Sorry guys, I have a planned blog to write up tomorrow or New Year (depends on my New Year plans really...).
For now, I recommend reading this, it has a few general rules of life included, see if you can spot them! Be warned, it is quite a lengthy article but quite funny and science related - it also ties in nicely with my previous post!
The Reference Frame Post: 30/12/2010
Over and Out
Giantsitel
Search
Thursday, 30 December 2010
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
Reference frames are crucial.
For example if you carry a cup of tea up the aisle of a jet plane in flight, you might say your speed is 2 miles per hour. Someone on the ground, however might say you were moving at 572 miles per hour. Someone watching from the surface of our Sun might say you were travelling at about 18 miles per second, not to mention envying your air-conditioning.
Quoted from Stephen Hawkings' The Grand Design.
Sent from my Nokia phone!
Giantsitel
Quoted from Stephen Hawkings' The Grand Design.
Sent from my Nokia phone!
Giantsitel
Monday, 27 December 2010
Interesting New Type of Hard Drive
Well, ok. Probably not the most interesting of things for me to talk about, however it is quite intriguing. Everything from Cars to Computers have a branch called 'Hybrids'. In the more commonly known Hybrid Cars you have both an internal combustion engine (small Petrol engine) and an electric motor system. They effectively work in parallel, but with the electric motors taking priority at lower speeds. This gives the 'best of both worlds' the top speed of the petrol engines, and the fuel-efficient electric motors for 'town-cruising'. The Toyota Prius has sold over 2 million units - just to show the popularity of these systems.
This is more than slightly related to the Hard Drive I am about to talk about, for it is a Hybrid Hard Drive. Now for some of you this might seem very foreign in deed. So first I must talk about the two common varieties of current Hard Drives.
The 'Old-Fashioned' (and most common) are the IDE/SATA Hard Drives, which are mechanical and effectively are a step further forward from a spinning disk(They have several arms and levels to improve efficiency). They operate at 5,400 rpm up to 10,000 rpm. These have become very cheap sources of data storage, with a 1TB Hard Drive being available for around the £50 mark quite readily. However due to the mechanical motions cause problems during transport/shaking etc and it also takes time for the drives to 'spin-up' to these quite high speeds!
The 'New and Improved' Hard Drives are the SSD (Solid State Drives), which are frankly, just big USB memory stick except they are designed to go inside the computer. They use flash memory which has instant access capabilities - you can access any part of the drive from any part of the drive instantly whereas this would take time with the spinning Hard Drives. They are better for many reasons, there energy usage is a lot lot lower (giving better battery life for laptops), the transfer rate of data is a lot quicker, and they are instant to spin up to maximum speed and are effectively completely turned off when not in use(therefore no wasted energy). There durability is also incredible as they have no moving parts - the only things that will do damage is a sledge hammer or lots of water! (Or maybe a Land Rover...anyway I digress). The only disadvantage is the cost(currently), for a similar 1TB drive would cost £2/3 THOUSAND, for the £50 needed to buy the 1tb Sata HD you wouldn't be able to get anything larger than a 32gb SSD Drive - This is clearly a huge price difference!
However, there is now a new compromise, a hybrid of sorts. It combines the best features of both a SATA Hd and an SSD Drive. I won't go into the technical details, other than it contains a 4gb SSD drive as well as incorporating a traditional 500GB HD. The clever part is how it uses the SSD. Anything the hard drive thinks you will use frequently(Like the Operating system), will be stored on the SSD part of the drive(Only the really really commonly used files), meaning that when they are needed it is instantly released to the hard drive bus at a speed of around 300mb/s. It will also learn from your common usage, it has been shown that the first boot up of this drive it is only the same speed as a normal hard drive, however by the 5th boot-up, it will have doubled its speed(or halved boot-up time!), an incredible feat. All for a price that is relatively reasonable, a 500gb Hybrid for ~£90.00!
This has been added to my 'wish list'!
Over and Out
Simon (Giantsitel)
This is more than slightly related to the Hard Drive I am about to talk about, for it is a Hybrid Hard Drive. Now for some of you this might seem very foreign in deed. So first I must talk about the two common varieties of current Hard Drives.
The 'Old-Fashioned' (and most common) are the IDE/SATA Hard Drives, which are mechanical and effectively are a step further forward from a spinning disk(They have several arms and levels to improve efficiency). They operate at 5,400 rpm up to 10,000 rpm. These have become very cheap sources of data storage, with a 1TB Hard Drive being available for around the £50 mark quite readily. However due to the mechanical motions cause problems during transport/shaking etc and it also takes time for the drives to 'spin-up' to these quite high speeds!
 |
| SATA 500GB Hard Drive |
The 'New and Improved' Hard Drives are the SSD (Solid State Drives), which are frankly, just big USB memory stick except they are designed to go inside the computer. They use flash memory which has instant access capabilities - you can access any part of the drive from any part of the drive instantly whereas this would take time with the spinning Hard Drives. They are better for many reasons, there energy usage is a lot lot lower (giving better battery life for laptops), the transfer rate of data is a lot quicker, and they are instant to spin up to maximum speed and are effectively completely turned off when not in use(therefore no wasted energy). There durability is also incredible as they have no moving parts - the only things that will do damage is a sledge hammer or lots of water! (Or maybe a Land Rover...anyway I digress). The only disadvantage is the cost(currently), for a similar 1TB drive would cost £2/3 THOUSAND, for the £50 needed to buy the 1tb Sata HD you wouldn't be able to get anything larger than a 32gb SSD Drive - This is clearly a huge price difference!
 |
| 120GB SSD Drive |
However, there is now a new compromise, a hybrid of sorts. It combines the best features of both a SATA Hd and an SSD Drive. I won't go into the technical details, other than it contains a 4gb SSD drive as well as incorporating a traditional 500GB HD. The clever part is how it uses the SSD. Anything the hard drive thinks you will use frequently(Like the Operating system), will be stored on the SSD part of the drive(Only the really really commonly used files), meaning that when they are needed it is instantly released to the hard drive bus at a speed of around 300mb/s. It will also learn from your common usage, it has been shown that the first boot up of this drive it is only the same speed as a normal hard drive, however by the 5th boot-up, it will have doubled its speed(or halved boot-up time!), an incredible feat. All for a price that is relatively reasonable, a 500gb Hybrid for ~£90.00!
 |
| Seagate 500GB Hybrid Drive |
Over and Out
Simon (Giantsitel)
Sunday, 26 December 2010
Cheap Computer for Sale
Really really really cheap computer(£220) - INCLUDES Win 7 Home edition!
Specs
Intel Celeron DUAL CORE E3400 2.6GHz
1GB DDR2 RAM (Upgradeable to 3gb for extra cost of £28)
500GB HDD (SATA)
DVD Writer
1GB DDR2 RAM (Upgradeable to 3gb for extra cost of £28)
500GB HDD (SATA)
DVD Writer
Genuine Win 7 Home Edition (Not installed..)
2,000 hits
Nearly made it to 2,000 hits! However with no actual followers that is pretty useless as no one is clearly 're-visiting'. How do I improve that I ask myself? Well for starters, I need to write about more interesting stuff and tell more people about the blog via facebook and twitter!
I am as such aiming to get to the 2k hits mark before the New Year begins, giving me only ~6 days to do so...This should be possible....
For Christmas I received 3 presents, a Top Gear DVD, a Jumper(from Tesco F & F!) and a tool kit (yes,..literally a tool case with a few useful tools in it - socket set, alan keys etc etc). I hope that you have all had a nice Christmas Day with your family at least!
Simon (Giantsitel)
I am as such aiming to get to the 2k hits mark before the New Year begins, giving me only ~6 days to do so...This should be possible....
For Christmas I received 3 presents, a Top Gear DVD, a Jumper(from Tesco F & F!) and a tool kit (yes,..literally a tool case with a few useful tools in it - socket set, alan keys etc etc). I hope that you have all had a nice Christmas Day with your family at least!
Simon (Giantsitel)
Friday, 24 December 2010
Christmas Is nearly Upon Us
Just finished all my Christmas Shopping, I don't think I have succeeded in buying a good present for anyone, but at least it is a nice gesture! All I have to do now is wrap them, write some cards and Hey Presto i will be done for the day!
Snow is finally melting a bit today, Very nice to see the Sun out for first day in 5/6 days? It's melting the snow on our house roof very quickly - leading to huge icicles hanging off the side!
Picture posted yesterday shows Chaos theorem in action, If you don't really know what I am talking about, have a play with a double pendulum on the site below, see if you can it to produce a 'non-linear'(or at least one that doesn't seem to repeat with pattern) graph.
http://www.myphysicslab.com/dbl_pendulum.html
Over and Out,
Giantsitel
Snow is finally melting a bit today, Very nice to see the Sun out for first day in 5/6 days? It's melting the snow on our house roof very quickly - leading to huge icicles hanging off the side!
Picture posted yesterday shows Chaos theorem in action, If you don't really know what I am talking about, have a play with a double pendulum on the site below, see if you can it to produce a 'non-linear'(or at least one that doesn't seem to repeat with pattern) graph.
http://www.myphysicslab.com/dbl_pendulum.html
Over and Out,
Giantsitel
Thursday, 23 December 2010
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Save money getting Xbox repaired
I myself haven't had this problem, I'm not quite lucky enough to own an Xbox 360( or the time to play on one in all fairness), however I have heard of several people who have had this problem and have been quoted ridiculous costs to get it repaired.
I stumbled today upon this site which seems to be perfect for those of you with Xbox 360 problems.
In their words: "Many Xbox problems can be easily solved at home, without costly repair. Our site reviews the common fixes, and helps gamers get back up and running quickly without weeks of downtime."
Several fixes can be found at this website, including :
Several fixes can be found at this website, including :
Sunday, 19 December 2010
Loving the Snow
Well you can't but love the snow when you have nothing else to look at or for the reason of being snowed in, not much else to do.
It has to be said, it was quite pretty as the sun began to set with a completely blue sky and everything else reflecting the golden red sun light. Especially being out in the country with the stark contrasting dark colours predominantly from the nearby trees. The combination creates a wonderful backdrop. If only I had managed to take a nice/decent picture - operating a camera in this temperature is surprisingly hard work when you have very numb fingers!
I do have many things to do, I could be doing various work for University, I could be trying to make some money online (and probably failing), I could be productive and do many other things. All in all, I did none of these, in fact, so far, I have nothing to say I have done other than to dig my dads car out and go get some basic shopping from our nearest supermarket! (It took nearly 2 hours but mostly spent clearing the drive).
I am aiming to do quite a bit of Oboe and Cor Anglais practice the next few days so that I have some stamina for the Carols by Candlelight service at church this week. As well as read/summarise some more of my lecture notes!
Out for now, may be an update after the Apprentice Final!
Giantsitel --(Simon Telford)
Saturday, 18 December 2010
Snow
Snow is falling all around me. Children playing, Having fun! It's the season of love and understanding. Merry Christmas, Everyone!
Now it is really really snowing quite hard here! It has been snowing for over 4 hours here and we have a good 4+ inches. My poor car is white over with a nice cosy blanket of snow! Christmas Rehearsals have all been cancelled for today, still aiming to be playing tomorrow morning at church - will see what we have in the late hours of today! At least this gives me plenty of time to do work...as if that will happen!
No real physics reference today! Other than I need to do some physics coursework and especially maths revision!
Will aim to add pictures later!
Simon
Now it is really really snowing quite hard here! It has been snowing for over 4 hours here and we have a good 4+ inches. My poor car is white over with a nice cosy blanket of snow! Christmas Rehearsals have all been cancelled for today, still aiming to be playing tomorrow morning at church - will see what we have in the late hours of today! At least this gives me plenty of time to do work...as if that will happen!
No real physics reference today! Other than I need to do some physics coursework and especially maths revision!
Will aim to add pictures later!
Simon
Monday, 13 December 2010
13/12/2010 - Chaos
It's nearly Christmas! As such, I had to endure a trip to Toys 'R' Us with my dad to buy some presents for his other 2 kids! What fun!
Physics time! Wow;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2E5oojoXjk
Chaotic pendulums all the way! How good would it look to have a smaller one of these on my desk. Well I am rather tempted! A chaotic pendulum, for instance, the Double pendulum, exhibits completely irregular swings that even after averaging out over a long period of time cannot be predicted. There is just no rationality to it. Watch the above video all the way through to see a very short example of such. The triple pendulum exhibits more unpredictability but tends to exhibit smoother motion (the 2 free arms tend to end up more in-sync with each other).
"Mathematically, chaos refers to a very specific kind of unpredictability: deterministic behaviour that is very sensitive to its initial conditions.[9] In other words, infinitesimal variations in initial conditions for a chaotic dynamic system lead to large variations in behaviour.
Physics time! Wow;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2E5oojoXjk
Chaotic pendulums all the way! How good would it look to have a smaller one of these on my desk. Well I am rather tempted! A chaotic pendulum, for instance, the Double pendulum, exhibits completely irregular swings that even after averaging out over a long period of time cannot be predicted. There is just no rationality to it. Watch the above video all the way through to see a very short example of such. The triple pendulum exhibits more unpredictability but tends to exhibit smoother motion (the 2 free arms tend to end up more in-sync with each other).
"Mathematically, chaos refers to a very specific kind of unpredictability: deterministic behaviour that is very sensitive to its initial conditions.[9] In other words, infinitesimal variations in initial conditions for a chaotic dynamic system lead to large variations in behaviour.
Chaotic systems consequently appear disordered and random. However, they are actually deterministic systems governed by physical or mathematical laws, and so are completely predictable given perfect knowledge of the initial conditions. In other words, a chaotic system will always exhibit the same behaviour when seeded with the same initial conditions - there is no inherent randomness in this regard.[10] However, such perfect knowledge is never attainable in real life; slight errors are intrinsic to any physical measurement. In a chaotic system, these slight errors will give rise to results which differ wildly from the correct result. A commonly used example is weather forecasting, which is only possible up to about a week ahead,[11] despite theoretically being perfectly possible at any level (ignoring the effects of the uncertainty principle)."
A good item from Wikipedia, an amazing book to read is James Gleicks: Chaos. Which covers every aspect of Chaos theorem and does a very good job at trying to explain it!
Over and Out
Simon( Giantsitel )
Sunday, 12 December 2010
The dawn of the new day
What a title, If only everything was quite so positive. It is definitely nice to be home. Just need to sort a few things out, like getting a new mouse for my laptop!
Trying to find ways to make some money this Christmas to help ease those debts! Failed to find a job in the summer and don't think I stand much more of a chance now. Do have plenty of things to do but an extra £20 or so will go quite a way towards the fuel! If you have any suggestion please feel free to comment.
As per previous post, If you have any computing problems, or are in the UK and looking to purchase a new computer I'm the person to talk to. I will happily build and set-up a computer for a small deposit (you don't have to pay the rest until you have seen it is all working as requested). I will source the components and build the computer to a price that will beat those high-street giants with ease!
On a physics note, watched the Channel 4 documentary 'Master of the Universe: Stephen Hawking'. If you haven't seen it yet(Originally shown 2008), I urge you to do so.Youtube link!
Stephen Hawking is a truly remarkable man and this shows some insight into his daily struggles. He can now only communnicate using his cheek muscles, but yet still up till 2009 still had a full work schedule teaching and lecturing. Can you imagine anyone better as your Physics Tutor? I certainly can't, then again my tutor Dr. Armour is an awesome guy :)
Over and out for now!
Simon
Trying to find ways to make some money this Christmas to help ease those debts! Failed to find a job in the summer and don't think I stand much more of a chance now. Do have plenty of things to do but an extra £20 or so will go quite a way towards the fuel! If you have any suggestion please feel free to comment.
As per previous post, If you have any computing problems, or are in the UK and looking to purchase a new computer I'm the person to talk to. I will happily build and set-up a computer for a small deposit (you don't have to pay the rest until you have seen it is all working as requested). I will source the components and build the computer to a price that will beat those high-street giants with ease!
On a physics note, watched the Channel 4 documentary 'Master of the Universe: Stephen Hawking'. If you haven't seen it yet(Originally shown 2008), I urge you to do so.Youtube link!
Stephen Hawking is a truly remarkable man and this shows some insight into his daily struggles. He can now only communnicate using his cheek muscles, but yet still up till 2009 still had a full work schedule teaching and lecturing. Can you imagine anyone better as your Physics Tutor? I certainly can't, then again my tutor Dr. Armour is an awesome guy :)
Over and out for now!
Simon
Saturday, 11 December 2010
Home for Christmas
I am now home till the beginning of January. I have brought quite a bit of work home but do have plenty of time to enjoy life at least.
I also now have a bit more freedom as I have my car re-insured and on the road so don't have to rely on buses to get everywhere! Bursary from Nottingham Uni went through successfully, and so have some money to last till the next portion of the Student loan goes through!
Simon
I also now have a bit more freedom as I have my car re-insured and on the road so don't have to rely on buses to get everywhere! Bursary from Nottingham Uni went through successfully, and so have some money to last till the next portion of the Student loan goes through!
Simon
Monday, 6 December 2010
University
After a very long busy term, its nearly over. Into the final week of lectures! Has been knackering! Unfortunately, tonnes to do before I can sit back down and relax over christmas. Those lucky Oxford undergraduates.
Currently working on a Coursework item : Newton to Einstein - waves on strings. Pure fun! Also had an amazingly confusing first lecture of the week on Special Relativity - good old Light travelling at the same speed whether the source is travelling close to the speed of light or not.
For instance, a ball that is thrown with a velocity vb, on a train with velocity vt has a total velocity of v=(vb+vt). However, for light being emitted from a train moving at velocity vt has just the velocity of v - i.e. Speed of light or C.
You try explaining that one at 11am on a monday to a bunch of first years!
Over and out for now!
Currently working on a Coursework item : Newton to Einstein - waves on strings. Pure fun! Also had an amazingly confusing first lecture of the week on Special Relativity - good old Light travelling at the same speed whether the source is travelling close to the speed of light or not.
For instance, a ball that is thrown with a velocity vb, on a train with velocity vt has a total velocity of v=(vb+vt). However, for light being emitted from a train moving at velocity vt has just the velocity of v - i.e. Speed of light or C.
You try explaining that one at 11am on a monday to a bunch of first years!
Over and out for now!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)