Unless your background is in ac power, it’s possible you haven’t run into the term triplen harmonic. Triplen harmonics have to do with the third harmonic. Even-numbered harmonics do not normally exist in power systems due to symmetry between the positive and negative halves of the ac cycle. It is the odd-numbered harmonics that engineers […]
New Articles
RF signal generators cover 10 MHz to 18 GHz range
The Boonton SGX1000 RF Signal Generators are a new series of instruments that combine high performance RF signal generation capabilities with an intuitive user interface. They cover a frequency range from 10 MHz to 18 GHz to provide superior operational performance such as extremely fast frequency switching, phase noise figures as low as -123 dBc/Hz […]
The difference between LED and OLED displays
Despite some initial difficulties, it is reasonable to think that OLED (organic light emitting diode) displays will replace LCDs, making possible low-power flexible screens relatively inexpensive to manufacture. OLEDs have several advantages. For one thing, they can be made onto a suitable substrate by means of silk screen-printing or an inkjet printer. Roll-to-roll vapor deposition […]
Now THAT’S a test instrument: Inside the Webb space telescope
The Hubble telescope, despite its initial optics crisis, was an enormously successful undertaking that answered far more questions about the universe than originally posed. Now comes the Webb space telescope, the most powerful telescope ever put into space and a successor to Hubble. If successful, it will look farther back in time, image fainter objects […]
Measuring CMOS power use
Virtually all digital, analog and mixed-signal ICs are now done in CMOS due to the technology’s extremely low power consumption, small size and immunity to noise. Low power consumption arises from the use of a two-transistor configuration resulting in zero power consumption except during brief transitions. Interestingly, the bulk of CMOS power dissipation arises because […]
Measuring resonance with a scope and signal generator
One of the first things EE students learn in their ac circuits course is resonance. Electrical resonance, to quickly review, arises in an electric circuit at a frequency called the resonances frequency when the impedances or admittances of circuit elements cancel each other. In some circuits, resonance happens when the impedance between the input and […]
Gauging the thermoelectric effect
The thermoelectric effect can be exploited to convert temperature difference to electric voltage or to convert electric voltage to a temperature difference. And devices incorporating the thermoelectric effect can be built and configured to produce heat when voltage is applied. The effect is distinct from resistive (joule) heating, although in actual practice, both effects may […]
Cooling platform handles up to five single-slot VITA 48.8 backplanes
The new Type 39A CompacFrame holds up to accepts up to five one-slot VPX power & ground backplanes for plug-in cards on 1, 1.2 or 1.5-in pitch designed for use with VITA 48.8 air flow-through (AFT) cooling. The platform facilitates new card and system design implementations and testing for a range of rugged environments, including […]
Researchers say they’ve invented the optical oscilloscope
A team from the University of Central Florida claim to have devised instrumentation that effectively functions as an optical oscilloscope. The point of the new instrumentation is to measure transient optical fields. The research team says its new technique is capable of resolving the electric field oscillations of a single-shot laser light pulse with sub-femtosecond […]
Converter sends Ethernet signals from vehicle ECU to PC/data logger connections
The X2E Automotive Ethernet Converter has been designed primarily to convert Ethernet signals from a vehicle’s engine control unit (ECU) to be suitable for connecting to a PC or data logger. The device converts data between 100/1000Base-T1 (OPEN Alliance BroadR-Reach) and 100/1000Base-T (standard Ethernet). It can also be used elsewhere for any other industrial application […]
