In 2002, astronomers noted that the Earth acquired a new “moon,” dubbed J002E3. Such orbits are unstable in the long run, due to the likelihood of interactions with the Earth and Moon perturbing the orbit of such a small object. As observational data continued to accumulate, it became obvious that […]
History
144 posts
The Communications Research Group at the University of Hull graciously invited me to speak on the subject of “Near-Field Wireless Technology.” My hosts inform me that the seminar will start with refreshments, posters and informal discussion from 2.00pm with a 2.30pm start for the main seminar. We should finish about […]
Sometimes I run into interesting nuggets of history that I want to pass on, but I don’t have enough insightful commentary of my own to add to justify a separate blog post. In this post I’ll list a few items I’ve found: Another great piece from Steven Dufresne at Hackaday, […]
I’m pleased to announced a special offer for ÆtherCzar readers and fans, courtesy of my publishers at Artech House.The Art and Science of Ultrawideband Antennas is now available at a 25% discount direct from the publisher: For my US readers: $103 discounted from the regular $139 price For my UK readers: […]
A “grammar Nazi” is someone who habitually corrects someone’s spelling or grammar to the exclusion of any other consideration. You know the type: “I suppose that declaration is OK, Tom, except it should be “unalienable rights” instead of “inalienable rights.” The original grammar Nazis were real-life, actual Nazis, and their […]
He was one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century. Enrico Fermi, the Italian physicist who created the very first nuclear reactor noted: “There are several categories of scientists in the world; those of second or third rank do their best but never get very far. Then there is […]
“Lindybeige” is the nom de video of Nikolas Lloyd, whose YouTube Channel features an eclectic variety of short, engaging videos on military history and technology and a wide range of other topics. For instance, fire arrows look amazing. They feature in many dramatizations of ancient combat. Surely they were a […]
Steven Dufresne at Hackaday has another great piece up on the history of the capacitor, from the spark gap days, to the present. One such practical use was in Marconi’s wireless spark-gap transmitters starting just before 1900 and into the first and second decade. The transmitters built up a high […]
The Apollo 11 moon landing was a much more dramatic affair than might be inferred from the calmly professional dialogue between the astronauts and Mission Control. Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), piloting the lunar module, Eagle, saw the auto-pilot aiming Eagle toward a boulder-strewn field adjacent to a large crater. “Certainly not […]
Steven Dufresne at Hackaday has a great piece up on the history of the capacitor: “The history of capacitors starts in the pioneering days of electricity. I liken it to the pioneering days of aviation when you made your own planes out of wood and canvas and struggled to leap […]
Simon Ramon (1913-2016) died June 27, in Santa Monica, California. The 103-year-old left behind a legacy of RF, intellectual, and business achievement. A pioneer in the development of microwave and radar technology, he was the “R” in TRW, a predecessor of which he co-founded in 1953. Ramo became the architect […]
In honor of Nikola Tesla’s 160th birthday, yesterday, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) put together some interesting facts about his life. Click through for more!
Hidden deep within the heart of London is a humble facade on St. James’s Square leading to 17 miles of bookshelves distributed through seven conjoined buildings. The London Library was born 175 years ago. One of the world’s largest independent lending libraries, The London Library never throws away any books, […]
It’s a rite of passage for STEM majors – the lights dim and the flickering frames of the classic 1940 newsreel fill the screen. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge oscillates wildly before finally collapsing. Here’s the video: Now it turns out that the original video was modified at an incorrect frame […]
I’ve always wanted to attend a traditional Independence Day celebration, so I wrote one in to my science fiction thriller, The Hidden Truth. As you celebrate today’s holiday, kindly remember to lift bottle or glass in honor of our founding fathers, our comrades, our friends and family, and all the […]
Here’s a remarkable animation by Alexey Zakharov of Moscow, Russia. Using period photographs, he deftly animated them, bringing a variety of early twentieth century scenes to vivid life. “The Old New World” (Photo-based animation project) from seccovan on Vimeo. (H/T Phil Oliver).
The 2016 Presidential election features a wide range of Republican contenders. How do they compare to John Charles Fremont, who in 1856 became the very first Republican candidate for President? Adventurer, explorer, military officer, businessman, and U.S. Senator, the current contenders must pool their experience to match Fremont’s remarkable resume. […]
Famed explorer and adventurer John Charles Fremont was born on this day, 203 years ago in 1813. In honor of the occasion, my book, The Biographies of John Charles Fremont, is now available in a Kindle edition from Amazon for free through the weekend (Sunday January 24). As always, the […]
West Lafayette, IN artist, Robert C. Tracy offered his thoughts on The Biographies of John Charles Fremont in an Amazon review earlier this week. In celebration of the very first review, today only, the Kindle edition is available for free from Amazon. Here’s Mr. Tracy’s five-star review: This is a […]
My new book, The Biographies of John Charles Fremont, is now available in a Kindle edition from Amazon for $2.99 or free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. Rarely has a character appeared on the American scene of greater color and controversy than John Charles Fremont. Fremont’s name is sometimes spelled in […]
The Providence Journal has a fascinating piece on the little known story of domestic radio surveillance during WWII. The Intelligence Division of the FCC selected several sites in the U.S. to set up monitoring stations to listen for enemy spies. A wartime short movie featured the radio surveillance effort. The […]
Can a preface itself have a preface? At the risk of being hopelessly self-referential, I suppose that’s how one might characterize this post. The preface to the second edition of The Art and Science of UWB Antennas follows. By way of introduction, the preface was actually the last part of […]