# All Questions

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### Looking for best material for a cryogenic ball mill cup and balls

I am working with a set of alloys that must first be ground up in a ball mill at cryogenic temperatures. It is important that no contamination makes it into the material and careful steps are taken to ...
15k views

### Why is oil used as the lubricant in power generators, while water is the most available, cheapest and accessible lubricant?

The lower viscosity of water reduces friction. Besides, the water can transfer heat way better than oils. So why not use water as a lubricant in wind or hydro turbines, especially on equipment which ...
7k views

### Why does moving air feel cold?

I'm taking a thermodynamics class and had the following question. I was going to ask my professor directly, but it seems like a stupid question with a simple answer, so I thought I'd try my luck here ...
4k views

### Is there a reason (in terms of the physics involved) why it is better to push start a car in 2nd gear rather than 1st?

I am struggling to understand why it is recommended to push start a car in 2nd gear rather than 1st - in terms of the physics involved, I fail to see a reason why this would be the case. I have ...
3k views

### From an engineering standpoint, what is the purpose of the indent in a coffee lid?

I've see the same lids every day but I never really thought about their construction. There is an indent in a "Solo Travel Lid" for coffee cups that is just above the hole that you drink the coffee ...
2k views

### What is this Y-shaped screwdriver bit, and what is its purpose?

I found this strange looking bit in a bit set of uncommon bits, including Security Torx, hexalobular, tri-wing, spanner head, 12-point flange, Torq-set and others. It's the only one that I could not ...
14k views

### What is a Spiral Curve, and How is it Different from a Normal Curve?

I've heard the term spiral curve used to describe a section of highway that is more aesthetically pleasing to the driver's eye. However, I believe I've driven on enough road to say that I can't ...
8k views

### Why do we even use engineering stress?

Surprisingly this hasn't been asked before, so I must be missing something simple. We use engineering stress and engineering strain in this eq. Stress = (Young's modulus) × (strain). This eq. is ...
191 views

### Do “analog FPGAs” exist?

I am thinking on analog circuits, whose circuit design could be read (or, at least, significantly altered) from software. Do they already exist?
9k views

### How different are dc motor designs from dc generator designs?

Some dc motors can be used as generators as well by applying mechanical torque to the output shaft to induce a current. However, even if a dc motor can do this, I imagine they were not designed for ...
1k views

### Do I need to worry about galvanic corrosion when inserting a steel bar through aluminium?

My design uses a round steel bar inserted through a hole in an aluminium component with a tight fit (no movement). The operating environment is dry, 20-40°C. Do I need to worry about galvanic ...
482 views

### I have inherited a product with inconsistent designs sharing the same part number. What do I do?

I am now in charge of a product line my company has been shipping for a decade. One of the previous product engineers was... shall we say, less than conscientious about sustainability and proper ...
7k views

### How does a multimeter protect itself from high voltages?

I have used a cheap multimeter to measure voltages in simple DC circuits, but I have seen pictures of them plugged straight into the mains and used to measure various home-built generators. Why doesn'...
2k views

### Are there any materials known to be sound-insulating but thermally-conductive?

Are there any materials known to be sound-insulating as well as thermally-conductive? Cost is not an overriding concern, but preferably costing "reasonable amounts" and much less than national ...
355 views

### Estimating whether the flow through a valve or nozzle cavitates

My understanding is that cavitation occurs in the flow of a liquid when the static pressure drops below the vapor pressure, even intermittently. So even if the time-averaged static pressure (what you ...
15k views

### How much clearance does a car need when turning a corner?

I am contemplating buying a new car. However, the approach to the underground garage in my apartment has a 90 degree frustrating turn. Given the dimensions of the approach and car, what is the max ...
1k views

### What is the process of transferring an engineering license from the United States to Germany?

The United States have different rules about exactly how one obtains an engineering license, but the general process is the FE exam, a few years of work, and the PE exam. Suppose one then wishes to ...
9k views

### Why is Mach 0.3 the threshold separating compressible and incompressible flow?

I've read that Mach 0.3 is pretty much the upper limit for treating air as an incompressible fluid. The sources I've read seem to treat this as a given, without proof or justification. Why is this ...
5k views

### How to prevent deposition of dust on ceiling fan blades

It is well known that dust gets deposited on a rotating ceiling fan because formation of a boundary layer over fan blades. The air layer next to blade surface is stagnant due to no-slip condition and ...
256 views

### How to correctly size the blades for a small educational wind turbine?

I want to design a small wind turbine that can be easily carried out of the classroom into the sports field in relatively low-wind conditions (5-15km/h) that can power a small ultra-bright 5V LED - ...
362 views

### Additional jacking force to overcome stiction/dry friction

It is common to lift bridges to replace bearings, etc. In an ideal world the lifting capacity required of the jacks would be the self-weight of the bridge divided by the number of jacks (+ allowances ...
1k views

### What is it about the cabin electrical supply on cruise ships that makes surge protectors dangerous?

Surge protectors are banned on cruise ships, and so are confiscated during boarding. Extension cords and cube taps etc. are discouraged, but not banned. I'm asking specifically about surge protector ...
960 views

### Why does prestressing in trees make them stronger?

In "Structures: or Why Things Don't Fall Down" James Gordon talks about trees being prestressed with the outside in tension and the inside in compression. Why does it make a tree stronger to have it ...
1k views

### Below what Froude number can I neglect wave-making resistance on a vessel?

I want to do some very simplified drag calculations on a vessel. My hope was that calculating the skin-friction resistance would be enough to get a good estimate of the surge resistance. Because wave-...
105 views

### How do you ensure physical network interfaces always get the same interface name across reboots on an embedded Linux system?

For an embedded Linux system, if I have two or more network interfaces, how do I ensure that they always get the same interface names every boot In other words, I want, for example, eth0 to always ...
6k views

### Quantifying inertia on the electricity grid

A lot of discussion about the modernisation of electricity systems is about "inertia". This is usually a qualitative discussion about how turbines (in hydro, coal & gas plants) with lots of ...
12k views

### How does pressure treatment affect the mechanical properties of lumber?

Pressure treated lumber is specified for many exterior applications because of its resistance to insect damage and fungal rot. But how does it compare to untreated wood, mechanically? For example, ...
736 views

### What causes rechargeable batteries to age? What can be done to extend life of these batteries?

These days most of modern electronics use rechargeable batteries as a power source. Also, these days most modern rechargeable batteries are Lithium Ion or Lithium Polymer based. Like any other devices,...
14k views

### Affixing a thermocouple to a surface

I'm looking for advice on how to attach a thermocouple to a metal surface in a fashion that's relatively temperature resistant (more-so than) glue. I've got some very fine gauge wire on hand to make ...
549 views

### What are some cost-effective metal substances that can wet glass?

A highly desirable property of metals like gallium and indium is that they are able to wet glass. Normally, as metals, they wouldn't be able to form an airtight seal when in contact with glass. But ...
582 views

### What are the lightest springs?

I am wondering if there is a spring strong enough and light enough to inflate an airtight membrane so that it floats at Standard Temp & Pressure. As an example, a 10cm cylinder would displace ...
2k views

### Why are bird flight diverters shaped like a spiral?

I was out walking and saw these strange looking spirals on some power lines. When I got home I did some research and discovered that they are to prevent birds form hitting the power lines, mainly ...
736 views

### Can Zinc/Aluminum coated anchor rods be used in concrete?

Bolts and anchor rods that are very high strength ($F_u$ > 150ksi) are not supposed to be galvanized. This is because of concerns about hydrogen embrittlement. This includes ASTM A 490 bolts and ASTM ...
1k views

### Easy nonlinear model for large deformation of a beam

I have a beam subject to twisting and/or bending forces as well as linear compression force along its main axis. It is modelled as an isotropic beam, but if anisotropic is not too far off then that's ...
332 views

### Determining RTK parameters for runoff analysis

I am examining a watershed and determining runoff using the RTK method. I basically use a 'guess and check the hydrograph' method right now. I've seen calibrators that use a mutation and convergence ...
5k views

### What are the disadvantages of concentrated solar thermal power?

Concentrated solar power looks on the surface to be an excellent source of grid power. It's sustainable, has no obvious waste products to deal with either during construction or operation, and with ...
4k views

### How thick is it reasonable for the walls of a steel gas pipeline to be?

The TurkStream project site claims the gas pipeline will use pipes made from 39 millimeters of high-quality carbon manganese steel with additional plastic coatings on both sides. Yes, they claim 39 ...
740 views

### Is interference between aircraft an issue for fly-by-wireless technology?

I was reading up on fly-by-wire development, and I saw a short section about fly-by-wireless technology. It seems like a great idea, with the potential to lower costs, weight and complexity. I can see ...
1k views

### Why are three way bridges rare?

It's true that most bridges are "two directional." But three way bridges are pretty rare, globally. I can understand why there wouldn't be many for rivers, but if bridges are designed based on the ...
5k views

### What is the difference between pressure and stress?

Since the units are the same ($\frac{N}{m^2}$), what's the difference between pressure and stress?
3k views

### Will more electricity be generated by using a lens to focus sunlight onto solar cells?

I have been wondering about this question for quite some time. Assuming an ideal case, the energy from photons hitting solar cells is converted into electric energy as described by the equation: \$RI^...
378 views

### In Engineering fields, how often do you find yourself being asked to be a “salesperson”, and what is your reaction? [closed]

I have recently been told that my "salesmanship" is lacking when it comes to getting my ideas implemented. I receive the feedback that my ideas are sound and the data to implement is compelling, and ...
1k views

### Why do earth cuts sometimes have steps on their walls

A neat image from Wikipedia: There're clearly visible steps on the cut wall. This makes the cut wider at the top and so requires more work so those steps have some serious reason behind them. What's ...
3k views

### Why is using steam to rotate a turbine more efficient?

For example i have an exhaust pipe with very hot air from burning biofuel, and i have a turbine at the end of the exhaust that rotates and generates electricity. Why is it more efficient to use the ...
4k views

### How can large bridges be made resistant to earthquakes?

How can large bridges, with spans on the order of 1 km, be made resistant to earthquakes? I'm no expert on quakes, but there are at least two kinds of shaking: lateral and vertical. The vertical ...
2k views

### Why was Freon used in spray cans before it was declared a threat to ozone?

I've heard that in the past, spray cans (aerosol cans) contained Freon. I found that the Montreal Protocol made the usage of Freon illegal due to its effect on the ozone layer, but I can't find the ...
4k views

### Can a magnetic lock be negated or overcome by a stronger electromagnet?

Magnetic locks seem to be fairly common on the doors of modern buildings, but I question their reliability when compared to a traditional, mechanical lock. I realize that the strength that it would ...
3k views

### Which turbulence models are suitable for CFD analysis on a streamlined vehicle body?

Many commercial and open-source CFD codes implement several closure methods for the non-linear convective acceleration term of the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. Common methods (...