The Neal Armstrong Award of Excellence – A Night to Remember
No, I did not receive this award, but I had the next best experience – one of my former students did. As a teacher, the primary driving force behind everything I do is the knowledge that, in some small way, I am changing people’s lives. It is rare, however, to know just how much, or […]
Get a Grip – From a Dead Spider?
Ok, we are going off the deep end here. Mechanical engineers at Rice University have discovered that dead spiders have an incredible grip. Wolf spiders that they have been doing research on in the lab can pick up as much as 130% of their body weight – when dead that is. Apparently, unlike most other […]
Attention HVAC Engineers! DTC Has the Best Course for PE Exam Prep
WATCH OUR VIDEO! If you’re looking for your best chance to pass the HVAC & Refrigeration Mechanical PE Exam, Dr. Tom’s Classroom offers a comprehensive online prep course for the HVAC & Refrigeration PE Exam, specifically developed for the CBT format exam. Our HVAC course applies the successful Dr. Tom Method for CBT to the […]
Depleted Oil Wells Aren’t Just Empty Holes Anymore
With the boom in oil and gas drilling over the last 100 years, there are many oil wells that have been depleted of oil. But these wells are drilled many thousands of feet in the ground, where the temperatures are far higher. So, these seemingly empty holes are not really empty at all, and there […]
Emergency Freshwater from Seawater
After making emergency medical assistance available, probably the most critical thing needed after a disaster, especially hurricanes, is water. It is normally brought into the disaster area in water bottles on pallets. To address other possibilities, the U.S. Department of Energy sponsored a three year competition called “Waves to Water” with the expressed goal of […]
How To Take the PE Exam with Confidence and Pass
Watch our video! Passing the PE Exam requires more than just knowing how to solve problems. You need a solid plan for organizing your review from day one and for solving problems on exam day. In Dr. Tom’s CBT Mechanical PE Exam Strategy – Part 2 (How to Prepare For & Pass the PE Exam) […]
Whirligig Wonders
A farm machinery repairman, Vollis Simpson, created the magical, mechanical creations that became North Carolina’s official folk art. Known as “whirligigs,” the huge kinetic sculptures have been installed around the United States, but the largest collection is near the family farm in Wilson, North Carolina. Other installations include the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore and the […]
Dual-Purpose Home Heat Pump Helps Reduce Emissions
The US Department of Energy is pushing residential, commercial, and industrial energy users to switch from natural gas and other fuels to electricity. Several cities in California are banning natural gas for new buildings. One important way this can happen is to install heat pumps to provide space heating and cooling, and to provide domestic […]
FEATURED TESTIMONIAL – “Great Course That Keeps You Engaged”
“I took Dr. Tom’s thermal/fluids PE prep course. Dr. Tom presents the prep course material personally. Starting from the first lesson, it’s obvious that Dr. Tom is a man that is extremely passionate about teaching. If you are serious about taking a PE and not wasting your time, I would recommend Dr. Tom’s Classroom. I […]
Charge While You Shop – Solar Parking Lots
Internal combustion vehicles run out of gas, electric powered vehicles run out of electrons. However, IC vehicles usually do not have a problem finding a gas station, whereas EV’s have a big problem finding charging stations. An idea posed in a recent ASME article is to construct solar panel roofs over parking lots, in particular parking […]
