Monthly Archives: December 2011

Potentiometer Math

Introduction I have an application where a potentiometer may be useful. In fact, it would be useful if the potentiometer had a logarithmic resistance characteristic, which is also called an audio taper for reasons that I will cover later. I … Continue reading

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Meatball Math

Introduction I used to watch the television show "MASH" years ago. They would refer to quick procedures for patient stabilization as "meatball surgery." I recently encountered some "meatball math" as part of my engineering job. I call it "meatball" because … Continue reading

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Some Laser Basics

Introduction I am doing some interesting work with lasers this week. I thought it would be useful to provide some background on how we build and control lasers. We deploy a lot of lasers in outdoor applications, which means that … Continue reading

Posted in Electronics, Fiber Optics | Tagged , , | 4 Comments