Spatial ability has been an area of research for decades. Distinct correlations have been discovered regarding research into spatial ability and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics disciplines (STEM). However, spatial ability is a term that can be confusing to practitioners. For this purpose, spatial ability, a measure of an individual's capability to exercise a specific construct of spatial thinking, will be defined explicitly in this paper. Spatial ability has been positively correlated to success in the professional engineering world as well as within engineering coursework. In view of this correlational evidence, an argument forms for the academy to develop a more refined understanding of the improvement in spatial ability and underlying impacting mechanisms of spatial thinking within undergraduate engineering courses. This paper presents preliminary research into spatial ability's correlation to performance in an engineering Statics course. Statics is a fertile engineering course to research as it is a gateway course where students often determine if they will persevere in engineering. It is the first class in the Engineering Mechanics Series and is required by most mechanical, civil, environmental, biological, and aerospace engineering programs.Results indicate that spatial ability does improve significantly in a Statics course for both sexes. Data was collected using two spatial instruments, the Mental Cutting Test and the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Visualization of Rotations, and a demographic survey. A pre-and post-test design was used for both tests where tests where given in the first week and in the final week of the course. A series of paired t-tests are used to statistically analyze for improvement and the potential correlation between the spatial pre-and post-tests demographic variables. Additionally, the study was replicated in an Anatomy class to address potential risks to the study. Results indicate that spatial ability of the students in the Anatomy class does not significantly improve. Further research is suggested in looking into the demographic factors of each study including previous and concurrent course experience.

Spinning rotor vacuum gages measure pressure by determining the rate of slowing of a magnetically suspended spinning ball over and above the slowing caused by a pressure independent residual drag. For accurate measurement in the high vacuum range, this residual drag must be determined and subtracted as an offset correction. The stability of this residual drag, temperature induced changes of the ball’s moment of inertia, vibration, and random measurement noise will determine the limits of stability and hence, the lowest usable pressure of the gage. Selected balls in a quiet, stable environment have demonstrated instabilities as low as ±10−6 Pa (10−8 Torr) equivalent nitrogen pressure. However, instabilities as large as two orders of magnitude greater can occur. Examples are given of different types of instabilities and guidelines are presented for minimizing many of the sources of instability.

In order to assist students, gain conceptual understanding of internal forces, a physical manipulative of a truss was developed in order to help students visualize, feel, and analyze the behavior of the material being manipulated. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how a physical manipulative of a truss contributed to the conceptual understanding of truss analysis in statics. In this study, six students were presented with a simple problem of a truss, where no measurements or numerical quantities were provided, and asked to determine which members where in tension or compression. Subsequently, the participants were given a model of a physical manipulative resembling the same problem they were given before and asked the same questions. Preliminary qualitative results indicated that physical manipulative helped students visualize concepts taught in the classroom and provided a venue to gain conceptual understanding of internal forces.

We have monitored the nitrogen sensitivity of four gauges each of two selected types of hot cathode ion gauges over a 500-day test period. Gauges of one type, a tungsten filament conventional triode, changed by about 12% during this time, with most of the decrease caused by ‘‘high’’ pressure operation. Gauges of the second type, a twin tungsten filament Bayard–Alpert gauge, changed by no more than 6% and with no obvious correlation between sensitivity changes and ‘‘high’’ pressure operation or exposure to air. There were no significant differences in the sensitivity changes for the two filaments in a given Bayard–Alpert gauge, although their operating times differed by a factor of 10.

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