Category Archives: History of Science and Technology

Too Many Definitions of Candle

Posted on 9-June-2013 by mathscinotes

I have been doing some reading about photometry lately and I noticed that the unit of lighting called the candle has had quite a history. I used to work for a metrology company and I have always been interested in … Continue reading →

Posted in General Science, History of Science and Technology | 2 Comments

Battleship Guns and Danger Space

Posted on 19-April-2013 by mathscinotes

I have been reading a couple of excellent books about battleships ("Naval Firepower" and "Guns at Sea"). During my reading, I have encountered the term "Danger Space" that appears with nearly every table describing the large naval guns. Of course, I had no idea what danger space was when I began investigating it. It turns out that danger space describes an important metric for battleship guns and it is worthwhile documenting what I have learned about it here. Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science and Technology, Military History, Naval History | 7 Comments

A World War 1 Mechanical Torpedo Fire Control Computer

Posted on 13-March-2013 by mathscinotes

I have discussed the basic calculations behind firing "straight-running" torpedoes in other posts (here, here, and here). Youtube has a couple of interesting videos showing a basic mechanical torpedo fire control computer from World War 1. It is a nice … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science and Technology, Underwater | 1 Comment

Torpedo Data Computer Video

Posted on 9-December-2012 by mathscinotes

I am a fan of both naval history and the history of computing machines. I just saw a great video on the Torpedo Data Computer (TDC) that have I include here. The TDC was one of the last examples of … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, History of Science and Technology | 1 Comment

Book Review:"Iron Men and Tin Fish"

Posted on 29-August-2012 by mathscinotes

I just finished reading the book "Iron Men and Tin Fish" by Anthony Newpower (ISBN 978-1-59114-623-0). It is a short book that does a really nice job of covering the use of torpedoes during World War 2. The author looks … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science and Technology, Underwater | Comments Off on Book Review:"Iron Men and Tin Fish"

Computer Museum in Bozeman Montana

Posted on 25-May-2012 by mathscinotes

I am currently in Bozeman, Montana, and I just took a tour of the "Museum of Modern Human Progress," formerly known as the American Computer Museum. I was with one of my sons, and the museum provided us a great … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science and Technology | Tagged | 4 Comments

Analog Computing Videos

Posted on 16-March-2012 by mathscinotes

I have done quite a bit of recreational writing on the history of military technology, mainly on the Wikipedia (e.g. Torpedo Data Computer). I am particularly interested in the problems associated with fire control calculations. I remember as a boy … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science and Technology | 1 Comment

Lunch Time Math

Posted on 16-February-2012 by mathscinotes

I received a comment the other day in reference to a previous blog post on World War II torpedoes and submarines. I was asked if I could go into more detail about how the fire control problem was solved. I … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science and Technology, Technical Writing | 4 Comments

Potato Math

Posted on 5-October-2011 by mathscinotes

Quote of the Day Being president is like running a cemetery -- you've got a lot of people under you and nobody's listening. - Bill Clinton Introduction I have taken a break from blogging to do some traveling. You may … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science and Technology | 2 Comments

Air Conditioning Math

Posted on 16-April-2011 by mathscinotes

Introduction I get some strange phone calls. I recently received one from a customer who wanted to know how many "tons of air conditioning" he needed to cool some equipment he had purchased from my company. All air conditioning units … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction, History of Science and Technology | 1 Comment