Backyard Ballistics typically refers to a DIY approach to creating and experimenting with small-scale projectile launching devices, often for educational and recreational purposes. It encompasses a variety of projects, including: 1. **Potato Cannons**: These devices use combustion or air pressure to launch potatoes or other small objects. 2. **Catapults and Slingshots**: Traditional mechanical devices that use tension or leverage to propel projectiles.
A bolt circle (or bolt circle diameter, BCD) is a term used in engineering and manufacturing to describe the diameter of an imaginary circle that passes through the centers of a set of evenly spaced bolt holes. It's commonly used in the context of wheels, flanges, and other components where bolts are used to attach parts together. The bolt circle measurement is important for ensuring that parts fit together properly and that the forces are distributed evenly across the connected components.
A centrifugal pendulum absorber is a type of vibration-damping device often used in machinery and automotive applications to mitigate torsional vibrations. It leverages the principles of centrifugal force and pendulum motion to absorb and dissipate vibrational energy. Here’s how it generally works and its key components: ### Working Principle: 1. **Basic Concept**: The device consists of a pendulum or a series of pendulums that are mounted on a rotating shaft.
"Chiller" can refer to different things depending on the context: 1. **Chiller (Cooling Device)**: In HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), a chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid via a vapor-compression or absorption refrigeration cycle. Chillers are commonly used in large buildings or industrial processes to cool water, which is then circulated through air handling units or other systems.
Reciprocating motion refers to the back-and-forth linear motion of an object between two points. This type of motion is characterized by the repetitive movement in one direction followed by a return in the opposite direction, creating a cyclic pattern. Common examples of reciprocating motion include: 1. **Pistons in an Engine**: In internal combustion engines, pistons move up and down within cylinders as a result of combustion pressure.
Constrained-layer damping (CLD) is a technique used to reduce vibrations and increase the damping of mechanical systems, particularly in structures like beams, plates, and automotive components. It involves applying a layer of viscoelastic material, sandwiched between a structural element (like a metal or composite layer) and a top layer that constrains the viscoelastic layer. The principle behind CLD is that the viscoelastic layer, when excited by vibrations, dissipates energy through internal friction.
In fluid mechanics, a damper is a device used to regulate the flow of fluid (liquid or gas) by providing resistance to the flow. Dampers are commonly employed in various systems to control flow rates, pressure, and vibrations, ensuring that the system operates efficiently and safely. There are several types of dampers, including: 1. **Flow Control Dampers**: Used in HVAC systems to control the volume of air flowing through ducts. They can be manually or automatically operated.
Design for Manufacturability (DFM) is an engineering practice aimed at designing products in a way that optimizes their manufacturing process. The goal of DFM is to simplify and streamline the production process to improve product quality, reduce manufacturing costs, and shorten time to market. By taking into account the manufacturing capabilities and limitations during the design phase, DFM helps ensure that products can be efficiently and economically produced.
A Feller buncher is a type of heavy machinery used in forestry for the process of logging. It is designed to cut down trees and gather them into bunches for easier handling and transport. The machine typically features a hydraulic arm with a cutting head that can grasp trees, cut them at the base, and then stack them into bundles.
A Form-fit connection is a type of mechanical connection that relies on the precise geometry of the connected parts to create a secure and stable joint without the need for additional hardware, such as bolts, screws, or adhesives. This connection is typically achieved through interlocking shapes or profiles that ensure the components fit tightly together, maximizing contact area and stability. Form-fit connections are often used in various applications, including assembly design, manufacturing processes, and in mechanical systems where ease of assembly and disassembly is important.
Michel Hénon is a French mathematician and astrophysicist best known for his contributions to dynamical systems and celestial mechanics. He is particularly renowned for the Hénon map, a specific type of chaotic map that serves as an important example in the study of dynamical systems and chaos theory. The Hénon map is a discrete-time dynamical system that can exhibit chaotic behavior, and it has been widely studied for its complex structures, including strange attractors.
Atmospheric scientists can be found in many countries around the world, as the study of the atmosphere is a global field of research. The nationality of atmospheric scientists is diverse, with significant contributions from individuals in: 1. **United States:** Home to many leading research institutions and universities, the U.S. has a large number of atmospheric scientists involved in various fields such as meteorology, climatology, and environmental science.
An idler wheel is a mechanical component that is used in various types of machinery and systems. Its primary function is to guide or support a moving part, such as a belt or a chain, without providing drive power. Idler wheels help to maintain proper tension in a belt-driven system, reducing slack and ensuring smooth operation. They can be found in applications like conveyor systems, printers, automotive engines, and other machinery where belts or chains are utilized.
Indexing, in the context of motion, refers to the process of arranging or organizing information so that it can be accessed or retrieved efficiently. While the term is most commonly associated with data management and information retrieval, in motion contexts, such as robotics, animation, or machine design, indexing can refer to the controlled movement or positioning of objects or components.
Load path analysis is a method used in structural engineering to determine how loads are distributed through a structure. It involves tracing the paths that loads take as they move through various elements of a building or structure to identify how forces are transferred from one component to another until they reach the foundation.
Process integration refers to the systematic approach of connecting various processes within an organization to improve efficiency, enhance productivity, and optimize resource utilization. It involves aligning different functions, activities, or systems to work together harmoniously, enabling seamless data and material flow across departments. Here are some key aspects of process integration: 1. **Cross-Functional Collaboration**: It encourages collaboration among different departments (such as finance, operations, and marketing) to ensure that processes are coordinated and aligned with overall business objectives.
An electron hole, often simply referred to as a "hole," is a concept in semiconductor physics and solid-state physics. It represents the absence of an electron in a semiconductor's electronic band structure, particularly in the valence band where electrons are normally present. Here's a more detailed explanation: 1. **Electron Abundance**: In a semiconductor, electrons occupy energy states in the valence band. When an electron gains sufficient energy (e.g.
A water chiller is a type of cooling system that removes heat from a liquid via a vapor-compression or absorption refrigeration cycle. Water chillers are commonly used in various applications, including: 1. **Air Conditioning**: In large buildings or industrial plants, chillers provide cooling for air conditioning systems by chilling the water that is then circulated through air handler units or fan coil units. 2. **Industrial Processes**: Many manufacturing processes require precise temperature control to ensure product quality.
The "Egg of Columbus" refers to a classic tangram puzzle that consists of a set of geometric pieces called tans. These tans are arranged in such a way to form a shape resembling an egg or an oval. The puzzle involves figuring out how to reassemble these tans into the desired shape, which requires spatial reasoning and problem-solving skills. The term "Egg of Columbus" is derived from the story of Christopher Columbus, who famously demonstrated his brilliance by getting an egg to stand on its end.
Peg solitaire is a classic single-player board game that involves moving pegs around a board with the goal of removing all but one peg. The game is typically played on a cross-shaped board, although other variations exist. The board has holes where pegs can be placed, and the objective is to jump one peg over another, removing the jumped peg from the board.

Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project

Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
We have two killer features:
  1. topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculus
    Articles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
    • a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
    • a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
    This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.
    Figure 1.
    Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page
    . View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivative
  2. local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:
    This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
    Figure 2.
    You can publish local OurBigBook lightweight markup files to either https://OurBigBook.com or as a static website
    .
    Figure 3.
    Visual Studio Code extension installation
    .
    Figure 4.
    Visual Studio Code extension tree navigation
    .
    Figure 5.
    Web editor
    . You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally.
    Video 3.
    Edit locally and publish demo
    . Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension.
    Video 4.
    OurBigBook Visual Studio Code extension editing and navigation demo
    . Source.
  3. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook-media/master/feature/x/hilbert-space-arrow.png
  4. Infinitely deep tables of contents:
    Figure 6.
    Dynamic article tree with infinitely deep table of contents
    .
    Descendant pages can also show up as toplevel e.g.: ourbigbook.com/cirosantilli/chordate-subclade
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact