CarbonFeet

Previous to their implementation of the Western solar calendar scheme, the Chinese almost exclusively followed their own lunar calendar for determining the times of planting and harvesting and festival days. Although people in China today use the Western calendar for almost all business, governmental and practical matters of daily life, the old system still serves as the basis for working out numerous recurring holidays. This coexistence of two calendar schemes has long been acknowledged by the people of China.

However, this does not only apply to China, it also happens in most other Eastern countries, like Thailand, and most Arabic countries.

A lunar month is determined by measuring the period of time needed for the moon to complete its full cycle of 29 and a half days, a standard that makes the lunar year a full eleven days shorter than its solar counterpart. This difference is corrected every 19 years by the addition of seven lunar months.

The 12 lunar months are further divided into 24 solar divisions characterized by the four seasons and times of heat and cold, all of which bear a close relationship to the annual cycle of agricultural work.

The Chinese calendar – very much like the Hebrew calendar- is a combination of the solar and lunar calendars in that it strives to have its years coincide with the tropical year and its months coincide with the synodic months. It is not surprising that a few similarities exist between the Chinese and the Hebrew calendar.

For instance, an ordinary year has 12 months, a leap year has 13 months. An ordinary year has 353, 354, or 355 days, a leap year has 383, 384, or 385 days. When working out what a Chinese year will be like, one needs to make a number of astronomical calculations.

First of all, you have to determine the dates of the new moons. In these cases, a new Moon is the completely black Moon (that is to say, when the Moon is in conjunction with the Sun), not the first visible crescent, as is used by the Islamic and Hebrew calendars. The date of a new moon is then the first day of a new month.

The reason why the majority of countries which had their own calendars had to dump them in favour of the Western, Julian calendar that we use today, is business. First the British and then the Americans ran international business and they used the Julian calendar.Anyone who wanted to work with them had to follow suit. This is why national policy often varies from local custom in Third World countries.

The government desires to deal on the International markets, but the ordinary family in the country can not. So, the government adopted the Julian calendar but the people only pay lip service to it. I live in Thailand and people here do not even use the 24 hour day divided into two halves. Their day has four sections of six hours each and the first part starts at 6AM, not midnight. Therefore, they have four 4 o’clocks a day, for example but no 7 o’clocks. They are also 543 years ahead of us, although this is more common, for example in Muslim countries.

Interested in astronomy, then please pop along to our website at: Astronomy Today

Personal residential utilities offer a great way to save money and conserve the environment. Government tax credits are making it easier to afford options such as 10kw wind turbines for homes and small farms. There are a few points to note before making the investment.

Residential homes generally use eight hundred to two thousand kilowatt hours of electricity per month. For this demand, a 10kw turbine is usually sufficient. The caveat being that the region in which it is installed has an annual average wind speed above eight miles per hour. Within this range, the unit can greatly reduce or eliminate current power bills.

Deciding whether this system makes sense economically for the individual, is key. It may be that at your current rate, the long term savings versus initial investment won’t match your projected long term power costs with a traditional power company. For people who pay over twelve cents per kilowatt-hour, this investment can pay off. Estimate a long term projection by multiplying the expected demand for each option by the rate at which you’ll pay the utility company. Then factor in the cost of the equipment and installation.

For horizontal-axis units, the tower height in this size is eighty to one hundred and twenty foot. Noticeable sound can be heard at a height of seventy feet, next to the tower. Mounting the turbine on building tops is not recommended due to the associated noise, turbulence and vibration that effects both the building and the wind driving the blades.

The cut in speed at which most turbines begin producing power, is eight to ten miles per hour. Warmer regions may have different turbine needs than colder areas. Colder air tends to be denser than warmer air. This means that warmer regions require higher wind speeds to produce comparable amounts of power. Full output is reached between twenty five and thirty mph, and a safety cut out speed is generally set for around forty mph.

Rated power for wind turbines can vary between manufacturers. This can make comparing products misleading. For this reason the Annual Energy Output (AEO) has been established by an American wind energy association, that creates a standard output at various annual average wind speeds. These rating are analogous to the Environmental Protection Agency’s estimated gas mileage for vehicles.

It’s best to hire professional installation for the tower and equipment. In some cases, smaller scale towers can be hinged at the base and erected by the user with a vehicle or winch. The most affordable tower to use to support the turbine is the guyed-latticed tower commonly used for ham radio antennas. Aluminum tower tend to develop cracks, so it’s recommended that these not be used. Wind generators should be mounted thirty feet or more above tree lines and obstacle within a three hundred foot radius.

The cost of a typical 10kw wind turbines is between twenty eight thousand and thirty five thousand dollars, including installation. Today’s turbine designs are manufactured to last over thirty years, which nearly double the expected return payoff time of eight to sixteen years.

Installing residential and small scale alternative energy measures for example 10kw wind turbines has been incentivized by government tax credits. We’ve got the ultimate inside skinny on 10kw wind turbine installation.