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Designing a low-cost high-performance 10 MHz – 15 GHz vector network analyzer
Designing a cheap two-port vector network analyzer with good measurement accuracy.
New
The latest blog posts to take off on Hacker News. 2,038 posts.
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How the U.S. became a science superpower
Prior to WWII the U.S was a distant second in science and engineering. By the time the war was over, U.S. science and engineering had blown past the British, and led the world for 85 years. It happ…
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The most famous carbon dioxide absorber
The Apollo 13 astronauts were stranded in space. Their survival depended on if they could make a carbon dioxide absorber inside the spacecraft.
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What Is Entropy?
People say many things about entropy: entropy increases with time, entropy is disorder, entropy increases with energy, entropy determines the arrow of time, etc.. But I have no idea what entropy is, and from what I find, neither do most other people. This is the introduction I wish I had when first told about entropy…
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Albert Einstein's theory of relativity in words of four letters or less (1999)
So, have a seat. Put your feet up. This may take some time. Can I get you some tea? Earl Grey? You got it.
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BPS is a GPS alternative that nobody's heard of
I came to the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) show this year with my Dad to learn more about time in broadcast and live production. I was expecting to learn more about grandmaster clocks, AV sync, timing in protocols like Dante, Livewire, AES67, and more—and I have. But then on the first day here I found…
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Lead is still bad for your brain
Wait, wasn't this solved by the Romans? Anyway, my grandma ate lead paint and she was totally fine.
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Analytic Combinatorics – A Worked Example
Chris Grossack's math blog and professional website.
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The Mathematics of Crochet
I remember thinking at school when will I ever in my “real life” use maths. Well much to my utter surprise I’ve come to the stark realisation that there is a link between mathematics and crochet. …
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Decomposing a Factorial into Large Factors
I’ve just uploaded to the arXiv the paper “Decomposing a factorial into large factors”. This paper studies the quantity $latex {t(N)}&fg=000000$, defined as the largest quanti…
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Excitable cells
A demonstration of how reentry tachyarrhythmias can develop in a system of excitable cells.
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I tried making artificial sunlight at home
Some time ago, I saw this video by DIY Perks where they make artificial sunlight at home with a 500W LED and a gigantic (1.2m) parabolic reflector. I've been...
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Why is C the symbol for the speed of light? (2004)
"As for c , that is the speed of light in vacuum, and if you ask why c , the answer is that it is the initial letter of celeritas , the Latin word meaning speed." Isaac Asimov in "C for Celeritas (1959)" [1]
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Understanding Solar Energy
The biggest energy story of the last fifteen years is the rise of solar photovoltaics, also known as solar PV or simply solar panels.
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How fast the days are getting longer (2023)
Here in the northern hemisphere the vernal equinox just passed and the days arequickly getting longer. One of my col...
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Learning about Innovation from Half a Century of Conway's Game of Life
Stephen Wolfram investigates the discovery of structures since the Game of Life was invented--searching possibilities versus invention by explicit effort. A thorough look at oscillators, modularity, glider guns.
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The PhD Metagame: Don't try to reform science – not yet
Don't try to reform science. Not yet. Not in your PhD. In grad school, you'll start complaining about the publishing...
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Did the Particle Go Through the Two Slits, or Did the Wave Function?
In the quantum double-slit experiment, did the particle go through the slits or did the wave function? 1920's quantum physics has a simple answer: "NO".
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Wyvern's Open Satellite Feed
Benchmarks & Tips for Big Data, Hadoop, AWS, Google Cloud, PostgreSQL, Spark, Python & More...
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Bending Spacetime in the Basement (1997)
Bending Spacetime in the Basement
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Chasing RFI Waves – Part Seven
Here is part seven (the final part) of my non-fiction work about the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, West Virginia. You can also read parts one, two, three, four, five an…
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My stupid noise journey (2023)
A tale of bad choices
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Magnesium Self-Experiments
3 magnesium self-experiments on magnesium ʟ-threonate and magnesium citrate.
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My 16-month theanine self-experiment
randomized and blinded, N=1
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The Einstein AI Model
I shared a controversial take the other day at an event and I decided to write it down in a longer format: I’m afraid AI won't give us a compressed 21st century.
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The Dead Planet Theory
No one does anything, the bar is lower than you think
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The inspection paradox is everywhere (2015)
I have updated this article with new data, better code, and friendlier data visualization. You can read the new version here . Th...