Monthly Archives: September 2014

Turning a Nonlinear Solution Into a Linear Solution

Posted on 29-September-2014 by mathscinotes

Quote of the Day Life is a long preparation for something that never happens. - William Butler Yeats Introduction I have been reviewing some software used to calibrate an analog video receiver. While IP video is becoming more common, many … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Fiber Optics | Comments Off on Turning a Nonlinear Solution Into a Linear Solution

Component Temperature Rise Example

Posted on 25-September-2014 by mathscinotes

I often have to model the rise of passive component temperatures with respect to some circuit parameter, like current or voltage. I thought I would present here a typical example of how the temperature of a passive part varies with current. In this case, I am feeding a constant current into the coil and I need to know what temperature rise I should expect with this component. I usually model component temperatures using two curves: a linear curve for low current levels, and a quadratic curve for high current levels. This model has worked reasonably well over the years. Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Comments Off on Component Temperature Rise Example

Quick Look at Low Sodium Cereals

Posted on 17-September-2014 by mathscinotes

Quote of the Day Success consists of going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. — Winston Churchill Since I have identified that my current ready-to-eat breakfast cereal has too much salt (blog post), I need to find a low-salt … Continue reading →

Posted in Dieting, General Science | Comments Off on Quick Look at Low Sodium Cereals

Measuring Countersink Diameter Using Gage Balls

Posted on 14-September-2014 by mathscinotes

I am still working through some examples of using gage balls for machine shop work. The following reference on Google Books has great information on using gage balls (Figure 1) in measuring the characteristics of a countersink and I will be working through the presentations there. These are good, practical applications of high-school geometry. Continue reading →

Posted in Construction, Geometry, Metrology | 18 Comments

Sodium in One Bowl of Ready-to-Eat Cereal Versus a Snack Bag of Chips

Posted on 11-September-2014 by mathscinotes

Quote of the Day If you don't know where you are going, you might not get there. - Yogi Berra I have decided to start watching my sodium intake and this means that I now track the sodium content of … Continue reading →

Posted in Dieting | 3 Comments

Taper Measurement Using Gage Balls

Posted on 8-September-2014 by mathscinotes

This was the first time I have seen an application for gage balls and I thought it was worth documenting here. I will derive a formula that I saw in the discussion mentioned above for determining the taper of a hole by determining the depth that two different diameter balls will drop into the hole. Continue reading →

Posted in Construction, Geometry, Metrology | 1 Comment

Powering Telecom Gear Using Energy Scavenging

Posted on 5-September-2014 by mathscinotes

I am seeing a lot of discussion in the electronic press about energy scavenging lately. I would argue that all the work I have done with powering fiber optic interfaces from solar power is part of that effort. There are multiple potential sources for this scavenging (see Figure 1). Continue reading →

Posted in Fiber Optics | Comments Off on Powering Telecom Gear Using Energy Scavenging

There Appears to Be No Limits to Stereolithography

Posted on 5-September-2014 by mathscinotes

I have been using stereolithographic assembly (SLA) since the early 1990s. In the early days, the prototypes we generated were a bit crude but still useful. For example, in one time-critical situation, we needed a tail cone for an underwater vehicle ASAP and we generated a plastic prototype that we used to make a mold for the final aluminum version. It took a couple of days and we had an aluminum tail cone that worked great. Continue reading →

Posted in General Science, Health | Comments Off on There Appears to Be No Limits to Stereolithography

Woodworking and Determining the Radius of a Circle

Posted on 1-September-2014 by mathscinotes

I was just at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion (Figure 1), which is celebration of old-school steam technology. As always, it was a great show. The name of the reunion is a bit of a misnomer in that the show includes all forms of steam-driven gear, including the belt-driven accessories. I recall much of this gear from my youth working on farms − everything on the farm was powered from a belt connected to the Power Take-Off (PTO) of a tractor. Continue reading →

Posted in Construction, Geometry | 2 Comments