Author Archives: mathscinotes

Calculating the Number of Observable Life-Supporting Planets

Posted on 11-September-2013 by mathscinotes

Introduction I like thinking about the possibility of habitable exoplanets. There are many interesting questions that people can ask about exoplanets. Here are a few questions that are interesting to think about: How many intelligent civilizations are present in our … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy | 4 Comments

Morning in Northern Minnesota

Posted on 10-September-2013 by mathscinotes

Fall is coming ... soon the leaves will start to change color. This is my favorite time of year here. The photographer is my neighbor, Joel Teigland.

Posted in Cabin, Personal | Comments Off on Morning in Northern Minnesota

A Management Generation Gap

Posted on 7-September-2013 by mathscinotes

A management mentor of mine (let's call him Gary) contacted me the other day. This contact brought back many memories. Most of what I know about managing people I learned from him. Gary is near retirement now and he is … Continue reading →

Posted in Management | Comments Off on A Management Generation Gap

Counting Nearby Stars

Posted on 31-August-2013 by mathscinotes

In my previous post, I casually stated that there are 61 stars in the region within 5 parsecs of the Sun -- at least according to the Gliese Catalog of Nearby Stars. I did not state where you could get … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy | Comments Off on Counting Nearby Stars

Radio Communication Between the Stars

Posted on 29-August-2013 by mathscinotes

Introduction A phone call from a cancer epidemiologist a few months ago got me thinking radio communication over long distance. This researcher was a sharp guy who immediately saw the dynamic range issues associated with cell tower communication -- the … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, General Mathematics | 7 Comments

Battleship Rangefinders and Geometry

Posted on 23-August-2013 by mathscinotes

Quote of the Day Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. — Winston Churchill. Introduction While reading a web page on WW2 naval warfare, I found some interesting material on how naval gunfire was spotted -- … Continue reading →

Posted in Naval History, optics | 19 Comments

Distance to the Horizon Assuming Refraction

Posted on 19-August-2013 by mathscinotes

While doing some reading on lighthouses, I needed a formula to compute the distance to the horizon as a function of height. This formula would give me an idea of how far away a lighthouse could be seen. Continue reading →

Posted in General Science, Navigation, optics | 26 Comments

The Drinking History of the US

Posted on 12-July-2013 by mathscinotes

I have been reading "A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico" and I notice a common theme with other history books about the early US --drinking alcohol was a major preoccupation with early Americans. … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science and Technology, Osseo, Personal | 3 Comments

Torpedo on an Aruba Beach

Posted on 12-July-2013 by mathscinotes

I have read in a number of places about torpedoes being found on beaches during wartime, but I have never seen pictures of one on a beach. While researching possible diving locations, I ran across this excellent excellent web article … Continue reading →

Posted in Naval History | Comments Off on Torpedo on an Aruba Beach

Fiber Optic Deployment Woes

Posted on 11-July-2013 by mathscinotes

We recently had a customer who reported that one of our products was reporting low RF video output power. This normally is caused by an issue with equipment setup, but everything this customer did was fine. It turned out that … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiber Optics | Comments Off on Fiber Optic Deployment Woes