[neilep (OP)]

Jean le Rond d’Alembert


Jean le Rond d’Alembert (1717-1783), French mathematician, philosopher, and Encyclopedist. Born in Paris, he was the illegitimate son of the French writer Claudine Guérin de Tencin and was left as an infant on the steps of the Chapel of Saint Jean le Rond, from which he received his name. He was educated at the Collège Mazarin, where he excelled in mathematics, physics, and astronomy. At the age of 22 he wrote his first published work, Mémoire sur le calcul intégral (Report on Integral Calculus, 1739). His most important scientific work, Traité de dynamique (Treatise on Dynamics, 1743), which marks an epoch in the science of mechanics, is based on the theory known as d'Alembert's principle, discovered by him at the age of 26 and expressed in the proposition: The resultant of the forces impressed upon a system is equivalent to the effective force of the entire system. His Réflexions sur la cause générale des vents (Reflections on the General Cause of Winds, 1746) contains the first conception of the calculus of partial differential equations. In 1749 he proposed the first analytical solution of the precession of the equinoxes. In 1751 he became associated with the French Encyclopedist Denis Diderot in editing the great French Encyclopédie. Although he withdrew from the editorship in 1758 because of government interference with the publication, d'Alembert continued to contribute articles on science and philosophy.

[Quantum_Vaccuum]

Einsteinium  Wikipedia:

Einsteinium (IPA: /ˌʌɪnˈstʌɪniəm/) is a synthetic element in the periodic table that has the symbol Es and atomic number 99. A metallic and highly radioactive transuranic element (7th in the series) in the actinides, einsteinium is produced by bombarding plutonium with neutrons and was discovered in the debris of the first hydrogen bomb test. It was named after Albert Einstein and has no known uses. Tracer studies using the isotope 253Es show that einsteinium has chemical properties typical of a heavy trivalent, actinide element.

[iko]

Flutter testing (aircraft)

http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/spinoff1997/images/61.jpg

more from NASA:  http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/spinoff1997/t8.html

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/5810/rvc/tcgrid/pwf_x.jpg

Multiblock grid, NASA
transonic flutter cascade

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/5810/rvc/tcgrid.htm

What is Flutter?

Flutter is the rapid and self-excited vibration of wings, tail surfaces and other aircraft parts that can damage or destroy an aircraft component. It is caused by the flow of air across the surface of the structure. Effectively, the aerodynamic forces couple with the structural bending and twisting to result in the destructive vibration. Flight flutter testing is the process of determining a flight envelope within which an aircraft is safe to operate. Traditional approaches for flight flutter testing do not accurately predict the onset of instability so this testing is a very time-consuming and expensive process.

http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Newsroom/X-Press/stories/083101/res_atw.html

[DoctorBeaver]

Georgi-Glashow

Theory Of Everything named after the 2 scientists who proposed it.

[Alandriel]

Hypostome (tick)



A hypostome (also called the maxilla, radula, labium or Unterkiefer), is a calcified harpoon-like structure near the mouth area of certain parasitic arthropods including ticks, that allows them to anchor themselves firmly in place on a host mammal while sucking blood. This mechanism is normally so strong that removal of a lodged tick requires two actions: One to remove the tick, and one to remove the remaining head section of the tick.



... that's why the pests are so tricky to pry off......  []

[iko]

Icarus

   

http://monroelab.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/03/Daedalus-and-icarus.jpg
http://zuserver2.star.ucl.ac.uk/~apod/apod/image/9808/erast_pplus.jpg

...more from:  http://zuserver2.star.ucl.ac.uk/~apod/apod/ap980812.html

August 12, 1998

ERAST Pathfinder-Plus: Daedalus Defied

 
Explanation:
Daedalus warned Icarus that if he flew too high, the Sun would melt his wings.
Apparently, nobody gave the ERAST Pathfinder-Plus aircraft a similar warning. Earlier this month, not only did Pathfinder-Plus fly higher than any previous propeller-driven aircraft - its wings converted sunlight into power.
Pictured, Pathfinder-Plus is flying above Hawaii soon after soaring to a record height of 24,700 metres. What's more, Pathfinder-Plus is only a prototype -- future aircraft in the ERAST program may fly higher. Pathfinder's wings spread nearly 30 metres, and its total mass is only about 270 kilograms. NASA's Pathfinder-Plus is flown by remote control, and can stay aloft for weeks at a time.
 

[DoctorBeaver]

Jousting

[neilep (OP)]

Potassium, symbol K (from Latin kalium, “alkali”), chemically reactive, extremely soft metallic element. In group 1 (or Ia) of the periodic table (see Periodic Law), potassium is one of the alkali metals. The atomic number of potassium is 19.


Potassium was discovered and named in 1807 by the British chemist Sir Humphry Davy. The element’s name comes from potash, a potassium compound originally obtained by soaking wood ash in a pot of water and allowing the water to evaporate. The metal is silvery white and can be cut with a knife. It has a hardness of 0.5. Potassium exists in three natural isotopic forms, with mass numbers 39, 40, and 41. Potassium-40 is radioactive and has a half-life of 1.26 billion years. The most abundant isotope is potassium-39. Several radioactive isotopes have been artificially prepared. Potassium melts at about 63°C (about 145°F), boils at about 760°C (about 1400°F), and has a specific gravity of 0.86; the atomic weight of potassium is 39.098.

Potassium metal is prepared by the electrolysis of fused potassium hydroxide or of a mixture of potassium chloride and potassium fluoride. The metal oxidizes as soon as it is exposed to air and reacts violently with water, yielding potassium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Because hydrogen gas produced in the reaction with water burns spontaneously, potassium is always stored under a liquid such as kerosene, with which it does not react.

Potassium is found in nature in large quantities, ranking eighth in order of abundance of the elements in Earth’s crust, in various minerals such as carnallite, feldspar, saltpeter, greensand, and sylvite. Potassium is a constituent of all plant and animal tissue as well as a vital constituent of fertile soil.


 [ Invalid Attachment ]

[iko]

Landing

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/1er_vol_de_l'_A380.jpg

[Alandriel]

              M - Milky Way












™
 []
 

[DoctorBeaver]

Nanobot

In an attempt to rebuild Lister's arm, the crew devise a plan with Kryten's nanobots, small robots that carry out repair work inside him. The only problem is that his nanobots deserted him years ago - hunting them down, the crew learn that those same nanobots reduced Red Dwarf to nanoscopic proportions, and hid it inside Starbug. Finally, the crew manage to reform Lister and Red Dwarf... Or do they?

[iko]

Overrun

http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2005/AAIR/images/aair200503586_001.jpg

http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2005/AAIR/aair200503586.aspx

On 25 July 2005, at about 1835 Eastern Standard Time, a Piper Aircraft Corporation PA-31-350 (Chieftain) aircraft, registered VH-PRJ, overran runway 27 at Nhill aerodrome following a rejected night takeoff. The aircraft was being operated on an instrument flight rules charter flight to Charlton, Vic, with the pilot and three passengers on board. The pilot and passengers sustained injuries during the overrun and the aircraft was substantially damaged.

The pilot stated that the take-off roll was from a rolling start with power being slowly applied until engine turbo-charger output stabilised. At about 90 kts indicated air speed, the pilot attempted to rotate the aircraft but encountered resistance to rearward movement of the control column. He decided to reject the takeoff because the aircraft speed at the time was below his nominated decision speed of 100 kts. The pilot reported that he then reduced the engine power to idle and applied maximum braking.

A subsequent inspection of the aircraft revealed that there were no pre-existing defects in the elevator control system and elevator trim system or evidence of interference with the elevator surfaces.

[neilep (OP)]

Panic attack

Panic attacks are sudden, discrete periods of intense anxiety, fear and discomfort that are associated with a variety of somatic and cognitive symptoms[1]. The onset of these episodes is typically abrupt, and may have no obvious trigger. Although these episodes may appear random, they are considered to be a subset of an evolutionary response commonly referred to as fight or flight that occur out of context, flooding the body with hormones (particularly adrenalin) that aid in defending itself from harm. [2]

According to the American Psychological Association the symptoms of a panic attack commonly last approximately ten minutes. However, panic attacks can be as short as 1-5 minutes, while more severe panic attacks may form a cyclic series of episodes, lasting for an extended period, sometimes hours. Often those afflicted will experience significant anticipatory anxiety in between attacks and in situations where attacks have previously occurred.

Panic attacks also affect people differently. Experienced sufferers may be able to completely 'ride out' a panic attack with little to no obvious symptoms. Others, notably first time sufferers, may even call for emergency services; many who experience a panic attack for the first time fear they are having a heart attack or a nervous breakdown.(Wilson 1996)



I Just has a Panic attack...for some reason I posted an article with the letter 's' after Ikos 'O' !!..now why on earth did I do that ?

[Karen W.]

Qwerty

http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/notebooks/qwerty.html



"Look at the first line of letters on your keyboard: QWERTYUIOP. There's no real reason why just those letters should be sitting there in just that order: except that one of the early sorts of type-writers had that order, and became more popular than its competitors, and so fixed the pattern more or less permanently.QWERTY has become a general name for such "lock-ins" in technology and economics, also known as "path-dependence" (a mangled bit of physics jargon). It is held to result from "switching costs". These take two forms."

[size=07pt](Why did you have a panic attack? You need to relax)[/size]

[Karen W.]

Resting EKG

http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/electrocardiogram-specialized-ekgs

This is how it works!

During the procedure, a technician will attach 10 electrodes with adhesive pads to the skin of your chest, arms and legs. Men may have chest hair shaved to allow a better connection. You will lie flat while the computer creates a picture, on graph paper, of the electrical impulses traveling through your heart. This is called a "resting" EKG. This same test may also be used to monitor your heart during exercise.

[iko]

Surfing

...a wave in the sky!

http://www.williamolive.com/soliton/PK%20on%20roll%20cloud.jpg

http://del.icio.us/OberstSpanner/hangglider

[DoctorBeaver]

Tea!

[iko]

Ultralight aircraft

http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2005/02/craneflightLG.jpg

[neilep (OP)]

V-chip


V-chip is a generic term used for television receivers allowing the blocking of programs based on their ratings category. It is intended for use by parents to manage their children's television viewing. Most 13-inch and larger televisions manufactured for the United States market since 1999 and all units as of January 2000 are required to have the V-chip technology. Many devices similar to the V-chip have been produced.

The rated programs' signals are encoded according to the rating, on line 21 of the broadcast signal's vertical blanking interval using the XDS protocol, and this is detected by the television set's V-chip. If the program's rating is outside the level configured as acceptable on that particular television, the program is blocked.

The V-chip technology was developed by Tim Collings of Simon Fraser University.

The V-chip has a 4 digit numerical password in order to keep older children from changing its settings. However, it can be overridden by savvier youth who read the television's manual to find out how to reset the password to 0000 (built into the V-chip in case the parents themselves forget the password that they set).

The name V-chip is widely believed to come from the word "violence," but an interview with Tim Collings reveals that it was intended to stand for "viewer control."[

[iko]

Winglets

http://www.geier-segelflug.de/images/index_01.gif
http://www.geier-segelflug.de/images/aero_09_th.jpg
http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/gallery/images/commercial/737700_k62995.jpg

...why winglets?       http://www.mandhsoaring.com/winglets.html



Wingtip devices are usually intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft.[1] There are several types of devices, and though they function in different manners, the intended aerodynamic effect is to modify the aircraft's wake in some beneficial manner. Wingtip devices can also improve aircraft handling characteristics. From a marketing standpoint, they are also valued for their aesthetic appeal, and aircraft have been equipped with them for cosmetic reasons as well.

Such devices increase the effective aspect ratio of a wing, with less added wingspan. An extension of span would lower lift-induced drag, but would increase parasitic drag, and would require boosting the strength and weight of the wing. At some point there is no net benefit from further increased span. There may also be operational considerations that limit the allowable wingspan. Despite all the research, no references exists that conclude the winglet performs as well as or better than simply extending the wing.[citation needed]

The wingtip devices increase the lift generated at the wingtip, and reduce the lift-induced drag caused by wingtip vortices, improving lift-to-drag ratio. This increases fuel efficiency in powered aircraft, and cross-country speed in gliders, in both cases increasing range.

more from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingtip_device