joe0311

Thanks CharonY and everyone for the replies : ) What is the process of controlled freezing?

I'm assuming you need a big one for the liquid nitrogen and a smaller one for the cells, but types/sizes specifically would one use? It's for long term storage. Thanks in advance.

Thanks again for your replies! Some of this is over my head, but I can tell you guys definitely know what you are talking about! Yeah I want to start with the basics so I can get a better understanding. Do you guys know any books that would be a good starting guide for someone who wants to understand how technology such as telephones, radio, circuit boards, television, computers, etc actually work? Ideally, I'm looking for a book that could tell me descriptive details like you guys did (not a book that's overly vague), but not in overly technical jargon and I'm not interested in doing a bunch of the math (since this isn't my major). So describing the mathematical laws is fine, but I don't really want a book that's heavy on equations to test students. Not overly wordy like most textbooks have a tendency to be (they have to 'challenge' the students); concise and to the point like you guys have been. It could be a good book, a good youtube channel, whatever. So basically something that would give someone a thorough understanding of how these things work, but keeping in mind that the reader never has to build any of it (I don't want to build them I just don't like using all these things every day and having no clue how they work!) Thanks again!

Strange, Janus, and Sensei, thank you for your replies. What is it about having a small current at the base of a transistor that can create a larger current at the collector? Why is alternating current the signal you want to pass and direct current the signal you want to block? What is the mechanism of capacitors that allow them to block DC current, or only allow current of a specific frequency to pass? Is a variable capacitor what would be used to get a radio wave to go to the correct channel? And is this the component of the circuit that would allow you to change entities such as brightness, speed of motor, etc? I really want to understand technology (various inventions) better, and I figure this type of stuff is a good place to start, so thanks for your help!

interesting, could anyone tell me some other examples of what these more complex components of circuits make possible?

Oh ok I see. I don't know hardly any terminology, but I've heard of capacitors and resistors, what makes something require those? I also asked a similar question on reddit and someone mentioned circuits are mandatory to do any sort of sequencing and I asked him what would make something require sequencing and he hasn't gotten back to me.

I'm just trying to learn about electricity/inventions for fun. Are circuits necessary for all machines to run? If not, what are other ways to deliver electricity to machines, and why do certain ones require circuits? What are some examples of ones that require them and ones that don't?

Ok cool I'll look into that stuff thanks for the suggestions : )

Oh ok thanks, I'll do some more reading and I may be back with some questions later. Thanks again for all your help! That goes to all you guys in the thread as well!

Yeah I've been reading about how radios work (I'm just doing this for fun btw, not school), and the problem is that it seems like all the articles I read tell simplified versions of how it works. Like I don't see anything about how an oscillator can make the current go at a steady frequency or how a modulator actually puts the audio signal and carrier wave together. I hate walking away from google articles feeling like they just told me vague descriptions. But thanks guys I'll take a look at this stuff, appreciate it. : )

And the oscillator runs at a specific frequency to be used as a 'carrier wave'? How does it create this frequency? It's sending out pulses of current at a constant value? How exactly does it do this? Also, how is the electrical signal (after it's amplified) actually added to the carrier wave?

Thank you very much for all your replies! I think I understand a little better now! So the audio wave goes through a transistor which adds more electrons/current to the vibrations, making them louder? Now how exactly would the microphone work if it was a coil in a magnetic field? Is there a constant current in the coil, and when a sound causes the diaphragm to vibrate it alters that constant current somehow? How exactly is the vibration of the diaphragm causing the fluctuations of the current which create the audio wave peaks and troughs? For one of the other microphone types, what would be the mechanism for changing the resistance to make an audiowave?

When amplifying a sound wave, what does the current actually do to the wave to make it louder? As in, how do the electrons of the current actually interact with the audio wave mechanistically?