Each week, the editor of Planet Analog finds items of interest and then features them in two sections, entitled “Also of Interest” and “Elementals”. Each cites items from publications outside the Planet Analog and EETimes portfolios.

It's an extension of our belief that engineers are interested in on-going tutorial on obviously relevant topics, as well as the serendipity of exploring topics which are not directly related to their jobs, but which will broaden their knowledge and sometimes spurs innovative and creative approaches. The first box highlights a few items of general interest to the engineer, while the second highlights some basic and tutorial electronic-engineering material.

Among the publications we check are IEEE Spectrum , Machine Design , Design News , Laser Focus World , EDN , Electronic Design , NASA Tech Briefs , Portable Design , and Physics Today .

Consider these items as “online-only” extras, and worth a look! (Please note: there are also links to the previous weeks' editions, at the bottom).

Also of Interest:

• Sometimes proper selection and placement of insulating materials is part art, part science:
  “No Such Thing as Too Quiet,”
  Machine Design , May 22, 2008
• An iPod you manufacture yourself? It's not a far-fetched idea for personal fabrication technology:
  “Fab it Now,”
  Machine Design , May 22, 2008
• This engineer started her own successful electronics-kit business. You can too:
  “Voices: 15 steps to starting your own electronic-kit business,”
  EDN , August 7, 2008
• The conventional spin-recovery technique for fuselage-heavy aircraft is implemented by a modern control system:
  “Variable-Structure Control of a Model Glider Airplane,”
  NASA Tech Briefs , July 2008

Elementals:

• Increased performance requirements have meant packing more hardware onto boards and higher-density boards into shrinking chassis:
  “Early Warning Is In The Air For Effective Thermal Management,”
  Electronic Design , July 24, 2008
• As electronic products become faster and more complex, radiated-EMI emissions increase dramatically:
  “Spread-spectrum-clock generators reduce EMI and signal-integrity problems,”
  EDN , July 24, 2008

Year

• Peak power ratings don't tell you what you need to know for many applications:
  “Determining the CW Power Rating of Coaxial Components,”
  High Frequency Electronics , July 2008
• The speed of SRAM, the high density of DRAM, and the non-volatility of flash in a single low-power memory?:
  “MRAM–The Future of Non-Volatile Memory?,”
  Portable Design , July 2008

Previous Editions:

• September 29, 2008
• September 22, 2008
• September 15, 2008
• September 8, 2008
• September 1, 2008
• August 25, 2008
• August 18, 2008