Self-tutoring about engineering and repairs: the tutor mentions a scenario with a broken hinge. I mention in my post from June 9, 2026 the potential bonding strength of super glue. Said bonding strength came in handy, impressively so, with a …
Engineering: when a repair might be stronger than the parent material Read more →
Self-tutoring about renewable energy sources: the tutor continues about tidal power. I mention in my post from June 26, 2024 the idea of tidal power and why it might not be the most oft-discussed source of renewable energy. Tidal power …
Self-tutoring about electricity generation: the tutor mentions the difference between a dynamo and an alternator. If one imagines a generator as a motorized piece of equipment that produces electric current, the part of the generator that develops the electric current …
Self-tutoring about engineering of consumer products: the tutor mentions a discovery. I was using a water heating device yesterday whose reservoir has a lid. I dropped the lid by accident, and it fell into the reservoir. I was surprised such …
Engineering: design idiosyncrasy: lid can fall into reservoir Read more →
Self-tutoring about engineering: the tutor mentions the idea of sacrificial material. When you know there will be wear at a junction, replacement is inevitable. The wisdom proceeds that you can purposely make one side of the junction more prone to …
Tutoring math, you encounter grade. The tutor discusses its definition and why it might be surprising. Grade is defined as 100%*(vertical/horizontal). In the above diagram, it would be as follows: grade=100%*(rise/run). By itself, rise/run is called slope. Therefore, grade=100%*slope What …
Math, engineering, trades: steepness measurement: definition of grade Read more →
Tutoring math, calculator features are always topical. The tutor mentions the ENG function on the Casio fx-991ES PLUS C. Back in my Halloween, 2015 post, I explain the general idea of the ENG function – that engineers and technicians often …
Calculator usage: the ENG feature on the Casio fx-991ES PLUS C Read more →
The tutor gives background along with a basic explanation of how a high-pass filter works. A high-pass filter will send along high frequency signals but block low frequencies. It can do so because the impedance, Xc, of a capacitor of …
AC Electricity, electronics: series high-pass filter Read more →
The tutor tells how to access the built-in εο constant on the Sharp el-520w. The Sharp el-520w has 52 built-in constants relating to physics, chemistry, etc. Here’s how to call up εο, which has value 8.85×10-12: Press the CNST key, …
Calculator usage, physics: εο: permittivity of free space constant on the Sharp el-520w Read more →
The tutor examines the idea that internal combustion engines are more efficient in cold weather. An upper limit for efficiency of an internal combustion engine is eff = (Tcombust – Tsurrounding)/Tcombust where Tcombust is the temp of the combustion cylinder …
Physical chemistry: efficiency of internal combustion engine in hot vs cold weather Read more →