Free Book Download: Much Ado About Almost Nothing

2007, Hans Camenzind

This is the story of the electron. 3,000 years ago the tiny particle caused nothing but fear and superstition whenever it appeared. Its perception by man changed slowly as a few heretics dared to investigate. Then man discovered the "Leyden Jar", a gadget which produced a vicious electrical shock, to the amusement of the experimenters and kings.

Discover a new side of Benjamin Franklin as an unlikely scientist in an unlikely place, who stunned the European establishment by discovering fundamental principles and thus opened the field to other people. People like Luigi Galvani (who drew the wrong conclusions), Alessandro Volta (who corrected him and ruined his life), Andre Ampere, an emotional mathematician, and Georg Ohm, who discovered the basic law of electricity but presented it so badly that he was ignored.

Read more at:

http://www.historyofelectronics.com/

View the original article here

All About Batteries

Off grid homes, RV's, and boats use a house bank, a bank of batteries used to store the energy from solar, wind, and backup generators for times of no sun or no wind. These are not car batteries, these are specially designed deep cycle batteries that can handle repeated deep discharge and charge cycles. Learn about the following and more from Living With 12vdc and Wiring For 12vdc, on the Ample Power CD at http://www.green-trust.org/products/ What happens inside a battery when it discharges and
charges?How much energy can be stored?How is storage capacity measured?How can capacity remaining be determined?When is the best time to recharge?What charging techniques yield optimum performance?How fast can a battery be charged?How should a battery be discharged?What kind of regular maintenance is required?What pitfalls must be avoided?

View the original article here