Un-liquidated damages (that is, damages assessed by the court) In Surrey CC v Bredero Homes (1993), the court refused to award damages against a defendant who had not complied with planning permission as there was no loss to the council. However, in Chaplin v Hicks (1911), damages were awarded for …

Electron flow and conventional flow If an electrical pressure (electromotive force or voltage) is applied to a conductor, a directional movement of electrons will take place (for example when connecting a battery to a wire). This is because the electrons are attracted to the positive side and repelled from the …

What is a system? The system is a word used to describe a collection of related components, which interact as a whole. A motorway system, the education system or computer systems, are three varied examples. Using the systems approach helps to split extremely complex technical entities into more manageable parts. …

Basic hand tools You cannot learn to use tools from a book, it is clearly a very practical skill. However, you can follow the recommendations made here and, of course, by the manufacturers. Even the range of basic hand tools is now quite daunting and very expensive. And of course, …

Getting to Know CSS3 CSS3 is the name for the next wave of changes and additions to the CSS “core.” The core is most of the features described in this book, which are available in Internet Explorer 6 and many of the minor browsers as well. CSS3 has been in …

Parents versus ancestors You’ll hear the terms parent-child and ancestor-descendant. Not all ancestors are parents, although all parents are ancestors. Get it? Probably not. I didn’t get it at first. Few people do. These relationships don’t mean exactly the same thing. A parent-child relationship is the closest possible: The parent …

Requirements of the vehicle battery The vehicle battery is used as a source of energy in the vehicle when the engine, and hence the alternator, is not running. The battery has a number of requirements, which are listed below broadly in order of importance. To provide power storage and be …

Bulbs Joseph Swan in the UK demonstrated the first light bulb in 1878. Much incremental development has taken place since that time. The number, shape and size of bulbs used on vehicles is increasing all the time. Most bulbs for vehicle lighting are generally either conventional tungsten filament bulbs or …

Variable inlet tract For an engine to operate at its best, volumetric efficiency is not possible with fixed manifolds. This is because the length of the inlet tract determines the velocity of the intake air and, in particular, the propagation of the pressure waves set up by the pumping action …

Spark ignition engine combustion process A simplified description of the combustion process within the cylinder of a spark ignition engine is as follows. A single high intensity spark of high temperature passes between the electrodes of the spark plug leaving behind it a thin thread of flame. From this thin …