Archive for July, 2007

Using Engineering to Photograph Lightning

Posted by John Hunter on July 27th, 2007 | No Comments »

Circuit diagram

How can you get a photo of lightning without predicting when it will occur? This engineering solution automatically triggers your camera to take a picture when a lightning strike (or fireworks) appears and allows you to capture a picture of that strike. Lightning Activated Camera Shutter Trigger:

In a nutshell, the photo darlington converts light pulses into electrical pulses, the first LM324 section amplifies the electrical pulses, the second LM324 section is a high pass filter that only passes quick changes (lightning). The third LM324 stage is a comparator that allows only large pulses to pass through, and the 4047 one-shot stretches out the length of the pulses so that they are long enough to drive the relay and trigger the camera.

The 2N3904 drives the reed relay, which in turn triggers the camera’s electronic shutter switch. The VN10KM prevents the circuit from triggering the camera when it is first turned on. The LM324 GND Ref circuit divides the 9V power into two for a 4.5V ground reference. The other op-amp circuits use this reference value.
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Lightning storms can be extremely dangerous, and are potentially fatal. It is best to use the circuit to photograph storms that are many miles away from the photographer. Always keep an eye on the sky, storms can reform overhead fairly quickly. Never sit on top of a hill or in an open field when storms are nearby. It is possible to use this setup from inside of a house or car, just make sure to turn off all of the lights.

Filed under How Things Work


Engineering with People in Mind

Posted by John Hunter on July 20th, 2007 | 2 Comments »

Change Management: Combining Management with Ancient Philosophy:

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is one of the rare Indian government undertakings that are completed on schedule and within budget.
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DMRC’s uniqueness lies in how it has managed “soft issues” related to the general public affected by it. To ease out traffic snarls and general chaos around construction sites on main roads, DMRC deployed special personnel to assist Delhi Police. Cars driving through muddy construction areas were treated to washes by DMRC personnel. Other similar initiatives showed DMRC’s commitment and built strong public opinion in favor of it. DMRC’s concern for the commuter can be gauged from the fact that even the elevators feature ‘sari’ meshes to stop the flowing robes from getting caught in the gap. And now that the Metro Rail is in operation, DMRC is training National Cadet Corp (NCC) students (NCC is similar to Boy Scouts) to teach travel etiquette to the infamously unruly Delhi public.

The man behind this is a 74-year old, yoga practicing civil engineer. E. Sreedharan is famous for building Konkan Railway, the biggest railway project since India’s independence. With the public sector’s reputation so tainted, Sreedharan has attained an iconic status and is one of India’s most respected personalities. And business management students as far away as Harvard are visiting India to study the secret of its success.

There is more to engineering than, for example, calculating that the design will work in practice and not fail under real world conditions. That is obviously very important. Additionally, successful engineers manage projects in a way that not only result in safe and efficient systems but also that make those that take into account the people that will be impacted by the systems (as the system is used and, as in this example, as the system is being created).

The ability of engineers to understand the mechanical, project management and financial realities is a big reason engineering is the leading field of study for S&P 500 CEO’s, in my opinion (add to those qualities leadership, vision and understanding the human impact of product features… and you have a great CEO candidate). The data shows that engineering (23% are engineering graduates, economics is next at 13%) is the leading field of study – the reason for why so many engineering graduates become CEO’s is what is my opinion. Engineers get a great start by having to find solutions that work in practice. Given those that want to move into leadership a great base from which to build – perhaps all the way into the CEO’s office.

Filed under Society, The Economy | Tags: , ,


Unraveling the Physics of DNA’s Double Helix

Posted by John Hunter on July 12th, 2007 | No Comments »

Unraveling the Physics of DNA’s Double Helix:

Researchers at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering have uncovered a missing link in scientists’ understanding of the physical forces that give DNA its famous double helix shape.

“The stability of DNA is so fundamental to life that it’s important to understand all factors,” said Piotr Marszalek, a professor of mechanical engineering and materials sciences at Duke. “If you want to create accurate models of DNA to study its interaction with proteins or drugs, for example, you need to understand the basic physics of the molecule. For that, you need solid measurements of the forces that stabilize DNA.”
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They tugged on individual strands that were tethered at one end to gold and measured the changes in force as they pulled. The AFM technique allows precise measurements of forces within individual molecules down to one pico-Newton – a trillionth of a Newton. For a sense of scale, the force of gravity on a two-liter bottle of soda is about 20 Newtons, Marszalek noted.

Filed under How Things Work | Tags: ,


Engineering Fly Ash Bricks

Posted by John Hunter on July 5th, 2007 | 2 Comments »

Follow the “Green” Brick Road?

Each year, roughly 25 million tons of fly ash from coal-fired power plants are recycled, generally as additives in building materials such as concrete, but 45 million tons go to waste. Fly ash bricks both find a use for some of that waste and counter the environmental impact from the manufacture of standard bricks.

“Manufacturing clay brick requires kilns fired to high temperatures,” said Henry Liu, a longtime National Science Foundation (NSF) awardee and the president of Freight Pipeline Company (FPC), which developed the bricks. “That wastes energy, pollutes air and generates greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. In contrast, fly ash bricks are manufactured at room temperature. They conserve energy, cost less to manufacture, and don’t contribute to air pollution or global warming.”

Supported by NSF’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, Liu has been working since 2004 to develop the bricks. The first phase of support enabled him to make fly ash bricks more durable by engineering them to resist freezing and thawing due to weather. Liu is now working from a second-phase SBIR award to test the brick material’s safety and prepare it for market.

Filed under Future, The Economy, The National Interest | Tags: , ,


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