HOW TO CHOOSE A BADMINTON RACKET

This guide is intended for beginners who are new to badminton or for anyone that needs some help with choosing a badminton racket.  To begin with, we will talk about the different specifications of a racket and what they mean.

For people who are new to badminton or do not know much about badminton rackets, they often do the following:

-buy the most expensive racket
-ask for what the pros/their favourite player is using
-asking what the best racket is or which one is better

 

As a result, they will end up unsatisfied with their racket as it may not be suitable for them and may lead to injuries down the road.  They might even buy a new racket and end up spending more money than required.

Before we start talking about the different aspects of a badminton racket, familiarize yourself with the name of the different parts so you can easily find where to look on the racket.

WHAT YOU SHOULD CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A BADMINTON RACKET:

1. Overall Weight
2. Balance
3. Flex
4. Head shape
5. Grip Size
6. Singles or Doubles
7. Take home message

1. OVERALL WEIGHT

When comparing the weight of two rackets, the heavier one will give you more power.  I assume we all know this from high school physics that Force = Mass x Acceleration !

The downside is that a heavier badminton racket is harder to maneuver and causes more fatigue on the arm/shoulder.

  Racket weights can be categorized into several categories:

U: 95-99g
2U: 90-94g
3U: 85-89g
4U: 80-84g
5U: 75-79g
6U (F): 70-74g

The weight of a racket can be found on the cone and is often seen together with the grip sizing. (eg.3UG5) The most common weight you will find for most rackets are 3U and 4U.  Nowadays, rackets are getting lighter and will come in 5U and 6U as well.  U and 2U are less common and are usually found in training rackets [1-Yonex] [2-Victor] meant to workout the wrist and forearm muscles. Some training rackets can even weigh over 100g!

2. BALANCE

Badminton rackets have three types of balances.  The balance of a racket can usually be found written somewhere on the shaft.

 

HEAD HEAVY BALANCE BADMINTON RACKETS:

Head heavy rackets give you the extra edge when hitting a smash as the head weight contributes to the momentum of a players swing and gives them more power in their shots.  The downside is that with a heavier head, your reaction to shots might be a bit sluggish when on the defense.  The added head weight will also be taxing on your wrist when hitting quick drives and defensive blocks. 

HEAD LIGHT BALANCE BADMINTON RACKETS:

Head light rackets will give you the upper hand when engaging in fast drive exchanges  A lighter head gives players the ability to quickly react to shots, heightening their defensive abilities.  A downside to a lighter head is that you won't have as much power in your smashes but you will have better control and placement of your half smashes with a quick flick of the wrist.

EVEN BALANCE BADMINTON RACKETS:

Even balanced rackets are in between the other two types.  They are quite versatile in that they can still pack a punch when smashing and be quick enough to react to defensive shots.  They are all-rounded and are suitable for most type of players.

YOU MAY ADJUST THE BALANCE POINT OF A RACKET BY:

• Adding lead tape to the head of a racket to make it more head heavy
  OR
• adding more layers of grip to make it more head light

3. SHAFT FLEX

Badminton Rackets range from flexible, medium flex, stiff, to extra stiff.  When choosing a racket, you should take into consideration the speed of your swing so that it matches with the rackets flexibility. The ideal stiffness is proportional to the racket speed you can generate. A flexible racket will not recoil fully before the shuttle is hit, meaning the energy in flexing the racket is essentially wasted. However, if the racket is too stiff for your swing speed, it will not be flexed enough, and thus won't contribute any extra power. An advanced player with excellent technique should use a stiff racket, whilst a beginner with a slower swing would be better off with a more flexible racket.

FLEXIBLE SHAFT

ADVANTAGES

-a flexible shaft will give the player easy access to power without exerting much strength (little energy needed to bend the shaft) -good for beginners as they can use this to practice on their technique since they won't have to focus on generating enough power for their shots -can easily defend smashes since you have little time to put strength into your shot

DISADVANTAGES

-less control of shuttle placement since the shaft is easily bent, leading to uncertainty in the flight direction of the shuttlecock. -return of shots are slower since the shuttle stays on the string bed for a longer time due to the flex of the shaft -low potential for power

 STIFF SHAFT 

ADVANTAGES

-return of shots are faster since the shuttle does not stay on the string bed as long due to stiff flex of shaft -more control of shuttle placement since the shaft is stiff and will give instant rebound of the shuttle   -higher potential power

DISADVANTAGES

-a stiff shaft will require a stronger swing and good technique in order to generate power -requires good use of wrist action -more suited for intermediate to advanced players

 4. HEAD SHAPE

Badminton rackets can have either an Isometric head shape (Square) or Conventional head shape (Oval)

The only difference between an isometric and conventional frame is the size of the SWEET SPOT.

The sweet spot is a specific area on the string bed of the racket (usually the center of the string bed). Hitting the sweet spot will give you maximum power.

Isometric frames have a larger sweet spot than conventional oval frames.

Conventional frames are practically non-existant nowadays and are replaced by the isometric frames.

 

5. GRIP SIZE

Just like the weight of a racket, grip sizes also vary.  They are usually found on the cone of the racket along with the racket's weight.  The following are grip sizes (circumference in inches) that Yonex and Victor follows:

G1: 4 in
G2: 3.75 in
G3: 3.5 in
G4: 3.25 in
G5: 3 in
G6: 2.75 in

The grip size for every player is different as it is dependent on their personal preference.  Smaller grip sizes will allow for more finger power/wrist action to be used whereas a bigger grip size will utilize more of the arm. 

Most rackets are available in G5 and G4, with bigger grip sizes G3 and G2 available in European countries.  If you don't know which size to get, it is recommended that you get the smallest grip size available to you as you can always add on an over grip to make it bigger if necessary.  And also because you are limited by how much you can decrease the grip size.

 

6. SINGLES OR DOUBLES

Another aspect you may want to consider is the type of game that you play.  For example, if you are mostly a singles player, you would want to lean towards more head heavy rackets.  Since singles is not as fast paced as doubles, you have more time to react to shots and therefore the extra weight of the head would not be a problem.  

For those of you who mostly play doubles, an even balanced racket or head light racket would be preferred.  This will allow you to keep up with the fast paced rallies in doubles.

 

7. TAKE HOME MESSAGE

This guide was meant to be used as a reference for people who are new to badminton or for those with limited knowledge on the sport.  Keep in mind that the things mentioned in this guide are only guidelines.  You may see people doing completely the opposite of what was mentioned in this guide and that is fine because everyone has their own personal preference.  You can use whichever racket you like as long as you are comfortable and it does not hinder your performance or cause you injury.

 

If you found this useful, keep reading my posts

Everything you need to know about superchargers and turbochargers

Super chargers


Superchargers are pressure boosting devices which supplies air at high pressure to the engine. It is driven by the engine itself & power is transmitted via a friction belt to the device.

The power is utilized by the device(compressor) to compress the air & then delivers the pressurized air to the engine via intake manifold. Various types of supercharger such as centrifugal type, root’s type  & vane type are available in the market.

Turbochargers


Turbochargers have the same function as supercharger except that they don’t draw power from the engine. Turbochargers get their power from exhaust gases. The engine produces huge amount of exhaust gases carrying enormous heat energy. This energy usually gets wasted since they are released directly to atmosphere.

Turbochargers utilize this energy by letting the exhaust gases pass through a turbine. The turbine produces work which drives a compressor. The compressor then compresses air & supplies it to the engine at high pressure.


Turbo vs Supercharger: pros and cons


Each method of forced induction has its pros and cons. While a supercharger provides immediate boost, fuel economy does suffer compared with a turbocharger that is inactive at low revs (turbo lag) or at idle. 

Compared with turbochargers, superchargers are easier to install and (generally) do not require an intercooler. This is because supercharges do not heat the compressed air as much as a turbo. Turbochargers can sometimes provide too much boost, which damages an engine. A waste gates removes excess boost which protects an engine.


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honor band 4 charging socket

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Bata shoes

Battery, do you know how does it work?

Batteries are everywhere. The modern world is dependent on these portable sources of energy, which are found in everything from mobile devices to hearing aids to cars. 

But despite their prevalence in people's daily lives, batteries often go overlooked. Think about it: Do you really know how a battery works? Could you explain it to someone else?

What is Battery made of?

Batteries contain three basic parts: electrodes, an electrolyte and a separator. There are two electrodes in every battery. Both are made of conductive materials but serve different roles. One electrode is cathode which connects to the positive end of the battery and is where the electrical current leaves (or electrons enter) the battery during discharge, which is when the battery is being used to power something. The other electrode, known as the anode, connects to the negative end of the battery and is where the electrical current enters (or electrons leave) the battery during discharge.


Between these electrodes, as well as inside them, is the electrolyte. This is a liquid or gel-like substance that contains electrically charged particles, or ions. The ions combine with the materials that make up the electrodes, producing chemical reactions that allow a battery to generate an electric current.

The final part of the battery is separator which is straight forward. The separator's role is to keep the anode and the cathode separated from each other inside the battery. Without a separator, the two electrodes would come into contact, which would create a short circuit and prevent the battery from working properly.

How does a Battery work?

To envision how a battery works, picture yourself putting alkaline batteries, like double AAs, into a flashlight. When you put those batteries into the flashlight and then turn it on, what you're really doing is completing a circuit. The stored chemical energy in the battery converts to electrical energy, which travels out of the battery and into the base of the flashlight's bulb, causing it to light up. Then, the electric current re-enters the battery, but at the opposite end from where it came out originally.

All parts of the battery work together to make the flashlight light up. The electrodes in the battery contain atoms of certain conducting materials. For instance, in an alkaline battery, the anode is typically made of zinc, and manganese dioxide acts as the cathode. And the electrolyte between and inside those electrodes contains ions. When these ions meet up with the electrodes' atoms, certain electrochemical reactions take place between the ions and the electrodes' atoms.

The series of chemical reactions that occurs in the electrodes are collectively known as oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions. In a battery, the cathode is known as the oxidizing agent because it accepts electrons from the anode. The anode is known as the reducing agent, because it loses electrons.  

Ultimately, these reactions result in the flow of ions between the anode and the cathode, as well as the freeing of electrons from the atoms of the electrode.

These free electrons congregate inside the anode (the bottom, flat part of an alkaline battery). As a result, the two electrodes have different charges: The anode becomes negatively charged as electrons are released, and the cathode becomes positively charged as electrons (which are negatively charged) are consumed. This difference in charge causes the electrons to want to move toward the positively charged cathode. However, they don't have a way to get there inside the battery because the separator prevents them from doing so.

When you flick the switch on your flashlight, all that changes. The electrons now have a path to get to the cathode. But first, they must pass through the base of your flashlight's bulb. The circuit is completed when the electric current re-enters the battery through the top of the battery at the cathode.

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What is wireless charging and how does it work

If you've ever untangled a Gordian knot of wires and cords, you probably understand the appeal of wireless charging.

Until recently, however, there weren't alternatives to charging through bulky wires and cords. But as wireless charging becomes more advanced, it may be used to power a wide variety of things other than phones or watches, such as lamps or even electric buses, experts say.

How it works
Wireless charging as a concept has been around since inventor and physicist Nikola Tesla first concluded that you could transfer power between two objects via an electromagnetic field.

Essentially, wireless charging uses a loop of coiled wires around a bar magnet — which is known as an inductor. When an electric current passes through the coiled wire, it creates an electromagnetic field around the magnet, which can then be used to transfer a voltage, or charge, to something nearby.

Most wireless power stations nowadays use a mat with an inductor inside, although electric toothbrushes, for example, have long had wireless charging embedded in their bases. Because the strength of the electromagnetic field drops sharply with distance (as the square of the distance between the objects), a device must be fairly close to a charging station to get power.

Although the basic concept of wireless charging has been understood for more than 100 years ago, scientists hadn't figured out a way to efficiently transfer large amounts of power using this technique. The amount of electric charge transferred is proportional to the number of coils that can be looped around the tiny bar magnet, as well as the strength of the magnet. Until recently, wires and electronics couldn't be made small enough and cheap enough to make wireless charging feasible.

Improvements in wireless technology
"The cost to do it has been really reduced,". "To make it more efficient, you have to have very, very flat coils of wire," enabling many loops of wire to be coiled around the tiny bar magnet.

What's more, wireless power stations must charge only objects that are supposed to be charged, such as a phone. To ensure that the wireless charging station doesn't power an errant object, wireless power stations use tiny transmitters that communicate with small receivers in a device, such as a phone.

In essence, the receiver "talks" to the charging station. "If it says I'm an authorized Qi receiver, it's OK to send me some power. I'll let you know how much power I need, and as those needs change, I'll let you know. And when I'm done charging, I'll let you know so you can go back to sleep".

Future prospects
Existing systems are used primarily to charge smartphones or smartwatches.
But wireless power may soon extend to many more applications. For instance, electric buses in South Korea are being charged through a wireless platform, and IKEA is rolling out a new line of furniture, including lamps and tables, with built-in charging stations.
Other groups are integrating wireless charging stations into public locations so that people with so-called battery anxiety — that ever-present fear of running out of juice — can charge their devices on the go.

As technology improves, it may be possible to charge bigger and more power-hungry devices, such as blenders or even vacuum cleaners. And companies are already designing systems in which wireless charging platforms in hotel rooms will be able to not only charge phones, but also figure out when people are in their rooms, sync their TV to the last spot in a movie they were watching on the plane and sense whether the air conditioning should be cranked up,

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How to measure ambient noise in apple watch with watch OS 6

Audible

A brand-new Noise app for Apple Watch is the built-in decibel meter along with an automatic notification is one of the few interesting hearing health innovations in watch OS 6 which has the potential to help protect people from noise that can easily damage their hearing.

Unfortunately, hearing loss happens so gradually and over longer periods of time that you don’t even notice it until it’s too late. And we all know or should be aware of the fact that keeping your hearing in good condition is key to maintaining your independence as you grow older.

The Noise app uses the microphone in your watch to periodically measure noise levels throughout the day. You can also measure the noise level in real time, a life-saver when in loud environments that could easily negatively impact your hearing.

How to use the decibel meter on Apple Watch

By default, your Apple Watch will warn you when your average sound level over a period of three minutes reaches or exceeds 90 decibels. When that happens, you’ll feel a gentle buzz on your wrist and an alert will pop up on the Apple Watch display.

You can tap the notification to open the Noise app and see more details.

How to check noise level in real time

To check your noise level in real time, do the following:

1) Press the Digital Crown to get to the Home screen, then tap the Noise app icon to launch the app. You can also put the app in your Dock for quicker access or use Siri to open Noise.

2) As the noise level around you changes, the onscreen decibel meter moves dynamically, in real time. The Noise app rates the current noise level as either OK or Loud. To learn more about decimal ranges, scroll down and tap Learn More.

If you’re in a construction zone and the Noise app has warned you of potentially damaging noise levels, move somewhere else as soon as possible. The same goes if you’re at a sporting event, rock concert or some other venue that produces loud noises.

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How to use ECG on Apple Watch

Audible
To take an ECG recording at any time or following an irregular rhythm notification, users open the new ECG app on Apple Watch Series 4 or later and hold their finger on the Digital Crown.

As the user touches the Digital Crown, the circuit is completed and electrical signals across their heart are measured. 

After 30 seconds, the heart rhythm is classified as either AFib, sinus rhythm or inconclusive.

All recordings, their associated classifications and any noted symptoms are stored securely in the Health app on iPhone.

Users can then share a PDF of the results with their physicians.

With watchOS 6, the irregular rhythm notification feature will use the optical heart sensor to occasionally check the user’s heart rhythm in the background for signals of an irregular heart rhythm that appears to be Afib. If irregular heart rhythm such as Afib is identified on five rhythm checks over a minimum of 65 minutes, a notification will be generated to alert the user.

The ECG app’s ability to accurately classify an ECG recording into AFib and sinus rhythm was validated in a clinical trial of around 600 participants.

 The study found the ECG app on Apple Watch demonstrated 98.3 per cent sensitivity in classifying AFib and 99.6 per cent specificity in classifying sinus rhythm in classifiable recordings. The irregular rhythm notification feature was recently studied in the Apple Heart Study. With over 400,000 participants, the Apple Heart Study was the largest screening study on atrial fibrillation ever conducted.

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Apple watch 5 launched but should you upgrade?

Audible
Apple released an entirely new Apple Watch Series 5 which slipped under the radar because it isn’t all that different from its predecessor. The available display sizes remain 40mm and 44mm, and the battery life still clocks in at 18 hours. The starting price of $399 remains the same, and features like the built-in ECG and fall detector work on both models. And as is the case with all Apple Watch models, you can easily attach your favorite bands from the Series 4.

You’ll see the biggest differences when you flip it on, although these differences may not be enough to have you rush out and preorder one right now.

Retina display

This is the biggest difference for some that’s enough to warrant an upgrade. Series 5 has an always-on Retina display, which means the display stays visible even if you don’t touch it or lift it to your face. To optimize battery usage, the display dims when you’re not looking at it, but it won’t actually turn off.

Apple accomplished this by including a light sensor, an energy-efficient display driver, and a low-temperature polysilicone and oxide display.

More storage

If you listen to music and podcasts a lot Series 5 will make a nice upgrade, as it comes with 32GB of storage over the Series 4’s paltry 16GB. That’s a lot for a watch, though, especially when there aren’t many Apple Watch apps that come close to demanding that kind of room. Chances are you won’t need it.

It’s faster

The Series 4 was already way faster than previous models, but Apple equipped the Series 5 with an S5 system-on-chip processor to replace the S4. This should certainly result in faster and better app performance.

Compass

If you’re fond of hiking or exploring, you’ll like this feature. The Series 5 comes with a built-in compass that displays your elevation, incline, longitude, and latitude. It’ll also show which direction you’re heading in. Just keep in mind that it probably only works as long as you have an internet connection.

Emergency calls in other countries

This could be a big reason to upgrade if you often travel internationally. In the past, you could only make emergency calls from a cellular-model Apple Watch if you were in the country where you actually bought the watch. With the Series 5, though, the emergency calling feature works regardless of which country you’re in. This feature will also work if you have fall detection activated on your Apple Watch.

Titanium or Ceramic

There were rumors about Apple Watch would come with ceramic and titanium case options, and it was widely believed they would merely be new options for the Series 4. But they’re here now for the Series 5, and the poor Series 4 misses out on the fun. For $799, you can get the titanium model to match your Apple Card, and $1,299 will once again let you enjoy the Apple Watch Edition casing that Apple discontinued last year. As before, you can also buy the Apple Watch in aluminum or stainless steel.

None of these are earthshaking changes, and you’ll be perfectly fine sticking with a Series 4 unless you really like that always-on display or you think you’ll need emergency calling on your next trip.

If you’re an owner of a Series 3 or earlier, go ahead and take the plunge. The speed should be considerably better, and you’ll get cool recent features like the built-in ECG and fall detector, built into an overall better watch than the Series 4.

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