Random Articles (Page 23)
Have a deep view into what people are curious about.
π Countersteering
Countersteering is used by single-track vehicle operators, such as cyclists and motorcyclists, to initiate a turn toward a given direction by momentarily steering counter to the desired direction ("steer left to turn right"). To negotiate a turn successfully, the combined center of mass of the rider and the single-track vehicle must first be leaned in the direction of the turn, and steering briefly in the opposite direction causes that lean. The rider's action of countersteering is sometimes referred to as "giving a steering command".:β15β
The scientific literature does not provide a clear and comprehensive definition of countersteering. In fact, "a proper distinction between steer torque and steer angle ... is not always made."
Discussed on
- "Countersteering" | 2022-09-14 | 105 Upvotes 137 Comments
π Jesus Nut
Jesus nut is a slang term for the main rotor retaining nut or mast nut, which holds the main rotor to the mast of some helicopters. The related slang term Jesus pin refers to the lock pin used to secure the retaining nut. More generally, Jesus nut (or Jesus pin) has been used to refer to any component that is a single point of failure which results in catastrophic consequences.
Discussed on
- "Jesus Nut" | 2023-10-13 | 209 Upvotes 93 Comments
- "Jesus Nut" | 2022-03-02 | 29 Upvotes 1 Comments
π Elder Mother
The Elder Mother is an elder-guarding being in English and Scandinavian folklore known by a variety of names, such as the Danish Hyldemoer ("Elder-Mother") and the Lincolnshire names Old Lady and Old Girl.
Discussed on
- "Elder Mother" | 2023-01-19 | 57 Upvotes 14 Comments
π Evolved antenna
In radio communications, an evolved antenna is an antenna designed fully or substantially by an automatic computer design program that uses an evolutionary algorithm that mimics Darwinian evolution. This procedure has been used in recent years to design a few antennas for mission-critical applications involving stringent, conflicting, or unusual design requirements, such as unusual radiation patterns, for which none of the many existing antenna types are adequate.
Discussed on
- "Evolved antenna" | 2018-11-14 | 192 Upvotes 67 Comments
π Regular Heptadecagon Inscribed in a Circle
Discussed on
- "Regular Heptadecagon Inscribed in a Circle" | 2010-04-15 | 44 Upvotes 13 Comments
π Twike
The Twike (a portmanteau of the words twin and bike) is a human-electric hybrid vehicle (HEHV) designed to carry two passengers and cargo. Essentially a velomobile with an electrical hybrid engine, it can be driven in electric-only mode or electric + pedal power mode. Pedaling warms the user, making electric heating in winter unnecessary, extends the range of the vehicle but does not substantially add to the vehicle's top speed.
Constructed of lightweight materials such as aluminium (frame) and plastic (shell), the 246Β kg (542Β lb) (unladen, varying with battery weight) tricycle vehicle first used NiCd batteries, later Li-Mn, LiFePO4 and LiIon. Typically ranges reach from 50 to over 500Β km depending on battery size, type, status on one side and speed and altitude profile and load on the other. Energy is reclaimed while driving through regenerative braking, and load is removed from the electric system by use of the pedalling system which transfers its input directly to the drivetrain (i.e., both systems operate in parallel, not in series).
Discussed on
- "Twike" | 2021-07-21 | 275 Upvotes 195 Comments
π Borax
Borax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid. Powdered borax is white, consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve in water. A number of closely related minerals or chemical compounds that differ in their crystal water content are referred to as borax, and the word is usually used to refer to the octahydrate. Commercially sold borax is partially dehydrated.
Borax is a component of many detergents, cosmetics, and enamel glazes. It is used to make buffer solutions in biochemistry, as a fire retardant, as an anti-fungal compound, in the manufacture of fiberglass, as a flux in metallurgy, neutron-capture shields for radioactive sources, a texturing agent in cooking, as a cross-linking agent in Slime, as an alkali in photographic developers, as a precursor for other boron compounds, and along with its inverse, boric acid, is useful as an insecticide.
In artisanal gold mining, borax is sometimes used as part of a process (as a flux) meant to eliminate the need for toxic mercury in the gold extraction process, although it cannot directly replace mercury. Borax was reportedly used by gold miners in parts of the Philippines in the 1900s.
Borax was first discovered in dry lake beds in Tibet and was imported via the Silk Road to the Arabian Peninsula in the 8th century AD. Borax first came into common use in the late 19th century when Francis Marion Smith's Pacific Coast Borax Company began to market and popularize a large variety of applications under the 20 Mule Team Borax trademark, named for the method by which borax was originally hauled out of the California and Nevada deserts.
Discussed on
- "Borax" | 2021-09-05 | 81 Upvotes 47 Comments
π Darvaza Gas Crater
The Darvaza gas crater (Turkmen: Garagum Γ½alkymy), also known as the Door to Hell or Gates of Hell, or, officially, the Shining of Karakum, is a burning natural gas field collapsed into a cavern near Darvaza, Turkmenistan. The floor and especially rim of the crater is illumined by hundreds of natural gas fires. The crater has been burning for an unknown amount of time, as how the crater formed and ignited remains unknown.
Discussed on
- "Darvaza Gas Crater" | 2023-05-09 | 109 Upvotes 24 Comments
π Hawala
Hawala or hewala (Arabic: ΨΩΩΨ§ΩΨ©β αΈ₯awΔla, meaning transfer or sometimes trust), also known as havaleh in Persian, and xawala or xawilaad in Somali, is a popular and informal value transfer system based not on the movement of cash, or on telegraph or computer network wire transfers between banks, but instead on the performance and honour of a huge network of money brokers (known as hawaladars). While hawaladars are spread throughout the world, they are primarily located in the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Indian subcontinent, operating outside of, or parallel to, traditional banking, financial channels, and remittance systems. Hawala follows Islamic traditions but its use is not limited to Muslims.
Discussed on
- "Hawala" | 2013-11-04 | 200 Upvotes 55 Comments
- "Hawala: transferring money without actually moving it" | 2009-04-19 | 58 Upvotes 19 Comments
π Quantum tic tac toe: A teaching metaphor for superposition in quantum mechanics
Quantum tic-tac-toe is a "quantum generalization" of tic-tac-toe in which the players' moves are "superpositions" of plays in the classical game. The game was invented by Allan Goff of Novatia Labs, who describes it as "a way of introducing quantum physics without mathematics", and offering "a conceptual foundation for understanding the meaning of quantum mechanics".
Discussed on
- "Quantum tic tac toe: A teaching metaphor for superposition in quantum mechanics" | 2009-07-22 | 23 Upvotes 3 Comments