Meeting room of the future

By Steven McFadyen on 6/15/2010 11:05 PM

The IET site has a video of a visit showing of a high tech meeting room developed at Napier University in Edinburgh. It a good demonstration of innovative use of technology, genuinely interesting to wat... read more..


Random Numbers

By Steven McFadyen on 5/20/2010 12:36 AM

Using laser optical pulses the random number generator utilizes the time between arrival of random photos to generate the numbers, ensuring true accuracy. Applications could include data encryption, num... read more..


Battery Cars A to Z

By Steven McFadyen on 4/27/2010 5:26 AM

Battery powered cars are a hot topic and widely debated. The pros, cons, issues and time frames can be talked about endlessly. An article by the Telegraph looks at some of the issues in an A to Z format... read more..


Mobile Phones (Brick to Implant)

By Steven McFadyen on 4/26/2010 12:06 AM

The mobile phone was born in 1973. They were the size of a brick and weighed a couple of kg, making them difficult to fit into your pocket. At a few thousand pounds each not may could afford them. Batte... read more..


LED Replacement Light Bulb

By Steven McFadyen on 4/13/2010 12:08 AM

The inventor of the first visible light-emitting diode makes history again this year as it begins to show customers a 40-watt replacement GE Energy Smart® LED bulb available later this year or early... read more..


EU Code of Conduct on Data Centres - Best Practices

By Steven McFadyen on 4/15/2010 3:31 AM

The European Union is implementing a voluntary code of practice for participants with the aim of improving the overall efficiency of data centres. As part of this initiative the 2010 Best Practices Guid... read more..


ABB Technical Guides - Motor Operation

By Steven McFadyen on 3/1/2010 11:01 PM

ABB has produced a range of technical guides that offer concise explanations of the major technologies and technical issues in low voltage AC drives.  The technical guides cover subjects such as th... read more..


Microsoft OneNote

By Steven McFadyen on 1/25/2010 4:07 AM

A couple of months ago I came Microsoft's OneNote and downloaded the 60 day free trail. Since then I have been using it regularly and now have a full license. If you don't know what OneNote is, the b... read more..


Sony Pocket eBook Reader

By Steven McFadyen on 2/15/2010 8:35 PM

For the past few years I have reading eBooks on my HTC touch phone. On and off I have debated buying an eReader and recently purchased a Sony PRS-300 (eReader Pocket Edition). While I was happy using... read more..


1,000 kV UHV First for China

By Steven McFadyen on 11/3/2009 8:33 PM

At the beginning of the year China put the world's first 1,000 kV UHV transmission system into operation. Transmitting power at over a million volts is just amazing.  Some key facts about the syste... read more..


Lightning Protection and Earth Electrode Resistance

By Steven McFadyen on 11/22/2009 7:48 PM

Most installations involve some form of lightning protection system which is connected to an earth electrode.  The function of the earth electrode is to dissipate the lightning strike safely in to ... read more..


Closed Doors

By Steven McFadyen on 8/28/2009 1:03 AM

"I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it is much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers that might be wrong. If we will only allow that, as we progress, we r... read more..




Cables for MV Power Distribution - Earthed versus Unearthed Systems

Power cables can basically be classified into earthed and unearthed cables, where earthed and unearthed refer to the application for which the cable is...

IEC 60287 Current Capacity of Cables - Rated Current

In the previous note we looked at the approach taken by the standard to the sizing of cables and illustrated this with an example.  We then looked at one...

Fault Calculations - Introduction

Fault calculations are one of the most common types of calculation carried out during the design and analysis of electrical systems. These calculations...

Load Flow Study – how they work

A load flow study is the analysis of an electrical network carried out by an electrical engineer. The purpose is to understand how power flows around...

Post Editing Tips

If you at all familiar with programs like office and outlook, then adding and editing posts is pretty straightforward and intuitive.  However, there are...

Surface Treatment – Ladders, Trays and Baskets

Steel ladders, trays and baskets form the backbone of cable containment systems. Often these items need some form of surface treatment to prevent corrosion...

Harmonised Cable Codes and Colours

Within Europe the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) has standardised the both the designation and colour of cables.   ...

Thomas Edison

American inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio on February 11, 1847. He was the youngest of seven children and received little formal schooling...

Voltage Levels – Confused?

I was having a conversation the other day about voltage levels.  While everyone was in agreement that low voltage was 1000 V and less, there was more confusion...

Three Phase Power Simplified

A single phase system is perhaps the most common type of system most people are familiar with. This is what people have in their homes and what appliances...

Have some knowledge to share

If you have some expert knowledge or experience, why not consider sharing this with our community.  

By writing an electrical note, you will be educating our users and at the same time promoting your expertise within the engineering community.

To get started and understand our policy, you can read our How to Write an Electrical Note