Ok, I am just an average joe looking for an educated answer. Basically, it is for an automotive application. It involves taping into the exhaust pipe with a venturi to create a small vaccuum. The vac would draw out gases from the valve cover.
Anyways, if a person increased the size of the the v
Imagine, if you will, being sucked into a parallel universe in which the original Nintendo Entertainment System was exactly the same, but games like The Legend of Zelda were rendered in 3D. Don't know what I mean? Watch this clip. More »
Did you have to memorize that 16th century nursery rhyme when you were a child? I did, and it has proven surprisingly helpful to me as an adult. I did find, however, that you only needed to know the first line, “Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November” to be able to know immediately how many days are in any particular month. You know if it doesn’t have 30 days, it has 31, except February, of course. Knowing if it was a leap year came later, because if a year can be evenly divisible by 4, it’s a leap year and February has 29 days.
La mojarra inscription - Mayan calendar
That’s simple stuff, right? You’ve probably known it all your life… although come to think of it, the old rhymes and tricks aren’t taught anymore. Seems now there’s a whole generation of people who have to see a calendar to know how many days May contains, while flipping frantically around for February to see if it’s a leap year. In our technological age, rhymes and tricks like this seem terribly outdated and simplistic. Still, as smart as we are we must remember that not everybody is literate, or has access to a computer, calculator, or calendar. For them, this is magic. You see, even if you spend your life in a cave, squatting around a campfire, you need some form of calendar. You need to know when the weather will change; when the fruits will ripen; when the herds will move; when the winter will come. The easiest way to do this originally was to look at the phases of the Moon; count the days in each lunar cycle, split it down to bite-sized chunks you can remember. Now you know if you’re using your winter stores too fast, and need to ration your food out so nobody starves to death. That’s the origins of the lunar calendar, and that’s when knowing the basics of astronomy would save your life.
Stonehenge, Image by Frederic Vincent, some rights reserved
The lunar cycle doesn’t correspond exactly with the solar cycle, as we all know. There is an approximate 11-day difference there (the solar cycle is the longer), so if you use a lunar calendar every year you would have to tweak your calculations to factor in the solar gain. While the lunar calendar does survive in modern times as more than a footnote (the Islamic calendar is lunar), almost all modern calendars are either solar/lunar hybrids (the Hebrew calendar), or purely solar calendars (the Gregorian calendar).
In Western culture, you’re probably most likely to use the Gregorian calendar, which is a standardized solar calendar. It divides the tropical year into regular, predictable blocks of time called months, weeks, and days. Every four years it adds a day in February. Without even paying much attention to it, you probably divide your time using three or four different systems; you have a calendar year, a fiscal year, a year dividing religious observances (if practiced), and a school year, just to name four. As we become more an more familiar with different cultures through the Internet, you’ll find yourself thinking in more and more calendar divisions.
Astronomical Clock, Prague - Image Maros M r a z, some rights reserved
As familiar as we all are with overlaying cultural, religious, and social issues onto a calendar, at rock-bottom it is still all based on the orderly progression of our planet and its moon through the solar system and the galaxy. As long as we plan on eating, we need to know when the food will be available. We need to know when it’s going to be cold. So, what does astronomy have to do with a calendar?
Everything.
Let's say a vodka bottle's fancy label doesn't quite broadcast how awesome you are for drinking it. What then? Why, slap a programmable blue LED ticker on there like Medea did. They also, lord help us, made an instructional video: More »
It's a musical recreation at MET Daily News & Analysis "It took me one and a half year to put the compilation into place, and a few more months to upload it on the software through which students access the ... |
This week marks three related anniversaries.
April 12, 1961: Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space. That was 49 years ago today.
April 14, 1970: An oxygen tank disrupts on Apollo 13, causing a series of catastrophic malfunctions that nearly leads to the deaths of the three astronauts. That was 40 years ago this week.
April 12, 1981: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, launches into space. That was 29 years ago today.
I wasn’t yet born when Gagarin flew, and I was still too young to appreciate what was happening on board Apollo as it flew helplessly around the Moon instead of landing on it. But I do remember breathlessly awaiting the Shuttle launch, and I remember thinking it would be the next phase in our exploration of space. I was still pretty young, and hadn’t thought it through, but I’m sure had you asked me I’d have said that this would lead to cheap, easy, and fast access to space, and by the time the 21st century rolled around we’d have space stations, more missions to the Moon, and maybe even to Mars.
Yeah, I hadn’t thought it through. Of all these anniversaries, that one is the least of the three we should celebrate.
Don’t get me wrong; the Shuttle is a magnificent machine. But it’s also a symbol of a political disaster for NASA. It was claimed that it would be cheap way to get payloads to space, and could launch every couple of weeks. Instead, it became frightfully expensive and couldn’t launch more than a few times a year.
This was a political problem. Once it became clear that NASA was building the Shuttle Transport System, it became a feeding trough. It never had a chance to be the lean space machine it should’ve been, and instead became bloated, weighted down with administrative bureaucracy and red tape.
More than that, though, to me it symbolizes a radical shift in the vision of NASA. We had gone to the Moon six times — seven, if you include Apollo 13 — and even before the launch of Apollo 17 that grand adventure had been canceled by Congress, with NASA being forced to look to the Shuttle. Ever since then, since December 1972, we’ve gone around in circles.
Now, there’s a lot to be said for low Earth orbit. It is a fantastic resource for science, and I strongly think we should be exploiting it even more. But it’s not the goal. It’s like walking halfway up a staircase, standing on your tiptoes, and admiring the view of the top landing.
We need to keep walking up those stairs. In 1961, the effects of space travel were largely unknown, but Yuri Gagarin took that chance. He was followed by many others in rapid succession. Extrapolating from his travels, by now there should be a business making money selling tours of the mountain chains around Oceanus Procellarum by now. Of the three anniversaries, looking at it now, Gagarin’s is bittersweet.
In 1970 Apollo 13 became our nation’s "successful failure". A simple error had led to a near tragedy, saved only by the experience, training, guts, and clever thinking on their feet of a few dozen engineers. They turned catastrophe into triumph, and now, four decades later, we can’t repeat what they did. Think on this: when the disaster struck their ship, the crew of Apollo 13 were over 300,000 kilometers from Earth. Apollo 13 may have been a successful failure, but it’s a failure we can’t even repeat today if we tried.
I’ve written quite a bit about NASA’s future, including my support of Obama’s decision to cancel Constellation, the program that includes the next series of big rockets to take people into space. That may seem contradictory on its surface, but I support the decision because, in my opinion, Constellation was over budget, behind schedule, and had no clear purpose. The idea of going back to the Moon is one I very much strongly support, but I get the impression that the plan itself is not well-thought out by NASA. The engineering, sure, but not the political side of it. And it’s the politics that will always and forever be NASA’s burden.
It was a political decision to cancel Apollo. It was a political decision to turn the Shuttle from a space plane to the top-heavy system it is. It was a political decision to cancel the Shuttle with no replacement planned at all (that was done before Obama took office, I’ll note). It was a political decision that turned the space station from a scientific lab capable of teaching us how to live and explore space into the hugely expensive and bloated construction it is now.
NASA needs a clear vision, and it needs one that is sturdy enough to resist the changing gusts of political winds. I’m hoping that Obama’s plan will streamline NASA, giving away the expensive and "routine" duties it needs not do so that private industry can pick them up. The added money to go to science, again in my hopes, will spur more innovation in engineering.
And NASA needs a goal. It needs to put its foot down and say "This is our next giant step." And this has to be done hand in hand with the politics. I understand that is almost impossible given today’s political climate, where statesmanship and compromise has turned into small-minded meanness and childish name-calling on the Congress floor.
But I’m old enough to remember when NASA could do the impossible. That was practically their motto. Beating the Soviets was impossible. Landing on the Moon was impossible. Getting Apollo 13 back safely was impossible.
Of the three anniversaries, Apollo 13 is the one we should be celebrating. I’ll gently correct what Gene Kranz said that day: failure really was an option, but not an acceptable one.
Right now, at this very moment, those feats are all impossible once again. But for a time, they were not only possible, we made them happen.
It’s time to do the impossible once again.
Who and What Is Buddha, Really? Huffington Post (blog) The Buddha is actually an archetype representing enlightenment, an icon symbolizing inner wisdom, a pointer towards the possibility of a level of spiritual ... |
Obama To Arrive At KSC At 1:45 P.M. April 15, Florida Today
"President Barack Obama is scheduled to arrive at Kennedy Space Center at 1:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 15. He'll make live remarks at 3 p.m. and depart at 3:45 p.m., the White House said."
Keith's note: As it stands now, the session preceding the public statement will be closed and invitation only. About 200 attendees are expected. Plans now seem to include televising it. Despite earlier plans (and hopes), the President will not meet with the rank and file workforce at KSC - the ones who are going to be laid off. It would seem that the President spends more time engaged in a political fundraiser later that day in southern Florida than he does focusing on America's space program.
Meanwhile, the tug of war continues between OSTP and NASA as to who says what and when while the President is onsite at KSC. Word has it that the President will simply try and sell his policy and budget - as originally presented. No compromise will be discussed at this time. Again, this will all change again before the Space Summit/Conference/Flyby starts.
Media that have contacted KSC PAO looking for information as to how to cover this event have been told to contact the White House Press Office. So ... don't expect news stories with any meaningful insight from the traveling press corps. As was the case with the initial roll out of the budget and policy, it looks like NASA PAO has their hands tied on this space policy flyby as well. So folks, lets not blame them for this paucity of information.
Stay tuned.
Emilio and Gloria Estefan to host President Obama, Miami Herald
"The $30,400-a-couple cocktail reception is the Estefans' first political fundraiser, said Democratic consultant Freddy Balsera, who advised Obama's campaign on Hispanic issues and is close to the couple. ... will also attend a fundraiser at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami that same day. Tickets for that event start at $250 and $1,250."
In this week's Shooting Challenge, 264 photos submitted by our readers capture everything wonderful about spring. Take your time to check them all out—it's a real treat. This is the absolute best group of entries yet. More »
Culberson: NASA Decision A "Surrender", Hotline OnCall
"The Constellation program is billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. Obama's proposed budget, released in Feb., would cancel funding for the program. Without it, Culberson said, the U.S. will have no manned space flight capabilities in the future. "He's shut down the whole thing. He's proposing to cancel America's manned space program, which is typical of this administration's pattern of apologizing for America's success, kowtowing to our enemies, bowing to foreign dictators and their obsession with trying to make terrorists like us," Culberson said."
Keith's note: This has got to be one of the most inherently contradictory positions I have yet to see any member of Congress take. For years Rep. Culbertson has railed away at every possible form of government spending as being inherently bad. But in the case of the Obama proposal to stop a program that has been wasting those precious taxpayer dollars and, instead, enhance private sector participation, well ... Rep. Culbertson promptly flips the polarity on his long-standing views because all of the rules are different inside his congressional district.
As for the gratuitous arm waving about "dictators and terrorists", hoping on the off-topic train to crazy town is also a trademark tactic.
Question; I've had a issue with my rider from the day I bought it new and would like to see what you guys take is.
The rider has blown blue smoke during the first 3 to 5 seconds runtime only from day one. John Deere said this is normal and will not hurt anything.
Why the blue smoke? The oi
Video game addiction is a serious problem in Korea, where kids are prone to staying up all night long to play. So the government is disabling internet connections for six hours per night for underage gamers. More »
As Prohibition ended in 1933 and as bootlegging began to become less profitable, gangsters began to seek new sources of revenue, often turning to bank robbing. Armed and armored cars thus became the rolling stock for these jobs, and it's known that Al Capone used at least a couple Cadillacs in
I consider myself to be a relatively decent programmer. I am fluent in both ladder and function block and have been able to utilize any software that I have come across so far. One platform that I have not yet encountered however is GE Fanuc. I am considering a position with a company that makes CNC
does it make a diff if i amplify the signal @ the antenna or @ the tv? i have 100' of cable & am amplifying @ the tv but some signals fade dependent on weather?
From mental_floss Blog:
Taking a stroll through old Popular Mechanics and Popular Science-type magazines is always good for a few smiles. Here are ten images worth taking a closer look at: So whatever happened to the robots we were promised in the 50s and 60s — you know, t
From PopularMechanics.com Science - RSS Feed:
With four silver sheets hung from horizontal arms and attached to a stout mast, MegaWatt Solar's trademark solar system brings to mind a square-rigged schooner of old. But instead of catching the wind, the sheets—actually paraboli
A NASA engineer saw our image of the space shuttle Discovery's engines and thought it wasn't good enough. She sent us these exclusive pictures looking right inside the nozzle. Surprise: It looks exactly like a shower head. Zoom in! More »
Google Docs has gotten a major overhaul, with improvements that beef up collaboration across the board. That means real-time, character-by-character changes for up to 50 collaborators. And it's not just for the document editor. More »
I'm trying to power the space heaters in a 25MVA auxiliary transformer, but it wont come up.The power supply to the control panel has a mechanical interlock and the input to the panel comprises of supply1 and supply 2(415Veach).But am powering just supply 1 and the under voltage relay in the interl
