Archive for August, 2009

Running water

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

 

 
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Photo: Chaim Zvi/Flickr.com
Turn on the tap and the water comes out. No big deal. We’ll drink to that. Today, on Engineering Works!
Most of the time, most places, in the United States, getting enough water is no big deal. Kitchen sink, bathroom shower – turn them on and the water comes out. Making that happen is [...]

The incredible shrinking camera

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

 

 
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Photo: Euchiasmus/Wikipedia
Sometimes, they say, life imitates art. So does engineering — sort of. We’ll see how, today On Engineering Works!
If you’re a fan of campy science fiction movies, you might remember the 1966 flick, Fantastic Voyage. In the movie, a submarine with a crew of medical experts is shrunk and injected into the bloodstream of [...]

Flywheel power

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

 

 
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Photo: Beacon Power Corp.
One of the newest ideas for storing a lot of electricity is also an old idea. We’re going around in circles. Today, on Engineering Works!
Everybody knows about electricity, even if all you know is that we use a lot of it.
Here’s the problem. We use a lot more electricity at two [...]

You and the terrorist

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

 

 
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Photo:EPA/islamizationwatch
Here’s a strange thought to start your day: You probably have something in common with a terrorist. We’ll think about that, today on Engineering Works!
We usually don’t think of terrorists as firing up the grill for a backyard barbecue. That’s something folks like us do. But the chances are pretty good that when you hit [...]