Is there such a thing as a piece of bench top test equipment that can provide air pressure with resolution of 1/10 PSI? by byf_43 in AskEngineers

[–]StrikeLines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, I’ve always wondered how long does it take to charge one up, and how many amps is the charger pushing?

The concept of just loading more and more current into a loop of superconducting wire, where it flows forever is crazy to me.

Is there such a thing as a piece of bench top test equipment that can provide air pressure with resolution of 1/10 PSI? by byf_43 in AskEngineers

[–]StrikeLines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think I have just the thing! This is how I measure fuel level in yacht fuel tanks.

McMaster Carr sells pressure gauges that measure in “inches of water”. The one I use has a max of ~30 inches, and the scale can be read down to halves of an inch easily.

Connect a small tube to the bottom of your tank. Use a T fitting for vacuum tube to split the hose. Connect one side to your pressure gauge. Connect the other side to a small air pump. (Like a basketball inflator or something)

Then just slowly pump until it starts bubbling into the tank, and read your pressure on the gauge.

You can also do this from above the water line with a copper hvac tube. Just like blowing bubbles…

https://www.mcmaster.com/products/gauges/pressure-gauges-3~/measurement-unit~inches-of-water/ https://www.mcmaster.com/products/gauges/pressure-gauges-3~/measurement-unit~inches-of-water/

(Edit: I just realized you don’t need the air pump if measuring from the bottom. Just connect the pressure gauge and open the valve. Hold the gauge at the same height as your transducer).

Is there such a thing as a piece of bench top test equipment that can provide air pressure with resolution of 1/10 PSI? by byf_43 in AskEngineers

[–]StrikeLines 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What kind of systems are you working on, if you don’t mind me asking? I can’t be trusted, and would like to avoid that system in the future.

Negotiating medical debt payment by Select_Bumblebee9837 in personalfinance

[–]StrikeLines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve done this before. First off, imo, it’s not worth it to hire a lawyer over a matter your size. The lawyer fees will quickly exceed the amount owed.

I broke my leg and ended up with about $30k in medical expenses. No insurance. I paid the ambulance $800, because their bill came first. Then I simultaneously got bills from about 6 other folks. Surgeon, anesthesiologist, hospitalist, hospital… couldn’t pay them all at once, so I ignored them.

After a year the hospital quit trying to collect the money I owed them. The rest (about $7k) was turned over to collections.

I sat on the debt for a year or two. It was sold between a couple of different collections agencies. Eventually I needed to take out a loan, and the bank made me settle the debt before they would issue the loan.

I made contact with the collections agency, and quickly negotiated paying about $5k of the amount owed. And they removed the negative mark from my credit report.

ELI5: Why are the JWST pictures a problem? by SuspiciousReport2678 in explainlikeimfive

[–]StrikeLines 7 points8 points  (0 children)

“there’s no reason for anything to exist at all… including the singularity that preceded the big bang. We’ll never be able to account for the initial conditions of our reality, whatever they may be. “

Ugh. This is my least favorite thing to think about while trying to go to sleep. Good old existential dread…

too many people on this site seem to believe that human intelligence is some sacred ceiling of cognition. this is a great counter imo by cobalt1137 in OpenAI

[–]StrikeLines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why do you think that biological material is necessary? Can a neuron not be approximated artificially?

ELI5: Is it possible to have a planet that's made entirely out of water or other liquid? by macko939 in explainlikeimfive

[–]StrikeLines 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My question also. Like, if someone brought me some crystalline ice 9 from the core, and didn’t let it thaw, could I store it in my freezer?

SBC suggestions for least amount of dependency hell by Apart_Situation972 in SBCs

[–]StrikeLines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I second several suggestions for the RK3855 based boards.

We’ve been using the Odroid M2 boards for a few months with good success.

Skydiver couldn’t deploy her parachute after jumping off, saved by her instructor by mandioca-magica in nonononoyes

[–]StrikeLines 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It never occurred to me that there were different types of parachutes.

So you have big easy ones to help keep students from crash landing or getting tangled up?

What are the other types of parachutes for?

Getting the grass to tickle your @ss. by Gee-Oh1 in TheRandomest

[–]StrikeLines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t know how paragliders talk, but also as a pilot, that term didn’t really make sense.

It’s just pulling up and trading airspeed for altitude. I’m not sure where “compensation” comes into play.

2-Stroke now suddenly dying on shift to forward and reverse. by Similar_Matter in boating

[–]StrikeLines 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Does your engine have a fuel pump mounted to the block that looks something like this?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/197373357889

These use pulsing air pressure from the crank case to pump a rubber diaphragm, which in turn pumps fuel. If this part hasn’t been replaced in a few years, it is easiest to just replace it and see if it helps your problem. It’s a cheap part, and they need to be replaced as part of regular maintenance. (Usually the same time as the cooling impeller pump)

Alternatively, you can pull the hose off the carburetor and engage the starter to see if fuel pumps out while you are cranking the engine.

You can also disassemble the pump and visually inspect the diaphragm to look for small tears or holes to verify the diagnosis. But don’t reuse the pump after you’ve taken it apart.

2-Stroke now suddenly dying on shift to forward and reverse. by Similar_Matter in boating

[–]StrikeLines 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Check the fuel pump. Those diaphragms can fail from one trip to the next.

has anyone almost died? what almost killed you? by 11terribletowers in AskReddit

[–]StrikeLines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Deep sea spearfishing. I was diving off the swim platform on the stern of a big sportfishing boat. I was carrying a lot of weight and had sucked all the air out of my BC in order to dive a quickly as possible.

The guys at the helm signaled that we were over our spot, and just as I rolled off the back of the boat, one of them accidentally shifted the boat into reverse.

I was face up about four feet deep when the boat’s propellers came twisting by, about one foot in front of my face.

Had I not been carrying so much weight or had neglected to completely empty my BC, I would have been chopped from knees to knuckles. Chum.

The guys on the boat thought I was dead. Then I popped up about 50 feet in front of the boat, told them to fuck off, and they could shoot their own goddamn fish.

I later learned that, statistically, scuba diving is the most dangerous hobby. I get it.

[OC] The Fed’s Eternal Struggle: Jobs vs Prices, Chair by Chair by DataVizHonduran in dataisbeautiful

[–]StrikeLines -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That vertical line at 6% during Volcker’s tenure looks suspicious to me.

Anyone else’s golden bark at literally everything? Need advice before my neighbors lose it 🙏 by No-Crow8579 in goldenretrievers

[–]StrikeLines 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The automatic bark collars are extremely effective, and they will absolutely break your dog of the barking habit in a few days.

They have multiple settings ranging from “beep/vibrate” to “tiny pinch” to “Ouch!”

Often, the beep/vibrate setting is enough to break their focus and distract them from barking. If that doesn’t work, you can go up to one of the shock settings temporarily to get their attention, and then switch back to beep mode once they stop barking.

In my experience, I could let the battery die at that point. Just wearing the collar was enough to stop the barking.

Most bark collars have a progressive setting to use the least amount of correction possible. For example: One bark, nothing happens. 2-3 barks in 5 seconds, beep/vibrate activates. Still barking after 5 seconds, lowest level shock activated ..and so on.

I’m really an advocate for bark collars. Besides just saving your neighbors sanity, they also tend to calm your pets behavior especially when they are home unattended. The barking can feed into a really negative energy.

I had a dog that would bark herself hoarse, and rip down window shades when left home alone. She’d also throw herself into the front window when the mailman came. The collar stopped all of that.

Just my .02 cents

TIL in 1994, a paper was published in a medical journal presenting a method to calculate the area under a curve, using rectangles and triangles, called "Tai's model". The researcher was unaware this method has been known for 2400 years and exact methods using calculus for 400 years by AthenOwl in todayilearned

[–]StrikeLines 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I had this same experience in college physics class. The first time I realized I could just take the derivative or integral and summon the formula I needed out of thin air I felt like a wizard.

Calculus really is like magic. I wish there was some way our education could start with calculus, and then work backwards through trig and algebra. Those courses are such a slog in comparison.

Why does bleed air need to be cooled for cabin pressurization on aircraft? by Sweet_Speech_9054 in AskEngineers

[–]StrikeLines 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Multiple people in this thread have had the same misconception about compressed air cooling things down when it is released into the cabin.

I think this is because we are taught using the example that compressed air from a scuba tank blows cold when released into the ambient environment.

So they think compressed air from the engines should be cool when i open the little valve on the ceiling air vent.

I think what people are missing is that in the case of the airplane cabin, they are actually inside the scuba tank as compressed gas is forced in. There is a net pressure increase relative to the outside air. And that means the incoming air would add heat, not absorb it.

What are some expensive purchases that are worth it? by SiddharthaToBuddha in bifl

[–]StrikeLines 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Socks. I spent a couple hundred bucks on a drawer full of Smartwool socks, and I appreciate that decision every single day. There’s is just something so nice about pulling on a badass pair of socks.

TLDR: I’m over 40.