Better C Strings, Simply
If you program in C, strings are just in your imagination. What you really have is a character pointer, and we all agree that a string is every character from …read more Continue reading Better C Strings, Simply
Author Archives: Al Williams
Push for On, Hold for Off, AC Edition
A common theme in modern consumer electronics is having a power button that can be tapped to turn the device on, but needs to be held down when it’s time …read more Continue reading Push for On, Hold for Off, AC Edition
The World Morse Code Championship
If you were in Tunisia in October, you might have caught some of the Morse Code championships this year. If you didn’t make it, you could catch the BBC’s documentary …read more Continue reading The World Morse Code Championship
Tech in Plain Sight: Table Saw Safety
If you ask around a wood shop, most people will agree that the table saw is the most dangerous tool around. There’s ample evidence that this is true. In 2015, …read more Continue reading Tech in Plain Sight: Table Saw Safety
Single Crystal Electrode Lithium Ion Batteries Last a Long Time
Researchers have been testing a new type of lithium ion battery that uses single-crystal electrodes. Over several years, they’ve found that the technology could keep 80% of its capacity after …read more Continue reading Single Crystal Electrode Lithium Ion Batteries Last a Long Time
Finally… a Man Page for Life
How often have you wished to have an instruction manual — or, at least, a Unix man page — for life? Well, your wait is over. Of course, you probably …read more Continue reading Finally… a Man Page for Life
Might Morphin’ Antenna
The shape of an antenna can make a big difference in its performance. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory have used shape memory alloy to construct an antenna …read more Continue reading Might Morphin’ Antenna
A Self Balancing Bike for Crash Dummy Billy
We aren’t sure there’s enough information in the [We Make Machines’] video to easily copy their self-balancing bike project, but if you want to do something similar, you can learn …read more Continue reading A Self Balancing Bike for Crash Dummy Billy
The Stern-Gerlach Experiment Misunderstood
Two guys — Stern and Gerlach — did an experiment in 1922. They wanted to measure magnetism caused by electron orbits. At the time, they didn’t know about particles having …read more Continue reading The Stern-Gerlach Experiment Misunderstood
The Disappearing Capacitor
As part of a phosphorescence detector, [lcamtuf] has been working with photodiodes. The components, like all diodes, have some capacitance at the junction, and this can limit performance. That’s why …read more Continue reading The Disappearing Capacitor