1

General Science / What can you mix with vinegar to create a home made cleaning paste?

« on: 25/10/2012 09:20:23 »

(Spirit) Vinegar is a fantastic, if slightly odourous, substance for all manner of household cleaning tasks.  I used some the other day to very succesfully remove all of the scale and gunk from the shower head by simply leaving it soaking for a couple of hours.

So I was wondering, is it possible to thicken it up (to at least the consistency of bleach) whilst retaining its cleaning power to use it to clean the grout between the tiles?

   

2

Physiology & Medicine / Why do my eyes perceive colour slightly differently?

« on: 17/08/2012 13:06:14 »

When I look at something closely I have noticed that my left eye (which is dominant) sees things slightly brighter than my right eye.  Why is this?

How could I quantify this difference?

3

Technology / Is this the first recorded use of Rock Power?

« on: 08/06/2012 14:04:54 »

Quarries can consume a lot of power moving, crushing, grading and washing rock etc.  So I was intrigued to see this news article...

http://www.agg-net.com/news/hanson-trial-rock-power-at-whatley-quarry

So is this the first use of tumbling rock to drive a machine?
Has any one got any ideas about other ways in whcih energy can be recovered from industrial processes?

4

Physiology & Medicine / Seen out of the corner of my eye?

« on: 16/11/2011 13:19:29 »

I spent this morning watching a (dull) presentation. 

I was sat at an angle to the projector and screen and had an oblique view of the projector.  I could not help but notice that when I glanced at the projector lens,  I would see the red green blue, but if I looked at it I would see white.

No matter how hard I tried, I could only get a momentary glimpse of the red green blue and could not focus on it.

Why is this?



   

5

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Is this the shortest abstract ever?

« on: 27/10/2011 08:57:52 »

http://arxiv.org/abs/1110.2832v1
 []

6

Technology / Interfer*sssccrrrrrrrr* FM frequency radi*ssssccccrrrrr*?

« on: 04/02/2011 08:37:09 »

What factors influence the quality of FM radio?
& with a recevier in a fixed position and an aerial with limited movement; why does the aerial work better with a particular orientation one day and beterr with a different orientation on another day? 

7

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Open Geoscience?

« on: 04/08/2010 16:26:43 »

Although of slightly less interest to our colonial cousins (sorry boys [])

Has anyone else discovered the BGS - "Open Geoscience" resource?

The British Geological Survey has recently opened up its doors and is providing a wealth of geologcial data online.

http://www.bgs.ac.uk/opengeoscience/home.html

Until recently access to this cost a fortune, your grandmother or a body part was required as a deposit and you had to sign the offical secrets act (even if you had provided some of the data!) 

The data is being provided so as to potentially facilitate "mashups" of data or so you can see what underlies your house!  I am over excited about this. []   

8

Technology / Could cathodic protection by applied to a car?

« on: 16/03/2010 20:58:33 »

I am about to buy an old camper van, which as well as many clever well designed bits comes with free rust (bargain).
Whilst I can treat and repaint the obvious spots on the bodywork, could I in some way rig up cathodic protection for the bits I cannot easily get to (i.e. the underside and chassis)?
If so, how would I test its effectiveness (and driving into the sea is not an option)?
and are their any hidden dangers in this approach (or put another way why is it not commonly done)? 

9

Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Is the PETM a valid analogy for todays climate change issues?

« on: 15/03/2010 13:41:10 »

(Sorry, I don't know if this is best in here or environment - mods feel free to move)

The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum is an event in the earths history, that is increasingly well understood.  It was a sharp spike in the earths temperature (approx 6C in 20k years) attributed to a sudden rise in atmospheric CO2.  Whilst this is not the greatest spike, or hottest temperature or highest concentration of CO2 in the geological record, it may have significant parallels with the current debate about the consequences of fossil CO2 release since the industrial revolution.

Dr Bryan Lovell, the incoming president of the Geological Society, is (amongst other things) a prominent petroleum geologist.  The link below is to a lecture and Q&A session he made to the Geological Society in November.  The lecture is about an hour long and the Q&A 1/2 hour - but don't let that put you off, it is fascinating.

As well as expressing his view about the importance of the PETM as an analog for today, he also suggests what the oil industry can do to help counter climate change.

http://www2.geolsoc.org.uk/presentations/carbon/msh.html

Ultimately, I would be interested in other peoples views about Dr Lovell's contention that the PETM can be seen as a warning and about the prospects for carbon storage (more fully explored in the Q&A)
 

10

Chemistry / How do you convert microgrammes per metre cubed into Parts per million?

« on: 27/11/2009 13:48:57 »

I have some figures for hydrogen sulphide concentration given in μgm^-3

Sadly, this does not mean a lot to me as I am more familiar with PPM (v/v) as are most field instruments...

Cound any one give me the appropriate formula etc?

Cheers

11

Geek Speak / Why is the system clock running slow?

« on: 05/11/2009 15:26:24 »

Apologies if this has been asked before  (I did search but it did not turn up anything useful)

An old PC running windows 2000 is losing time - I suspect it is the cmos battery but have not had any boot errors/ failures.

What other reasons / solutions are there (I would rather avoid pulling the whole thing apart!)

12

General Science / Is it safe to refreeze partially defrosted meat

« on: 01/10/2009 11:12:12 »

As a dedicated omnivore, I do enjoy the odd bit of lamb (& hogget).  I am also lucky enough to get it direct from farm.

But disaster struck the other day, the freezer where my meaty treats are stored broke down.
All was not lost, some was casseroled, a shoulder is in the fridge awaiting roasting but there is a leg that has been put into a different freezer and hopefully refrozen.  It had nearly defrosted.

My question is:  Is it still "safe" to eat?  If not - why not?
and a supplementary question will it still taste good? - If not why not?   

13

Just Chat! / Extreme Shepherding

« on: 26/03/2009 09:59:52 »

One for ewe, Neil.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OE6HgK9NjQ

14

Geek Speak / Is there a way to disable the "caps lock" key?

« on: 24/02/2009 10:59:39 »

I have fat fingers and cannot quite touch type.
As a consequence I often hit the caps lock key by mistake resulting in the rest of the sentNCE BEING WRITTEN LIKE THIS.

Is there any simple (software) based way of disabling it in windows?  My favoured solution of simply physically removing it (as i have done at home) is not viable at work!

A second question is what is the *~@!ing point of it in the first place?