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May 23, 2024 | 
auto.howstuffworks.com | Marshall Brain |Talon Homer
Measuring Horsepower To find how much power an engine makes, you hook the engine up to a dynamometer. A dynamometer places a load on the engine and measures the amount of power that the engine can produce against the load. You can get an idea of how a dynamometer works in the following way: Imagine that you turn on a car engine, put it in neutral and floor it.
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May 20, 2024 | 
computer.howstuffworks.com | Marshall Brain
USB Hubs Most computers that you buy today come with at least one or two USB sockets. But with so many USB devices on the market, you easily run out of sockets very quickly.
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May 20, 2024 | 
ca.news.yahoo.com | Marshall Brain
Compared to other ways of connecting devices to your computer (including parallel ports, serial ports and special cards that you install inside the computer's case), Universal Serial Bus connectors are incredibly simple. Here, we'll look at USB types from both a user and a technical standpoint. You'll learn why the USB system is so flexible and how it's able to support so many devices so easily.
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May 8, 2024 | 
computer.howstuffworks.com | Marshall Brain
By: Marshall Brain | Stereolithography, also known as 3D layering or 3D printing, allows you to create solid, plastic, three-dimensional (3D) objects from computer-aided design (CAD) drawings in a matter of hours. Whether you are a mechanical engineer wanting to verify the fit of a part or an inventor looking to create a plastic prototype of an invention, stereolithography gives you a fast, easy way to turn CAD drawings into real objects. 3D printing is an excellent example of the age in...
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Mar 4, 2024 | 
electronics.howstuffworks.com | Marshall Brain |Tom Harris
Many of us use GPS pretty much every day — getting directions with mapping apps on our phones, tracking our meal deliveries, logging our running routes — but have you ever stopped to wonder, how does GPS work? Almost all smart phones utilize GPS technology, so let's figure out what that actually means and why having a GPS receiver and a clear view of the sky means you'll never be lost again.
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Feb 20, 2024 | 
ca.news.yahoo.com | Marshall Brain |Cherise Threewitt |Sascha Bos
If you drive a manual transmission car, then you may have several questions floating in your head. How does the funny "H" pattern that I am moving this stick shift knob through have any relation to the gears inside the transmission? What is moving inside the transmission when I move the shifter? When I mess up and hear that horrible grinding sound, what is actually grinding? What would happen if I were to accidentally shift into reverse while I am speeding down the freeway?
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Feb 2, 2024 | 
wraltechwire.com | Marshall Brain
Editor’s note: Marshall Brain – futurist, inventor, NCSU professor, writer and creator of “How Stuff Works” is a contributor to WRAL TechWire. Brain takes a serious as well as entertaining look at a world of possibilities for Earth and the human race. He’s also author of “The Doomsday Book: The Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Threats.” Have you ever heard the term “justice porn”?
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Jan 19, 2024 | 
wraltechwire.com | Marshall Brain
Editor’s note: Marshall Brain – futurist, inventor, NCSU professor, writer and creator of “How Stuff Works” is a contributor to WRAL TechWire. Brain takes a serious as well as entertaining look at a world of possibilities for Earth and the human race. He’s also author of “The Doomsday Book: The Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Threats.” What if we, as American citizens, started asking ourselves questions like these: How can we make life better for all Americans?
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Jan 12, 2024 | 
wraltechwire.com | Marshall Brain
Editor’s note: Marshall Brain – futurist, inventor, NCSU professor, writer and creator of “How Stuff Works” is a contributor to WRAL TechWire. Brain takes a serious as well as entertaining look at a world of possibilities for Earth and the human race. He’s also author of “The Doomsday Book: The Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Threats.” Is this a time for optimism or pessimism when it comes to climate change? This is a time for deep, deep pessimism.
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Jan 5, 2024 | 
wraltechwire.com | Marshall Brain
Editor’s note: Marshall Brain – futurist, inventor, NCSU professor, writer and creator of “How Stuff Works” is a contributor to WRAL TechWire. Brain takes a serious as well as entertaining look at a world of possibilities for Earth and the human race. He’s also author of “The Doomsday Book: The Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Threats.” Here we stand at the beginning of 2024. It is the start of a new year for the human species on Planet Earth. Is this a time for optimism or pessimism?
