Author Archives: mathscinotes

Colonoscopy Notes

Posted on 28-March-2018 by mathscinotes

I had a colonoscopy yesterday and it was a great learning experience. I am fortunate that the anesthetic they gave me had little effect, and the doctor was open to answering questions from an inquisitive patient. It probably helped that the doctor was a mechanical engineer that decided to go into medicine – we had lots to talk about. I found it funny when he mentioned that he did not like engineering work on optics – of course, much of my life has been spent designing optics. In the course of this doctors daily work, he uses optics all day long. His gear was from Olympus, some of which is manufactured in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, which near my home. Minnesota is known for its medical technology. Continue reading →

Posted in General Science | 3 Comments

Estimating Component Junction Temperature Using Psi-JT

Posted on 25-March-2018 by mathscinotes

An engineer stopped by my cube today and asked a question about how to estimate the junction temperature of a part on a circuit card that may have an over-temperature problem. Using the common thermal resistances (θJA and θJC), he was obtaining nonsensical results. This problem was a good illustration of the difficulties present in estimating Integrated Circuit (IC) junction temperatures using the commonly supplied thermal resistances. Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Comments Off on Estimating Component Junction Temperature Using Psi-JT

Near-Earth Asteroid Size Estimate Example

Posted on 7-March-2018 by mathscinotes

Newspapers often talk about Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) that are passing "close" to the Earth. To increase the number of clicks, the articles usually include an image implying that the NEO is very close to the Earth. I find these articles a bit irritating. Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy | Comments Off on Near-Earth Asteroid Size Estimate Example

Cabin Is Complete

Posted on 25-February-2018 by mathscinotes

My cabin construction project is now complete. My wife and I are now beginning to furnish our new home, which will take some time. I continue to work on the garage construction myself, which will take until sometime in May to finish. Overall, our planning was good and there were no major surprises. The one area of difficulty that I did not fully appreciate is the remoteness of the site. Before you go to the site, you need to plan out every possible tool or part that you will need while there. Continue reading →

Posted in Construction, Personal | 12 Comments

Minnesotans In the Olympics

Posted on 24-February-2018 by mathscinotes

I spend a lot of time in northern Minnesota now that I have a home there. I have been surprised as to how popular curling is in the area (Figure 1). The US curling team at the 2018 Olympics is dominated by people from northern Minnesota. I also notice that there are quite a few Minnesotans participating in the games other sports – the numbers are large enough that the New York Times has even written an article called "Team USA? More Like Team Minnesota" on the topic (PDF of the article). Our state does not have a huge population, ~5 million, and most of that population is concentrated around Minneapolis and St. Paul. The northern part of the state is only sparsely populated as it is covered with national forests and wilderness areas. Continue reading →

Posted in Excel, Statistics | Comments Off on Minnesotans In the Olympics

Time for a Job Change

Posted on 12-February-2018 by mathscinotes

My company is changing its approach to hardware development, and after much soul-searching, I have decided to volunteer for layoff. I do not have any immediate plans – it is just time for a change. I will continue to write on technical topics because math, electronics, and software are in my blood. Continue reading →

Posted in Personal | 6 Comments

Smallest Rocket to Put Payload Into Earth Orbit

Posted on 6-February-2018 by mathscinotes

I just read a news article about Japan launching a 3 kg satellite into orbit using a 9.7-meter-long, two-stage rocket called the SS-520 (Figure 1). The 9.7 meter length was interesting to me because I recalled an Air & Space magazine article from 1999 that stated that the smallest rocket capable of achieving Earth orbit would be "about 30 feet long." Since 9.7 meters is 31.8 feet long, it appears that Japan's SS-520 is very near the lower size limit for rocket that can put an object into Earth orbit. Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Space | 5 Comments

Electrical Conduit Math

Posted on 14-January-2018 by mathscinotes

As I have mentioned in other posts, I am building a large garage in northern Minnesota (Figure 1). I would show you some pictures of the interior, but I have promised my son that I will not post anything that could ruin his surprise when he sees it in April.  As part of this construction effort, I am using quite a bit of electrical conduit. Conduit consists of metal pipes (often called EMT) through which the wires pass and it must be bent to go around any barriers it encounters. Conduit is a very efficient way to wire a working area because it directly attaches to the wall and does requires opening holes in drywall and  repairing the damage. Conduit can also be updated and modified easily by running new/additional wires through it. Continue reading →

Posted in Construction | 12 Comments

Minor Planet Eccentricity versus Perihelion Chart

Posted on 9-January-2018 by mathscinotes

While searching the web for information on the outer solar system, I encountered the graph shown in Figure 1. This graph is made using eccentricity and perihelion data for ~1000 outer solar system objects. As I looked at it, I though I could generate a similar chart using data from the JPL Small Body Database Search Engine – a wonderful tool for solar system data exploration efforts. Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Excel | 1 Comment

A Funny Stock Photo Error

Posted on 5-January-2018 by mathscinotes

We have been laughing at some stock photos of people soldering. An engineer was looking for a stock photo of a person soldering, so she went out to Shutterstock to find something. The first photo she found was Figure 1, which she immediately passed around to the group. It turns out that she found a number of photos that were equally bad. Apparently, a lot of people have never soldered. I was raised with a soldering iron in my hand, so I was a bit stunned to see this. Continue reading →

Posted in Humor | 1 Comment