Engineering

Hear me out here, because I feel like this shouldn't work but I don't know why. Here are the two pieces of knowledge I base this off of: -The concept of acoustic levitation is that a standing wave of sound produces enough force to lift an object in midair and hold it. -If one takes a sufficiently thick piece of paper or thin sheet metal, folds it in half, places an object between the two parts of the fold and attempts to make the angle of the fold more acute, the object is drawn back toward them until it pops out of the wedge. Therefore, if one was to make a cone of sound sufficiently powerful (whether that entails higher frequency, volume, or both), point it at…

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/519421/the-first-carbon-nanotube-computer/ If it's possible to build microscopic computer processors, is it also possible to build a microscopic camera/bug/video camera which records in good quality? Also, could you somehow make it airborne and control it like an RC drone?

And you believed the tale of nanotube processor? I regret that the MIT technology review prints such titles.

wasn't too sure where to post this, I thought engineering complimented it best. If we were to sustain life on a vessel in space, what would be the most practical method to feed ourselves? I would assume livestock be out of the picture. With resources at much less availability than on a celestial body and ventilation not as free as a biosphere, what would be the most practical method? Corn, roots, moss, maybe even chemically synthetic minerals? What would be the most efficient way to feed ourselves in space? Growing crops and harvesting them? Livestock?

hello all, I'm new to the forum world. I wanted to start off with this topic of implantable CONSUMER electronics (not medical). i feel like there would be lots of controversy similar to the whole RFID scare of obama care. 1) what are the ethical implications? (i have a very practical and technical sense of perception so i cannot think to deep when it comes to ethics of the technology. i would really appreciate outside opinions haha) 2)From an objective point of view, how would the "assimilated" human with enhanced capabilities (ex: seamless access to data, fully integrated health system-implanted medical diagnostics., enhanced perceptions, etc.) change society…

Hi. This could be on some other forum, but, here it goes. If any electronics guru is around, I would like to know how to measure the (antenna) input impedance of a television. From ~50MHz to ~800MHz. in whatever steps. 1 MHz, 5MHz, 10 MHz... Would you have the proper instrument ? What is it ?

Article removed Is it possible to build a microscopic camera/video camera/bug which records in good quality?

Simply put, Solar panels don't work when the clouds are overcast and at night, sunny areas of roofs are too small to accommodate all electrical needs, Battery storage is useless because there is no place to put the DC to AC inverters. Circuit breaker panels are not accessible to parallel wire hookups, and buying a new one is a huge extra expense. If there is no basement or a place to install the inverters, a small outside building will be needed to house them.

Hi. Would partial vacuum desalination or distilling produce also cooling as for 'air conditioning' ? The vessel containing the liquid being distilled will get cold, right ?

Hey All, I have a camera sensor node that is periodically sampling the camera to detect activity. Then theses samples are first stored in the memory and then processed. My question is: do these sampled follow a certain probability distribution (Poisson, exponential, etc..) and what kind? Any help is appreciated.

How do I calculate the resonant frequency of a structure?

Don't know where to put this thread. I want to know: Which is better to use plastic to create armor to combat street hooligans? It is necessary that the knife could not pierce armor.

Hey, I'm looking for a magazine, a website or other, where new achievements or opportunities are presented. Well, let's say this: in principle everything is interesting, (at least for me) any new development, including breakthroughs or other. New things that came up or new ideas ... I'm really interested in many aspects, but especially on the technical side, as may soon be usable new technologies, no matter what aspect (weapons, robotics, aerospace, automotive, motors, ...) but also things like medicine (new drugs, treatment options, implants) well, so almost everything in the natural sciences area. However, I do not care about any gossip magazines or something like tha…

I own a 2007 toyota corolla (stick shift ). The engine is a 1.8L with a 10:1 compression ratio (stock). Should I be using 87 octane or 89 octane due to the 10:1 ratio? ~ee

"Mining the Sky" for Earth? Why is there only talk of bringing it back down to Earth? What would we even do with such resources? Most Sci-Fi resides beyond Earth. Megastructures are under my eye (i.e. spaceships, Dyson spheres and artificial worlds!) Zero-gravity provides a very free medium which should simplify automated construction. Automatized production systems could be highly modular, reproductive and self-maintaining; principles which yield a system capable of building virtually anything we can imagine that is theoretically-feasible! I think we should do our best to live within the confines of Earth and crunch down as much efficiency as we can bef…

This should be explained... link deleted

Hello, I am Scilight! Some stuff about conversion. Can't you convert speed to tourqe through methods of gears?

Thought it was kinda cool.

Hello everybody, I am Victor Moussalli, 17 years old, just starting grade 12 of high school. My passion is energy efficiency. The only types of engineering that I like are: environmental, energy, and electrical. I want to know what is the best path to take; university or not, to guarantee a good job later on as many of my older buddies are now struggling to find jobs despite their engineering majors. Thank you, Victor Moussalli

All it takes is flexible paddle wheels attached to generators biting into the flowing river surface.

This is a device typically seen in fiction. Or if you're like me, you might have actually considered them as a kid. But I'm still wondering about them today, and curious if they're really an impossible task. I'm talking about manned ornithopters, capable of allowing a person to fly and land safely. The contraption is either wearable like a backpack or a light vehicle (similar to a bicycle), and powered by pedaling or using your arms (no engines or electronics). Obviously, they would be for one person only, and useable up to altitudes where low pressure and temperature aren't a biological hazard. Although a fantasistic idea, I'm well aware of the limitations. Unlik…

I'm sure you've heard this story 100 times. Basically, my friend and I got into a BIT of an argument about the purpose and use of mechanical engineers and mechanics. My friend who is a mechanic, works at this factory and managed to modify this machine to make it run better/ more efficiently...and essentially got to the point where he said mechanical engineers are just overpaid mechanics (as he could easily improve this machine), and that they got their chins up high thinking that they're better than mechanics. Naturally I tried to explain what mech. engineers do. Then he said "why do you need dynamics, statics, or calculus if a mechanic can fix and make this machine b…

The Honda RX-8 had a couple of unique features, including a Wankel (rotary) engine, in contrast to the piston driven engine that most schmoes drive (like me). However, what is the attraction of a rotary engine. Can it possible be more efficient than piston driven cars? And if not, why use an engine that is even less efficient when so many of us are trying to reduce our carbon footprints? Rotary engine

How would crews get to Mercury? Is there any way we can beat the high delta-V penalties for classic style ballistic flights? Yes, there is: Cyclers. Mercurys orbital period is 87.97 days. Earths is 365.25 days, or 4.15 Mercury years. A cycler deployed to a 351.5 day orbit, with Earths orbit as the aphelion and Mercurys orbit as the perihelion, will encounter Mercury every time it (the cycler) reaches perihelion. Crews departing Earth would still have to generate a high delta-V. In fact, cycler missions would require a delta-V around 9.5 km/sec. while some standard (Hohmann) transfers can be done for 6-7 km/sec. The difference is that a cycler mission puts most of the …

As far as I'm aware lead acid batteries have to be maintained in an upright position. Well, perhaps I'm wrong because upon disassembling my large recently expired rechargeable torch, I discovered its battery mounted on its side. Which I'd have thought not conducive to the liquid being able to cover the cells. I might add that the torch is not very old (it wasn't cheap either), and my thinking is its premature death is because of the battery mounting. Has anyone any thoughts?