A collection of free, easy-to-understand articles, covering how things work, cutting-edge science, cool gadgets, and computers. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/index.html Fri, 6 Nov 2009 15:30:00 GMT If someone collapsed near you with a cardiac arrest, would you know what to do? CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is really helpful, but if you know how to use a defibrillator (cardiac electric-shock machine), you stand a better chance of saving their life. Here's a simple look at what defibrillators do and how they work. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/defibrillators.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/defibrillators.html Thu, 5 Nov 2009 15:30:00 GMT Can you see yourself as Bill Gates? Okay, you might never be quite that rich, but you can still have a slice of the life he enjoys by turning your house into a smart home. Simple, plug-in home-control systems like X-10 have been around for over 30 years. The latest smart-home systems can be controlled from anywhere on Earth using nothing more than a Web browser. Here's how they work. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/smart-home-automation.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/smart-home-automation.html Sun, 1 Nov 2009 11:30:00 GMT Imagine a future where computer displays are so thin you could have them printed on your clothes! That's the promise of new display technologies based on organic LEDs and light-emitting polymers, though we're more likely to see them in thinner and lighter TV sets first. What are they and how do they work? http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-oleds-and-leps-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-oleds-and-leps-work.html Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:00:00 GMT Everyone knows computers are amazingly useful, but some of us just want to use them as tools to do our jobs more efficiently without having to become computer experts first. One way to achieve that is to buy in the computer services you want instead of setting them up or running them yourself. That's broadly what people mean by one of the latest IT buzzwords: cloud computing. What's it all about? Here's a quick intro! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/cloud-computing-introduction.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/cloud-computing-introduction.html Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:00:00 GMT They charge and discharge as fast as capacitors but they can store more energy, like batteries. If it's a cross between a battery and a capacitor, it must be a supercapacitor. What is it and how does it work? Let's take a closer look! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-supercapacitors-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-supercapacitors-work.html Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:00:00 GMT Before the days of fuel injection, car engines relied on clever mechanical gadgets called carburetors to ensure they got just the right mixture of fuel and air to make them run properly. Here's how they worked. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-carburetors-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-carburetors-work.html Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:00:00 GMT Vehicle brakes waste a huge amount of energy in stop-start city traffic--unless they're regenerative brakes, that is. Regenerative brakes store the energy that normal brakes would lose as heat so you can use it again in future. Good for your fuel bills and good for the planet! Here's how they work. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-regenerative-brakes-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-regenerative-brakes-work.html Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:00:00 GMT Tilt your iPhone and it responds immediately thanks to an amazing gizmo called an accelerometer tucked away inside. The same gadgets fire airbags when cars crash and keep airplanes flying safely through the sky. What are they? How do they work? We take a closer look! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/accelerometers.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/accelerometers.html Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:00:00 GMT Is nuclear power part of our past--or our future? Can it help us save the planet or is it part of the problem we need to address? Whatever you think of the politics, it helps if you understand how nuclear power works. Here's the science behind nuclear energy: how a nuclear power plant makes electricity from atoms. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-nuclear-power-plants-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-nuclear-power-plants-work.html Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:00:00 GMT What do a hearing aid and an electric guitar have in common? Nothing to do with deafness: they both use amplifiers to make sounds louder. Here's how they work. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/amplifiers.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/amplifiers.html Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:00:00 GMT If you're heating things up or cooling them down, heat exchangers are pretty handy. A heat exchanger is simply a way of moving the heat from a fluid (a liquid or a gas) into a second fluid without the two mixing together. Very useful for enginers, air conditioners, refrigerators, and lots of other places! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-heat-exchangers-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-heat-exchangers-work.html Sat, 19 Sep 2009 11:00:00 GMT Here's a simple guide to solids, liquids, and gases for our younger readers. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/states-of-matter.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/states-of-matter.html Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:00:00 GMT You can't tell, just by looking, if a tank of water is too acidic or too alkaline for your prized tropical fish. But you can figure it out very quickly and precisely if you have a pH (acidity) meter. Here's how they work. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-ph-meters-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-ph-meters-work.html Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:00:00 GMT How can you build a really precise single crystal? By firing beams of atoms or molecules in a slow, systematic process called molecular beam epitaxy. Invented in 1968, it's now one of the most important techniques in nanotechnology. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/molecular-beam-epitaxy-introduction.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/molecular-beam-epitaxy-introduction.html Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:00:00 GMT Is stray noise from the street driving you mad? Do you worry about upsetting the neighbors with the music you're making? Understanding how sound works is the first step in soundproofing: stopping sound energy from going to places where it's not wanted. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/soundproofing.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/soundproofing.html Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:00:00 GMT Soft? Heavy? Dirty? Dangerous? All kinds of things come to mind when you think of lead. It's a hugely important metal, vital in car batteries, paints, dyes, radiation screens, and all kinds of other everyday things! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/lead.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/lead.html Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:30:00 GMT If it's too hot to handle, it's probably too hot to have its temperature measured with a thermometer. If you need to measure temperatures safely at a distance, you could try using a pyrometer. Here's how they work. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-pyrometers-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-pyrometers-work.html Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:30:00 GMT Is spam (junk email) getting you down? Here are some practical things you can do to reduce the problem. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-to-block-spam.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-to-block-spam.html Wed, 10 Sep 2009 20:30:00 GMT How can you measure the power produced by an engine, motor, or other machine? Using a dynamometer. It works a bit like a scaled-up version of a bicycle dynamo. Here's how. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-dynamometers-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-dynamometers-work.html Wed, 10 Sep 2009 20:30:00 GMT There's a whopping 1000 watts of solar energy falling on every square meter of ground around us--and that's why the Sun is Earth's main power source. How do we measure how much sunlight is falling on the ground? Using cunning instruments called pyranometers. Here's how they work! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-pyranometers-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-pyranometers-work.html Tue, 9 Sep 2009 20:30:00 GMT You'll find springs in everything from ballpoint pens to car suspension. What are they? What do they do? http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-springs-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-springs-work.html Fri, 4 Sep 2009 20:30:00 GMT Radiation is dangerous but completely invisible. How can you spot it? With a Geiger counter. Here's how it works. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-geiger-counters-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-geiger-counters-work.html Wed, 2 Sep 2009 20:30:00 GMT You probably know that rechargeable batteries can save you a fortune; they're good for the environment too. But did you know that how you charge a battery is just as important as which battery you use? Here's our quick guide to the world of rechargeable battery chargers! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-battery-chargers-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-battery-chargers-work.html Tue, 1 Sep 2009 13:00:00 GMT Tin cans and "hot tin rooves" are just two of the ways in which we use tin, one of the world's oldest and most useful metals. Let's take a closer look! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/tin.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/tin.html Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:00:00 GMT If you're heading into hospital, catching germs may be a worry. Thank goodness, then, for autoclaves: handy machines that can sterilize things by blasting them with superhot steam. What are they and how do they work? http://www.explainthatstuff.com/autoclaves.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/autoclaves.html Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:00:00 GMT One way to make a metal look or work better is to plate it with a thin layer of another metal. Gold- and silver-plated jewelry is made this way and so are chromium car fenders. Electroplating is an easy way to plate metals--and here's our quick, illustrated introduction to what it is and how it works. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/electroplating.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/electroplating.html Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:00:00 GMT Want to cook a dinner in five minutes or make an airplane safer to fly in bad weather? You'll be needing some microwaves, then. Making microwaves is easy if you have the right equipment—a handy gadget called a magnetron. What is it and how does it work? http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-magnetrons-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-magnetrons-work.html Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:00:00 GMT Our ancestors didn't have the benefit of engines, so why has humanity suddenly become addicted to them in the last 300 years or so? What are engines, what are the different types, and what makes one better than another? http://www.explainthatstuff.com/engines.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/engines.html Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:00:00 GMT It's in the coins in your pocket, the planes that soar over your head, and the stainless steel cutlery you use to eat your dinner. It's nickel--another unsung hero from the periodic table of chemical elements. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/nickel.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/nickel.html Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:00:00 GMT How did people listen to music before iPods and CD players came along? With crude but effective machines called record players, which changed very little from when they were first invented (in the 1870s) to when they became obsolete (just over a century later). Here's how they worked! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/record-players.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/record-players.html Mon, 3 Aug 2009 10:00:00 GMT What's the connection between a soggy wet pair of jeans, a blood sample, and an astronaut? Chances are they're all about to spend some time in a spinning machine called a centrifuge. Why do we spin things around at high speed? What exactly is centrifugal force and why do some people insist on talking about centripetal force instead? http://www.explainthatstuff.com/centrifuges.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/centrifuges.html Sun, 2 Aug 2009 10:00:00 GMT Any idea how fast you were going? No? Good job you have a speedometer. Any idea how it works? That'll be something to do with electromagnetism? http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-speedometer-works.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-speedometer-works.html Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:00:00 GMT It powers your batteries. It helps you recover from coughs and sneezes. It's on your roof, in your water tank, and buzzing away inside your body. It's the 24th most common chemical in Earth's crust. Can you see what it is yet? It's zinc! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/zinc.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/zinc.html Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:00:00 GMT How can you measure the strength of a magnetic field? With a handy gadget called a Hall-effect sensor or probe. Stick it in a magnetic field, switch it on, and the electrons zipping through it are deflected to one side, producing an extra current you can measure. It's very clever and very useful! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/hall-effect-sensors.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/hall-effect-sensors.html Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:00:00 GMT Why do wagon wheels turn backward on movies? How can you check the speed of an engine or call for help if you get into scuba-diving difficulties? Let's take a quick look at stroboscopes and strobe lights. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-strobe-lights-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-strobe-lights-work.html Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:00:00 GMT When a normal battery runs down, you have to throw it away--but a lithium-ion rechargeable battery is different: you can charge it up hundreds of times. How does it work? Let's take a look! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-lithium-ion-batteries-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-lithium-ion-batteries-work.html Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:00:00 GMT Your household probably uses as much as 1500 liters (400 gallons) of water a day, of which maybe 8 liters (2 gallons) is used as drinking water. Greywater is the idea of recycling the less dirty water in our homes and using it for things like flushing toilets and watering the garden. Is it a good idea? Let's find out more. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/greywater.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/greywater.html Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:00:00 GMT We've recently rejigged our entire website so every page should now (in theory, at least) work reasonably well on handheld devices (cellphones, PDAs, and so on) with tiny screens. We've also added a high-contrast stylesheet so readers with impaired vision can view our words in bigger font, yellow-on-black text. We'd love to hear any feedback from those of you using handhelds or any visually impaired users. Is it all working OK for you? How can we improve? http://www.explainthatstuff.com/index.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/index.html Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:00:00 GMT Xenon lights are similar to neon lights only brighter and whiter. How do they work? Let's find out! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-xenon-lamps-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-xenon-lamps-work.html Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:00:00 GMT It makes your lamps glow, it makes your drill hard, and you can weld with it. It's tungsten, also called wolfram because of its wolf-like nature. Let's find out more! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/tungsten.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/tungsten.html Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:00:00 GMT If you're reading this, chances are you already know what an RSS feed is. But just in case you're somehow not sure, here's our easy-to-understand guide to feeds, readers, how to use them, and how to add them to your website. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/what-is-rss.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/what-is-rss.html Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Sounds really complex but isn't! It just means making electricity by squeezing crystals. How does it work? How's it used in everything from microphones and gas barbecues to LP-record-players and ultrasound scans? http://www.explainthatstuff.com/piezoelectricity.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/piezoelectricity.html Sun, 12 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT With literally thousands of different companies offering hosting deals, how do you choose a really good one? Should you just pick the cheapest? What exactly do you need to know before you press ahead and commit to a web hosting deal? http://www.explainthatstuff.com/choosing-the-best-web-hosting.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/choosing-the-best-web-hosting.html Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT What is a weather station and what instruments does it contain? We take a closer look. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/weather-stations.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/weather-stations.html Thu, 9 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Even in relatively cold, northern climates, solar thermal hot-water systems can chop significant amounts off your fuel bills. Typical systems produce anything from 10-90 percent of your hot water and pay for themselves in about 10-15 years. Let's take a closer look at how they work! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/solar-hot-water-systems.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/solar-hot-water-systems.html Wed, 8 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT If it shines like silver but it's as hard as steel, it's probably chromium (chrome). You probably ate your dinner with the help of chrome, even though some of its compounds are highly toxic. How come? Let's take a closer look! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/chromium.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/chromium.html Sun, 5 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Have you seen police officers firing sound warnings using loudspeakers that look like swivelling mirrors? They're called directional (or parametric) loudspeakers and they use ultrasound to send sound like a flashlight beam over a long distance. They're also used to make museum exhibits and advertisements that seem to talk directly to you. All very clever... now let's find out how they work! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/directional-loudspeakers.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/directional-loudspeakers.html Thu, 2 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Carbon offsetting means compensating for the carbon-dioxide pollution you're making (your carbon footprint) by preventing the same amount of pollution from happening somewhere else. Sounds great, but it's proved controversial for all kinds of reasons. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? Does it really make any difference to global warming? http://www.explainthatstuff.com/carbon-offsets.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/carbon-offsets.html Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT X rays are about more than spy vision and broken bones. What are they, how do we make them, and what can we use them for? We take a closer look. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/xrays.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/xrays.html Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:00:00 GMT What are those funny little black and white squares that have started appearing all over the place, like miniature crossword puzzles? They're data-matrix codes: 2D barcodes that can store more information than conventional barcodes, and with other advantages too. You might know them better as QR Codes® and Aztec codes. We take a quick look at what they are and how they work. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-data-matrix-codes-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-data-matrix-codes-work.html Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:00:00 GMT You've got a DC (direct current) power generator but the appliance you want to use with it runs on AC (alternating current). What do you do? You get yourself a power-converting device called an inverter. Here's what they do and how they work. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-inverters-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-inverters-work.html Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:00:00 GMT Ever fancied generating your own electricity? How about a small wind turbine on your roof or mounted on a pole in your garden? We take a quick look at micro-wind turbines. Are they all they're promised to be? http://www.explainthatstuff.com/micro-wind-turbines.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/micro-wind-turbines.html Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:00:00 GMT One day, elevators may take us all the way into space. But even elevators that work here on Earth are pretty interesting and, in their own way, quite remarkable. We take a quick look at counterweights, safety brakes, and hydraulic bumpers... among other things. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-elevators-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-elevators-work.html Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:00:00 GMT You've shelled out for best web design company you could afford and paid for the SEO. But there's one more thing you must do to reap the rewards from a commercial website: optimize the design with split-testing. We explain how to do it with some very simple PHP. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-to-do-split-testing-with-php.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-to-do-split-testing-with-php.html Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:00:00 GMT Imagine being able to open your front door just by staring at it for a couple of seconds! It won't be long before such things are commonplace--thanks to biometric technologies like iris scanning. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-iris-scans-work.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-iris-scans-work.html Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:00:00 GMT How does a diesel engine help a truck, train, or submarine pull an amazingly heavy load at very low speed? What makes a diesel engine more efficient than a gasoline engine? Is diesel better or worse for the environment? We take a closer look! http://www.explainthatstuff.com/diesel-engines.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/diesel-engines.html Mon, 6 Apr 2009 08:00:00 GMT What will we do if cutting carbon dioxide emissions fails to stop climate change? From mirrors in space to iron "fertilizer" in the oceans, scientists are beginning to talk seriously about geoengineering: large-scale intervention in Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/geoengineering.html http://www.explainthatstuff.com/geoengineering.html