Magicians of Engineering
The other day I was reading 'Night of the New Magicians' by Mary Pope Osborn with my son. The story is about a young boy and girl who travel back in time...
Cold Fusion (or not?)
Recently I have seen a few interesting articles on viable cold fusion; the combining of atoms at room like temperatures to create boundless energy. Now...
Lightning Protection and Earth Electrode Resistance
Most installations involve some form of lightning protection system which is connected to an earth electrode. The function of the earth electrode is to...
Why a Sine Wave?
I received this question by email a few weeks. First thoughts was that it is a product of the mathematics of rotating a straight conductor in a magnetic...
IEC 61439 - The Switchgear Standard
The new standard IEC 61439 replaces the old 60439. Compared to the old standard, the new 61439 is a more clearly defined and takes into account the assembly...
3 Phase Loads
Three phase systems are derived from three separate windings, either connected in delta or star (wye). Each winding can be treated separately, leading...
RLC Circuit, Resistor Power Loss - some Modelica experiments
Modelica is an open source (free) software language for modelling complex systems. Having never used it before, I thought I would download a development...
Batteries
A battery consists of one or more cells, each of which use stored chemical energy to produce electrical energy, There are many types of cells and these...
What is LED?
Light Emitting Diodes (LED ) are increasing gaining favour in both the domestic and commercial sectors; due to their efficiency, sustainability and durability...
Fire Resistant and Fire Retardant Cables
Fire resistant and fire retardant cable sheaths are design to resist combustion and limit the propagation of flames. Low smokes cables have a sheath designed...