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1500 questions
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votes
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What use are those glass panels?

I often come across glass panels that are attached to the edge of the ceilings of public interior areas. What purpose do they serve?
Mat
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When a car with an open differential turns, why does the inner wheel slow down and the outer wheel speed up?

I asked this in the physics stack but hopefully will get more interest here. So I understand that when driving on a curved path, the inner wheel must travel a shorter distance than the outer wheel. But why? As the car begins to turn, both wheels…
Reese
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Why does "potential energy" have the word "potential" in it?

Imagine a block of mass $m$ placed on the ground. I slowly lift it up to height $h$. The work done by me on the block is $mgh$. This amount of energy is now stored in the block when it is at height $h$. This energy is called the potential energy of…
Harshit Rajput
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4 answers

What bolts should I specify with Weathering Steel?

When using weathering steel (COR-TEN) on a project, what sort of bolts should I be using? I have yet to see fixings made of weather steel; presumably because the way it uses a sacrificial layer to form a protective rust coating makes it unsuitable…
thomasmichaelwallace
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How do you attach something temporary to a smooth metal shaft?

I want to attach something small to the smooth metal shaft of a small motor (2-3 mm in diameter), like fan blades, but I want it to be temporary. If I make it too loose, then the fan won't turn at all, but if I glue or solder it on, then it will be…
Pyraminx
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Why do modern phone cameras apparently have three or even more different camera lenses in almost the same spot?

I saw this today: It's not the first time I see it, but I wonder what this is about. Why do they have three big what I assume are camera lenses? And what's the two smaller "spots" in the same area? Are they for making some kind of "3D" view or…
Karanveer H
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How do I form a budget for a mechanical research project?

I'm a mechatronics engineering student currently on workplacement. I've put forward a research proposal to develop an improved mechanical gripper used for automated product handling. The company likes the proposal and wants to go ahead with it, but…
Sam Weston
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Dynamics Simple Pulley System - Stuck on the Process

Have spent hours poring over this homework question but am having difficulty getting the right process going to solve the problem. I don't really know where to start, and I'd really be grateful if someone could show me the ropes (pun intended ^_^).…
Elisa Accordino
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Water hammer and expansion waves

I was thinking about the relationship between water hammer and expansion waves. Pressure seems to drop across a surge wave travelling at the speed of sound in water hammer (after the fluid has been initially brought to rest by a compression).…
Andrew
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To what degree are wind and water turbines exchangeable?

Assuming maximum efficiency is not the primary concern (but net positive efficiency is), to what extent could a wind turbine operate in water and vice versa? How do the different turbine types fare in this respect? I.e., HAWT / VAWT (Savonius,…
Zubo
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How do I properly compute mean time to failure?

I have a product of which we have shipped something like 500 units over the last five years. This product is not intended to be user serviceable; a failure of any component results in the unit being replaced. The majority of these units have never…
Stephen Collings
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Controlling hydraulic cylinders with variable delay

Electro-mechanical systems typically used in robots have very low delays and are quite simple to build servo controllers for. Hydraulic systems are much less common in robotics and have delay due to the length of the hydraulic lines. This delay may…
kerblogglobel
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Wheelbarrow minimize wear

I have a question about the design principle. To explain my problem I made the sketch "wheelbarrow". To minimize wear, which design is preferred?
laurens van Lieshout
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Unknown metal-piece connected to the case of an iPod Nano 2

I disassembled an iPod Nano 2 yesterday and was surprised to find a round brass-coloured plate glued to the back. I didn't find any mention of it at the teardown over at ifixit.com, as they didn't cut the case in half. The back of the logic board…
eugen_e
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Estimating Darcy Friction Factors for Critical Flow

The Darcy-Weisbach equation is used to calculate the frictional pressure losses in pipes transporting incompressible fluids. This equation uses a dimensionless Darcy friction factor, also known as the Moody factor, to account for the relative…
Jim Hargreaves
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