Entertainment for the Geeks...

Check out these wonderful videos...sure to please Electrical Geeks..

This one's about a 500KV line when opened on load...





This one's about how a transformer burns in the event of a short-circuit...

Talk of DC Machines!!

For all the difficulty in that goddamn subject called Electrical Machines, I think this video I got from metacafe gives a good feeling about it...

G-CON is the G-force control technology. The impact absorbing body structure of Honda cars is designed in response to the need to soften the impact of a collision from any direction.

To fight rear impact, the fuel tank has been placed beneath the front seats of the Honda City ZX - the safest area in the entire vehicle.

As a protection against front impact, Honda has used arch-shaped front side frames. This dramatically improves absorption of collision impact and helps to reduce deformation of the passenger compartment.

To withstand side impact, a floor cross member is located directly beneath the center pillar, without being offset.

That means the collision impact is largely absorbed by the floor. This helps protect the fuel tank and reduce passenger injuries.

With this post, I end my panegyrics of Honda's technologies (much to fish's relief...?)

The i-DSI engine..

Honda's intelligent Dual and Sequential Ignition (i-DSI) engine is the second i-Series engine, next to i-VTEC, that employs compact combustion chambers and two spark plugs per cylinder with individually controlled ignition timing for more rapid and complete combustion.

The purpose of the i-DSI engine is to achieve rapid and complete combustion. Narrower valve angles and other refinements have been employed to make the combustion chambers as compact as possible. The i-DSI engine employs an innovative twin spark plug system (two spark plugs per cylinder) for maximum combustion efficiency. In addition, the combustion chamber has been engineered to promote greater swirl of the air-fuel mixture.

The intake manifold shape has also been shaped and its length optimized. This results in optimizing the combustion process as a means of achieving high performance, high fuel economy and low toxic emissions.

Other refinements include world-leading friction reduction technology utilizing molybdenum-impregnated piston skirts, a rear-port exhaust system and an oblique-feed catalytic converter. And though the 1497 cc long-stroke engine has two valves per cylinder and only a single overhead camshaft, its output is a respectable 77Bhp at 5000 rpm with 125 Nm of torque peaking at a low 2700 rpm.

A little more auto-gyan...

CVT: The continuously variable transmission (CVT) is a transmission in which the ratio of the rotational speeds of two shafts, as the input shaft and output shaft of a vehicle or other machine, can be varied continuously within a given range, providing an infinite number of possible ratios. This can be achieved in a number of ways; after all, the concept of CVTs is not new to mankind..Da Vinci was the first one to design a CVT system. A few types of CVTs in use are:

Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT)

A specific type of CVT is the infinitely variable transmission (IVT), which has an infinite range of input/output speed ratios in addition to its infinite number of possible ratios; this qualification for the IVT implies that its range of ratios includes a zero output/input speed ratio that can be continuously approached from a defined "higher" ratio. A zero output speed with a finite input speed implies an infinite input-to-output speed ratio, which can be continuously approached from a given finite input value with an IVT. Low gears are a reference to low ratios of output speed to input speed. This ratio is taken to the extreme with IVTs, resulting in a "neutral", or non-driving "low" gear limit, in which the output speed is zero, although, unlike neutral in a normal automotive transmission, the output torque may be non-zero: the output shaft is rigidly fixed at zero speed rather than being freely rotating. Most continuously variable transmissions are not infinitely variable.

Most IVTs result from the combination of a CVT with an epicyclic gear system (which is also known as a planetary gear system, and is termed a power split device in this applicaton) which enforces an output shaft rotation speed which is equal to the difference between two other speeds (perhaps multiplied by some gear ratio, depending on implementation). If these two other speeds are the input and output of a CVT, there can be a setting of the CVT that results in an output speed of zero. The maximum output/input ratio can be chosen from infinite practical possibilities through selection of additional input or output gear, pulley or sprocket sizes without affecting the zero output or the continuity of the whole system. The IVT is always engaged, even during its zero output adjustment.

The term "infinitely variable transmission" does not imply reverse direction, disengagement, automatic operation, or any other quality except ratio selectability within a continuous range of input/output ratios from a defined minimum to an undefined, "infinite" maximum. This means continuous range from a defined output/input to zero output/input ratio.

IVTs can in some implementations offer better efficiency when compared to other CVTs as in the preferred range of operation, most of the power flows through the planetary gear system and not the controlling CVT. Torque transmission capability can also be increased. There's also possibility to stage power splits for further increase in efficiency, torque transmission capability and better maintenance of efficiency of a wide gear ratio range.

Ratcheting CVT

The Ratcheting CVT is a Transmission that relies on static friction and is based on a set of elements that successively become engaged and then disengaged between the driving system and the driven system, often using oscillating or indexing motion in conjunction with one-way clutches or ratchets that rectify and sum only "forward" motion. The transmission ratio is adjusted by changing linkage geometry within the oscillating elements, so that the summed maximum linkage speed is adjusted, even when the average linkage speed remains constant. Power is transferred from input to output only when the clutch or ratchet is engaged, and therefore when it is locked into a static friction mode where the driving & driven rotating surfaces momentarily rotate together without slippage.

These CVTs can transfer substantial torque because their static friction actually increases relative to torque throughput, so slippage is impossible in properly designed systems. Efficiency is generally high because most of the dynamic friction is caused by very slight transitional clutch speed changes. The drawback to ratcheting CVTs is vibration caused by the successive transition in speed required to accelerate the element which must supplant the previously operating & decelerating, power transmitting element. An Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT) that is based on a Ratcheting CVT and subtraction of one speed from another will greatly amplify the vibration as the IVT output/input ratio approaches zero.

Ratcheting CVTs are distinguished from Variable Diameter Pulleys (VDPs) and Roller-based CVTs by being static friction-based devices, as opposed to being dynamic friction-based devices that waste significant energy through slippage of twisting surfaces.

Variable-diameter pulley (VDP) or Reeves Drive

In this system, there are two V-belt pulleys that are split perpendicular to their axes of rotation, with a V-belt running between them. The gear ratio is changed by moving the two sections of one pulley closer together and the two sections of the other pulley farther apart. Due to the V-shaped cross section of the belt, this causes the belt to ride higher on one pulley and lower on the other. Doing this changes the effective diameters of the pulleys, which changes the overall gear ratio. The distance between the pulleys does not change, and neither does the length of the belt, so changing the gear ratio means both pulleys must be adjusted (one bigger, the other smaller) simultaneously to maintain the proper amount of tension on the belt.

Roller-based CVT

Consider two almost-conical parts, point to point, with the sides dished such that the two parts could fill the central hole of a torus. One part is the input, and the other part is the output (they do not quite touch). Power is transferred from one side to the other by one or more rollers. When the roller's axis is perpendicular to the axis of the almost-conical parts, it contacts the almost-conical parts at same-diameter locations and thus gives a 1:1 gear ratio. The roller can be moved along the axis of the almost-conical parts, changing angle as needed to maintain contact. This will cause the roller to contact the almost-conical parts at varying and distinct diameters, giving a gear ratio of something other than 1:1. Systems may be partial or full toroidal. Full toroidal systems are the most efficient design while partial toroidals may still require a torque converter (e.g., Jatco "Extroid"), and hence lose efficiency.

Hydrostatic CVTs

Hydrostatic transmissions use a variable displacement pump and a hydraulic motor. All power is transmitted by hydraulic fluid. These types can generally transmit more torque, but can be sensitive to contamination. Some designs are also very expensive. However, they have the advantage that the hydraulic motor can be mounted directly to the wheel hub, allowing a more flexible suspension system and eliminating efficiency losses from friction in the drive shaft and differential components. This type of transmission is relatively easy to use because all forward and reverse speeds can be accessed using a single lever.

Versatile Manufacturing first introduced hydrostatic drive in 400 swathers. Hydrostatic quickly became popular with swather and combines. Attempts to use hydrostatic in tractors however were less successful. IH hydro suffered from exxcessive cabin noise and many operators complained of not being able to rest their feet on the cab floor due to heat from the pump.

This type of transmission has been effectively applied to a variety of inexpensive and expensive versions of ridden lawn mowers and garden tractors. Many versions of riding lawn mowers and garden tractors propelled by a hydrostatic transmission are capable of pulling a reverse tine tiller and even a single bladed plow. Some heavy equipment may also be propelled by a hydrostatic transmission; e.g. agricultural machinery including foragers combines and some tractors. However, Hydrostats are usually not used for extended duration high torque applications due the heat that is generated by the flowing oil.

Next post, I'll try writing on the i-DSI engine...

Diwali

I guess doing all that research for finding out the other features about The Civic's engineering will take quite some time...meanwhile, lemme mention about something more happening in my life..



At this point I'm in Chennai with all my relatives and having a great time with them. It so happened that for the first time since my brother's entry in the family(that's well over two decades), we thought of taking a break from our breathless lives in Mumbai to spend our favourite festival with our relatives our here. So the festival of lights was pretty different and beautiful this time thanks to the company around me.



The best and simplest definition of the festival is the one that's known to the kids: eat a lot of sweets and blow really loud crackers. Being in a place which is pretty much orthodox, the effects were profound. At our paternal house we were made to eat all the sweets that we've missed all these years. That would have been enough to get me diabetic in a day. We woke up on the festival day to the sounds of really loud crackers that gave me the feeling of being in Basra or Tikrit. When I was having my bath I could see small pebbles move around due to the impetus provided by the explosives; fun, nonetheless. But it ceased to be fun when one of those confounded crackers hit my granny right in the eye. That gave all of us a really tough time. but thankfully, it was short lived. Meanwhile, my aunts saw to it that I gained a few pounds eating their elaborate meals.



It so happened that BigB had to leave in a short while, so the day I'd been to see him off, I joined my uncle's family and had great fun there. Slept everyday for about 9-10 hours from about 3:30 in the morning to 12:00 in the noon. I woke up to the greetings of "good afternoon!" rather than "good morning!". The breakfast was the lunch. Saw a number of movies(will write about them shortly). Currently my movie plans stand interrupted owing to those willing to chat rather than see the mindless noise of gunshots. Anyways, the sad thing is that today's my last day here, but it's not very painful coz it's home sweet home back in Mumbai when I land there on monday morning. Looking forward to it!

One thing I really love...

Yeah..The Honda Civic...
This car is something that's found in every lane in Vashi(so I guess I'm lucky to have my college there!). Anyways...whats maddening are the features that this machine boasts of...
It's gonna take me a good while to write about the features. For a start, lets start with the i-VTEC engine. What the heck does that mean? Read on: (courtesy: Wikipedia)

VTEC refers to Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control. What is it? In the regular four-stroke automobile engine, the intake and exhaust valves are actuated by lobes on a camshaft. The shape of the lobes determines the timing, lift and duration of each valve. Timing refers to an angle measurement of when a valve is opened or closed with respect to the piston position (TDC or BDC). Lift refers to how much the valve is opened. Duration refers to how long the valve is kept open. Due to the behavior of the working fluid (air and fuel mixture) before and after combustion, which have physical limitations on their flow, as well as their interaction with the ignition spark, the optimal valve timing, lift and duration settings under low RPM engine operations are very different from those under high RPM. Optimal low RPM valve timing, lift and duration settings would result in insufficient filling of the cylinder with fuel and air at high RPM, thus greatly limiting engine power output. Conversely, optimal high RPM valve timing, lift and duration settings would result in very rough low RPM operation and difficult idling. The ideal engine would have fully variable valve timing, lift and duration, in which the valves would always open at exactly the right point, lift high enough and stay open just the right amount of time for the engine speed in use.

VTEC was initially designed to increase the power output of an engine to 100 ps/liter or more while maintaining practicality for use in mass production vehicles. Some later variations of the system were designed solely to provide improvements in fuel efficiency, or increased power output as well as improved fuel efficiency.

In practice, a fully variable valve timing engine is difficult to design and implement.

The opposite approach to variable timing is to produce a camshaft which is better suited to high RPM operation. This approach means that the vehicle will run very poorly at low RPM (where most automobiles spend much of their time) and much better at high RPM. VTEC is the result of an effort to marry high RPM performance with low RPM stability.

Additionally, Japan has a tax on engine displacement, requiring Japanese auto manufacturers to make higher-performing engines with lower displacement. In cars such as the Toyota Supra and Nissan 300ZX, this was accomplished with a turbocharger. In the case of the Mazda RX-7 and RX-8, a rotary engine was used. VTEC serves as yet another method to derive very high specific output from lower displacement motors.

DOHC VTEC

Honda's VTEC system is a simple method of endowing the engine with multiple camshaft profiles optimized for low and high RPM operations. Instead of one cam lobe actuating each valve, there are two: one optimized for low-RPM stability & fuel efficiency; the other designed to maximize high-RPM power output. Switching between the two cam lobes is controlled by the ECU which takes account of engine oil pressure, engine temperature, vehicle speed, engine speed and throttle position. Using these inputs, the ECU is programmed to switch from the low lift to the high lift cam lobes when the conditions mean that engine output will be improved. At the switch point a solenoid is actuated which allows oil pressure from a spool valve to operate a locking pin which binds the high RPM cam follower to the low rpm ones. From this point on, the poppet valve opens and closes according to the high-lift profile, which opens the valve further and for a longer time. The switch-over point is variable, between a minimum and maximum point, and is determined by engine load; the switch back from high to low rpm cams is set to occur at a lower engine speed than the up-switch, to avoid surging if the engine is asked to operate continuously at or around the switch-over point. The DOHC VTEC system has high and low lift cam lobe profiles on both the intake and exhaust valve camshafts.

The VTEC system was originally introduced as a DOHC system in the 1989 Honda Integra and Civic CRX SiR models sold in Japan and Europe, which used a 160 bhp (119 kW) variant of the B16A engine. The US market saw the first VTEC system with the introduction of the 1990 Acura NSX, which used a DOHC VTEC V6 with 270 hp. DOHC VTEC engines soon appeared in other vehicles, such as the 1992 Acura Integra GS-R (B17 1.7 liter engine). And later, in the 1994 Honda Prelude VTEC (H22 2.2 liter engine) and Honda Del Sol VTEC (B16 1.6 liter engine).

Honda has also continued to develop other varieties and today offers several varieties of VTEC: iVTEC, iVTEC Hybrid and VTEC in the NSX and some Japanese domestic market cars.

SOHC VTEC

As popularity and marketing value of the VTEC system grew, Honda applied the system to SOHC engines, which shares a common camshaft for both intake and exhaust valves. The trade-off is that SOHC engines only benefit from the VTEC mechanism on the intake valves. This is because VTEC requires a third center rocker arm and cam lobe (for each intake and exhaust side), and in the SOHC engine, the spark plugs are situated between the two exhaust rocker arms, leaving no room for the VTEC rocker arm. Additionally, the center lobe on the camshaft can only be utilized by either the intake or the exhaust, limiting the VTEC feature to one side.

SOHC VTEC-E

Honda's next version of VTEC, VTEC-E, was used in a slightly different way; instead of optimizing performance at high RPM, it was used to increase efficiency at low RPM. At low RPM, one of the two intake valves is only allowed to open a very small amount, increasing the fuel/air atomization in the cylinder and thus allowing a leaner mixture to be used. As the engine's speed increases, both valves are needed to supply sufficient mixture. A sliding pin, which is pressured by oil, as in the regular VTEC, is used to connect both valves together and allows the full opening of the second valve.

CEM

DOHC VTEC-DI

Honda also had a demonstration engine back in end 1999 where a 1.4 liter DOHC Honda engine was equipped with a VTEC-DI system. This was Honda’s first demonstration of direct injection to the public. The engine was installed in a Honda Logo (the predecessor to the Honda Fit/Jazz) and made power and torque outputs of 107 hp at 6200 rpm and 133 Nm at 5000 rpm.

3-Stage VTEC

Honda also introduced a 3-stage VTEC system in select markets, which combines the features of both SOHC VTEC and SOHC VTEC-E. At low speeds, only one intake valve is used. At medium speeds, two are used. At high speeds, the engine switches to a high-speed cam profile as in regular VTEC. Thus, both low-speed economy and high-speed efficiency and power are improved. This engine is dubbed "D16Y5" in the US market, found in the 1996-2000 Civic HX.

i-VTEC

i-VTEC (intelligent-VTEC) introduced continuously variable camshaft phasing on the intake cam of DOHC VTEC engines. The technology first appeared on Honda's K-series four cylinder engine family in 2001 (2002 in the U.S.). Valve lift and duration are still limited to distinct low- and high-RPM profiles, but the intake camshaft is now capable of advancing between 25 and 50 degrees (depending upon engine configuration) during operation. Phase changes are implemented by a computer controlled, oil driven adjustable cam gear. Phasing is determined by a combination of engine load and rpm, ranging from fully retarded at idle to maximum advance at full throttle and low rpm. The effect is further optimization of torque output, especially at low and midrange RPM.

For the K-Series motors there are two different types of i-VTEC systems implemented. The first is for the performance motors like in the RSX Type S or the TSX and the other is for economy motors found in the CR-V or Accord. The performance i-VTEC system is basically the same as the DOHC VTEC system of the B16A's, both intake and exhaust have 3 cam lobes per cylinder. However the valvetrain has the added benefit of roller rockers and continuously variable intake cam timing. The economy i-VTEC is more like the SOHC VTEC-E in that the intake cam has only two lobes, one very small and one larger, as well as no VTEC on the exhaust cam. The two types of motor are easily distinguishable by the factory rated power output: the performance motors make around 200 hp or more in stock form and the economy motors do not make much more than 160 hp from the factory.

In 2004, Honda introduced an i-VTEC V6 (an update of the venerable J-series), but in this case, i-VTEC had nothing to do with cam phasing. Instead, i-VTEC referred to Honda's cylinder deactivation technology which closes the valves on one bank of (3) cylinders during light load and low speed (below 80 mph) operation. The technology was originally introduced to the US on the Honda Odyssey Mini Van, and can now be found on the Honda Accord Hybrid and the 2006 Honda Pilot.

An additional version of i-VTEC was introduced on the 2006 Honda Civic's R-series four cylinder SOHC engines. This implementation uses the so-called "economy cams" on one of the two intake valves of each cylinder. The "economy cams" are designed to delay the closure of the intake valve they act upon, and are activated at low rpms and under light loads. When the "economy cams" are activated, one of the two intake valves in each cylinder closes well after the piston has started moving upwards in the compression stroke. That way, a part of the mixture that has entered the combustion chamber is forced out again, into the intake manifold. That way, the engine "emulates" a lower displacement than its actual one (its operation is also similar to an Atkinson cycle engine, with uneven compression and combustion strokes), which reduces fuel consumption and increases its efficiency. During the operation with the "economy cams", the (by-wire) throttle butterfly is kept fully open, in order to reduce pumping losses. According to Honda, this measure alone can reduce pumping losses by 16%. In higher rpms and under heavier loads, the engine switches back into its "normal cams", and it operates like a regular 4 stroke Otto cycle engine. This implementation of i-VTEC was initially introduced in the R18A1 engine found under the bonnet of the 8th generation Civic, with a displacement of 1,8lt and an output of 140Ps. Recently, another variant was released, the 2-litre R20A2 with an output of 150Ps, which powers the EUDM version of the all-new CRV

With the continued introduction of vastly different i-VTEC systems, one may assume that the term is now a catch-all for creative valve control technologies from Honda.

i-VTEC I

Honda’s i-VTEC I Engine is a variant of the K-series DOHC engine family featuring gasoline direct injection. It made its debut in the previous generation 2004 Honda Stream 7-seater MPV in Japan, but the current Stream does not use this engine anymore, instead using a 2.0 liter version of the R-series i-VTEC SOHC engine.

The engine featured the ability to use ultra-lean air-fuel mixtures of about 65:1, much leaner compared to the usual direct injection engine 40:1 ratio, and of course so much more leaner than the stoichiometric air-fuel mixture of 14.7:1 - this saves fuel. Fuel consumption dropped to 15km per liter. Power ratings remain the same at about 155 horsepower.

I guess that bunch of engineers at Honda might be geniuses! The next feature is the G-Con technology that was employed to shape the body....next post!

If Only

Today, in particular was a very busy day...probably the busiest day of the entire semester. I had a wonderful experience of what happens to you when you sit on the floor continuously for say five hours and write some stuff. It was a greatly exhilarating feeling....I couldn't walk for about five minutes!!!! But, all this pain was paid-off as I did accomplish what I had to; besides, the college foyer wasn't dry...it was bubbling with some good specimens..NIFT was seated right opposite to me...PLA was there in a corner, but later came around..and so on.....

I happened to watch another romantic movie, If Only. Its a 2004 movie that stars Jennifer Love Hewitt as Samantha Andrews, a young student of music who is visiting from the United States and Paul Nichols as Ian Wyndham. One fine day, Ian has a really bad nightmare at the end of which Samantha has a near break-up fight with him and she dies. Surprisingly, the next morning, all the events are happening in the same sequence, with a very little difference from those of Ian's nightmare. In the end, Ian realizes that the inevitable cannot be changed and seeks to let Samantha know of what he feels for her and all that romance. The romance part is sensible because it looks natural. The entire movie is shot in London, with a few picturesque scenes in the outskirts. One good role was that of the arcane cab driver (Tom Wilkinson). His role is strong as he helps Ian in realizing the essence of living. Worth a watch..

Fish's Quest

Ok...I actually wanted to write something about the Goat(in continuation with my previous post) but, I happened to take a look at Fish's introspective questions. Given his usual helplessness, this is yet another attempt at helping him..Fish, your answers are:

1. You are a jerk who is present where you are, at the time when you're required to be, with all the necessary things you're supposed to have and expected to do the right thing. What's the right thing to do? That's for you to figure it out!!
2. The same applies to me as well!
3. This question's answer will fetch us more than what the Reimann Hypothesis solution would do...so forget it.
4. I guess you're supposed to know that!!
5. You like them because they remind you of something that you recently came into possession of!! (When you bunked the lectures!!)
6. That's because you've understood neither of them.
7. Because, when you start applying formulae like 3*3=6 and 3+3=9, you forget almost everything that you learned from your kindergarten days. That also means you've forgotten how to read!! On a serious note, you've barely had time dude!
8.Because that's how it's supposed to be..
9. Because that's the first step to a better future for you. Remember:
"The Wisdom Of The Backbencher Be That Of The Gods!"-Madman
10.Yes! since no one's all 100% smart and no one's all dumb!
11. Don't doubt that! Even you know that beauty is deeper than the skin..
12./13. I guess you're supposed to know those answers..
14./15./16. You're suffering from the S-syndrome.
17. Everyone has an obsession..you have it in guitars..
18. Certainly not!
19. "Everything that has a beginning has an end"-The Oracle, from The Matrix Revolutions.
20. So that you get a written form of all these answers which otherwise you'd get orally from me in the college. Ponder on these if you care to get deeper.

My question: Who are the people you're referring to in the 2nd and 3rd paragraphs of what you've written beneath the questions?

I hope you got you're answers and you "did the needful".

Friends

This post is dedicated to a few of my friends, most of them are from the Information Technology branch at our Institute. Today, I don't know why, I'm feeling the brief loss of communication with these people very much. May be it's because I had one of my rare thirty-second-talks with the Invisible Woman, or more so because I met Prat and didn't join him for occasional our bus ride homeward. Anyways, this class of about 70 students(?) I know is filled with lots of talent representing young India!! Some really impressive ones are:

Prat: One of my closest friends ever since I set my feet in this institution. Prat and Mr.K have many similar features (like football). Prat's specialty is that he doesn't need to strain much with anything to study. I remember, in our first years, instead of using the evening time like how most of us do, Prat used the early morning, especially the time from three to six. What most people achieve throughout the evening, is done by this fellow in just three hours flat! And he does get away with beautiful scores. Thats the academic part of him. He's crazy about football and his game console. I've always observed something novel in what he says, not the stuff that every Tom,Dick and Harry would tell you. And yeah, he's cut out for pursuing an MBA degree ahead. I hope that's from IIMA, because anything other than that would not fit him. Every vacation, I spend some real good time with him, watching the latest releases. It's just sad on the part of life that there barely is any time to be spent with people other than your classmates!

Metal: One fine lady...a person who, I feel, intimidates the small-timers by her wonderful brain. Metal happens to be the only person I knew before entering the college. She's extremely fond of debating and considers me to be a loser in that game ever since we lost a competition in our first year! ;) Nonetheless, she's a person for whom I have a deep respect. She too, is a cut above the rest. Not at all the omnipresent social-butterfly, this semester she has been even more difficult to catch..and that earned her the new name. She's nuts when it comes to reading and writing. Fish told me once that she used to write for some big shot magazine(unfortunately, I don't remember which one), which is evident going by the way she writes articles.

George of the Jungle: One of my "brothers"; we schooled from the sister branches of the same institute. Another football fan, and Prat like guy. would spend least time with books and get away with some of the best scores. He was the first K.V. guy I met here; and very easily identifiable thanks to his Delhiite accent. "Brothers" do bond very fast, and so did George. I'd love to spend one beautiful evening with the entire gang at Gupta's!

Bandu: I'd rather term him the Dark Horse, coz he always knows everything, and teaches everything to the kids, and yet gets scores that he should not. He got hitched a while back, with the Baby Elephant; nice couple there. Bandu has a wonderful knack of cracking weird jokes. HL was the result of one of those. His antics are always worth watching, like the fitting workshop comedies!! Has Grey matter meant for programming. Wonder what his plans are...

For the time being, lemme stop here..will list more heroes ahead...

The Illusionist

My heartiest thanks to Abhilash, my brother's colleague, who's helped us with some real fine movies from his IITK database. Although he did give some dumb ones like Serendipity and Love Actually, this one was really different. So this one is about the 2006 movie, The Illusionist. I must say, this movie was brilliant; dunno why it didn't make it great here. The movie is set in 19th Century Vienna, and the set up beautifully resembles it.

Eisenheim the illusionist(Edward Norton) is a famous magician whose tricks are so perfect that it becomes almost impossible to discover the truth behind them. The way they're shown in the movie is flawless. He's into this ever since as a teenager when he saw a traveling magician. During his younger days, by virtue of his obsession with magic tricks, he develops a friendship with the young Sophie who is the Duchess von Tuschen(Jessica Beil). Although prohibited to meet each other on account of her high rank, the two sneak out to a hide-out in the woods. Eisenheim plans to travel to China to learn more tricks. One day, they're caught by the Duchess's castle guards(presumably under her family's directions) and separated once and for all.

Eisenheim leaves his home and travels far and wide and returns to Vienna after 15 years, now as a professional magician who has an uncanny ability to perform tricks. One day, the crown prince Leopold, along with his partner Sophie attends Eisenheim's show.

Eisenheim and Sophie, having recognized each other, meet privately and finally consummate their love. After humiliating the Crown Prince during a private show, Eisenheim finds his hit performance shut out of Vienna. He and Sophie plan to flee the Empire together; but first, Sophie points out, something must be done to stop Leopold, who, she reveals, is planning a coup d'etat to usurp the Crown from his aging father, the Emperor of Austria, while using his engagement to her to win the Hungarian half of the Empire as well.

Leopold finds out from Uhl(the chief inspector), who was following the couple, that Sophie has met with Eisenheim. While drunk, Leopold confronts Sophie and accuses her of being a whore. She tells him that she will not marry him or have anything to do with his plan. When she attempts to leave, he murders her in the stables with a sword-cut across her neck. Unfortunately, Leopold's Royal status makes any accusations against him unthinkable, despite an existing belief among the people that Leopold has murdered a woman in the past. As Eisenheim plunges into despair and the citizens of Vienna begin to suspect Leopold of Sophie's murder, Uhl observes Eisenheim's actions more closely on behalf of Leopold.

Wracked with grief, Eisenheim prepares a new kind of magic show, using mysterious equipment and Chinese stagehands. Eisenheim purchases a run-down theater and opens a new performance. During his show, Eisenheim apparently summons spirits, leading many to believe that he possesses supernatural powers.

Leopold decides to attend one of Eisenheim's shows in disguise. During this show, Eisenheim summons the spirit of Sophie who says someone in the theater murdered her, panicking Leopold. Uhl pleads with Eisenheim to stop, but Eisenheim refuses; he is bent on avenging Sophie and destroying the Crown Prince. Finally, Leopold orders Eisenheim's arrest, but when Uhl tries to arrest him during a live show, Eisenheim's body fades and disappears, implying that he did not perform the show as a corporeal human being that night but, rather, as yet another illusion.

Inspector Uhl first searchs for Eisenheim at his house. There he finds a folio labeled "Orange Tree". Thinking he will find the solution to one of the magician's most famous tricks, he opens it to find empty pages except for a scrap of parchment showing how to open the locket Eisenheim had given Sophie when they were young.

At this point, we return to the first scene of the movie. Uhl reveals to Leopold that he has found evidence which links the Crown Prince to Sophie's murder: the jewel from the prince's sword and Sophie's locket that Eisenheim gave her when they were children. After ordering, then begging Uhl to keep silent, Leopold discovers that Uhl has already informed the Emperor and the General Staff of Leopold's conspiracy to usurp the Austro-Hungarian throne. As the Army arrives at his Palace to arrest him, Leopold shoots himself in despair after sadly reflecting on the state of the Empire's corrupt government.

In the next scene, Uhl is shown leaving the Imperial Palace. After he takes a few steps, a boy runs up to hand him a folio labeled "Orange Tree" – the name of one of Eisenheim's illusions which had intrigued Uhl – and unlike before, it is filled with plans detailing a geared mechanism to make the tree "grow". Uhl demands to know where the child obtained the folio and is told that Eisenheim had given it to him. Uhl spots Eisenheim wearing a disguise and follows him to the train station. During his chase, Uhl begins to put all the pieces together, shown in a montage. He realizes that Sophie's murder was in fact an illusion created by Eisenheim in order to escape with his beloved and to bring down Leopold. Meanwhile, Eisenheim makes his way to the country, where Sophie awaits him.

The twist at the end of the movie is pretty impressive; so is the performance by the actors. The movie succeeds well in re-creating the atmosphere of the 19th Century days. If you get to lay your hands on this one, don't miss it!

Chhoti Si Baat..

Here's one comedy really worth watching for...Although this wasn't the first time I was watching this movie, doing so after about six years was really worth it..At once it made me realize how much my perception has changed through time and how great a few of the classics have been....

The movie is from 1975, so the entire movie is in the Bombay of the '70s- a truly beautiful place to have lived in..
The movie revolves around a truly hopeless character, Arun(Amol Palekar), a great beauty, Prabha(Vidya Sinha), Arun's brash, pompous rival, Nagesh(Asrani) and Col. JNW Singh (Ashok Kumar). Right from the beginning, the movie displays a level of comedy that is mature and sensible; in simple words, far above the crap that is churned out of bollywood these days..
Arun is in deep love with prabha, from the first time he sees her at the bus stop. In an attempt to make his moves, he follows her everyday till her workplace, keeps a good eye for her on almost everything she does. Prabha is one smart woman who has the perfect idea of what arun is doing. But she just enjoys watching him do his antics and waits for his first move...
One fine day, they do get to talking and develop an acquaintance. So the first step having moved to, Arun seems happy, but then enters Nagesh, who makes it difficult for Arun to even get Prabha's attention to him. In need of help, Arun turns to Col. Julius Nagendranath Wilfred Singh who helps the helpless ones in love. His interaction with JNW favours Arun very much and now a new, confident arun returns to woo Prabha.
The movie has some of the most pleasant songs of the '70s. The comic scenes are some of the best. Notable ones are Arun's daily routine, his day dreams and his lessons with JNW. Prabha demonstrates a brilliant example of how beauty is timeless. The '70s Bombay is a true marvel; BEST buses, the areas around V.T. and Mantralaya..It proves to be the Kohinoor for the nostalgic.

TATA Power

I guess I'm strangely lucky this week...although the pile of work has reached the neck, I'm spending some time here. Today we had an industrial visit to a TATA Power generating plant and boy!!! was it great! this one was better than our last visit, which was to the nuclear reactor at Tarapur. So..her goes..

It wasn't difficult getting there; a simple bus ride from the college to Chembur and then another one to Mahol. Mahol happens to be a truly vast industrial area...en route to the plant we saw many other industries, most of them being petroleum refineries. We were guided around the plant by a pretty nice guy (Mr.N) who had a sound knowledge of power systems; after all, he had spent ten years there! The plant has been in the power scenario of Mumbai for over 60 years and has been a pioneer in a number of advances in the generation and transmission sector; they were the first to have a 500 MW plant in the country, that too, with an efficiency of about 38.5%(thermal). They're having one of the most efficient thermal plants in the country, a 120 MW with an efficiency of 50%. They've also been the first to have three-phase four conductor transmission towers..and they're still going on pretty well.

We began with a presentation about the plant; that's from where I got all the above mentioned stuff. This was followed by a trip to the photo gallery where the entire history of the plant was put in pictures, right from the first newspaper article about the TATAs entering into the power sector to the installation pictures of the turbine and generator room and all. Mr.N took turns explaining the models of the plants to batches of students. The best part came when we were taken to the actual control rooms. The real-time monitoring of the plant by SCADA systems was great, so was a screen showing the boiler internals. Most of the controls were almost parallel to what we saw at Tarapur; screens showing the temperature at various points of the boiler, the monitoring of the transformers, cables and what not!

Something that I can only describe as 'better than the best' was peeping inside the boiler to get a glimpse of the actual heart of the reactor-a huge sun-like ball of fire (this is were tis IV took the lead over the previous one). The small window we peeped through looked like Balrog's(from Lord Of the Rings) mouth; I later came to know that was at 1200 C!!. The plant has to maintain a negative pressure within the boiler; this basically means having a low pressure within the boiler so that the hot gases remain concentrated within a region. The water is circulated in helical pipes around the boiler so that a uniform heating is provided to the water within. The turbine section in itself was a marvel. This was the second turbine I've seen in my life; I don't have a clear picture of the first one I saw at Kadambarai a long time back.

The rest of the plant wasn't much exciting and the visit ended quickly. I think we missed some parts owing to some maintenance work. But the fascination of seeing equations come to reality, the glowing ball of fire, and many other things we saw aren't images that would get erased. Thank God that this company comes to our college; even if I were offered the job of a cleaner, I'd consider it...

Pheezix

Well..I've been lucky this week...for I've been able to spare a sum total of 45 minutes for blogging!!! Never mind my schedule, this post is dedicated to one of my teachers who takes pheezix(physics) for us...at the very beginning, this post is not to libel her in any way, but just make some harmless little fun of her, something, which I believe every student has done in his/her life at least once...

Delores Umbridge (name changed for obvious reasons) happened to enter our institute early this year; so she has already taught us something. This is to say that we aren't absolutely new to her or to her teaching methodologies. When she was teaching us the principles of Digital Logic, last semester, we all had the impression of her being a woman who was an exponent in singing lullabies...for she did get the entire class(of 74 students) to sleep on almost all her lectures. But, that was just a part of what she had in store for us..

This time, she entered the scene with physics in her hands and believe me...so far, hell has broken loose quite a number of times...how? check this out...(this might be a little dirty, but it's reality)

Did you know that shit can have charge? that it can be a very good conductor and have the corresponding electric field and potential?? By the way, we must've been the first to calculate the electric field due to infinite shit..(if you haven't realized, she was referring to 'sheet' and not shit like how it sounds..)

Further, we were told that the distance of a point from the origin can also be negative..

Did you know that the dot product of two vectors can give us a vector as well?

Formulae, which took decades to shape up by brilliant minds, are of your making in this class; depending on your aesthetic sense, you can create as many formulae as you want....I guess, everyone from Newton's time must have turned in his grave a good number of times!!!

The other day, she says to the four of us,"come to me with notebook and pain"!! Once again, if you haven't got what it means, she was referring to a pen....All the garbage of the same kind has been flooding our classroom ever since her session began.
But, on a serious note, D does take efforts, and that too, sincerely at that. She does a good amount of study for the class and, to be honest, she doesn't always spew crap..only once in every three lectures. The problem is, despite her commendable efforts, she fails to get the message across the students' brains; astonishingly, she does so in an effort to explain each word...

Now, with the semester fast moving to its end, I wonder what more is coming along the way........some thing like relativistic shit??..

Coolie..

blogging is pretty difficult these days...going by the way our beloved college's piling the work on us. Anyways..I did get some time to see one of the very good 'comedies' of the 1980s..Coolie. Yeah..you guessed it right, the Big B starer. May be director Manmohan Desai did plan a serious venture, but me and my family here found it pretty funny to see out of the world things happen. For example:

A falcon (Big B's pet) always enters the scene from god knows where to come and spoil the villain's plans. The poor fellow has no choice but to look around helplessly(despite having all weapons to take care of that damned bird) till it comes and does good with his eyes!!!(boy what an eye popper!!!!) My apologies on not posting any pictures here..will try for them in the next post...

The characters in the movie are all related to one another through some means...like some orphan child happens to be one principal character's son and so on..you know..the stereotypical Bollywood stuff..funny enough..

This happens to be one of those movies where the show the incredible punctuality of the reel cops!! and the fools, they arrive in time only to arrest the only hot chick in the movie!!! how dumb!!!

We return to our friend, The Falcon here who truly has a great life span, does every thing that a man can do...like pick up a gun, almost talk to Big B..spot the baddie all alone and pluck out his eyes, get out of a closed car on its own..and what not!!! it was a treat to watch such marvels!!! Now, I'm considering getting one myself...may be it'll help me finish my assignments off!!!!!

Besides the comic part of the movie...it had a strong sense of Communism and a strongly echoing message of communal harmony throughout...I guess some of those Left parties might've considered putting the falcon as their party mascot or something...dunno why the didn't do it...

At the end of the movie..Big B gets shot thrice in his chest from a revolver at point blank range and still the Godly Docs at Bollywood manage to save him..sounds some what parallel to a few of those Tamil movies where the lead hero can die only if he chooses to!!!! For example..in the recent movie Sivaji, Rajnikanth gets a decent shock from a 440 V supply, he's given a few shock pulses into his heart after a few hours and he zooms back to life with that heavily accented "cool" on his lips!!

At the end of the day...no matter how much unexpected be a movie's outcome...as long as its from bollywood...it still provides entertainment in some form...be it a serious story with comic outcomes or cheap comedies or those in which only the feminine element is worth watching..

The same paper continued....

Translational Halbach arrays:

A Halbach array is a special arrangement of permanent magnets which augments the magnetic field on one side of the device while cancelling the field to near zero on the other side. In the diagram, the magnetic field is enhanced on the bottom side and cancelled on the top side (a one-sided flux).

The pattern (on the front face; left, up, right, down) of permanent magnets can be continued indefinitely and have the same effect. It is roughly similar to many horseshoe magnets placed adjacent to each other, with alternating polarity.

Moving Halbach arrays over a conductor results in an induced current through the conductor and consequently an opposite magnetic field is created. At a particular threshold velocity the induced magnetic field is strong enough to cause levitation over a series of such conductors. These arrays can be placed in a stable configuration and then insatlled in the devices.

High frequency oscillating electromagnetic fields:

A conductor can be levitated over an electromagnet with a high frequency alternating current flowing through it, this causes most conductors to behave as diamagnets because of the eddy currents induced in it. As eddy cureents cause opposing fields to be genrated it results in repulsion of the conductor.

Applications:

Magnetic levitation transport is a form of transport system that suspends, guides and propels vehicles via electromagnetic force. Using this we can achieve great levels of riding comfort and also very high speeds- almost in the region of 500 to 600 kmph. This is mainly due to the fact that there is no friction encountered whatsoever as there is no mechanical contact between the vehicle and any other surface. Only resistance is provided by air which too can be minimised by proper aerodynamic design.

The high speed potential of maglevs could prove to be a major competiton for airline routes of shorter distances . The world's first commercial application of a high-speed maglev line is the IOS (initial operating segment) demonstration line in Shanghai that transports people 30 km (18.6 miles) to the airport in just 7 minutes 20 seconds (top speed of 431 km/h or 268 mph, average speed 250 km/h or 150 mph).

Maglev technology has very minor similarities with the existing train technology thus it has to be designed as separate transport systems.

Technology

As previously mentioned maglev technolgy works mainly on three types of supension, namely the EDS, EMS and Inductrack.

Inductrack

This technique has a load carrying ability that is dependent on the speed of the vehicle as it depends on currents induced in an electromagentic array by permanent magnets. The permanent magnets are installed in the cart horizontally for lift and vertically for stability. The array of conducting loops is in the track. The magnets and cart are unpowered except by the speed of the cart.

Inductrack uses Halbach arrays for stabilization. Halbach arrays are arrangements of permanent magnets that stabilize moving loops of wire without electronic stabilization. Halbach arrays were originally developed for beam guidance of particle accelerators. They also have a magnetic field on the track side only, thus reducing any potential effects on the passengers.

Lift and propulsion

Germany and Japan are foremost in maglev research, creating and testing several new designs. An example of one of the designs is: The train can be levitated by the repulsive and attractive forces of the like or unlike poles of the magnets rspectively. The train is propelled by a linear induction motor on the track or on the train or on both. Since a strong magnetic field is required, large coils are placed along the track which create the required field.

Stability

Since magnetic bearings using only electromagnets and permanent magnets are unstable, diamagnetic and superconducting magents are used for a stable levitation of the train. Some conventional designs electromagnets that have electronic stabilization. This system works by constantly measuring the bearing distance and adjusting the electromagnet current accordingly.

Magnet Weight

The weight of the large electromagnet is a major design issue. A very strong magnetic field is required to levitate a massive train, so conventional maglev research is using superconductor research for an efficient electromagnet.

Pros and cons of different technologies

Each implementation of the magnetic levitation principle for train-type travel involves advantages and disadvantages. Time will tell as to which principle, and whose implementation, wins out commercially.

Some good stuff..

Some time back I happened to write this technical paper for a competition at our institute; although it ain't any great piece of research, the topic is something which deeply interests me. So, here's some of it..

Magnetic Levitation also known as “Maglev” is the process or technique by which an object can be suspended or made to ‘hover’ over another object without any support barring magnetic fields. There is no physical contact between the objects. Gravity is defied using electromagnetic forces.

Stability

Very often, stability in magnetically levitated systems is difficult to attain; this is further proved by Earnshaw’s Theorem which states that a set of point charges cannot be maintained in a stationary equilibrium solely by the electrostatic interaction of the charges. A corollary of this theorem is that forces acting on an object in any combination of gravitational, electrostatic and magnetostatic fields will make the object’s position unstable. However this theorem can be violated by usage of diamagnetic materials and electronic stabilization.

Methods

There are many ways of obtaining magnetic levitation of which the commonly used ones are EMS - Servo stabilized electromagnetic suspension, EDS – Electrodynamic Suspension and Inductrack, they are used specially in Maglev Trains.

Mechanical Stabilization:

This is the simplest way to attain levitation; by using two magnets which are constrained along a single axis facing their like poles towards each other. This will act to levitate one magnet over the other.

Direct Diamagnetic Levitation:

A diamagnetic substance is one which repels a magnetic field. Earnshaw’s theorem is not applicable to diamagnets because their behaviour is completely opposite to that of normal magnets due to their low relative permeability. This method was predominantly used to levitate water and animals.

The condition for this is given by, B*dB/dZ = μ₀ρg/χ, where

χ - magnetic susceptibility

ρ - density of the material

g - local gravitational acceleration

μ₀ - permeability of free space

B - magnetic field

dB/dZ - rate of change of magnetic field along the vertical axis
Assuming ideal conditions along the z- direction of solenoid magnet:

Water levitates at: B*dB/dZ >> 1400 T^2/m

Graphite levitates at: B*dB/dZ >> 375 T^2/m

Superconductors and EDS:

Superconductors act as perfect diamagnets (μ_r = 0) due to Meissner Effect. For type-II Superconductors, the levitation is stabilized due to flux pinning. This method, also known as EDS(Electrodynamic Stabilization) is used in some magnetic levitation trains. In trains where the weight of the electromagnet is a major issue(a stronger field is required to levitate the huge mass of the train), superconductors are used for the electromagnet, since they can produce stronger fields for lesser weight.

Rotational Stabilization:

A magnet can be stabilized by spinning it in a radial field created by other magnets. Stability is guaranteed only as long as the rate of precession slows below a threshold value. This method was used in the Levitron toy.

Servo Stabilization EMS:

Dynamically stabilized levitation is achieved by measuring the position and path of the magnet being levitated and depending on the motion of the object adjusts the magnitude of the field. This is the principle which is responsible for the demonstrations of levitation where a electromagnet or a beam of light is used to record the position and velocity of the object and depending on the proximity of the object to the magnet the field is adjusted so as to maintain a constant distance. This is exactly what happens in the maglev trains where the locomotive wraps around the track and is pulled upward by magnets, which helps in maintaining a constant height above the track.

Rotating conductors beneath magnets:

This is based mainly on the concept of electromagnetism where a conductor when rotated in the field of another magnet has a current induced in it and this causes the magnet to be repelled, if the speed of rotation is sufficient enough it results in achieving levitation of the magnet.

(The main source for this paper was Wikipedia, I'd like to acknowledge it...)

Rest of the stuff in the next post....

Monsoon

"Hi Blogger! Yesterday we had the first rain showers throughout Mumbai. Initially when it began drizzling, I thought it was just another conventional rainfall in response to the overwhelming heat. But it wasn't so and it went on pouring for a few hours. As if offering a light and sound show, the rain god chose to hurl a few lightning bolts here as well, many of them being as bright as though it were the afternoon time! But despite all the fury the weather offers, there's some strange beauty in it; the scent of the rain drops falling on the hot earth, the wonderful sound of the thunder clap.."

"I really wanted a few of the bolts to have fallen on a few people I 'love so much'. I'm not sure if it really happened that way; it was highly improbable. Nonetheless, it was some entertainment mixed with terror. By the way, yesterday I got another confirmation of me being the greatest Silly-Mistake-Master of all time. Man! it feels like another feather in the cap!! There are many instances when I have been 'honoured' so far..Xth Boards, Xth boards, JEE 05 (this one was grand!), all the competitive exams to have followed it, all my engg exams so far....in short, all the better part of my academic career. I know I sound sarcastic, but I have no choice but to accept it. Solution? For silly mistakes? Now that's like asking a maestro when he's going to retire from the profession when he's at the very peak!!! Alright..to put it more seriously, yeah, there's a solution. I'll tell you more about it when I see it work. Till then, Bye!!"

Black Sunday

"Hi blogger...yup..you got it right...its a 'Black Sunday' for me.. the reasons?.."

"This morning, I got a terrible news..a very dear friend of mine, King, lost his mother. Disaster...that was the word running in my mind when I heard this...Disaster for King, for his relatives, and for us who knew who aunty was. We children are the ones who feel our mothers the most. And to lose her at a rather early age is not an experience one would like to bear."

"When I first heard this, a feeling of shock is what passed through me, as I recollected the first time when King had told me about this, "They haven't been able to determine the cause for the cancer. Mom's just taking her chemotherapy treatments now." Now at an absolute loss of words, I never felt a greater black-out than this one. The whole day I spent unable to do any work, just thinking about what had happened."

"I'm still not in the mood, to speak of all my feelings here. The best words I'd like to conclude this monologue with are..May her soul rest in peace!"

The Beginning - Hello Blogspot!

I'd like to start my blogging with a hello to Blogger, so "Hello Blogger!!". I liked this concept of blogging, which I was introduced to by Eldrich, a very close friend of mine. "Its just an online journal..write anything you like." that's what he said when I asked him on what to write here.
I also liked Pranav's idea of blogging..he writes brilliantly, especially when it comes to football. So, influenced by two close friends, I began my bloggerization!!

I don't have a great idea on how to begin with for the first post, but I suppose starting with me would be just fine. I'm very much of what I chose to write in my profile; simple in life, good in nature, weird in thinking and helpless about my future. These points, however, are something that all of my classmates share with me. I'm not very creative with my writing; I say this because I know a great number of people who can write far better than what I do. Two good examples are Elda and Pranav themselves. Of course, the list of the other people is big, but never mind them. I would like to be criticized for my mistakes by these two guys. Besides my mediocre writing, I'm not a guy who's deeply into sports, I'm pretty fond of books..especially classics. Oh yeah, not to forget philately and coins which have been my favourites since infancy! All these apart, I and Elda share a great common interest which is well detested by our other pals..I don't think naming it here is a must, for the people at our place would stop peeping here!

I put the title 'The Grey Wolf Speaks' without any specific reason. I just like the name Grey Wolf; a character in one of the innumerable Russian stories I read, 'The Tales Of Tsarevich Ivan and Grey Wolf'. Of course, this doesn't mean I'm Grey Wolf opening my mind out here..it's just for namesake. Talk of opening your ideas..I'm short of them these days..thanks to the proximity of the exams..but meeting the gang will give me few good ones...So my dear blogger, I'll see you again in a short while..till then, bye!