Author Archives: mathscinotes

Filter Design Details

Posted on 10-June-2011 by mathscinotes

During a recent circuit design review, I saw the need for a simple two-pole filter in one region of the circuit. As I thought about, this filter might be a good example to work through here in the blog. While the application is rather routine, it does illustrate the general process involved in designing one of the most common forms of a low-pass filter. Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | 3 Comments

Solar Photons

Posted on 4-June-2011 by mathscinotes

I was watching "How the Universe Works" on the Science Channel and they had a really interesting discussion on stars and photons. During the show, they mentioned that photons generated in the center of the Sun take 4000 years to get to the surface. From the surface, the photons only take 8 minutes to get to the Earth. As part of my campaign to promote active television watching, let's take a look at where these numbers come from. As part of this effort, I will use Mathcad for the calculations and as a programming tool for a simple simulation Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, General Science | 2 Comments

Chili Math and a Good Use for Decibels

Posted on 26-May-2011 by mathscinotes

You never know what you will see when you walk into a guy's cube. I went to an engineer's cube with a simple question on some electronic parts and I left with an education on chili peppers. My education began when I looked at his bookshelf and noticed that it was filled with various hot sauces, a dead giveaway that I was in the presence of a man who likes his heat. I also noticed the following chart on one of his walls (Figure 1). Continue reading →

Posted in Baking, General Mathematics | 3 Comments

The Power of a Simple Magnifying Glass

Posted on 17-May-2011 by mathscinotes

Introduction My favorite radio program is Science Friday. Last week, their web page included an excellent video where Science Friday's resourceful intern, Flora Lichtman, gave a wonderful explanation behind the use of a lens to concentrate the Sun's power. Her … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Fiber Optics | 2 Comments

A Simple Analog Multiplier

Posted on 16-May-2011 by mathscinotes

Introduction I regularly get questions on using solar panels to power our Fiber-To-The-Home gear (FTTH). You might think that sounds kind of odd, but it makes a lot of sense for many businesses and municipalities. For example, every municipality has … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | 6 Comments

Learning How Electronic Parts Work (Part 2)

Posted on 12-May-2011 by mathscinotes

As you guys know, I've been on a mission to learn how electronic parts work. As an engineer, I have a decent knowledge of certain parts of electronics but I always want to know more. What makes the leviton switches … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | 2 Comments

What is a Hyperbola Doing in There?

Posted on 12-May-2011 by mathscinotes

Introduction An engineer came by my cube and asked me a question about a part we use in one of our older designs. This clever little device is made by Maxim and is called the 3660. This chip is used … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | 2 Comments

Measuring Power with A Logarithmic Amplifier

Posted on 29-April-2011 by mathscinotes

One of our young engineers asked me why all of us old-timers like to use logarithmic amplifiers when we need to measure input signal power. The answer is simple -- power expressed in dB is a linear function of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Comments Off on Measuring Power with A Logarithmic Amplifier

Learning How Electronic Parts Work

Posted on 28-April-2011 by mathscinotes

Introduction A few years ago, I gave a lunch time talk on Mathcad to my hardware engineers. During the talk, one of the engineers mentioned that he starts a Mathcad worksheet when he is reading a part datasheet. While he … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | 2 Comments

Bad Business Decisions

Posted on 22-April-2011 by mathscinotes

During a hallway discussion, the topic of bad business decisions came up. Everyone knows that a business can make a bad decision if they don't consider the facts and look at the statistics for every decision. It's no surprise that … Continue reading →

Posted in Management | Comments Off on Bad Business Decisions