ps Callender's apparatus>

https://utsic.utoronto.ca/wpm_instrumen … apparatus/

or

http://www.goelscientificinstruments.co … 14992.html
This is a calorimeter experiment, I would think more suited to A Level physics than the  other, which seems rather more complex in concept.

I know I ended up second in the class - rather to the surprise of Mr Chaundy, our physics master!

Ah, I beat you! I came first, and received the William Rogers Senior Science Prize. I didn't know I had that honour until I visited my school a few weeks into the Autumn term, and was told - Oh, Jacobs, you've won a prize, expect you here for Prize Giving.
I admit I was gloating somewhat, as having passed the requisite number of A Levels, I had become eligible for a grant and had started my course in Telecommunications and Radio at the Northern Polytechnic. Being normally conservative in habit, I went resplendent in College Scarf and with Blazer badge. Several of my former classmates needed three passes at A Level, and failing one, had to stay on into a third year in the sixth form. My friends had to face me, a nondescript person, bearing  the glory of achieved college life. It wasn't then so easy getting what was called a Major County Exhibition (College & University fees and admission) and a maintenance grant.

I met a girl in the 1st year 6th form at another school soon after this, at my school's old boys dance - and the rest is history. She is still looking after me, after a four year courtship during my college years and 64 years of happy marriage.

I am forever grateful to The Central Foundation Boys' Grammar School and the Northern Polytechnic for the opportunity to move from a poor working class home to a professional life.

BTW, those college style scarves, they were a delight. Most students did wear them in those days, and you knew their college by the colour of the longitudinal stripes. They were very long, and wide, and often were worn with one end over the shoulder. Made of wool , they were warm in winter.  I wore mine out eventually. My NP scarf  was green with two white stripes bordered with dark blue. I also had a London University scarf - I can't remember what colour that was, except it might have had a red element.

I hope you don't mind me reminiscing this way, no class war intended! And just a little boasting.

The Science prize I mentioned I took as three volumes of plays by George Bernard Shaw, with whom I was taken at the time. I still have them.

Nostalgia and long past youth. I suddenly remembered taking my A Level Physics Practical exam; the written part was done at school, but for the practical we had to go to the Imperial College Examination Halls just behind the South Kensington Science Museum.

We were each allocated two of a number of experiments set out in  a laboratory there, and I was happy to get an electrical experiment. There was something under cover of an upturned box, and I had to find out what it was with a couple of bits of electrical equipment in the open. There was a voltmeter and  I think one of those beautiful wooden boxes with resistors brought up to brass strips on top - you fitted a tapered brass key to short out two strips and hence the resistance inside. No rotary switches then. It was obvious from measurements that there was a 2 v accumulator inside with a series resistance.

Everyone knows what a car battery is, generally a 6 cell overall 12 V lead/acid battery. If you go back to your youth you may remember the line up for a bettery wireless set: A big box 120V carbon/zinc battery tapped at 30V intervals, for HT+ or plate power rail; a slim 9V  battery tapped at 1.5V intervals for Grid bias: and a glass single cell 2V lead/acid battery "accumulator" with screw terminals for the radio valve filaments.

This accumulator was fitted with a handle as it had to be taken regularly to a (often) bicycle shop to be recharged. The shop may have had DC 250 V instead of AC mains, and its charging station might be a panel with a number of incandescent light bulbs for current limiting.

Ah, it was a lifetime ago.

PS, on reflection, the resistance may not have been a resistance box, as the current through such a precision instrument from the accumulator could be destructive. And the battery may have been one of those enormous cylindrical carbon/zinc cells used for bell circuits. But then, I wouldn't have been able to introduce chat about the lead/acid accumulator in wireless sets.  But again, use of a lead/acid cell would have the advantage of a low series source resistance, making the experiment easier to set up.

My wife tells me  that is the car I was thinking of.
Thanks.

Of course, it surely had glass headlamps, so the whole question didn't arise.

Do you remember those huge glass headlamps, quite expensive to replace because of their complexity - didn't some have side lights included?

post script to last post.

I just went out and polished the headlamp which was "foggy". Serve me right, I disregarded the youtube advice about appropriate precautions -  I used a battery rotary mop polisher, just the sponge backing,  and covered my trousers and the car bonnet with Brasso spots! Serves me right.  It cleared up the fog, though.

I understand the general discoloration, browning and loss of transparency of car headlamp "fronts" is due to the manufacturers anti-UV protection coating on the plastic wearing off. Then continuous exposure to direct sunlight dulls the plastic.

So I wonder if on those sporty and posh cars where the headlamps retract when the lights are off, as they are on only in the dark, they get no sunlight, and keep their good transparency.
I suppose keeping the car under a car port, or in a garage would help, except that the headlamps would still be exposed when driving during the day.
In fact, if they never dull, I assume there is no need to regularly re-polish them, so the coating doesn't wear off.

Comments please.

There are several YouTube videos advising how to re-polish and restore headlamps, one I watched advising replacing the Anti-UV coat

PS Wasn't there a Morris car dubbed a "frog-eye"?

132

(0 replies, posted in Mathematics & Science)

My tongue in cheek suggestion for an addition to the Yellow "Maths for Idiots" Book list.

A definition of Pi not making use (perhaps) of plain geometry

From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi on Pi:

...A variation on the same idea, making use of sophisticated mathematical concepts of topology and algebra, is the following theorem: there is a unique (up to automorphism) continuous isomorphism from the group R/Z of real numbers under addition modulo integers (the circle group), onto the multiplicative group of complex numbers of absolute value one. The number π is then defined as half the magnitude of the derivative of this homomorphism.

I won't pretend, I have not the faintest idea what that means!!!

I found this startling tip  while browsing youtube videos.

This post is an amended and upgraded copy of a post in the General Discussion posts group, as I think it could be of value to someone who might not see it there.

Just enter into your browser search box a currency conversion, arithmetic or maths expression and it will display the result in the search results area. 

I use Opera, and tried the following search items - I won't list the results, which were all correct.

The calculations seem to be expedited by use of search engine DuckDuckGo.  Similar calculations worked in Opera, Firefox and Maxthon when I loaded DuckDuckGo.
The key  is using DuckDuckGo as your search engine.

Note: in other browsers, and using Google, some worked. but others went to different solvers.

verbatim:

£100 Eur (currency conversion, goes to xe.com)
£100 $ (ditto)

In the following group, all showed the result and opened a calculator
3*4 (simple multiplication)
3/7 (simple division)
ln(4)  (natural log of 4)
log(4*10) (base 10 log, answer included ",10" to indicate log base 10)
sin(pi/7) value of pi, division, and trig)

In the following group, in Opera, Firefox and Maxthon it opens   symbolab.com, and displays the result.
d(x)/dx (differential calculus )
d(x^2)/dx (differential calculus )
d(x^2+x+1)/dx  (differential calculus )
integral x^2.dx (integral calculus )
integral (x^3+4*x) (integral calculus)

If you enter ln(x) it will calculate  and present the natural log of x (log base e), while if you enter log(x) it will present the answer to x, log base 10, the result including " ,10"

The youtube video is : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQdVXPO6vg8, "14 Computer Tricks You Wish You Learned Sooner", by Bright Side.

Topic: Browser search engine does currency conversion, sums and calculus!
I found this startling tip  while browsing youtube videos.

This post is an edited version of my last post in this thread; I repeat it  in more compact form.

Just enter into your browser search box a currency conversion, arithmetic or maths expression and it will display the result in the search results area. 

I use Opera, and tried the following search items - I won't list the results, which were all correct.

The calculations seem to be expedited by use of search engine DuckDuckGo.  All of them worked in Opera, and some (I only tested a few) in other Browsers - but the key  is using DuckDuckGo as your search engine.

Note: in other browsers, and using Google, some calculations went to different solvers.

verbatim:

£100 Eur (currency conversion, goes to xe.com)
£100 $ (ditto)

In the following group, all showed the result and opened a calculator
3*4 (simple multiplication)
3/7 (simple division)
ln(4)  (natural log of 4)
sin(pi/7) value of pi, division, and trig)

In the following group, in Opera, it opens   symbolab.com.
d(x)/dx (differential calculus )
d(x^2)/dx (differential calculus )
d(x^2+x+1)/dx  (differential calculus )
integral x^2.dx (integral calculus )
integral (x^3+4*x) (integral calculus)

The youtube video is : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQdVXPO6vg8, "14 Computer Tricks You Wish You Learned Sooner", by Bright Side.

I just found this startling tip  while browsing youtube videos.

Just enter into your browser search box a currency conversion, arithmetic or maths expression and it will display the result in the search results area.

I use Opera, and tried the following search items - I won't list the results, which were all correct.

EDITED
Other browsers went to different solvers, I tried only a couple in Firefox. Sadly, I find that Maxthon doesn't show any results other than links to various currency and maths solvers. Not so good after all! Vivaldi does a few, but generally shows several links.

verbatim:

£100 Eur (currency conversion, goes to xe.com)
£100 $ (ditto)

In the following group, all showed the result and opened a calculator
3*4 (simple multiplication)
3/7 (simple division)
ln(4)  (natural log of 4)
sin(pi/7) value of pi, division, and trig)

Depending on browser, in the following group,
in Opera, it opens   symbolab.co.
In Firefox some, simple functions  open cuemath.com, and otherwise all link to other maths solvers.
d(x)/dx (differential calculus -goes to symbolab.com)
d(x^2)/dx (differential calculus -ditto)
d(x^2+x+1)/dx  (differential calculus -ditto)
integral x^2.dx (integral calculus - ditto)

EDITED to show more calculations.

I could have put this into the scientific thread group, but I think it is of general use, Maybe more people will see it here .The youtube video is : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQdVXPO6vg8, "14 Computer Tricks You Wish You Learned Sooner", by Bright Side.  Alfred, could you please put a link to this in the maths group.

136

(328 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Caw, stone the crows!

137

(26 replies, posted in General Discussion)

I've just logged out and in again.

True, when logged out the reply panels did not appear, so I could not have done it previously.

Puts it to bed, I think.

Much fun with the picture website Adventures in Stereograms. I can usually make out the pictures.

139

(26 replies, posted in General Discussion)

But the site said I was not logged in, and I did post.

It did say I was registered.

140

(26 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Finally got it!

Changed  password, and logged in.

Great, thanks.

However, does logging in make any difference to reading or posting?

141

(26 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Sorry to seem dense, Alfred, but I can't find a "new password" link.

Using the link you gave in your last post just went back to the top level index/contents list page.

From my profile page, only Change Password and Change Email Address  links are available, both needing entry of current password..

Do you mean I should email you as per instructions at top of contents list page, re registration?

142

(26 replies, posted in General Discussion)

No. I just entered my username, and it accepted it.

I will change the password, and can do that on both machines.  Cheers!

EDIT.
OOPS!!!

I went to profile, change password, and I have to enter the present one first. No can do!

Now what, please?

143

(26 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Looks as if I'm OK now

144

(26 replies, posted in General Discussion)

It's cheating - the loafer is part of the body of the man, not a separate entity. Anyway, thanks.

By partially hidden, I meant it was not like the others, a separate entity, you had to distinguish it from its background.

BTW, While I am writing this on my desktop,  I am also trying to look at this website (punster.me) on my laptop - It wants me to sign in - and I have forgotten the password.

Advice, please.....

145

(26 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Topic: Sunday Bizarro

This is for aficionados of Bizarro, others need not reply, or even bother reading.

Today , Sunday 15th May '22

It says there are 9 objects.  I can see 7 objects easily distinguished and K7, which is clear but partially hidden.

But there must be one more object, and I just can not find it. Any suggestions?

BTW, I view Bizarro  on Sundays on https://comicskingdom.com/bizarro.  It has a much sharper image there than on https://www.arcamax.com/thefunnies/bizarro, the one I use during the week.

146

(58 replies, posted in General Discussion)

It clearly has a finger board, but also seems to have another string with a free end held in his mouth. He also has a microphone by his mouth.

I think the long bamboo tube would not make a sufficient sounding board, and its efficiency as a resonator would be influenced by the greenery mounted on, or part of it.

Very interesting.

147

(328 replies, posted in General Discussion)

An old  measure, typically, of cloth:

the Ell equal to 18 inches. Equivalent to a cubit.

hence "soup" - "what is the typo? Ans: the single letter p, should be L.

Hence: what the 'ell.

Mind you, soup "à la" Her indoors - too good for the devil.

PS  The python reference was only to the expression "Say no more".

148

(328 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Sorry Alfred, I don't get it.  What was the typo?

What the 'ell does he mean?  18 inches?

Say no more. Say no more. (M.Python)

149

(130 replies, posted in General Discussion)

https://i.postimg.cc/67RvG5F5/image-2022-05-02-111124015.png

150

(130 replies, posted in General Discussion)

eric, that is FUNNY!!!