary provides educational information and insight on the mistakes that caused the failure), innovations and the history of engineering. Thanks!

Hello, I'm really interested in fuel cell cars and working on a school project related to them. I went quickly through the options the car manufacturers have these days when constructing a FCV and I cannot understand why all the models produced right now are equipped with very similiar technology. All 3 of them have a PEM fuel cell in combination with a hydrogen tank and I'm wondering, why would't they go with a PEM fuell cell, methanol tank and methanol reformer? The methanol as a fuel has a lot of advantages compared to hydrogen. So what I'm thinking is: A) the system would be more expensive B) the system would weigh more I think the combination of PEMF…

Hello guys. I have an engineering project I've been working on for quite some time now. It's a large hybrid rocket that I plan to build, and I expect it to cost around 2-3k. Now, because it costs so much, I plan to build it over the course of a few years. But at the same time, I really don't want to waste money so I'd like some tips. So, I'll explain it now. Firstly, it's objective. The objective is to get it to around 1k meters, and then bring it in for a propulsive landing. I know landing it will be extremely hard, but that's more of an afterthought. For comparison, my highest rocket got to about 1800 feet, but that was for a…

Do I understand it correctly, that if outside temperature is -20 C and we intend to heat premises to +20 C, using heat pump solely, the maximum theoretical efficiency going to be around 700%? https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/heat-pump-efficiency-ratings-d_1117.html If yes, then why heat pump practical efficiencies are still much lower than theoretical values? What is the issues with technologies? Why Otto or Diesel engines work much closer to theoretical values than heat pumps? Also, how practical would be air-air heat pumps designed for apartments in buildings where use of ground waters is hardly an option? What would be their size and cost at temperatur…

Hello, I need help with the Charpy Sheep Resilience Test Bench using ASME ur (US standard) I found some French standard but unfortunately it pays . example: NF A03-508 and ISO / R442. I want to emphasize especially the components of the test bench justifying the norm. Thank you in advance for your collaboration,

Could someone possibly elaborate on the possibility of using very many 'smaller' batteries on telephones, laptops etc, assembled as one package off course, than using one, as they do now. Charging them in parallel they would recharge in a minute then using them appropriately to feed the circuit, like in series for example.

Can anyone tell me where I can get a furnace that can produce temperatures up to 1700 degrees Celsius for melting metals.

When new sources of energy are being proposed there is often an impetus to subsidize them. Currently we have a lot of wind farms being subsidized. I am of the opinion that this is pure theatre and self delusion. If the energy source cannot survive without subsidy then it is clearly not producing more energy that it consumes. This discussion often gets bogged down when people try to redefine the word 'subsidy' and include things like tax rebates in the definition. So I will use a definition here - a subsidy is a net flow of energy into a system from outside. I will also add that as a corollary to this the Cost of something is a very good measure of the…

Hi all. Need to bounce ideas for a project at work. I would like to dissolve hydrogen gas (among other gasses) into a closed loop system of mineral oil. With Henry's law, I can lower the temperature and increase the pressure to help. But if I don't help dissolve it along via pressure and temperature manipulation, the gas will just sit on top on not mix right? If this closed loop has a pump to circulate the oil, will that be enough agitation to help dissolve the gasses? Also, how would I calculate the new concentration? The gas has a given ppm sent by the manufacturer, and the oil has a certain volume based on the container I choose. Is it just some simple math? …

Hi, Recently I was faced with a challenge to find out how long it might take for moisture concentration to reduce from 80% to 30% for soil, under constant sifting/turning . Here is the cenario. I have a tunnel of 80 meters, width of 4 meters. depth of 2 meters. daily, wet soil will be delivered to the front end of the tunnel and everyday, or given a set period there is a machine that mulch/mix and flips the soil backwards by 1 meter. The constants are: Input soil: 10 cubic meters, 80% water content. Machine: has blade that mixes the soil and flip it backwards by 1 meter. The bed of the tunnel is heated to 50 deg c, can assume the en…

The Moon's gravitational attraction of is responsible for tide. The amount of force required to move oceans is incredible relative to our (humans) our energy producing ability. At present there are attempts to harvest wave energy but none appear scalable to level which could be used to power large portions of industry of cities. That said the energy potential seems self evident. To my knowledge Nova Scotia is one of the leaders on this front. However most systems I am aware of focus on using swells to move magnetics https://energy.novascotia.ca/renewables/marine-renewable-energy/top-10-things-tidal-energy Are there other ways to harness the Moon's Gravita…

The Moon's gravitational attraction of is responsible for tide. The amount of force required to move oceans is incredible relative to our (humans) our energy producing ability. At present there are attempts to harvest wave energy but none appear scalable to level which could be used to power large portions of industry of cities. That said the energy potential seems self evident. To my knowledge Nova Scotia is one of the leaders on this front. However most systems I am aware of focus on using swells to move magnetics https://energy.novascotia.ca/renewables/marine-renewable-energy/top-10-things-tidal-energy Are there other ways to harness the Moon's Gravita…

In this hypothetical questions, let's assume the infrastructure and automotive industry is well suited to run on ethanol fuel. Would a vertical farm, off shore much like oil rigs, be the best way to cultivate corn or even switchgrass? Think of a 70-story building, 3 acres per floor. All water is provided at the source. Crops could be genetically engineered in a way that you'd obtain the highest yield, and the genetic modification wouldn't harm people as it wouldn't be consumed. Picture as many vertical farms as there are oil rigs. Why not in the future, convert the oil rigs into vertical farms? ~EE

Not sure if this should be under the chemistry section. How/where does a two way catalytic converter get oxygen to perform the oxidation of hc and co ? Is it from the rich lean switch of ICE air/fuel ratio ? Did a bit more research, the combustion gas has left over oxygen that the two way catalyst uses to oxidise the hc and co. I think I am good.

Hello, everyone, ... So, i've got a simple question, which career do you think is the best for an engineer after graduation: pursuing academia and becoming a professor, or going to industry and becoming an Engineering Manager ? what are some pros and cons of each one ? thanks a lot in advance for your answers.

I don't like floor to ceiling windows, because i never feel they are very safe. what if they are broken and fell down ? so i ask these Qs. there was an accident. (CNN) -- One woman was killed and another injured after they fell from a 10th-floor window at an Atlanta hotel, authorities said Saturday.According to Atlanta Police, witnesses said the two were attending a birthday party early Saturday at the W Atlanta-Midtown. The pair were "play fighting" when they accidentally crashed through the window around 3:15 a.m., according to a preliminary investigation, said department spokesman Officer John Chafee. It was unclear Saturday where they landed. http://edition…