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Monthly Archives: October 2010
Why change the clocks?
Because the Earth is tilted on its axis, the length of the day (i.e. the time between sunrise and sunset) changes throughout the year. During summer in the northern hemisphere the North Pole is tilted towards the Sun and days … Continue reading
The “compensation culture” does not exist
Blaming “Health and Safety”, and by extension the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), seems to be the new “political correctness gone mad”. Newspapers are full of stories about how the UK’s “compensation culture” impacts negatively on daily life in the UK. … Continue reading
Colour temperature and f.lux
All objects emit electromagnetic radiation, and the type and amount of radiation emitted depends on the object’s temperature. The hotter the object, the higher the energy of the emitted EM radiation: a cold object will emit radio waves and as … Continue reading
Tagged computer, spectrum, temperature
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Long half-life ≠ dangerous
Nuclear waste is often quoted as having a “half-life of millions of years” as if this is a bad thing in and of itself.* But there’s another way of looking at it. Radioactive decay occurs when an unstable atom emits either … Continue reading
Tagged halflife, nuclear, safety
3 Comments
Obama on Mythbusters
That’s a pretty big get: Obama is appearing on Mythbusters to emphasise the importance of science and technology. His episode airs 8th December in the US.
Tagged mythbusters, obama
3 Comments
Seam Carving for Content-Aware Image Resizing
Resizing an image can be problematic. If you want to make an image larger then you run the risk of creating grainy images with visible pixels. If you want to make an image smaller then you are condemned to lose … Continue reading
Tagged manipulation
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This is why you always put a 1kΩ resistor in series with an LED
It’s always a good idea to wire a 1kΩ resistor in series with any LEDs you use in order to limit the current, and this is why: Usually the resistor just burns out, but this LED was entirely different — it split right … Continue reading
Tagged electricity, LED, resistor
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Heavier going up, lighter coming down
If you’ve every felt a little bit heavier in a lift going up, or a little bit lighter in a lift coming down, you’re not imagining it. Imagine standing on a set of scales in a lift. The Earth pulls … Continue reading
Tagged freefall, gravity
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