Hi again,
So, lets try this "more frequent smaller posts" I was talking about. Ok, I fail just a tad with the "smaller" part. I've actually been writing this over a few days so the "smaller" is perhaps referring to my end of writing this blog in smaller chunks "more frequently".
So very early on freshman year of college in physics EGR160 at YCP. We became very familiar with engineering mechanics. We learned that a vector has a direction and a magnitude and it can be represented on an x-y-z plane. Commonly in the class it was just the x and y plane of the 2-D paper we wrote on. Vectors are usually denoted with an arrow over their symbol, but I cant do that here in this text editor. Vectors will then have components of x , y, and z usually denoted by a subscript. The components describes the magnitude in a certain direction. Displacement (d, in meters, feet, inches, etc.) is the most fundamental vector as there is a direction and magnitude.
Now lets talk calculus. Calculus is the study of change. You have the derivative and the integral as the 2 major branches of calculus. The derivative, part of Differential Calculus is the study of the rate of change of quantities. The integral, part of Integral Calculus can be thought of the anti-derivative, but it is also the summation of the area bounded by a function and the x axis of the x-y axis. Pick up a calculus book or take a class for more information about Calculus. This is where I get off.
So, the derivative (the rate of change) of displacement is velocity (v in meters/second, feet/minutes, miles/hour, etc) or "how fast" something moves either at an instant or as an average over some time interval, depending on how you measure it (usually instantaneous). Velocity has direction, so it is a vector as well. Speed on the oher hand is not a vector, it is a scalar as it doesn't have direction (commonly found on your car's dashboard). DO NOT CONFUSE VELOCITY WITH SPEED!!! The derivative of Velocity is Acceleration (a in m/s^2) or "how fast" velocity changes, which is also a vector.
The "Force" (not of the Luke Skywalker kind) is another fundamental vector in physics. Force (F in Newtons (kg*m/s^2)) is mass (m in kilograms) times acceleration (a). F=ma is the equation for force (I bet you have seen this equation before, but din't know what it was, now you know).
Work on the other hand, is not a vector, but a scalar (just a quantity, without a direction), which is energy. Work is a Force over a Distance: W=Fd or Wx= Fdcos Θ (work along the x-axis) is the equation for work from a constant force. The Θ is an angle (Greek letter theta). Energy is described as a joule (j or kg m^2/s^2).
So that is a very very short crash course in physics. If you want to learn more. Google, textbook, classes, etc. are all valid place to learn more.
Next up is a crash course in electricity!
Enjoy! Please Subscribe and comment so I know that this is worth writing!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
New Beginning
Hello All,
I am re-purposing this blog formerly known as "Uncommon Knowledge". The 3 posts I did write will still be part of this blog for 2 reasons: 1) Nostalgia, 2) Energy Conservation (or laziness if you so prefer). Anyway, from this point forward, this blog will be "Energy Tinkerer". My plan with this new direction is to provide a repository for any write ups of my personal experiments and exploration in the world of energy as well as teach the readers about energy.
Energy is a fundamental "thing" in this universe. Energy comes in a variety of forms (Mechanical, Electrical, Biological, Thermal, Chemical, etc.). Energy is simply a scalar (just a value without direction; i.e. not a vector) that describes the state of an object.
So why its this blog about energy? Well I honestly didn't want to constrain myself too much as energy is such a broad topic. I will say I predict I will be biased towards electrical energy of the alternative electricity generation variety, but even that is very broad.
So, That is it for this post. I predict that this blog will not be a very super active one, but I hope to keep writing in in in smaller chunks on a more frequent basis than before.
If you find me and my writing interesting, please become a follower of the post so I know people are reading this.
Cheers!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
My First Car Stories
In typical late Sunday night fashion I wonder around aimlessly on the Internet finding interesting things. I go to youtube.com to check in on mysteryguitarman and as usual I find his new video. At the end he mentions the BBC's TopGear TV show which is premiering tonight. Anyway TopGear, is holding a competition to find the best "my first car" story. So, why not blog about my first car.
So my first car, which I still have and probably will have for quite some time, is a 2004 Chevrolet Caviller. The family got this car to replace the old 1993 Ford Aerostar (I have plenty of stories with that car too) after we moved from Texas to Maryland in 2003. Dad drives a lot of miles a day to work something around +50 miles a day round trip. So we bought it brand new an he put 120,000 miles onto it before I bought it from him. I spent about 2/3 of my learners permit miles in it (The other being the 1998 GMC Suburban we up till recently owned) and took my drivers test in it. I also took a picture of the 100,000 miles when it rolled over to that. So far since I have owned it (January 2008)(actually I don't have it under my name just yet, but it is mine anyway), I have put almost 7,000 miles on it (only like 200 miles left ) and probably more before I owned it.
On a side note, we name our cars. The '93 Ford Aerostar was called Whitey (because it was white), the '98 GMC Suburban was Blue (also because it was blue) and we had it till January of 2011, my Cavalier is "Cal" (short for Cavalier), the 2009 Jetta is "Jet" (also short for Jetta), the 2011 Chevy Suburban that replaced Blue is "Tiny" (because of its not-so-tiny size that dwarfs Blue who was large himself), and our travel trailer that our suburban(s) tow is Bob (no pattern for this one).
I remember being with dad looking for a car for me. I wanted a Subaru Outback Legacy with a manual transmission. Really, I would settle for any car with a manual transmission. This was during the middle of the oil economic crisis so anything under $5,000 was non-existent. So what ended up happening was that I would buy the car from my parents and they would turn around and use the money as a down payment for a new 2009 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo-Diesel (I love his VW, btw). I remember sitting down at Red Lobster for my 17th birthday and my parents told me that they were going to sell the car to me. The first thought was disbelief because I wasn't even considering getting that car at all since it was (and still is) in great condition.
So I bought the car for a total of $2000 and after the first few gas tanks after getting it. I noticed my MPG was down at 20mpg, which is horrible for that car. I did some routine maintenance with dad to try to bring back some mpg. I remember checking the air filter and discovering so much pine needles and other leaves that a bird could build a nest with it. It was hilarious, and the mpg shot back up to the (almost) 30 mpg that it should and still gets.
So it has all original parts, except for both bumpers, and with each bumper, there is a story: Only a week after having my drivers license I went to a meeting and came back and this was sometime when it was dark out. I was rather cocky at that point in my driving career and I decided to back into the driveway, when it was dark out. My driveway is 4 cars wide and we share it evenly with the neighbor. The neighbor's driveway/house/property has a wooden retaining wall. Somehow, and I still don't know how to this day I remember looking back and not seeing anything and then all of a sudden hitting something, I pull forward and park, still shaking. I run around the car looking for any damage, and not finding it at first. Then I finally found it and told my parents who thought I was joking at first. I didn't get in too much trouble, thankfully. The bumper got replaced with a repainted one off of a black Cavalier in a junk yard.
My front bumper was the next victim. My friends and I went to the opening night of Iron Man 2 last year. So, two of my friends and myself went to the movie theatre and back. I was using my GPS to get to and from. Well, at the first turn out of the theatre the GPS wants me to turn left into a mediam that was now there. So, I decide to turn right instead and turn around. Between my best friend in the passenger seat and I, I decide to to a U-ie around the median once it ended. A combination of going too fast, the tighter than usual road, and the dark resulted in Cal getting stuck on the curb for a brief 5 seconds (with cars coming both ways, but far off in the distance). I had to quickly back out of the curb and keep driving off to a incomplete road. I checked the damage which, like the back bumper was, merely cosmetic. The bumper was badly crumpled in on the side . The wheel and the steering was uncompromised, thankfully. The following day my dad was coming up for a school competition in which all the freshmen engineers had to build a bottle filling and capping machine. After the competition, I told my dad who wasn't upset. The bumper was replace over this summer by an OEM bumper bought on ebay and painted since we couldn't find one in the junk yards.
I love my car. I will probably keep it till at least well after I graduate college. The best things about it is that it is simple and all manual except the transmission, so nothing breaks, it has an awesome tight turning radius (which is why I thought I could make the u-ie around the median), and it get good gas mileage for its age.
I say this because the car has a 4 speed automatic with no overdrive. If I had a more modern transmission or at least an overdrive I could consistently do +35mpg. As far as a little history about the car, the cavalier was produced from 1982 to 2005, it was one of the best selling cars in the US throughout its life, I see them everywhere (ie. even my ex-girlfriend had a '93 and my neighbor has had 2 '98's) because they are reliable and inexpensive. It was replaced by the Cobalt which was produced a few years before the GM bankrupcy so the quality of these cars were horrible (I know people who had one who said that the thing fell apart as soon as it left the lot ,as well as buying them years after they were first made and the thing basically blew up). The Cobalt was from 2005 to 2010 and is being replaced by the new Cruze. So what I'm getting at is that older cars are of better quality, so keep them, and maintain them till they die a decade later (which is basically what our family does).
I think I have blogged enough. So, post a reply about your first car stories, PLEASE :D, and follow the blog!
So my first car, which I still have and probably will have for quite some time, is a 2004 Chevrolet Caviller. The family got this car to replace the old 1993 Ford Aerostar (I have plenty of stories with that car too) after we moved from Texas to Maryland in 2003. Dad drives a lot of miles a day to work something around +50 miles a day round trip. So we bought it brand new an he put 120,000 miles onto it before I bought it from him. I spent about 2/3 of my learners permit miles in it (The other being the 1998 GMC Suburban we up till recently owned) and took my drivers test in it. I also took a picture of the 100,000 miles when it rolled over to that. So far since I have owned it (January 2008)(actually I don't have it under my name just yet, but it is mine anyway), I have put almost 7,000 miles on it (only like 200 miles left ) and probably more before I owned it.
On a side note, we name our cars. The '93 Ford Aerostar was called Whitey (because it was white), the '98 GMC Suburban was Blue (also because it was blue) and we had it till January of 2011, my Cavalier is "Cal" (short for Cavalier), the 2009 Jetta is "Jet" (also short for Jetta), the 2011 Chevy Suburban that replaced Blue is "Tiny" (because of its not-so-tiny size that dwarfs Blue who was large himself), and our travel trailer that our suburban(s) tow is Bob (no pattern for this one).
I remember being with dad looking for a car for me. I wanted a Subaru Outback Legacy with a manual transmission. Really, I would settle for any car with a manual transmission. This was during the middle of the oil economic crisis so anything under $5,000 was non-existent. So what ended up happening was that I would buy the car from my parents and they would turn around and use the money as a down payment for a new 2009 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo-Diesel (I love his VW, btw). I remember sitting down at Red Lobster for my 17th birthday and my parents told me that they were going to sell the car to me. The first thought was disbelief because I wasn't even considering getting that car at all since it was (and still is) in great condition.
So I bought the car for a total of $2000 and after the first few gas tanks after getting it. I noticed my MPG was down at 20mpg, which is horrible for that car. I did some routine maintenance with dad to try to bring back some mpg. I remember checking the air filter and discovering so much pine needles and other leaves that a bird could build a nest with it. It was hilarious, and the mpg shot back up to the (almost) 30 mpg that it should and still gets.
So it has all original parts, except for both bumpers, and with each bumper, there is a story: Only a week after having my drivers license I went to a meeting and came back and this was sometime when it was dark out. I was rather cocky at that point in my driving career and I decided to back into the driveway, when it was dark out. My driveway is 4 cars wide and we share it evenly with the neighbor. The neighbor's driveway/house/property has a wooden retaining wall. Somehow, and I still don't know how to this day I remember looking back and not seeing anything and then all of a sudden hitting something, I pull forward and park, still shaking. I run around the car looking for any damage, and not finding it at first. Then I finally found it and told my parents who thought I was joking at first. I didn't get in too much trouble, thankfully. The bumper got replaced with a repainted one off of a black Cavalier in a junk yard.
My front bumper was the next victim. My friends and I went to the opening night of Iron Man 2 last year. So, two of my friends and myself went to the movie theatre and back. I was using my GPS to get to and from. Well, at the first turn out of the theatre the GPS wants me to turn left into a mediam that was now there. So, I decide to turn right instead and turn around. Between my best friend in the passenger seat and I, I decide to to a U-ie around the median once it ended. A combination of going too fast, the tighter than usual road, and the dark resulted in Cal getting stuck on the curb for a brief 5 seconds (with cars coming both ways, but far off in the distance). I had to quickly back out of the curb and keep driving off to a incomplete road. I checked the damage which, like the back bumper was, merely cosmetic. The bumper was badly crumpled in on the side . The wheel and the steering was uncompromised, thankfully. The following day my dad was coming up for a school competition in which all the freshmen engineers had to build a bottle filling and capping machine. After the competition, I told my dad who wasn't upset. The bumper was replace over this summer by an OEM bumper bought on ebay and painted since we couldn't find one in the junk yards.
I love my car. I will probably keep it till at least well after I graduate college. The best things about it is that it is simple and all manual except the transmission, so nothing breaks, it has an awesome tight turning radius (which is why I thought I could make the u-ie around the median), and it get good gas mileage for its age.
I say this because the car has a 4 speed automatic with no overdrive. If I had a more modern transmission or at least an overdrive I could consistently do +35mpg. As far as a little history about the car, the cavalier was produced from 1982 to 2005, it was one of the best selling cars in the US throughout its life, I see them everywhere (ie. even my ex-girlfriend had a '93 and my neighbor has had 2 '98's) because they are reliable and inexpensive. It was replaced by the Cobalt which was produced a few years before the GM bankrupcy so the quality of these cars were horrible (I know people who had one who said that the thing fell apart as soon as it left the lot ,as well as buying them years after they were first made and the thing basically blew up). The Cobalt was from 2005 to 2010 and is being replaced by the new Cruze. So what I'm getting at is that older cars are of better quality, so keep them, and maintain them till they die a decade later (which is basically what our family does).
I think I have blogged enough. So, post a reply about your first car stories, PLEASE :D, and follow the blog!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Pencils and Pens
Hi all,
So I bet you are thinking, "Why pencils and why pens?", and my response is "Why not?". I can only think of a few things that are so simple that they are taken for granted. Everyone has probably used a pencil or pen at least once in their life (if not at least once a day) or at least somewhere nearby on the same planet as that individual is on. Even most people in 3rd world countries that have developed some form of written communication have used pens and pencils. But, none of you reading this live in a 3rd world country without a form of written communication, now are you? Didn't think so.
So have you ever wondered which came first a pen or a pencil? My guess is you are thinking probably not and you probably don't care. If you did, good for you, but I bet you never bothered to look it up. Wait no more, I have the answer to this "chicken and egg" question. The answer is......drum roll please...... the pen! Course the ball-point pen as we know and love (take for granted) today isn't the pen that the cavemen carried around in the opposite hand as their wooden club. In fact, I am talking about the bird feather that fell on someones head (oh wait I'm thinking of an apple) or hollow stick that was dipped in some "ink". This historic event occurred around the time of the Ancient Egyptians around 4000BC. Logically paper, or rather papyrus, was developed around the same time by the same civilization. The pencil wasn't created, or rather discovered, till the largest graphite deposit was discovered in Borrowdale, England in the 1500'sAD. Even then those pencils were just sticks of pure graphite (or what they thought was a form lead back when chemistry was still just getting started). So why do we still call it lead rather than graphite? My theory is which would you rather say a one or two/three syllable word?
Enough with the history lesson, which by the way, all the sources for are from the first couple sites if you googled pen, pencil, or paper (not that anyone really cares, but you can read more there). So, why give a care about the pen or pencil or perhaps paper anyway?
Here is a few reasons:
-Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, arguably one of the best well known pieces of literature and author, and all other literature that is a form of self expression and imagination wouldn't define humanity or differentiate us from any other living and breathing animal.
-The Declaration of Independence told the British that the early American settlers were tired of being bossed and pushed around, nor would the British be able to build ships to send the early American settlers in the first place.
-"The West" would never get settled if it wasn't for the first detailed maps Louis and Clark made after being selected by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the Louisiana purchase.
-All science and engineering that brought you the computer, R2-D2, TV, vehicles, the light bulb, indoor plumbing or any modern conveniences wouldn't exist.
-You would't be able to read any of this......oh yes, I went there. :P
Well, I think that is enough food for thought for the night. I hope I accomplished my task of making you go "Hmmm" and I hope I made you smile, smirk, or lol. Actually, I only hope that someone reads this. Cheers!
So I bet you are thinking, "Why pencils and why pens?", and my response is "Why not?". I can only think of a few things that are so simple that they are taken for granted. Everyone has probably used a pencil or pen at least once in their life (if not at least once a day) or at least somewhere nearby on the same planet as that individual is on. Even most people in 3rd world countries that have developed some form of written communication have used pens and pencils. But, none of you reading this live in a 3rd world country without a form of written communication, now are you? Didn't think so.
So have you ever wondered which came first a pen or a pencil? My guess is you are thinking probably not and you probably don't care. If you did, good for you, but I bet you never bothered to look it up. Wait no more, I have the answer to this "chicken and egg" question. The answer is......drum roll please...... the pen! Course the ball-point pen as we know and love (take for granted) today isn't the pen that the cavemen carried around in the opposite hand as their wooden club. In fact, I am talking about the bird feather that fell on someones head (oh wait I'm thinking of an apple) or hollow stick that was dipped in some "ink". This historic event occurred around the time of the Ancient Egyptians around 4000BC. Logically paper, or rather papyrus, was developed around the same time by the same civilization. The pencil wasn't created, or rather discovered, till the largest graphite deposit was discovered in Borrowdale, England in the 1500'sAD. Even then those pencils were just sticks of pure graphite (or what they thought was a form lead back when chemistry was still just getting started). So why do we still call it lead rather than graphite? My theory is which would you rather say a one or two/three syllable word?
Enough with the history lesson, which by the way, all the sources for are from the first couple sites if you googled pen, pencil, or paper (not that anyone really cares, but you can read more there). So, why give a care about the pen or pencil or perhaps paper anyway?
Here is a few reasons:
-Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, arguably one of the best well known pieces of literature and author, and all other literature that is a form of self expression and imagination wouldn't define humanity or differentiate us from any other living and breathing animal.
-The Declaration of Independence told the British that the early American settlers were tired of being bossed and pushed around, nor would the British be able to build ships to send the early American settlers in the first place.
-"The West" would never get settled if it wasn't for the first detailed maps Louis and Clark made after being selected by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the Louisiana purchase.
-All science and engineering that brought you the computer, R2-D2, TV, vehicles, the light bulb, indoor plumbing or any modern conveniences wouldn't exist.
-You would't be able to read any of this......oh yes, I went there. :P
Well, I think that is enough food for thought for the night. I hope I accomplished my task of making you go "Hmmm" and I hope I made you smile, smirk, or lol. Actually, I only hope that someone reads this. Cheers!
Welcome, I am a new blogger
Hello All,
I thought about starting a blog, so I did. Took me a while though because I wasn't sure what to blog about. Truly, I doubt anyone will even read this blog either, so if you do, hooray for you, you made my day! Anyway, I was thinking to blog about my spin on how or why things work or why the way something is. Specifically I want to make readers go "Hmmmm.... I really never though about it like that.", "Hmmmm, I never knew that.", or "Hmmmm.... that explains that". Hence the whole title "Uncommon Knowledge" on this blog. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, which I believe and observe. However I want to write about facts and if there are any opinions, I hope to back my opinions up with facts. Feel free to post a reply to agree/disagree with me, correct me, thank me, or just to plainly comment. That way I know you are reading. Oh yea, I ain't no English major so ignore my grammar errors and misspellings please. Otherwise, Enjoy!
I thought about starting a blog, so I did. Took me a while though because I wasn't sure what to blog about. Truly, I doubt anyone will even read this blog either, so if you do, hooray for you, you made my day! Anyway, I was thinking to blog about my spin on how or why things work or why the way something is. Specifically I want to make readers go "Hmmmm.... I really never though about it like that.", "Hmmmm, I never knew that.", or "Hmmmm.... that explains that". Hence the whole title "Uncommon Knowledge" on this blog. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, which I believe and observe. However I want to write about facts and if there are any opinions, I hope to back my opinions up with facts. Feel free to post a reply to agree/disagree with me, correct me, thank me, or just to plainly comment. That way I know you are reading. Oh yea, I ain't no English major so ignore my grammar errors and misspellings please. Otherwise, Enjoy!
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