Free TV

Two Hundred Fifty Seventh Post: Free TV

In Make vol. 05 there is an article on how to receive free stations from an old satellite dish. The only problem is aiming the dish. There are different satellites with different stations. One European satellite has free Playboy One station. Of course other satellites have PBS and learning stations. So when a teenager is out searching for stations claiming it is a good application of the math and technology they learned in school, make sure they are not aiming the satellite 28.5 degrees east.

It is winter and a lot of energy is being used to heat homes. To conserve energy home owners are often told to turn down the thermostat. However if one were to put it into a math problem would it actually prove to save energy? Is it more efficient for the house to get cooler before heating it or is it better to maintain a certain comfortable temperature? Common sense would say the lower the thermostat the less the furnace runs so it is saving energy. But does this hold true in all cases?

I don’t know the answer to the math question. It is similar to one of those calculus problems where the goal is to find the ideal price to sell an item. In this type of problem the fact of how many can be sold vs. price range is calculated and somehow the best price is picked. It is really complicated and seems that there should be a simpler way to determine such things. It is a problem just to think about when you have some extra time.

The same problem applies to everything from refrigerators, air conditioners, and hot water tanks. I’m sure there has been a lot of work done on this. However this problem is not at all easy to figure out. There is a lot of variables. But until you point your satellite at Eurobird 1... May the Creative Force be with You