Engineering

Hi guys, I’ve been conducting some research on hydraulic ram pumps and devised a hypothetical design for what I would like to call a ‘small gain machine’ as it could potentially achieve a small gain of potential energy, although I’m unsure with regards to the total amount of electricity to pump the water from the bottom of my proposed machine. Please note I’m not trying to design a ‘perpetual motion machine’ as ram pumps are not immune to frictional forces and require some input energy in the form of a reset to ensure they are at their optimum pumping efficiency. Basically my proposed machine (see diagram) works with water running through a central turbine which generat…

Hi. The earth magnetic field extends quite a bit in altitude, but do not know if is reasonably/equally strong at the altitude the satellites orbit. Can you confirm that? Being the earth as a giant magnet, I believe that if onboard a satellite, a magnetic field is generated with energy from its solar panels; a repulsion or attraction effect relative to the earth could be managed by orientation of such. Orbiting satellites lose altitude with time, some deplete their supply of propellant to stay put. Could repulsion management in a satellite sustain/gain orbital altitude to avoid falling eventually ? If the main reason of satellite falling is loss of its speed, c…

I share with you this idea that came to my mind wandering on the world map years ago, and that I havn`t been able to challenge in the correct way as the people I interact with during my daily routine aren`t the most recommended to help me out. Have anyone ever considered using the natural temperature gap that occurs in some part of the planet during the day-night transition? what came to my mind at first was a system of "containers filled with a liquid that weight more during the temperature transition" connected through a pulley to a counterweight and an electricity generator connected to the pulley: when the temperature changes the container with the liquid will…

I want to be able to find out the force I can generate with strikes and blows but I don't know and can't find any companies that supply pressure mats.

I have a european 650w(220/240v) hand blender and I tried to look for an american hand blender with the same wattage however I haven't found one that reaches those wattages. I did some math. 650w / 220v = 2,954545454545455 amps(?) 2,954545454545455 amps x 110v = 325 watts(?) Should I be looking for a 325w-110v hand blender if I want the same power as my 650w hand blender? I know I can get a step up voltage transformer/converter but they are fairly bulky and ugly.

Interesting, had to share : ---->http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1079555_stinger-609-worlds-smallest-four-stroke-v-8-enters-production -Enjoy-

What is Carbon Bicables?

Hi everyone !! i am shortly going to graduate with my bachelors in mechanical engineering.However i always wanted to study something closer to the bio feild. Now that i want to pursue my master's i am confused between masters in bio medical engineering and masters in mechanical engineering. I wanted to know whether taking up masters in bio medical after coming from a mechanical background is advisable or not ? and how are the job oppurtunities in the bio medical field ?

Hello, radiocomm tinkerers and everyone! The Uda-Yagi antenna is the rake you see on roofs to receive television programmes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yagi-Uda_antenna High-gain versions have over 20 elements, but sometimes the driven element plus a single reflector or director suffice: I see a reflector almost everytime two elements are used. Though, I believe a director instead has only advantages: The radiation resistance drops less; The gain is marginally better; The backward attenuation improves slightly; The passband is wider; The elements' width and spacing are less critical; The antenna is shorter. I've built antennas of both types, but not for the same u…

is it posible to create such things? i saw on a show

Hi. There is several options I do not see clear, specially about fumes indoors. Kerosene, propane, natural gas; in vented, not vented types, standalone, wall mount, and others. That yields a large number of combinations to choose and with no experience nor knowledge on any, can be scary. The non-vented types, I supposed been tested and considered safe, but still something tells me to be extra careful. Any suggestions ? For use in living room (hoping to warm all the house, not to be used inside any bedroom, and to heat a small ~1100 sq.ft. dwelling. Would smoke detectors be alert too ? The air used by them (oxygen) has to be supplied from somewhere; how does …

Im doing an experiment that involves heating a 9" diam 7/8" thick stainless steel plate sitting on top of a 12"x12" hot plate. The hot plate is set to 776 F (~413 C) which is as high as I'd like to set it. There is a thermocouple in the side of the steel plate 5/8" up from the hot plate. The experiment requires the plate surface reach 435 C. *I am aware that the thermocouple reading in the plate is not the actual reading of the surface temperature*. The practice around the lab is that by putting an aluminum foil "lid" for lack of a better word over the stainless steel plate will allow the steel plate to reach 435 C +. Besides the conduction between the hot plate and the s…

Hello you all! Common industrial methods to produce (water) ice are: For ice blocks, put water in flat containers, chill from the outside by a liquid circulated between many containers. For ice chunks, chill metal tubes by a liquid circulating inside, pour water outside, break the obtained ice regularly. For ice chips, put water droplets in a cold gas. Droplets won't make thick ice, and the first two methods limit the thickness or take too long, because of water's freezing heat (335kJ/kg or 308MJ/m3) and ice's heat conductivity (1.7W/m/K). If you allow an efficient cold plate to be at -10°C, the slowness of growth is 18,000,000s/m at 1m thickness, and: 1mm takes 9.1…

My question is are any other means to produce a self sustainig power source that is enviroment friendly like SEG (Searle Effect Generator) http://www.searlsolution.com/technology.html I know that SEG is simply a converter of ambient electrons to usable electrons. I basically want to use Proffessor Searle concept but not his design, dont want to copy him.

Hi. Trying to build a box/vessel made of silicon carbide, about 12 cubic inches capacity (~125ml). Will be exposed to 300 degrees C. Can be a cube, Can be a cylinder, Can be a pyramid, Can be cup shaped but crucibles are too expensive to play with, Can be made of thin ~3mm 'boards' of grinding disc material like this : ---->https://www.forneyind.com/store/detail/695/masonry_concrete_asphalt_cutting_type_1/6620/cutting_wheel_masonryasphalt_type_1_14_x_532_x_20mm_arbor_c24r-bf/ But cutting its material off to form/make the sides of the box has to be mission impossible. Can be made of carbide sanding paper/cloth, but the backing would burn unless there is o…

Hey all, I'm new here, but this seems like a helpful community and I have a question I hope someone will be able to answer. I am building a system, and in this system I have a path of UV light (356nm wavelength) which needs to be collimated and homogeneous. The light path originates as a collimated beam from a LED light probe. This beam of light is expanded from a 8mm diameter to 25mm diameter using a beam expander (dual lens) system. However, the light is not yet homogeneous (it is currently exhibiting a relatively gaussian intensity distribution). To homogenize, I want to use a Holographic UV Diffuser (http://www.edmundoptics.com/optics/windows-diffusers/op…

I am looking for an idea related to a siphon mechanisms that has been puzzling me for a while. I am doing a small research on a natural (karst) spring, that has a cyclic (intermitent) behaviour. The low-flow discharge of the spring is in the range of few litres per second, during outbursts it rises up to 500 l/s. The total volume discharged during the outburst is about 1000 m^3. The frequency of outbursts ranges between few hours and few weeks, depending on the amount of precipitation which determines the recharge to the system. Note, that we do not know the geometry of the system; we have an access to the spring pool and we expect a natural reservoir which empties by…

Hello I have no small project I have been working on for serval years now (senice 2002) and I have been working on this project in my spare time, I call it Project Crazy horse, here are some of the detailes of the project. but before I start please do not ask to see the science ok that is why I am here, to get help with the science and design. This concept is in word with some ideas that are under the term K.I.S.S (keep it stupid simple) I do not have the science back ground to do the math or draw it out, but I do have the idea to explain the concept to people well over the phone and though skype I just need help to get the techinal side down so it can take a shape, …

Can anyone make a consumer device that is a phone plug in for salival health diagnosis (inflammation, allergy etc.) This could be a phone attachment where you place some saliva inside the device and it gives you an analysis of various health markers on a smartphone app. Is this possible??

Basically my idea is to use solar panels to power rotating mirrors that follow the sun. The mirrors reflect the sunlight to a large "Still" filled with salt water. The still heats up and the water evaporates leaving the salt behind. The water is collected and distributed for drinking and the salt is cleaned out of the bottom of the "Still" through a hatch. The picture is very... Kindergartenish, but it was all I could do spur of the moment. I would appreciate opinions, ideas, and constructive criticism.

Hi. Is there a technical reason why the sunlight ducts are mostly shown and installed with a couple of bends as per the picture attached instead of straight up ? ----> http://www.consumerconstruction.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/solatube-300x234.jpg

The company I work for is considering using cooling tower water as quench rather than city water (current condition). The estimated annual savings is over $30,000. City water here is about 600 PPM salt, while the cooling tower will be controlled at 1200-1400 PPM. How will this increase in salt effect the cooling rate of the quench? Will these low concentrations of salt make a difference? Scale on the bars? Etc.? We are processing mainly 1045 steel bar. Typically we acheive around 60 Rc at the surface and 55 Rc @ 0.050" case depth, depending on the setup and requirement.

Hi everyone, I am a sixth form student in year 13 currently studying my extended project. For my extended project i have decided to base it around fluid mechanics, more specifically I am looking into how you can use equations, laws and formulas to mathematically describe the characteristics of waves (water waves). Right now i am looking into how it is possible to use the velocity potential of a fluid to work out it's flow velocity. I understand that the flow velocity is equal to the gradient of the velocity potential which is a scalar quantity and how the flow velocity of a fluid can be used to describe it's motion (i.e. Steady flow, Incompressible flow and irrat…

What type of metal open vessel/tray would heat up the most if placed in a microwave oven ? Copper, brass, aluminium, stainless, iron, alloys... and any optimal shape/thickness/dimensions that would make it hotter ? -This is not about susceptor films-

Hello you all! Electrocaloric materials are commonly ferroelectric materials like Pzt, BaTiO3, Pvdf... that comprise charged atoms capable to move a bit in the solid, for instance between two places, easily enough to respond to a strong electric field. In the electrocaloric effect, the mobile atoms store heat as they vibrate, but a strong electric field can freeze them in one position, which reduces the material's heat capacity. Resulting temperature changes of a few Kelvin are typical. The use as a cooling machine is investigated of course, one setup being called "Electrocaloric Oscillatory Refrigeration", which has a magnetocaloric material for one part where electrod…