Engineering
Musings about Electric Vehicles
My Citroen C3 will be three years old in January and knowing that in the past I have often changed my car then, a friend asked me if I had considered going Electric. Several years [more…]
Technology
20th Century
By the Numbers
On Going Postal we have a number of radio hams (holders of the Amateur Radio Broadcast Licence), and lots of others who have radio equipment with that tantalising logo on the tuning dial “SW”. SW [more…]
20th Century
Oxcart, Part 2
In part one of this series we took a look at the early spy flights of the Cold War and the vital intelligence they gathered from behind the Iron Curtain. We mentioned some of the [more…]
20th Century
Capitalism
The Climate Change Business
Before I start on the main body of this exercise, a few words on my background. On leaving school I joined, what at that time was one of the UK’s largest Power Engineering companies. Over [more…]
Engineering
Radioactivity And The Geiger Counter – Part 4
Three Geiger-Muller tubes. They look a bit like large electrical fuses. These were all made in Russia during the 1970s. The STS-5 is identical to the American SBM-20. It’s probably the most common Geiger tube [more…]
Engineering
Radioactivity And The Geiger Counter – Part 3
Before I get to making a Geiger counter I want to pay a quick visit to the opposite end of the radiation spectrum, all the the way from gamma rays to the shortwave. It’s interesting [more…]
Engineering
Radioactivity And The Geiger Counter – Part 2
At some point in the 1980s a certain Bob Boyd needed to use a lavatory. I suppose that we all do, from time-to-time. And, at some point in the 1800s, someone decided it a very [more…]
Engineering
Radioactivity And The Geiger Counter – Part 1
I would not say that I am afraid of science and technology but I do make an exception in certain areas: nuclear physics being one example. Firstly, it’s very dangerous to play with (duh!). Secondly, [more…]