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Electricity facts

Electricity facts

The electric energy (electrical energy, electricity) is the potential energy associated with the conservative Coulomb forces between charged particles contained within a system, where the reference potential energy is usually chosen to be zero for particles at infinite separation.

The movement of electric charge is known as an electric current, and intensity of which is usually measured in amperes. Current can consist of any moving charged particles - most commonly these are electrons, but any charge in motion constitutes a current.

The energy sources we use to make electricity can be renewable or non-renewable, but electricity itself is neither renewable or non-renewable.

A generator is a device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. The process is based on the relationship between magnetism and electricity.

The cost of electricity is going up (both in dollars and in environmental and health impacts) and it doesn’t show any signs of doing otherwise. About half of the energy in the American grid is coal generated.

Electric energy is easily transportable via integrated electric grids. Click on picture for full size.

Electric energy is an intermediate form of energy. It is produced in thermal power stations (where fuel oil, gas, coal, biomass, etc. are burnt), in hydroelectric power stations and nuclear power stations. Smaller quantities are produced by wind, photovoltaic solar panels, sea tides, etc.

Electricity travels in closed loops, or circuits. It must have a complete path before the electrons can move. If a circuit is open, the electrons cannot flow.

When electricity was first introduced into the domestic environment it was primarily for lighting.

Electricity is an extremely flexible form of energy, and it may be adapted to a huge, and growing, number of uses.

Demand for electricity grows with great rapidity as a nation modernises and its economy develops. The United States showed a 12% increase in demand during each year of the first three decades of the twentieth century.

In the late-1800s, Nikola Tesla pioneered the generation, transmission, and use of alternating current (AC) electricity, which can be transmitted over much greater distances than direct current. Tesla's inventions used electricity to bring indoor lighting to our homes and to power industrial machines.

Electricity is a general term that encompasses a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge.

Before electricity generation began over 100 years ago, houses were lit with kerosene lamps, food was cooled in iceboxes, and rooms were warmed by wood-burning or coal-burning stoves.

Lightning is aprominent manifestation of natural electricity. Click on picture for full size.

The fact that electricity can’t be easily stored means that production must be fine-tuned to consumption levels on a short term basis.

Electric energy is easily transportable via integrated electric grids. After transportation, electric energy is converted into mechanical energy, thermal energy, light energy, chemical energy, etc.

Demand for solar electric energy has consistently grown by 20-25% per year over the past 20 years.

A battery produces electricity using two different metals in a chemical solution. A chemical reaction between the metals and the chemicals frees more electrons in one metal than in the other.

There are several advantages and disadvantages to hydro electric energy production. One big advantage is that energy is free once the dam is built.

In 1882 water was used to electrify two paper mills and a house on the Fox River. This was the first application of hydro electric energy.

Electricity is by no means a purely human invention, and may be observed in several forms in nature, a prominent manifestation of which is lightning.

In 1791 Luigi Galvani published his discovery of bioelectricity, demonstrating that electricity was the medium by which nerve cells passed signals to the muscles.

Facts You Might Not Know

10 Fun Microsoft Facts You Might Not Know

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Amy-Mae Elliott Jul 17, 2010

Despite ever-increasing Mac sales, Microsoft still has an undisputed dominance over the computer industry.

With such a vast presence, much has already been written about Microsoft: Its history, its products, even its former CEO Bill Gates. For those itching to know even more, we've dug up 10 snippets of info that you might not have heard before.

What experimental musician created the Windows start-up sound? How do they celebrate anniversaries? Does Microsoft have a "pest" problem? Have a read of our Microsoft-themed facts, stats and trivia and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

1. "Micro-soft's" First Ever Mention

The first ever mention of "Microsoft" was in a letter from Bill Gates to co-founder Paul Allen in 1975. Gates initially wrote the company name as Micro-soft, which made sense considering it's a portmanteau of "microcomputer" and "software."

Losing the hyphen, "Microsoft" was officially registered as a company in November, 1976 in New Mexico where Gates and Allen were working with their first major customer, MITS. Microsoft didn't move to its current campus in Redmond, Washington until 1986.

The Microsoft logo has changed several times over the years, the current "Pac-Man" logo was introduced in 1987, but previous to that was the "blibbet" logo that's pictured above. The "blibbet" refers to the stylized "o" and was apparently once the name of a burger served in the Microsoft company cafeteria.

2. Brian Eno Composed "The Microsoft Sound"

Pioneering musician Brian Eno was the musical brains behind Window 95's start up tune, dubbed "The Microsoft Sound."

The influential musician, who has worked with the likes of David Bowie and U2, told the San Francisco Chronicle that making such a short piece of music was "funny" and "amazing." Eno likened the process to "making a tiny little jewel."

Other musical trivia from the launch of Windows 95 is, of course, the use of The Rolling Stones "Start Me Up" in the ad campaign, while a related Eno fact is that he also composed the music for the computer game Spore.

3. Microsoft's Fave Food Is Pizza

Although not quite at Google's level of snack-tastic, free-for-all wonder, Microsoft does offer free drinks. Over 23 million gratis beverages are downed on the corporate campus each year.

Apparently the top two drinks of choice for Microsoft staffers are milk and OJ. There's also free candy on the Microsoft campus shuttle.

As far as food goes, Microsoft has around 35 cafeterias (one of which is pictured above) serving around 37,000 people each day. Pizza tops the list of most popular meal.

4. Microsoft Uses Codenames

Ever since the company's first operating system, Microsoft has worked on its projects under codenames, of which Wikipedia has a long list. Apparently Gates was ready to launch Windows under the name "Interface Manager" before he was persuaded to change it by an employee.

Past codenames include "Longhorn," "Lone Star," and "Vienna." While you might be tempted to add "Mojave," to that list, it's actually part of a Microsoft ad campaign. The "Mojave Experiment" was a marketing exercise that battled Vista's poor PR by presenting the software to new users as a fresh product.

5. The Average "Softie"

The average Microsoft employee, or "Softie" as they call themselves, is a 38-year-old male with the average salary for a developer coming in at $106,000.

Microsoft currently employs 88,180 people who work across 32,404,796 square feet of Microsoft's premises, over 50,000 of which are U.S.-based. The male to female ratio is very high among Microsoft's American employees with a staggering 76% male workforce.

6. Microsoft Celebrates Anniversaries With M&Ms

All companies have their little in-house traditions, and Microsoft is no exception. It seems it's customary for Softies to celebrate their yearly employment anniversaries with candy, and more specifically, M&Ms.

Each anniversary, a Microsoft employee is expected to provide one pound of M&Ms for every year they've worked. That means if Bill Gates observed the tradition, he should have turned up with 33 pounds of M&Ms on June 27, 2008.

7. Microsoft's Stock Has Split Nine Times

Microsoft has split its stock nines times since it went public back in March 1986. Put very, very simply, a company will generally split its stock when its share price becomes too high.

Since Microsoft has had six 2-for-1 splits and three 3-for-1 splits, one original Microsoft share would now be equal to 288 shares today. Interestingly the price of Microsoft's stock at its initial public offering was $21 a share, at the time of writing a share is now around the $23 mark. One original MSFT share would now be worth over $6,000.

8. Microsoft Has a Huge Art Collection

No, we're not talking about Clip Art. Microsoft is one of the largest corporate collectors of artworks with over 5,000 contemporary pieces including painting, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, ceramics, studio glass, and multimedia works. Microsoft gathers arts from local artists, up-and-coming artists and big names such as Cindy Sherman, Chuck Close and Takashi Murakami.

A large proportion of the works are on display at more than 150 of Microsoft's many campuses, as the company subscribes to the belief that art in the workplace reduces stress, increases productivity and encourages discussions and expression of opinions.

9. Microsoft Asks Strange Interview Questions

Microsoft has a reputation in the industry for asking off-beat, off-the-wall questions during its job interview. The most oft-quoted question is: "Why is a manhole cover round?" Whether this particular example is genuine, or an urban legend, it's certainly true that Microsoft employs a very unusual, and forward-thinking interview process. It's even rumored that companies like Google have since emulated the style.

Rather than plain "Where do you see yourself in five years" type questions, Microsoft is more likely to ask you to solve a logic puzzle or think through a problem like "Design a coffee maker that will be used by astronauts." Obviously, Microsoft isn't planning to go into the coffee-in-space industry anytime soon, but the process serves to find candidates that can think creatively.

10. Microsoft Holds Over 10,000 Patents

Microsoft holds over 10,000 patents and files around 3,000 every year, ranking as one of the top five patent owners in the U.S.

Although a large majority of the patents relate to obscure elements of software, the 5,000th and 10,000th were consumer-friendly, easily-understandable ideas. The 5,000th was for tech in Xbox 360 games that lets people "watch" a video game remotely, while the 10,000th was for the Microsoft Surface, linking real-life objects with data and images.

Microsoft also rewards its staff members for securing a new patent. Besides a $1,500 bonus, they get a wooden plaque and a decorative black "cube" that features their name, as well as the title and date of the patent.

BONUS: The Microsoft Campus is Full of Bunnies!

Our very own Jolie O'Dell found a great factoid about the Microsoft Corporate Campus, she gleaned while on a recent visit.

"So, back in the mists of time, some people dumped a bunch of rapidly reproducing pet bunnies -- leftovers from kids' Easter gifts -- on a grassy knoll near the MSFT campus," Jolie said. "The bunnies started doing what bunnies do best, that is, making more bunnies.

At one point, there were so many that MSFT staff had to start catching them and having them spayed and neutered! Nowadays, you'll still see lots of rabbits hopping around, though. Way cuter than Google's goats."

It seems the bunny proliferation has been a long term issue. According to a 1998 Seattle Times article, the "Redmond rabbit problem" does not just affect Microsoft, but Nintendo, Eddie Bauer and other companies in the area.

The problem back then spawned the Redmond Rabbit Coalition group (many members of which are now involved in the current day Evergreen Rabbit Rescue) who campaign for a humane solution to the ongoing pest problem.

Interesting Facts About UFOs & Aliens

Interesting Facts About UFOs & Aliens

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From News of AP:

Unidentified flying object (commonly abbreviated as UFO or U.F.O.)
is the popular term for any aerial phenomenon whose cause cannot be easily
or immediately identified by the observer. The United States Air Force, which
coined the term in 1952, initially defined UFOs as those objects that remain

unidentified after scrutiny by expert investigators, though the term UFO is often
used more generally to describe any sighting unidentifiable to the reporting
observer(s). Popular culture frequently takes the term UFO as a synonym for
alien spacecraft. Cults have become associated with UFOs, and mythology
and folklore have evolved around the phenomenon. Some investigators now
prefer to use the broader term unidentified aerial phenomenon (or UAP), to

avoid the confusion and speculative associations that have become attached
to UFO. Another widely known acronym for UFO in Spanish, French, Portuguese

and Italian is OVNI.

1) There are an average of 70,000 reported UFO sightings every year, worldwide.
That's an average of 192 per day.

2) No UFO has ever been tracked on radar entering the Earth's atmosphere.

3) 1 in 5 Americans believe in alien abductions. Interestingly, males are more

likely to believe in abductions than females.

4) 1 in 7 Americans say that they, or someone they know, have had an "encounter"
with a UFO.

5) According to some UFO aficionados, the Men in Black (MIBs) really do

exist, and have been hammering on the doors of alien witnesses ever since

the first appearance of flying saucers in 1947.

6) Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal regulations, implemented on

July 16, 1969, make it illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact with
extraterrestrials or their vehicles?

7) Kenneth Arnold Sighting (1947) – Washington, United States

Just before 3 o’clock in the afternoon, Kenneth Arnold, a private pilot and a fire
control equipment salesman from Boise, Idaho, was taking a flight over the
Cascade Mountains looking for the remains of a lost C-46, over which there
was a $5,000 reward being offered.

Arnold did not find the missing aircraft but he saw a bright flash of light and

spotted nine brilliant objects, with the lead object a little higher than the rest,
moving south toward Mount Rainer. He calculated their speed at 1,700 miles
per hour which was an impossible speed. The main object looked like a dark
crescent; the other eight objects were flat and disc-shaped. Arnold estimated
their chain length to be five miles long. They disappeared soon after. A new
era of unidentified flying objects began after this widely publicized sighting in
the United States. In fact, it was his descriptions that gave rise to the now
common terms “flying disk” and “flying saucer.”

8) No discussion on UFOs is complete without mentioning Roswell. It is considered
to be the bread and butter of Ufology, and the heart of UFO studies for long. The news
spread worldwide about the first alien craft crash. It was considered as the long awaited
proof of extraterrestrial intelligence. The Air Force announced being in possession of
the flying saucer but later denied, saying it was a weather balloon.

Years later, there was talk of military cover up of an actual UFO crash. A large area

filled with debris from wreckage was discovered and the material found was
unfamiliar and metallic, unlike anything seen before. Although, theories are
composed of conflicting accounts, there were some facts that were clear.
Something huge had crashed near Corona. Rumors had it that witnesses were
threatened if they revealed what they saw. There were too many witnesses who
claimed to have seen alien bodies. There is also enough evidence that autopsies
were done on an alien body.

9) One of the most interesting and convincing cases is the abduction

of Betty and Barney Hill. The couple was driving home at night on Interstate
Route 3 in New Hampshire after a short vacation in Canada, when they
noticed a while light in the sky.

Barney got out of the car to look at the object through his binoculars. The light
got closer and it looked like a pancake shaped object with windows revealing
occupants. They got scared and went back home and realized they had lost a
couple of hours without them realizing it.

Betty started having nightmares about aliens and Barney had severe back. A
respected psychiatrist in Boston, Massachusetts, felt they were suffering from
anxiety syndrome and put them both under hypnosis.

He was convinced that they were abducted by the aliens. During the hypnosis
sessions, both revealed separately that they were abducted by bald aliens about
five feet tall, green skin and large heads. They said their skin, nail and hair
samples were taken. Betty said they inserted a long needle into her naval,

which they said was a pregnancy test and Barney had to provide a semen specimen.

One aspect of this investigation that cannot be explained to this day is that in
1963, Betty Hill drew a very detailed map of a star system that was only
discovered later in 1969. She said she was shown this map by the aliens.
Astronomers at Ohio State University compared their computer generated

map with this one and both were completely alike.

Skeptics point out the inconsistencies, including the aliens speaking to Betty in

English while Barney said they used some sort of telepathy.

Now, more than forty years later, it could not be proved that it was a hoax.

10) Philip Spencer, a policeman in London, moved to Ilkley Moor after leaving
his job. While getting some photographs of the moor, he heard a humming sound
and saw a small green creature, around four feet tall. That creature moved away
quickly and when Spencer shouted, it turned and waved an arm dismissively,

which is when Spencer said he took this photograph. It moved faster than a human.
He followed it and saw a huge silver saucer disappear into the clouds. He
realized the humming sound was from the saucer.

Later, he realized that he lost more than two hours of his time and his compass
also went haywire. The picture was shown to a UFO researcher and a thorough
investigation started. Wildlife photography experts and Kodak laboratories revealed
that it was no animal and that the object was indeed part of the photo and not
superimposed.

Spencer started having weird dreams and under hypnosis, he revealed a fascinating
tale of being abducted by an alien and taken aboard the craft and given a medical
examination before being released. Spencer could now remember that the picture
was taken after his release from the UFO.

One thing that makes the researchers confident that Spencer may not have
set the whole thing up was due to the fact that he never wanted publicity or money.

11) The Alien Named “Aleshenka” (1996) – Kashtim, Russia

This is a compelling account of an Alien body from Russia. An elderly woman
in the village of Kashtim saw a small creature near the Ural Mountains, and the
creature was whistling to catch her attention. She took it home. The creature
had skin that was gray with dark brown spots on the head. There was no hair,
small holes in place of ears, small and flat nose, long fingers with sharp claws,
a tiny hole in place of a mouth and no lips. The old woman nursed it back to health.
After a couple of weeks, the woman was hospitalized for a psychiatric problem and
left her companion at home without food.

Later, the dead body of the being that measured 8 ½ inches in length was found

by the police. After testing, doctors claimed that the creature is not could not
have been a child.

The body was handed over to Galina Semenkova, head of a UFO expert
organization. Galina later said that aliens from a flying saucer demanded
the body and she gave it to them.

However, the whereabouts of Aleshenka’s remains are a mystery to this day.
Have the aliens really taken it back? Is the mummy under research in some

laboratory?

There are several controversies surrounding UFOs. While proponents
feel that UFOs are vehicles from other dimensions; skeptics propose the

psychological-social hypothesis. There is even the man-made craft hypothesis
by some who feel they are nothing but American or Russian aircraft. Fact or Fiction?

12) The first documented UFO sighting is in the Bible. The prophet Ezekiel
described a "great cloud with fire enfolding itself, a wheel in the middle of a
wheel that descended and fired lightning bolts into the earth."

13) The first photograph of a UFO was taken in 1883 by astronomer Jose

Bonilla in Zacatecas, Mexico.

14) Alexander Hamilton reported a cow being kidnapped by an airship
in Le Roy, Kan., in April 1897.

15) Winston Churchill reported a strange airship in Kent, England, Oct. 14, 1912.

It was the first case of a UFO being "officially" reported.

16) On Feb. 25, 1942, a large, dark object over the Los Angeles coastline
was mistaken for a Japanese attack and drew a barrage of anti-aircraft fire.

Memos to President Roosevelt confirmed the existence of unidentified aerial objects.

17) UFOs were often seen and photographed during NASA's space missions in the 1960s.

18) UFO sightings have been claimed by former President Jimmy Carter,
Clyde Tombaough (the astronomer who discovered Pluto) and William
Shatner (who claims to have been rescued by aliens who pointed him in the

right direction when he was lost in the Mojave Desert).

Games Facts

Fact: We love facts. And the world of gaming is absolutely littered with astonishing/pointless/obscure trivia to cram into your brain. So, not-so-hot on the trail of last year's tepidly received 101 things you didn't know about games, we bring you another staggering list of game-related info detritus for your consuming pleasure. Memorize both gargantuan lists and become the ultimate know-it-all gamer.

01. Sonic The Hedgehog isn't only the name of Sega's speedy mascot, but also a gene on chromosome 7 of the human genome. Well, it was until recently when the science community decided to ditch all of its 'comedy' names for genes. Party poopers.

02. Matt Damon refused to appear in the recent Bourne Conspiracy game because he thought it was too violent. Not fussed by the violence in the films then, eh, Matt?

03. Ever wondered what happens to Leon's cool leather jacket in Resident Evil 4? It inexplicably disappears after the scene in the village. Well, on the PS2 version, go through Ada's side-quest and one of the Ganado villagers will be wearing it.

04. In the early stages of its development, Half-Life 2 featured a friendly alien that would follow Gordon Freeman around, feasting on the bodies of his fallen enemies. It was taken out when Valve discovered that the AI would be too difficult to convincingly program.

05. In 1986, Nintendo released a special Disk System peripheral for the NES in Japan. Among its features was a microphone in the controller, which certain games used, including an updated version of the original Zelda. You could only destroy a certain enemy by shouting into the mic.

06. The famously awful E.T. game for the Atari 2600 actually sold more than its most famous game, Space Invaders. E.T. sold 1.5 million, while Invaders only shifted a million.

07. A boss character called Binbag was removed from Rockstar's Manhunt early in its development. He was a psychopath wrapped in black refuse sacks. Lovely.

08. Rockstar also removed a character from Grand Theft Auto 3, although this time it was said to be because of the terrorist attacks on September 11th. He was called Darkel, a homeless guy who'd get you to rig buildings with explosives.

09. In the video game sequel to John Carpenter's seminal sci-fi horror film The Thing, the legendary director made a cameo appearance as a character called Doctor Faraday. He also oversaw the production of the game to make sure it was faithful to his original vision.

10. In Pilotwings 64, the character Lark is actually the mascot for famous American games magazine Nintendo Power, Nester. His name was changed at the last minute, probably because PAL gamers wouldn't know who he was.

11. Oscar-winning actor Marlon Brando recorded dialogue for EA's Godfather game shortly before he died, but it was deemed unusable due to the bloated thesp's ageing, mumbly voice. Instead, they hired in a sound-alike. What a waste of money, eh?

12. Vivendi's underrated Scarface game also featured a sound-alike, but this one was personally chosen by Al Pacino himself, hence the spot-on likeness. His name is Andre Sogliuzzo and he's a veteran video game voice actor.

13. DJ Atomica, the (some would say) annoying announcer in Burnout Paradise, is the same guy who provided the commentary for SSX 3. In Paradise, he makes reference to SSX several times, suggesting it's supposed to be the same character.

14. The Little Sisters from BioShock didn't start their life as little girls at all, but rather tiny mole-like creatures who scuttled around Rapture collecting Adam. Early concept art also shows them as retro '50s-style robots, too. We think they made the right choice.

15. UK Radio One DJ, Chris Moyles, was an enemy in the game spin-off of hit TV show 24. He played an Eastern European terrorist, who Jack Bauer found himself fighting at the end of an early level. It was only his face however; the voice was provided by another actor.

16. Another unlikely celebrity cameo is UK chat show host Jonathan Ross, who 'starred' in Halo 3. He supplies the voice of one of the marines who helps Master Chief, although it's very rare that one of his lines comes up -it's a totally random, and rare, occurrence.

17. In The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening, the advisor from the SNES version of Sim City, Dr Wright, appears in a house. He's named after Will Wright, the creator of the Sim series.

18. In Fallout 2, there's a hidden room in Junktown, in the Cafe Of Broken Dreams, where you can find Dogmeat, the Vault Dweller from the first game's faithful hound.

19. In the original Super Smash Brothers Melee, the Princess Daisy trophy had a mysterious third eye on the back of its head. Unfortunate glitch? Or something more sinister?

20. Sony's beautiful monster-toppling adventure game Shadow Of The Colossus was originally going to feature groups of characters on horseback working to take down the colossi cooperatively. This proved too taxing for the PS2's hardware, sadly.