Engineering

In 2008, according to Wiki, over 10% of world power generation was from geothermal. (2008 approx. sources: OIL 34%, COAL 27%, NAT GAS 21%, GEOTHERMAL 10%, NUCLEAR 6%, HYDRO 2%) If you tunnel deep enough under ground, you reach high temperatures. Why not just tunnel deep enough, inject water, and harness the resulting steam? In hot areas, such as near volcanos, you don't need to tunnel very deep to get to hot stuff.

Hi, Why is not nitrogen (a widely abundant element which, so far as I'm aware, is not too costly to extract) used as a fuel in automobiles and power plants? Thanks, pyroglycerine

I want to move manure a considerable distance, 200-1000 miles. A tracker trailer dump truck could hold 42k pounds maybe 17k more with an extra axle in the back. (I can provide lift assist if needed) I want to haul 40 million pounds to ten different locations. The common coal car has volume and mass capacity. It is not awfully soiled by manure or other 'feces'. According to the wikipedia this is how the coal is deposited. I've read stories about trap door bottoms. I am physically moving manure for profit however. The average age of a coal car is ~24 years. What's the outlook on leasing space at the local coal power plant? Anyone ha…

http://www.ansys.com/staticassets/ANSYS/staticassets/resourcelibrary/article/Robust-Race-Car-Design-academic-AA-V8-I1.pdf

Any suggestions for a trowelable product like the foam-in-a-can for sealing gaps, cracks and insulating ? This product, after applied out of the can, cannot be troweled/molested at all until dry, as it collapses to nothing: ---->http://img2-2.timeinc.net/toh/i/a/tools/foam-spray-00.jpg

That autonomous submarine searching for the missing Boeing 777 aircraft in the south Indian sea; tracing a search pattern can steer by its compass/autopilot, and maintain or change headings, read its water-relative speed; but how does it know its position coordinates ? Marine currents can produce a sustantial position deviation specially after several hours spent only in descent/ascent. Or is its position known from external tracking by its mothership sonar linked to time 'stamps' ?

This will become a huge problem, soon or later. ---->[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNPJMk2fgJU]

If we use cotton, straw, or sheep's wool to insulate homes, can we use compressed dust? (cheap and easy to collect...)

Alright, I feel stupid for posting this, because I have the distinct feeling this will be shot down in a matter of a few posts. But I was discussing a superconducting project with a friend, and also talking about alternative levitation ideas (namely, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1vyB-O5i6E). She asked me why I didn't combine the two, as this would allow me to theoretically levitate anything with a superconducting electromagnet. From my understanding, superconductors have zero electrical resistance when active. So, a superconducting magnet is able to exhibit a current without any applied voltage. The magnetic field used to levitate the frog was 10 Tesla, but I don't ha…

I think Algae bio diesel is the best alternative than corn,soybean,palm oil ,sugarcane,etc.but it's still in testing

I was servicing my commuter bike and noticed a little (about 2mmx3mm) blister on the once smooth surface of my front fork. I have photographed it and added it to the post here The fork was sold as carbon-alu which normally means a carbon blades attached to a aluminium crown and steerer tube (ie other end from photo). The dropouts (where the wheel goes) and the disc brake connection seem also to be metallic. The little blister broke as soon as I investigated and was full of white powder (some still remains around edges of photo) - it looks as if others may be forming higher up the photo. What is going on? Is this aluminium corrosion of some sort? Any idea…

If a digital inverter (like the 7404 chip) can turn a 0 into a 1, why can't that be used to make infinite energy? Why can't you just have it always outputting a digital high? Also, how is it possible for something to create energy like that?

I'm trying to invent something but I need to bond transparent plastic and aluminum together without adhesives or any types of screws or bolts. And I need to make it look like the plastic is smoothly transitioning into the aluminum. But I also need a strong bond between the two.Please help!!!

BTW, I'm no longer able to quote when I reply, or copy and paste. Does anyone have this problem? I was getting off topic on "Better Black Boxes", so here is the continuation. Statistically, airliners are a very safe mode of transportation. My question is: How many fatalities occurred during the CRUISING phase (not takeoff and landing) of all flights worldwide, during the past 10 years? My assumption is that during those events, lives COULD have been saved. They could also land in the freezing South Indian Ocean, and eaten by sharks, or on the side of a mountain, but they would have a CHANCE at survival. There were some, according to the stats that Sw…

I'm trying to research why larger tires would decrease a car's mpg even though larger tires can travel a greater distance with each rotation of the axle. Most of the reasons given on the internet claim the added weight of a larger tire will cause the lower mpg. This doesn't seem like a very good reason since the added weight of larger tires would be insignificant compared to the weight of the car. Also, tire/wheel weight can be manipulated by changing width and using more expensive and lighter materials. There has to be another reason. Could it be that the force a larger tire puts on the road is less than the force a smaller tire puts on the road (with an axle of …

I fancy making a touch operated electric bell for my bike - I use the bell all the time on my daily commute (on a canal path shared with runners and pedestrians for about 7-8 km a day). I ride with drop handlebars and I tend to have my hands on the body of the lever - a picture or two to demonstrate. Now the closest place I could mount the bell would mean moving a hand to the centre of the handle bars and back every time I wished to ring the bell; but the situations in which I want to ring the bell are those in which I want both hands steering and ready to change gear and more importantly brake. Electronics - especially practical electronics was nev…

A friend of mine once observed a puzzling phenomenon, which he has never been able to properly explain. This event took place long ago when he was doing an apprenticeship in electrical engineering at a naval dockyard and it concerned a 'runaway' effect that occurred when he was part of a team testing large industrial motors. The cause of this effect, as he recalled, was associated with 'back EMF' and it (or something akin to it) caused the motor to speed up uncontrollably. The runaway effect was so powerful that the instructors had to pull the plug on the motor and/or physically bring the armature to rest before the motor tore itself apart. My friend is a self-employed el…

I am working on a welding project, and would like to know how to introduce a sharp bend in a piece of relatively thin (1-2mm) sheet steel. Would heating be required? I would like the smallest bending radius possible, but don't have access to fancy equipment.

regarding exporting field data for further use in matlab, i would like to ask for your help. To compare accuracy of two same geometrical models, but different settings for the mesh and error%, i need to generate a data sheet of all the scalar quantities of my B field (probalby a lot of data) and their location in the coordinate system. Afterwards i like to calculate the differences of each value in the matrices in matlab to find my delta of the field values of my two models. Thanks for any help!

I'm designing a new game that involves numerous players kicking a ball at a three-dimensional target. An electronic automated scorekeeper is needed. This electronic automated scorekeeper needs the ability to understand when the ball (not a foot or other body part) contacts the target. When the ball contacts the target the scorekeeper should increases the score. The target will be stepped on and abused in the course of the game. The target must be low-profile or soft so that it does not injure a player when they step on it. Currently the target is made out of plastic and foam but other materials are considered. The ball may be leather, rubber, synthetic or c…

I have researched RFID, accelerometers, near field communication, magnetic paint, Bluetooth and arduino in an attempt to find a solution for this application. The application incorporates three componenets: ball, solid three-dimensional target and electronic scoreboard. These three items makeup a game. The game's object is to score a point. A point is scored when the ball is kicked and contacts the target. The point is then wirelessly communicated to the nearby scoreboard. The problem is designing the components so a point is not logged when the target is contacted by a persons foot and not the ball. It's making me crazy.

Can we store thunder energy? I think we can... To electrolise water may be the solution. Pls tell your thoughts.....

Hey guys, I have a problem related to fluid mechanics. My experimental setup is such that two jars contain water.I pump water out of the both jar using pump with separate tubing. The two tubing is combined by using three way splitter and made a single stream of water. The single tubing is connected to filter where it separates debris. The water coming from filter is again separated to two separate stream and pumped back to jar again. While pumping back it always pumps different amount of water to different jar, so the level of water is different in different jar. But I need to make same level of water in both. Is there any way to achieve this?

is it possible to multiply electric power by using motor-generator.i m not talking about usual perpetual motion.i 'm talking about multiplying electric power by using motor -Generator i think i will be more useful for developing countries they have electricity shortage and high price and it's affects production costs. example. A Tea factory using 500 kWh per day and they get it from national grid.if they fit a large motor(that use only 180 kWh per day)and give power to motor from national grid and connect that motor to a power generator. it will give sufficient power to run the Tea factory.(entire factory using electricity from power generator) so actually tha…

I have a Singer tv screen. It started producing cracking sounds every time i switched it on in the morning. Eventually after a minute it stops and give display. One morning it did the same but never displayed. Now when i switch it on it shows the power light with the usual clicking sound but does not diplay. Anybody here who can help me please? I don't wanna take it to a technician in the presence of science forum