Simanaitis Says

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Category Archives: Sci-Tech

FLAME EATER ATMOSPHERIC ENGINE

MY 21ST-CENTURY Flame Eater atmospheric engine is a technical delight that traces its origin back 300 years to the dawn of mechanical power. The very earliest of engines were of … Continue reading

January 13, 2014 · 3 Comments

ENZYME HELPS HYDROGEN STORAGE

HYDROGEN IS the energy carrier of the future. What’s more, with production fuel-cell cars only a year away, H2 transport and storage are becoming important right now. A recent article … Continue reading

January 9, 2014 · 2 Comments

NICOLAS BOURBAKI—PHANTOM MATH GUY

WE KNOW the names Archimedes, Euclid, Newton, Einstein and a few others as important personages in science. But some of the most fundamental science of the 20th Century is attributed … Continue reading

November 29, 2013 · 7 Comments

ONE NINER RIGHT

DID THE earth move for you too? On July 24, 2014, my home field, John Wayne Santa Ana Airport, SNA, will change its busiest runway from One Niner Right to … Continue reading

November 21, 2013 · Leave a comment

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? I FEAR NOT

IT’S NOT that football hasn’t enough problems with brain-addled players encouraged to use their helmeted heads as battering rams. Now NFL fans are vying to see which venue can cause … Continue reading

November 19, 2013 · Leave a comment

CLIFFORD NASS—SINGULAR SCHOLAR

I NOTE the recent death by heart attack of Clifford Nass, 55, Stanford University professor and expert on how humans interact with advanced technology. It was Prof. Nass whose research … Continue reading

November 16, 2013 · 1 Comment

ALTERNATIVE FUEL GAME PLAN

SAE INTERNATIONAL has published a Technology Profile, Future Automotive Fuels and Energy, by Bruce Morey. A brief summary of it appeared in SAE’s magazine, Automotive Engineering International, October 1, 2013. … Continue reading

November 5, 2013 · 1 Comment

BLOOD GOLD

THE TERM “blood diamonds” denotes the dark side of mining these precious gems, possibly in war zones, possibly financing insurgencies or warlord activities. We can add the term “blood gold” … Continue reading

November 3, 2013 · Leave a comment

HOW (WHY) THE MOON?

OUR MOON is more familiar than any other celestial object, yet there are still plenty of puzzles. For instance, how—and why—did the moon come to be? An article, “Impact Theory … Continue reading

October 29, 2013 · Leave a comment

THE NEW BENJAMINS

THERE’S A new $100 bill entering circulation—not that it matters much to me directly, as even Grants ($50s) make me nervous. Nevertheless, these new Benjamins are accompanied by lots of … Continue reading

October 26, 2013 · 2 Comments