Foil Test – Foil Variabilities

It would make sense that variations in the aluminum foil used for testing in the foil test for ultrasonic performance could have a bearing on the outcome of the test.  Most people use standard “grocery store” aluminum foil for testing because it is inexpensive and widely available.  So let’s talk about that first.  The most …

Aluminum Foil Test for Ultrasonic Performance – Potential Problems

Task At Hand – In a previous blog I declared that I am not a fan of the aluminum foil test for evaluating ultrasonic performance.  I question its validity and relevance on a number of fronts.  If my purpose here is to question my own skepticism, then I guess I should probably define the factors …

How do you measure surface tension?

In the world of industrial cleaning technology we talk about surface tension a lot! So much so, in fact, that it is hard to enter into any discussion of cleaning without having the subject of surface tension arise.  In cleaning chemistry, for example, we are always looking for lower surface tension to promote penetration of small surface features …

Surface Tension and/or Wettability

A few days ago, I sat down to write what I thought would be a simple explanation of surface tension and how it is measured in the laboratory (a blog which will be published shortly if I can figure all of this out).  In doing the normal background research, however, I started to see contradictions …

Three Phase Power – Why and How

Three phase power is commonly used where large amounts of electrical power are required.  Examples are power transmission lines and large industrial machines which require considerable power.  What is three phase power anyway? Let’s start by thinking of a two wire transmission line as shown below connecting the source of alternating current power to the …