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IC Fabrication

How a CPU is Made – CPU Manufacturing

Lithium Polymer Charging/Discharging & Safety Information

Lithium Polymer Safety Tips: Lithium Polymer cells are a tremendous advance in battery technology for RC use. However, due to the chemistry of lithium cells, there is a possibility of fire if charging is not properly done. It is unavoidable due to the nature of lithium itself. This is no different from many things we use in daily life – knives, kitchen cleaners, automobiles, for a few examples – which are inherently dangerous, but which can be used safely by adhering to simple rules and precautions. Batteries should NEVER be left unattended while charging. Be absolutely sure that the Lithium…

10 Things We Couldn’t Do Without Robots

Since the advent of robots, work has been shared between man and machine. But, as robots become more technologically advanced and autonomous, they learn how to do jobs faster and better than humans. Their precision, intelligence and endless energy levels make them the perfect employees for a wide variety of jobs that humans just can’t afford to do.   Here are 10 things we couldn’t do without robots: Military Services: Military robots are some of the most high-tech and important robots used today. These state-of-the-art machines save lives by performing extremely dangerous tasks without endangering humans. Some common robots used…

Bohr’s tall story

Some time ago I received a call from a colleague who asked if I would be the referee on the grading of an examination question. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physics question, while the student claimed he should receive a perfect score and would if the system were not set up against the student: The instructor and the student agreed to submit this to an impartial arbiter, and I was selected.   I went to my colleague’s office and read the examination question: “Show how it is possible to determine the…

What would happen if oxygen were to disappear for 5 seconds?

All Oxygen? A few things..   Everyone at the beach would get sunburns. Ozone is molecular oxygen, and blocks the majority of UV light. Without it we are toast. The day-time sky would get darker. With fewer particles in the atmosphere to scatter blue light, the sky would get a bit less blue and a bit more black. Every internal combustion engine would stall. This means that every airplane taking off from a runway would likely crash to the ground, while planes in flight could glide for some time. All pieces of untreated metal would instantly spot weld to each…

Logical puzzles & answers – For Interviews, Placement, Competitive and Entrance Examinations

Question: Three friends divided some bullets equally. After all of them shot 4 bullets the total number of bullets remaining is equal to the bullets each had after division. Find the original number divided? Answer : 18. Assume that initial there were 3*X bullets. So they got X bullets each after division. All of them shot 4 bullets. So now they have (X – 4) bullets each. But it is given that,after they shot 4 bullets each, total number of bullets remaining is equal to the bullets each had after division i.e. X Therefore, the equation is 3 * (X…

Why is Stainless Steel Stainless?

What Is Stainless Steel and Why Is it Stainless? In 1913, English metallurgist Harry Brearly, working on a project to improve rifle barrels, accidentally discovered that adding chromium to low carbon steel gives it stain resistance. In addition to iron, carbon, and chromium, modern stainless steel may also contain other elements, such as nickel, niobium, molybdenum, and titanium. Nickel, molybdenum, niobium, and chromium enhance the corrosion resistance of stainless steel. It is the addition of a minimum of 12% chromium to the steel that makes it resist rust, or stain ‘less’ than other types of steel. The chromium in the steel combines…

WHY A BLUE LED IS WORTH A NOBEL PRIZE?

Three scientists have jointly earned the Nobel Prize in physics for their work on blue LEDs, or light-emitting diodes. Why blue in particular? Well, blue was the last — and most difficult — advance required to create white LED light. And with white LED light, companies are able to create smartphone and computer screens, as well as light bulbs that last longer and use less electricity than any bulb invented before.   LEDs are basically semiconductors that have been built so they emit light when they’re activated. Different chemicals give different LEDs their colors. Engineers made the first LEDs in…

A Guide to Understanding Battery Specifications

A battery is a device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy and vice versa. This summary provides an introduction to the terminology used to describe, classify, and compare batteries for hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric vehicles. It provides a basic background, defines the variables used to characterize battery operating conditions, and describes the manufacturer specifications used to characterize battery nominal and maximum characteristics.   Battery Basics Cell, modules, and packs– Hybrid and electric vehicles have a high voltage battery pack that consists of individual modules and cells organized in series and parallel. A cell is the smallest, packaged form…

Sensors Demystified

What Is a Sensor? A sensor is a device for detecting and signalling a changing condition. And what is this “changing condition”? Often this is simply the presence or absence of an object or material (discrete sensing). It can also be a measurable quantity like a change in distance, size or color (analog sensing). This information, or the sensor’s output, is the basis for the monitoring and control of a manufacturing process.   Contact vs. Non-Contact Technologies Contact sensors are electromechanical devices that detect change through direct physical contact with the target object. Contact sensors: Typically do not require power…