As undergraduate mechanical engineering students, we took materials science courses and studied phase diagrams like the one below from “Metallurgy for Dummies.” Does that appear to be dummy-grade to you? It gave me a chuckle. A phase diagram for water (below) is decidedly simpler. The above diagram shows only liquid and solid phases of carbon steel, while the water diagram shows its three phases, solid (ice), liquid, and vapor (steam). The author writes, “Freezing Point: At a temperature of 0 °C and a pressure of 1.00 atm, this is the point at which water (liquid) freezes into ice (a solid).”…
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As children, some engineers liked to take things apart to see how they worked – and maybe even put them back together. That was too much work for me, but I was curious. I would intently watch my Mom as she accelerated the 1970s Ford Galaxy 500 down the road. What was she doing to make it shift gears? I had to know! Of course, it was an automatic transmission. Today, I see some scientific claims, and I can’t help myself but to dig in and find the big lie, er, the big why. This week’s adventure started two months…
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This week’s post is brought to you by the National Resources Defense Council. Yes indeed; states are leading the way in energy efficiency and considering the bumbling federal government that can’t get anything done or come close to living within its means, supporters of Shaheen-Portman in our industry should think long and hard or short and easy about what they wish for. Most states have a genuine interest in the well being of their citizens across the entire state. They balance their budgets, sometimes by force (law), and this is also the expectation of state governments and citizens alike. Expectations…
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