User NMech

54 votes

Accepted

Why are railroad tank cars bent in the middle?

answered May 2, 2021 at 17:15

44 votes

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Why are engine blocks so robust apart from containing high pressure?

mechanical-engineering structural-engineering structural-analysis automotive-engineering vibration

answered Dec 8, 2020 at 15:18

36 votes

Accepted

How does turning off electric appliances save energy

power energy power-engineering fuel-economy

answered Dec 4, 2020 at 10:09

33 votes

Accepted

Why exactly does a washer help distribute the stress around a bolt?

mechanical-engineering civil-engineering stresses fasteners machine-elements

answered Jun 17, 2021 at 1:25

26 votes

Why does "potential energy" have the word "potential" in it?

mechanical-engineering applied-mechanics energy

answered Oct 10, 2021 at 11:15

26 votes

Accepted

Why does light bend after travelling half of the lens?

optics

answered Nov 25, 2021 at 10:43

24 votes

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How do vending machines prevent people from stealing goods?

mechanical-engineering machine-design product-design

answered Jul 9, 2021 at 19:01

24 votes

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How do suction cups work?

materials pressure applied-mechanics air

answered Apr 26, 2021 at 18:19

23 votes

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Why does a gear have extra holes?

mechanical-engineering materials gears statics structures

answered Dec 8, 2020 at 16:06

21 votes

Accepted

What unit of weight is that?

measurements unit

answered May 11, 2021 at 20:20

18 votes

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Why does a jumping rope have no bending stiffness and compression stiffness?

structures solid-mechanics stiffness

answered Dec 29, 2021 at 16:53

16 votes

How do ball bearings not crack from a load concentrated on an infinitesimally small point?

stresses bearings

answered Dec 23, 2021 at 9:39

14 votes

What is the physical reasoning behind metal becoming stronger and harder if heat treated?

strength elastic-modulus heat-treatment

answered Sep 23, 2021 at 14:08

12 votes

Can gravity be a driving force for a spring-mass system?

mechanical-engineering vibration

answered Nov 11, 2020 at 5:42

11 votes

Accepted

Unknown circuit component with glass encapsulated contacts

circuits electronics

answered Jan 24, 2021 at 4:09

11 votes

Why does corrosion take place at certain stressed regions?

materials metallurgy metals material-science corrosion

answered Feb 6, 2021 at 6:47

11 votes

Is cast iron better that Copper or Aluminum for cooking steaks?

materials thermodynamics

answered Mar 31, 2021 at 14:36

11 votes

Brittle = highly stiff but not very strong

materials strength stiffness

answered Nov 6, 2021 at 3:52

11 votes

Accepted

What kind of metal are eye glasses frames made from?

materials metals

answered Sep 13, 2021 at 11:58

11 votes

Accepted

What happens from B to C in this stress strain diagram of mild steel?

mechanical-engineering structural-engineering civil-engineering steel

answered Sep 20, 2021 at 11:03

10 votes

Why are train brakes so complicated?

control-engineering safety compressed-air rail pneumatic

answered Jan 21 at 10:18

10 votes

Accepted

How does a (pulley based) continuous variable transmission (CVT) work?

mechanical-engineering gears transmission

answered Jun 24, 2021 at 5:20

9 votes

Why does temperature not increase by putting more logs into the fire

mechanical-engineering thermodynamics heat-transfer heat

answered Jun 6, 2021 at 19:32

9 votes

Accepted

Unit of "cN.m" used on torque wrench

experimental-physics tools unit

answered May 20, 2021 at 4:30

9 votes

Accepted

Mechanical Advantage of 3 Pulley System

mechanical-engineering pulleys

answered Apr 2, 2021 at 17:51

9 votes

What is the accepted way to write units when specifying multiple dimensions?

mechanical-engineering standards unit

answered Oct 3, 2020 at 7:38

9 votes

When a car with an open differential turns, why does the inner wheel slow down and the outer wheel speed up?

mechanical-engineering automotive-engineering car

answered Jan 9 at 10:06

9 votes

Is the main goal for wind turbines to take maximum energy for a given diameter?

aerospace-engineering aerodynamics energy wind-power

answered Dec 31, 2021 at 12:30

9 votes

Aluminum weight saving

mechanical-engineering materials steel aluminum machine-design

answered Sep 10, 2021 at 1:36

8 votes

How much power does it take to supply a laser which delivers 100 watts?

power lasers

answered Jul 11, 2021 at 15:47

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908 Answers

Why are railroad tank cars bent in the middle?

Why are engine blocks so robust apart from containing high pressure?

How does turning off electric appliances save energy

Why exactly does a washer help distribute the stress around a bolt?

Why does "potential energy" have the word "potential" in it?

Why does light bend after travelling half of the lens?

How do vending machines prevent people from stealing goods?

How do suction cups work?

Why does a gear have extra holes?

What unit of weight is that?

Why does a jumping rope have no bending stiffness and compression stiffness?

How do ball bearings not crack from a load concentrated on an infinitesimally small point?

What is the physical reasoning behind metal becoming stronger and harder if heat treated?

Can gravity be a driving force for a spring-mass system?

Unknown circuit component with glass encapsulated contacts

Why does corrosion take place at certain stressed regions?

Is cast iron better that Copper or Aluminum for cooking steaks?

Brittle = highly stiff but not very strong

What kind of metal are eye glasses frames made from?

What happens from B to C in this stress strain diagram of mild steel?

Why are train brakes so complicated?

How does a (pulley based) continuous variable transmission (CVT) work?

Why does temperature not increase by putting more logs into the fire

Unit of "cN.m" used on torque wrench

Mechanical Advantage of 3 Pulley System

What is the accepted way to write units when specifying multiple dimensions?

When a car with an open differential turns, why does the inner wheel slow down and the outer wheel speed up?

Is the main goal for wind turbines to take maximum energy for a given diameter?

Aluminum weight saving

How much power does it take to supply a laser which delivers 100 watts?