Technology Engineering

The word 'work' has almost become a forbidden word in some self-help articles and books. The phrases 'work hard' or 'work harder' are regarded by many as a relic of the Victorian age. I disagree with this negative view of work as you will see in the following account of a canoe race in a river which is still full of crocodiles.In early 2008, the BBC ran a TV series called 'Last Man Standing'. In this series, six young athletes from the 'civilized' west took on an exciting but frightening challenge - to compete against remote tribes at sports in which the tribes excelled. They also competed against each other for the title of 'Last Man Standing' i.e. the westerner who came first most often amongst the westerners.In the eighth and final program, the young athletes were trained in just five days to race their canoes upstream and then downstream in a crocodile infested river, the Sepik, in Papua New Guinea. Their main problem, at first, was just managing to stand upright in their dugouts.I once spent a few seconds sitting in a narrow racing canoe in the sea off the coast of Scotland. I started to paddle but my ... [more..]

IntroductionSatellite navigation isn't rocket science once you know how. Satellite Navigation was originally designed for military applications. The first satellite navigation system was Transit, a system deployed by the US military in the 1960s. For these reasons, a satellite navigation system is an essential asset for any aspiring military power. However due to the growing use of satellite navigation e.g. marine use, engineering use and the ever growing in car sat use the growth of satellite navigation for everyday applications is set to continue.AccuracyIn general, the more satellites used the greater the positioning accuracy. Numerous errors can degrade the accuracy of a positioning. Therefore, the accuracy of the navigation solution depends on how the receiver compensates for the different error sources. This is largely dependent on how the manufacturers of satellite navigation systems implement the relevant decoding on their receivers. Most publicly available receivers have an accuracy if about 5-10 metres. However in built up areas where the signals from the satellites can be corrupted the accuracy can be a little worse. Given the military put the system in place you can be their accuracy will be a lot better than that seen by the public.PositionSatellite navigation receivers reduce errors ... [more..]

An automatic pool cleaner is a necessity when you have a swimming pool and we have two! Unfortunately (or so it seemed), an above ground pool with a PVC liner is notoriously difficult to find an automatic pool cleaner for since most will climb the pool wall and thus tear the liner. We spoke to several local specialist swimming pool supplies shops and it seemed like it would be impossible to find an automatic pool cleaner for our pools.A search on the internet found the Aquabot Neptuno made by a UK company called Kaltech. It seemed ideal but (particularly given the price) we wanted to be sure therefore we asked to speak to a technician who helpfully made an overseas call to our cell phone. He spoke at length about the Aquabot Neptuno and was confident that it would not damage our swimming pool liner.We took the plunge and ordered a machine. It arrived a few days later and we unpacked it being careful to remove the clingfilm which protects the rollers. Essentially the Aquabot Neptuno is a pump with a filter which is mounted on rubber caterpillar tracks and with two big stiff sponge rollers in front to do ... [more..]

Structural civil engineering is one of the many fields involved in civil engineering. They have the responsibilities of designing buildings and machinery. The main goal of a structural civil engineer is to design a structure, no matter the type, that is built with strong integrity, with massive attention paid to reliability and safety of the structure.What types of things require structural civil engineering? Thousands of things, specifically large items that require a great deal of planning, designing, and attention to detail. For example, a structural engineer might design large machinery such as cranes, or larger pieces of medical equipment or furniture. A structural engineer might also built various vehicles such as watercrafts, spacecrafts, aircrafts, and large trucks.However, structural civil engineering in the construction field has to do with tunnels, dams, retaining walls or other walls, bridges, and buildings. They are responsible for the systems and elements that support these structures. There are many elements that go into designing the structure system of a building or any large item for that matter. They have to design large items that have the ability to resist collapse, keeping safety in mind. They also have to keep other things in mind as well, such ... [more..]