41–50 of 107 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I suppose this is also the less colorful true origin of "balls to the wall" than the phrase itself suggests?
Nope. Balls to the wall refers to the balls on the end of throttle levers in aircraft cockpit. Going balls to the wall means pushing the throttle and mixture all the way in to the firewall/instrument panel for maximum power.
Ever hear the phrase "Balls out" when referring to pushing something to the max? Comes form the balls of the centrifugal engine governor. At maximum speed the balls extended all the way outward giving us the term "Running balls out." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrifugal_governor edit: I once said this phrase at a work meeting and someone objected to my use of a crude term which I then explained much to everyone'…
Author here. The beam engine created power from steam, and was a key part of the early Industrial Revolution. The article is a deep dive into the engine: how it works, the history behind it, and the engineering tradeoffs the builders faced. There are quite a few interactive figures that I hope make the concepts easier to see.
This reminds me a lot of the articles at: https://ciechanow.ski/archives/ Not just in terms of presentation, but also quality. Amazing!
And 100% inspired by Bartosz's articles - he is the first line in the credits section.
Quinn (Blondihacks) on youtube is a model engineer machinist and has, IMO, the most outsider-watchable content on building boilers and steam engines like this. Highly recommend this primer titled "The Model Engineering Learning Curve" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps_BQJEMnGA She's been building a model locomotive for years now, there are over 100 videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLY67-4BrEae-xhrvZX33gPk4…
Ha. The title lead me to believe this was about Erlang. But this is great too.
Glad to not be the only person to expect Erlang instead of steam.
Ever hear the phrase "Balls out" when referring to pushing something to the max? Comes form the balls of the centrifugal engine governor. At maximum speed the balls extended all the way outward giving us the term "Running balls out." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrifugal_governor edit: I once said this phrase at a work meeting and someone objected to my use of a crude term which I then explained much to everyone'…
The first attested use is from 1945, on the nose of a P-47 Thunderbolt flown by Captain Milton Thompson of the 509th Fighter Squadron. And his art was exactly what you'd expect: a charging bull with the words "balls out".
Ever hear the phrase "Balls out" when referring to pushing something to the max? Comes form the balls of the centrifugal engine governor. At maximum speed the balls extended all the way outward giving us the term "Running balls out." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrifugal_governor edit: I once said this phrase at a work meeting and someone objected to my use of a crude term which I then explained much to everyone'…
Ever hear the phrase "Balls out" when referring to pushing something to the max? Comes form the balls of the centrifugal engine governor. At maximum speed the balls extended all the way outward giving us the term "Running balls out." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrifugal_governor edit: I once said this phrase at a work meeting and someone objected to my use of a crude term which I then explained much to everyone'…