Author Archives: mathscinotes

Railroad Math

Posted on 7-February-2011 by mathscinotes

Introduction I was listening to an advertisement where CSX made the claim that they move 1 ton of freight 423 miles for 1 gallon of fuel. This is an interesting measure of efficiency. Let's see if we can confirm this … Continue reading →

Posted in General Science | 5 Comments

Drinking Math

Posted on 5-February-2011 by mathscinotes

As a non-drinker, I have never had much interest in alcohol. That said, alcohol has been a big part of my life. My mother earned her living working in bars, starting as a waitress and eventually managing them. Even in retirement, she works part-time selling pull tabs in bars for local sports groups. I have also been the designated driver for literally hundreds of social occasions. At work, I have had numerous co-workers who have derived much pleasure brewing beer and wine. It is always interesting hearing them discuss their various brews. The only drinks I ever show interest in are the layered drinks (Figure 1), but only because they look cool. Continue reading →

Posted in Health | 9 Comments

Interesting Old Submarine Photo

Posted on 2-February-2011 by mathscinotes

A co-worker and I were discussing strange photos we have seen. I mentioned a photo that I saw years ago that showed USS S-5's tail sticking out of the water. During the 1920s, submarines that submerged occasionally did not come … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Science and Technology | Tagged | Comments Off on Interesting Old Submarine Photo

"Dying Gasp" from a Circuit Standpoint

Posted on 2-February-2011 by mathscinotes

Introduction The Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) specifies requirements for carrier-grade Ethernet services. One the features they define is the "dying gasp". A dying gasp is defined as follows: Dying Gasp is a message (or signal) sent by the Customer Premises … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Computing the Age of the Universe

Posted on 30-January-2011 by mathscinotes

Introduction While in the lunch room at work, I often look at the paper. The paper one day this week had an article on the farthest object that has yet been observed by astronomers. One of the guys in my … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy | 2 Comments

Modeling Drag — Projectile Velocity Versus Range

Posted on 28-January-2011 by mathscinotes

Introduction As mentioned in a previous post, I am reading the book "Modern Practical Ballistics" by Pejsa. I have been working through some of the derivations in the book and they are interesting enough (at least to me) to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballistics | 40 Comments

Ogives Versus Other Shapes

Posted on 23-January-2011 by mathscinotes

The ogive has long been used in projectile design because it simple to manufacture. Over the last few thousand years, people have gotten pretty good at making sections of spheres. However, simple to manufacture does not mean minimum drag. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballistics | 1 Comment

Ogives and Battleships

Posted on 20-January-2011 by mathscinotes

Introduction The previous two blogs looked at the ogive shape and its use in describing bullet shapes. While cruising around the web, I noticed a rather large ogive shape that I thought was interesting. I am a big fan of … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballistics | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Ballistics, Ogives, and Bullet Shapes (Part 2)

Posted on 12-January-2011 by mathscinotes

Example One: Sierra 308 Caliber, 155 grain, MatchKing. We will first compute the mass for the Sierra MatchKing projectile (tangent ogive) shown in Figure 10. Observe that this projectile has a flattened nose, called a meplat. Because of the meplat, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballistics | 6 Comments

Ballistics, Ogives, and Bullet Shapes (Part 1)

Posted on 11-January-2011 by mathscinotes

Introduction I have always been interested in the shooting sports, but I have not pursued any of them while I was raising my kids. I suddenly find myself with my kids gone and my interest in shooting has reappeared. As … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballistics | 23 Comments