Last time you were on an airplane, did you notice those little “antennas” on the backs of the wings?
Turns out they’re not antennas at all!
And that’s where it gets interesting…
From balloons and carpet to winter afternoons and lightning, we’ve got ourselves a bit of a mystery.
Join me for a look at the wild world of static electricity!
You know the drill: You’ve got an image, audio, video, or document file.
Either you can’t open it, or you need to convert it to a different format to send to someone else.
You could use complicated software, but why not do it in just a few easy clicks?
With File Converter, you can convert video files, turn video into audio files, change Word docs into PDFs, and a whole lot more.
And it’s FREE!
Everything these days is powered by batteries: power tools, mowers, cars, etc.
But why does this even work?
A quick look at the power provided by lithium-based batteries should make even armchair techies cringe!
Something doesn’t add up…
So, what’s The Secret?
I recently had the misfortune to read an article on CNN entitled: What to know about hypersonic missiles fired by Russia at Ukraine
I say “misfortune” because clearly, the individual who wrote it was trying very hard to downplay the significance of hypersonic weapons in the hands of the USA’s declared adversary – aka Russia.
The above-mentioned article is actually an extended version of a shorter one at CNN published just a day earlier. That earlier article (now missing) was even worse – for both its purely propagandistic nature, as well as the author’s breathtaking display of simple ignorance regarding the subject matter of his article.
But, whatever. So let’s take a look at hypersonic missiles…
The name “shaded pole motor” might sound scary, but these things are REALLY simple inside.
So simple that if you have one, you can probably fix it yourself in about 10 minutes with a few simple tools.
DIY, save some bucks, and Bob’s your uncle.
When they’re used, how they work, and how to fix ’em good… Join me for a look at this common motor type!
These days, it’s all about the green, reduced carbon footprint.
While that all sounds nice, what would actually happen if we just ditched fossil fuels – coal, oil, and gas – overnight?
It turns out it’s WAY more complicated than you might think…
Join me for a deep dive into the world of petrochemicals!
These days, streaming is all the rage.
Whether you have a smart TV, a streaming stick, Blu-Ray player, soundbar, or even some projectors, many of these gizmos come with Android TV built in.
Too many of them also only have WiFi – no Ethernet jack to be found! This is particularly irritating for those of us who want to go wired and avoid the Wireless Wonderland.
So, how to get Ethernet? Well, you just buy a USB-Ethernet adapter, right?
Yes – sort of…
With everything getting more expensive these days, you want to be sure your costly electronics stay protected.
One of the most common ways is to plug them all into a surge protector.
The question is: Do these things really work?
The answer is, as usual: It’s complicated!
Join me for a look at 3 different types/levels of surge suppressors, how these gizmos really work, and how best to protect your techie goodies from unfortunate zaps.
The Specific Absorption Rate, or SAR, of a phone shows how much energy from radio frequency waves is absorbed by body parts – head, torso, whole body, etc.
The idea is that phones can be certified as “safe”, while also allowing some sort of comparison between different phones. In reality, the whole thing is a bit of a bad joke.
Even the FCC admits SAR is a pretty useless rating!
Join me for another fascinating look inside our modern “Wireless Wonderland”!
Dirty Electricity is when all our wondrous gizmos generate noise that couples to the human body from the electrical wiring in our homes, schools, places of work, and so on.
Fortunately, there are simple filters you can get that reduce the dangers from this type of noise.
UNfortunately, you need to be careful using these filters if you have a backup generator!
Join me for a look at one of the pitfalls of D.E. filters…
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