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Engineering Facts

Smoke Detectors

How does a smoke detector 'know' when there is a fire? Smoke detectors use one of two different methods to do their job, and for both methods the basic operating assumption is the cliche 'where ... Continue reading

Snakebots Coming Your Way

Early robots were stiff, clumsy machines that plodded in straight lines. More modern robots can be radio controlled and move with much more grace and precision. Snakebots, though, can weave through ... Continue reading

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

So, what, exactly, is the watch on your wrist, Big Ben in London, or the national atomic clock in Boulder, Colorado, actually measuring? The first definition of a second was 1/86,400 of the average ... Continue reading

The second, once defined as 1/86,400 of the average solar day, now is determined to be 9,192,631,770 cycles of radiation, the frequency it takes to convert a cesium atom from one low energy state to another.

Sundials, Ancient Clocks

The earliest and simplest form of sundial is the shadow stick. The time of day is judged by the length and position of the stick's shadow. Some nomadic peoples still use this method for timekeeping. ... Continue reading

More Engineering Facts


Automation:

  1. Man Versus Machine

Breakthroughs:

  1. X-Ray Astronomy vs. Medical X-Rays
  2. A New Twist on Fiber Optics
  3. Bicycle Chain for Fleas
  4. Cool Fuel Cells
  5. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
  6. Drip, Drip Water Clocks
  7. Fiber Optics
  8. GPS (Global Positioning System)
  9. Hollywood To The Rescue
  10. How Can A Bullet-proof Vest Stop A Bullet?
  11. How We Use Crystals To Tell Time
  12. Hybrid Cars: The Magic Braking
  13. Infrared Headphones
  14. Liquid Crystal Communication
  15. NASA Hits a Hole-In-One
  16. New York to London in Less Than Two Hours
  17. Non-Flammable Fuel?
  18. Pass the Basalt
  19. Red Dot Replacing Cross Hairs
  20. Searing Heat, Little Package
  21. Seeing In The Dark
  22. Smoke Detectors
  23. Space Lasers Keep Earth's Air Clean

Computer Technology:

  1. Moore's Law

Flight:

  1. A Quick Guide To Gliders
  2. Barn Yard Aeronauts
  3. Big Boom
  4. Guide to Propulsion
  5. High Altitude
  6. Nothing Backwards About It
  7. Taming Twin Tornadoes
  8. The Motion of An Aircraft
  9. The Night Orville Wright Had Too Many Cups Of Coffee

Fluids:

  1. A Shear Mystery

Inventions:

  1. Airbags
  2. Inkjet Printers
  3. The Truth About Atomic And Hydrogen Bombs

Materials:

  1. A Man-made 'Take' on Nature's Style
  2. Alloys
  3. Don't Blow A Gasket!
  4. For Want Of An O-Ring
  5. How Many Cows Does It Take To String A Tennis Racquet?
  6. Making Cars Out of Soup
  7. Solid Smoke
  8. The Right Stuff for Super Spaceships
  9. What Are Composite Materials?

Processes:

  1. Bioinformatics
  2. Dress Sizes The Scientific Way
  3. It's A Bird, It's A Plane -- No, It's A Clam!
  4. X-Ray Images & False Color

Robotics:

  1. Snakebots Coming Your Way
  2. Teeny Tiny Technology

Simple Machines:

  1. Ants Are Wimpy
  2. Sundials, Ancient Clocks

Structures:

  1. Hydropower Basics
  2. Leaning Wonder of Engineering