Science & Technology Hobbies

The Kelvin scale of measuring heat has a few distinct advantages over other scales. Learn about the advantages of using the Kelvin scale with help from a high school math tutor and teacher in this…

RSS is an file extension from XML programming. The file is designed to share news headlines and other recent content on the Web. Many blogs use RSS feeds to publish content syndicated from other…

Almost universally speaking, a burning smell is bad news, including when that smell comes from any part of your computer. Burning occurs due to high temperatures, which are also bad for your…

The circuit board on a Goodman home furnace lies at the system’s center. It performs the same functions as circuit boards in other gas furnaces, including starting the motor or closing the…

Modern air conditioning units are equipped with dual fuel circuit boards to deliver cold or warm air. They run on both gas and electric current. Gas furnaces that function as a heat source during the…

Interwise is a video cassette recorder that connects to the TV via a coaxial or RCA cable. Although Interwise was designed to be connected to a TV, you can connect it to other devices, such as a…

The 1N4148 is a general-purpose signal diode having a maximum reverse voltage of 100 and forward current of 300 milliamps. The designation 1N4148 is an industry-standard part number from the Joint…

A DIM file is a raw disk image containing an exact, sector-by-sector copy of a single partition or disk. DIM is not a widely used format, so if you have a DIM image, you must consider converting it to…

Digital Light Projection televisions are normally illuminated using a high-pressure lamp or light emitting diode cluster. A third option in the mix are lasers. These televisions produce more colors,…

Computer hardware functions as a conductor of electricity, sending signals across the motherboard of the computer to different functioning parts. These charges are transformed and modified during the…

Use modules included with the Python command line interpreter program when you wish to optimize Python code with pre-compiled “PYC” files. Python source code files typically include a…

A differential amplifier is an electronic circuit that amplifies the difference between two voltage signals typically from low-level to line-level. Line-level is the signal strength needed to send…

Your computer's central processing unit naturally generates heat as it operates. The more powerful the processor, the more heat it creates. Your desktop tower or laptop case is designed to vent this…

Digital embroidery machines make monogramming, embroidering logos and decorating fabric objects faster and simpler than embroidering by hand. These machines aren't standardized, however. Most brands…

The alternator is driven by a serpentine or accessory belt that is connected to the crankshaft pulley. The alternator's job is solely to generate electricity to power the vehicle's electronics and…

Mixcraft 4 is an audio mixing application that uses a file format called MX4 to store uncompressed audio. This application allows you to convert MX4 files into the MP3, OGG, WMA and WAV audio formats.…

In Erdas Imagine, IMG is the default file format and is used to store raster data. Erdas Imagine is a powerful and flexible geographic information system (GIS) tool. The shapefile format was…

The DS2 file format is an audio format used for recording and storing high-quality audio. This file format was developed by Olympus for use in its digital voice recorders. However, this file format is…

Flat files format database records into plain text files, which can be referenced by a website or application for its data. Because of the plain text formatting, flat files are ideal for tabular, or…

To convert a CPI file properly you must have the accompanying MTS file. The CPI file contains only specific metadata about the MTS file; no actual video footage is stored here. It stores data about…

CHK files are created after the Windows Chkdsk or Scandisk services finish scanning your file system for errors. These files were originally fully functional files that contained an error. No matter…

Furnaces and air conditioners are often packaged together. They provide climate control for a home, which is important to quality of life, and when they break down it is important to repair them in a…

A microscope may prove a useful tool for a variety of users, from scientists to horticulturalists, watchmakers and students. Those working with an optical microscope must first learn the correct…

Most municipal water systems provide acidic water with a low pH, which is prone to corroding home plumbing systems. For this reason, acid neutralizing filters that add alkaline substances to raise the…

Machines intended to dry products in a manufacturing process are called dryers. They're analogous to your clothes dryer at home, of course, except that rather than drying clothes they remove moisture…

The mouse is the primary input device that you use to control your computer. If the pointer stalls when you attempt to move it, it makes the computer very difficult to use. A laser mouse works by…

The control circuit of a furnace manages a variety of data produced by the thermostat, the sensors near the burners, the ignition system and the blower mechanism. It is in charge of starting up…

Whirlpool ranges and ovens have a circuit board, commonly referred to as an electronic oven control board, or EOC, which functions as the brain of the oven. The EOC controls the heating elements in…

While the computer revolution of the modern era has extraordinary benefits, it has simultaneously created a new issue that is cause for concern. Circuit boards are ubiquitous as they can be found in…

With the number of CRT monitors and television sets dwindling due to the introduction of inexpensive LCD technology, if you have a faithful CRT monitor that you want to hold onto, you might need to do…

FM modulation entails taking a signal and transferring it to a different type of signal to be transmitted. With an FM modulator device, you can hook up your MP3, satellite receiver or iPod to the…

Modern electronic devices use integrated circuits, or ICs, because they pack a high degree of functionality in a small space. Most ICs are soldered into a circuit board, but some have holders called…

An XML blog file contains the dates, comments, titles, links and content of exported blog posts. XML is a universal language that is platform-dependent, so you can use it to export posts from your…

Canon 60D cameras may shoot in RAW still image formats, known as CR2 files, or in a compressed QuickTime MOV format called H.264/MOV, which is a popular file type commonly used for uploading to the…

When using a cell phone or another small mobile device to record audio, the device may save the audio as a QCP file. Your mobile device will play back the sound effectively, but many applications on…

Before you can transfer a DJVU document file onto your Sony Reader, you'll need to convert it into a readable format. The EPUB format is a multi-platform e-book format that your Sony Reader will have…

A MIPS file is a virtual hardware simulator that allows users and programmers to test hardware -- logic boards, RAM and video cards -- functions as software, before physically installing the device.…

Diodes are electrical components that contain two terminals (points leading to other circuits). Diodes come in many forms. When electrical engineers talk of well diodes and epitaxial diodes, they are…

Most commonly, the file extension ASD indicates an AutoSave file for Microsoft Word. When you're working on a document, Word automatically creates backup files in case the program crashes. Converting…

To convert a file containing a line drawing of a shoe to a file containing polygon shapes, use the tracing tools of a vector graphics program like Inkscape, Illustrator or Google Docs' drawing…

Converting the contents of a PlayStation Portable UMD game disk to the ISO file format offers certain advantages to PSP owners. Running a game from a disk image instead of an actual disk helps to…

Increase creativity and play through online websites like Roblox. This virtual game allows you to take full advantage of your imagination by allowing users to build anything they want, whether it is…

Your DL file is primarily associated with animation and can be opened with Notebook or Text Editor. To convert your DL video into a usable Flexi or Flex file, you must employ an online file conversion…

In August of 2011, Microsoft announced the discontinuation of Microsoft Reader, the Windows-based e-Book reader program compatible with .LIT files. Although you have several other possible ways to…

KML files are created by Google and are used to display geographic information in Google Earth and Google Maps. Shapefiles are created by Esri and are used to display geographic vector data in…

A Zener diode is a component of an electrical circuit with two leads that are used to maintain a constant voltage of electrical current. To import the voltage from 2V to 75V Zener diodes, you need to…

Diodes are components used in electronic circuits. They come in various packages, such as shapes and casings, depending on their purpose. Older diodes, called through-board diodes, have wires, or…

A Nordyne A/C circuit board comes standard in all Nordyne electric furnaces. In addition, the circuit board can be purchased on its own and installed to replace an old or malfunctioning circuit board…

NOS, which stands for nitrous oxide systems, consists of the chemical formula of two parts nitrogen and one part oxygen. When NOS is used as a supplemental gas in an internal combustion engine, it…

The Frigidaire dishwasher’s circuit board, also known as the electronic control board, regulates the appliance’s functions. It determines the order and duration of cycles by sending…