Archive for 'What the Heck?' Category

The Color Blue

by Hans F. on Sep 24, 2009

Recently, I had the opportunity to conduct interviews for engineering students looking to join a student-run satellite project team here on campus. One of the less serious questions that we asked interviewees was “What is your favorite color?” The vast majority replied with “blue,” while some less-popular replies were “green” and “violet.” If I were [...]

What the Heck’s the Difference Between Concrete and Cement?

by Kevin C. on Jul 28, 2009

This is a simple one, though I’m not sure why some people would confuse the two. Sure both are used in construction, and both are related building materials, but they aren’t the same and definitely shouldn’t be used interchangeably.
The rule of thumb is, if the choice is between concrete and cement, the structure in question [...]

What the Heck’s the Difference Between Pound-Force and Pound-Mass?

by Kevin C. on Mar 26, 2009

My fellow engineers, we are going to once and for all take a serious look at the difference between a pound-mass (lbm) and a pound-force (lbf). In a recent mechanical engineering project, I have had friends that tried to avoid working with “pounds” because of the ambiguity of it all; instead, they opted to convert [...]