Author Archives: mathscinotes

Geothermal Power Math

Posted on 7-July-2013 by mathscinotes

One concept that intrigues me is the idea that the Earth would be warm underground even without the Sun present. See the Wikipedia for an interesting discussion of this topic. My favorite science fiction story is After Worlds Collide, which is tale that includes a rogue planet called Bronson Beta. This rogue planet survived a very long trip through the bitter cold of interstellar space. Its former inhabitants had built deep underground tunnels that provided a warm sanctuary for travelers from Earth. Continue reading →

Posted in Geology, History of Science and Technology | 1 Comment

GPAs and Work Performance

Posted on 5-July-2013 by mathscinotes

I have spent a lot of time interviewing engineers. In my current job, the first employee in the hardware department was me and I have hired every hardware person at this site. I have spent a lot time thinking about … Continue reading →

Posted in Management | Comments Off on GPAs and Work Performance

Granite Self-Heating Math

Posted on 3-July-2013 by mathscinotes

Introduction I came across the following statement in an article about the self-heating of the granite in an article about how radioactivity heats the interior of the Earth. Radioactivity is present not only in the mantle, but in the rocks … Continue reading →

Posted in Geology | 2 Comments

Voyager 1 and Gliese 445

Posted on 30-June-2013 by mathscinotes

Introduction I was reading an article about the Voyager 1 space craft nearing the edge of interstellar space. This article was so interesting that I ended up reading a number of articles on the subject (one example) and they all … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy | 9 Comments

Aiming Torpedoes from a PT Boat

Posted on 24-June-2013 by mathscinotes

I read quite a bit of World War 1 (WW1) and World War 2 (WW2) naval history. Recently, I have tried to specialize my readings on torpedo launch platforms. One area where I have never seen much information is on how torpedoes were used from PT boats during WW2. I am particularly interested in how torpedoes were aimed and launched. While doing some history-related searches on Youtube, I discovered this video that does an excellent job of showing how torpedoes were launched from PT boats. Continue reading →

Posted in Ballistics, History of Science and Technology, Military History, Naval History | 25 Comments

Whale Math

Posted on 23-June-2013 by mathscinotes

Introduction A reader asked a question that I answered in a comment response, but others may be interested so I will include my response as a post. One of my most read blog posts is about the amount of vertical … Continue reading →

Posted in General Mathematics, General Science | 3 Comments

Balancing Leadership and Management

Posted on 23-June-2013 by mathscinotes

A major topic of discussion in management circles today is leadership. Many people struggle to draw a distinction between leadership and management. I heard another manager draw the following reasonable distinction between management and leadership. I am sure they go … Continue reading →

Posted in Management | 3 Comments

Power Supply Voltage Control Using Current DAC

Posted on 22-June-2013 by mathscinotes

Introduction In this post, I am analyzing the feedback circuit of power supply with an output voltage that is controlled using a current-output Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC). I analyzed a related situation (voltage DAC) in this earlier post. This exercise started … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | 1 Comment

Fireflies and Supernova

Posted on 10-June-2013 by mathscinotes

Introduction Scientists always face the problem of making their work accessible to the public. Accessibility is crucial to scientific research continuing to receive funding. Part of this accessibility is creating analogies that relate scientific data to aspects of everyday life. … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, General Science | Comments Off on Fireflies and Supernova

Too Many Definitions of Candle

Posted on 9-June-2013 by mathscinotes

I have been doing some reading about photometry lately and I noticed that the unit of lighting called the candle has had quite a history. I used to work for a metrology company and I have always been interested in … Continue reading →

Posted in General Science, History of Science and Technology | 2 Comments