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14 May 23

James Wimshurst’s Electrostatic Immortality

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

The British engineer James Wimshurst did not invent the machine that bears his name. But thanks to his many refinements to a distinctive type of electrostatic generator, we now have the Wimshurst influence machine. What does a Wimshurst machine do? Influence machines date back to the 18th century. They are…

30 Apr 23

Skylab: The Space Station That Fell on Australia

Aerospace & Aeronautical

Fifty years ago, on 14 May 1973, a modified Saturn V rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center carrying Skylab, the United States’ first space station. Six years later, in the early hours of 12 July 1979, Skylab reentered Earth’s atmosphere in a fiery blaze, spreading debris across the Indian…

31 Dec 22

Always Break Yolks: The Joy of Microwave Cooking

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation

As I write this month’s article, my house is a noisy, dusty construction zone. I am renovating my kitchen, which was originally built in 1964. Although I’m happy to be rid of some of the disastrous 1960s design missteps—seriously, only one electrical receptacle in the entire kitchen?—I was sad to…

30 Nov 22

John Bardeen’s Terrific Transistorized Music Box

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Metallurgy & Material Science

On 16 December 1947, after months of work and refinement, the Bell Labs physicists John Bardeen and Walter Brattain completed their critical experiment proving the effectiveness of the point-contact transistor. Six months later, Bell Labs gave a demonstration to officials from the U.S. military, who chose not to classify the…

James Wimshurst’s Electrostatic Immortality

Skylab: The Space Station That Fell on Australia

Always Break Yolks: The Joy of Microwave Cooking

John Bardeen’s Terrific Transistorized Music Box

Machine Learning Turns Up COVID Surprise

Psychedelics startups counter stereotypes to bring hallucinogens into mental healthcare

EV Startups, Running Out Of Juice

Video Friday: Autonomous Car Drifting, Aerial-Aquatic Drone, and Jet-Powered Robot

Green hydrogen production costs could be lowered with new method