Snow blower
A snow blower, snowblower, or snow thrower is a machine for removing snow from an area where it is not wanted, such as a driveway, sidewalk, roadway, or runway. It can use either electric power, or a gasoline or diesel engine to throw snow to another location or into a truck to be hauled away. This is in contrast with the action of snow plows, which push snow to the front or side (shovels can be similarly used).
Snow blowers range from the very small, capable of removing only several inches (a few cm) of light snow in an 18 to 20 inch (45 to 50 cm) path, to very large, mounted onto heavy duty winter service vehicles and capable of moving 10 foot (3 m) wide swaths of heavy snow up to 6 feet (2 m) deep. Snow blowers can generally be divided into two classes: single stage and two stage.
Single stage snow throwers use a single high-speed impeller to both move the snow into the machine and force it out the discharge chute. The impeller is usually in the form of two or more curved plastic paddles that move snow towards the centerline of the machine where the discharge chute is located. Single stage snow throwers usually are light duty machines. Small electric machines can actually be picked up to chew away deep snow banks a layer at a time.
One exception to the “single stage snow throwers are small” rule are the enormous single stage rotary snow throwers used by railroads to clear tracks in mountainous areas. These rotary snowplows use one or two very large impellers that can span the entire width of the train and typically discharge to the side
By comparison, two stage snow blowers have one or more low-speed metal augers that break up the snow and move it into a separate high-speed impeller (sometimes called the fan). The impeller ‘blows’ the snow out the discharge chute with considerable force. All but the lightest-duty snow throwers are typically two-stage machines.
Two stage snow blowers range in power from a few horsepower to very large machines powered by diesel engines of over 1000 horsepower (750 kW). The large machines are used for clearing roadways and airport runways. These are capable of removing large
amounts of snow quickly. Some municipalities use larger snowblowers to clear snow from streets after a snowfall, often by blowing the snow into trucks which haul it away.
Two stage machines for home use are usually self-propelled, using either large wheels equipped with tire chains or, in some cases, tracks. These are usually single-purpose machines, though some are detachable front ends that can be replaced with other implements, such as a rotary tiller.
The auger drive is usually equipped with a shear pin. If a major jam occurs, this pin will break rather than allowing the internal drive gears to be damaged. The pin must then be replaced by the user before operation can resume.
One problem with the design of the snowblower is that snow can build up in the auger, jamming it and stalling the motor. This is complicated by the fact that the auger may twist before applying enough resistance to the motor to stop it. If the jam is cleared with a hand, it is possible for the auger to return to its natural shape suddenly and with great force, possibly injuring the user; snowblowers are a leading cause of traumatic finger amputations. [1] The correct procedure is to stop the engine, disengage the clutch and then clear the jam with a broom handle or other long object.
Arthur Sicard (December 17, 1876 - September 13, 1946) is credited as the inventor of the snow blower. Arthur Sicard lived on a farm when he was a boy, and used to sell milk. Finding that snowfall would prevent his selling of milk, he dreamed up an idea for a machine that would blow snow and clear up roadways. In 1925 Sicard completed his first prototype, based on a concept he described in 1894. He founded Sicard Industries in Ste-Therese, Quebec and by 1927 his vehicles were in use removing snow from the roadways of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His company is now a division of SMI-Snowblast, Inc. of Watertown, New York, USA, as well as a Canadian operation, Sicard SSI Group, Inc. in Knowlton, Quebec.[2]
Signal to Snow Ratio
Signal to Snow Ratio is an EP released by the band Grandaddy in 1999. It is included in the 2CD-edition of their album The Sophtware Slump.
- “Hand Crank Transmitter”
- “Jed E 3’s Poem”
- “MGM Grand”
- “Protected from the Rain”
Snow gauge
A snow gauge is a type of instrument used by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of solid precipitation (as opposed to liquid precipitation that is measured by a rain gauge) over a set period of time.
The snow gauge consists of two parts, a copper catchment container and the funnel shaped gauge itself. The actual gauge is mounted on a pipe outdoors and is approximately 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) high, while the container is 51.5 cm (201/4 in) long.
When snow has fallen the container is removed and replaced with a spare. The snow is then melted, while still in the container, and poured into a glass measuring graduate. While the depth of snow is normally measured in centimetres, the measurement of melted snow (water equivalent) is in millimetres. An estimate of the snow depth can be obtained by multiplying the water equivalent by ten.
The snow gauge suffers from the same problem as that of the rain gauge when conditions are windy. If the wind is strong enough, then the snow may be blown across the wind gauge and the amount of snow fallen will be under-reported. However, due to the shape and size of the funnel this is a minor problem.
If the wind is very strong and a blizzard occurs then extra snow may be blown into the gauge and the amount of snow fallen will be over-reported. In this case the observer must judge how much of the water is from snow blown into the container and how much is fallen snow.
Another problem that occurs, is when both snow and rain fall before the observer has time to change the gauge. In all of these cases the observer must judge how much of the water is snow and how much is rain.
Remote reading gauges, such as used by weather stations, work similarly to rain gauges. They have a large catch area (such as a drum sawn in half, top to bottom) which collects snow until a given weight is collected. When this critical weight is reached, it tips and empties the snow catch. This dumping trips a switch, sending a signal. The collection then repeats. If the catch container has a heater in it, it measures the snow weight accurately. It is also possible to tip based on volume instead of weight, with appropriate fill sensing.
Another snow sensor called a snow pillow looks like a round bag laying on the ground. Inside the pillow is a liquid such as an environmentally safe antifreeze. Usually the snow pillow will be connected to a manometer. The manometer reading will vary based on how much snow is sitting on the pillow. This type of sensor works well for many locations but is more difficult to use in areas of hard blowing snow.
Signal to Snow Ratio
Signal to Snow Ratio is an EP released by the band Grandaddy in 1999. It is included in the 2CD-edition of their album The Sophtware Slump.
- “Hand Crank Transmitter”
- “Jed E 3’s Poem”
- “MGM Grand”
- “Protected from the Rain”
Chionodoxa luciliae
Chionodoxa luciliae (also known as Glory of the snow) is a small (3-6″) flower which grows from a hardy bulb and produces one of the earliest flowers of spring. Originally from Turkey, it is hardy in zones 3-8, sun or part shade. Chiodoxa seeds itself and will spread in beds that will later have other interest, like rose beds and so on.
According to the Royal Horticultural Society, the current preference in taxonomy (more accurate name) for this plant is Chionodoxa forbesii.
Snow (codec)
Snow is an experimental video codec developed by Michael Niedermayer for the FFmpeg package. It can compress video either lossily or losslessly. Snow implements wavelet-based compression, allowing for impressive image quality at very low bitrates. It is open source licensed under the LGPL.
Snow is similar to Tarkin, Dirac, and numerous other wavelet-using codecs.
Technical details can be found in the snow.txt file included in the ffmpeg source package.
The following open-source video editing programs can encode to Snow format:
- Avidemux
- LiVES
- MeGUI
- VirtualDubMod with ffdshow tryouts
- MEncoder
Kent Cooper
Kent Cooper (22 March 1880 to 31 January 1965) served with the Associated Press for 41 years, including positions as general manager from 1925 to 1943 and concluding his career as executive director. Cooper is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, New York.
Cooper Glacier in Antarctica is named for him.
Presta valve
The Presta valve is a valve (commonly) found in high pressure road style and higher end mountain bicycle tires, although it is now used on all UST or “tubeless” mountain bike tires. It consists of three major components: the valve body, a threaded valve stem, and a lock nut. In order to accommodate different rim wall depths, the valve body is available in multiple lengths. Like the Schrader valve, air pressure inside the tire holds the valve shut; however, unlike the Schrader, the Presta has no return spring to help keep the valve shut. Instead, a threaded stem extends out of the valve core to hold a locking nut that can be screwed down to ensure the valve remains closed. A Schrader core can be unscrewed and replaced; some Presta valves, too, have removable cores.
In addition, the Presta valve has a much smaller diameter than the Schrader valve. This helps the strength of wheels with narrow rims because the weakest point on such rims is the location of the hole for the valve. A Presta valve requires a different chuck on the bicycle tire pump than the larger Schrader valve; simple threaded brass adapters are available to allow a Presta valve tube to be inflated by a pump or air chuck designed for Schrader valves.
The Presta valve must be manually unscrewed to permit airflow in either direction. The screw, located at the tip of the valve, remains within the valve housing even after it is unscrewed; unscrewing the valve permits the plug to move up and down within the housing. It must be unscrewed before attaching a tire pump. Once the tire pump is removed, the valve should be screwed down to prevent accidental air leakage. A screw cap provides protection to the valve top and prevents the valve from puncturing the tube when it is rolled for storage, but it is not necessary to keep air from leaking.
The standard Presta valve has an external thread.
Bentley Continental
Bentley has used the Continental name on a number of automobiles since 1952.
- 1952–1955 Bentley R Continental
- 1955–1959 Bentley S1 Continental
- 1959–1962 Bentley S2 Continental
- 1962–1965 Bentley S3 Continental
- 1984–1995 Bentley Continental (1984)
- 1991–2002 Bentley Continental R
- 1994–1995 Bentley Continental S
- 1996–2002 Bentley Continental T
- 2003– Bentley Continental GT
- 2005– Bentley Continental Flying Spur
Lowsider
The lowsider or lowside is a type of motorcycle accident usually occurring in a curve and most often caused by either locking wheel due to excessive braking or accelerating too hard out through a corner.
Behaviour leading to a lowsider and physical explanation
All forces occurring between the motorcycle and the road (such as accelerating, decelerating and steering) are transmitted by friction occurring in the contact patch. There is a limited amount of force the contact patch can transmit before the tire begins to slide.
If the driver makes a curve on a motorcycle, the driver applies a force on the motorcycle, causing it to alter its course. This force is transferred to the motorcycle through the contact patch. Braking within a curve will increase the stress in the contact patch, because now there is an additional force which also has to be transmitted through the contact patch. This additional amount of force may cause the tire to slide and lock. If braking is applied equally to both tires, the rear tire will begin to slide first because braking causes a weight shift towards the front tire, improving its contact with the road while lessening the rear tire’s grip.
Once a tire slips in a curve, it will move outwards under the motorcycle and cause the cycle to lay down in the direction the driver is already leaning to counteract the centrifugal force. Unless this movement is counteracted, the motorcycle will lay down and slide outwards. Counteracting this movement by reducing brake force may lead to a highsider.
The name derives from the fact that it is usually the inward side the motorcycle will fall on (or the side that points downward in a curve, the low side).
Drivers are usually advised to do a lowsider rather than a highsider if neither can be avoided. The lowsider has the advantage of the motorcycle sliding before the driver, thus not threatening to crush him.
