13 OCT 2013 by ideonexus
The Hourglass
Not the flowing waters of time but the falling sands of time have given
modern poets their favorite metaphor for the passing hours. In England,
sandglasses were frequently placed in coffins as a symbol that life's time had
run out. "The sands of time are sinking," went the hymn. "The dawn of
heaven breaks."
But the hourglass, measuring time by dripping sand, comes late in our
story. Sand was, of course, less fluid than water, and hence less adapted to
the subtle calibration required by the v...Folksonomies: engineering invention
Folksonomies: engineering invention
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notes
notesSand vs water, the evolving art and ingenuity involved in crafting this timepiece.
13 OCT 2013 by ideonexus
The Weakness of the Library of Alexandria
Both the work of research and the work of dissemination went on under serious handicaps. One of these was the great social gap that {152}separated the philosopher, who was a gentleman, from the trader and the artisan. There were glass workers and metal workers in abundance in those days, but they were not in mental contact with the thinkers. The glass worker was making the most beautifully coloured beads and phials and so forth, but he never made a Florentine flask or a lens. Clear glass does... 1 notes
notesThe library's knowledge did not benefit the average worker. It's discoveries were purely academic, reserved for the aristocracy.
18 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
Overview of Optical Networks
Optical fibers can transmit digitized light signals over long distances because of the purity of glass fiber combined with improved electronics technology. With some acceptable transmission loss, low interference, and high-bandwidth potential, an optical fiber is almost an ideal transmission medium. Optical communication systems may sometimes be combined with electrical components. In such systems, electrical data bits are converted into light, using a certain wavelength; when the transmissio... 1 notes
notesAgile, but requires converting light to electronic signals and vice versa.
19 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
Accidental Inventions
To begin with, often you just don’t know change is coming. Even
if you’re personally involved, you may be looking the wrong way
at the time, like young William Perkin of London in 1856. Around
then, everybody wits looking for benzene rings and chemistry was
the flavor of the month, and Perkin, a chemist, was trying to be
the young science hero who would save the great British empire by
discovering the way to make artificial quinine chemically. You see, our administration and army chaps we... 1 notes
notesIt is the search that produces revolutionary inventions, not the intention, discovering something useful is like winning the lottery in this passage, but you have to be knowledgeable enough to know that you have won it.
