Motors Blog

No digital recording company has ever matched the sound quality of LP records. Yet, it seems certain that vinyl, except for a few curious exceptions, is safely relegated to music history. We now have a world flooded with MP3 recordings and players. Is this progress? Sure, they are cheap and easy to download from the Internet. But there are so many other digital possibilities, such as DVD-A and SACD which offer better audio because of their higher sampling rates. Must audiophiles forever suffer with low-quality MP3? Or does your tin ear not really care?

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The U.S. government spent billions of dollars to win a cold war race to the moon. Now 40 years later, it has little to show for the effort. Forty years after Karl Benz made the first auto, cars were everywhere. Forty years after the Wright Brothers, airplanes were everywhere. Forty years after the first computers in the 1950s, computers were in every home. So now, 40 years after Apollo 11 what do we have to show for it? We don't have rockets in our garages and none of us can travel to the moon. What did sending men to the moon accomplish?

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Nobody likes workforce reductions, but in today's economic climate with companies struggling to survive, they are inevitable. So what is the best way for a company to announce that employees are going to be terminated? How should the layoff procedure be conducted? Should workers be given advance warning? Should management tell all the employees who are being let go at the same time? Should employees be given an explanation? Is there a 'less painful' way to do it?

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NASA says it plans a return trip to the moon in the next 10 years, but is the voyage really worth the money and effort? Some justify it as a rehearsal for going to Mars. But is this intermediate step really necessary — or should the government concentrate its resources on a Mars trip, which requires much more advanced technology? What new things can we learn? Leave the moon trip to other nations, and encourage them to accept advice, consultation, and assistance from the U.S., says Buzz Aldrin.

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Motor efficiency is not a single number; it depends on how the motor is used. Most efficiencies are measured at 75% output. What if the motor is used at 50% output? Or 90%? Or what if the load is highly variable? Part of the energy savings comes from reduced motor slip — but this actually raises the output speed, as well as the efficiency, and will increase the net energy in many types of loads. You may end up using more energy at higher efficiency! What is your experience?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Motors, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Motors today.