LittleClickers » Technology

Radio Waves

buckleit — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 01:21:16 +0000

Download as a one page, easy to print PDF — > littleclickers-march19

We all use Bluetooth and WiFi these days. Do you knew the difference? How did Bluetooth get such a funny name? (Hint, it was from a king with a rotten tooth). Let’s learn more.

1. What is the difference between WiFi and Bluetooth? Both are speedy, invisible radio waves. But Bluetooth takes less energy to make and it has a very short range (no more than 30 feet). It is handy for connecting speakers, headphones and toys. WiFi waves carry the Internet to your phone or computer, and they have more power than Bluetooth. Learn more at techopedia http://bitly.com/2J2BBKb

2. How did Bluetooth get it’s name? There actually was a guy with a blue tooth. King Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson was known for two things — uniting Denmark and Norway in 958 AD, and his dead tooth, which was a dark blue in color. When present day engineers were trying to unite the industry with one standard, they used “bluetooth” as a code name for the project, and the name stuck. Learn more at https://www.bluetooth.com/about-us/bluetooth-origin.

3. Who discovered radio waves? Heinrich Hertz saw an electrical spark that changed the world, after he discovered that it generated a radio wave. The place was Germany, and the year was 1886, according to http://bitly.com/2Tr5K9S. Within the next decade, researchers Nikoli Tesla and Guglielmo Marconi figured out how to transmit sounds over extremely long distances. Learn more at https://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/ll_early.html

4. Which goes faster, light or radio waves? They travel the same speed — about 186,282 miles per second. In miles per hour that’s 670,616,629 mph, or 7.5 times around the Earth in one second. Learn more at https://www.space.com/15830-light-speed.html

5. Are radio waves dangerous? That’s up for debate. Consider that right now there are many types of radio waves passing through your body. Should you worry? Unless you plan on sticking your head in a microwave oven, you can rest easy, according to the American Cancer Society. Read up on the topic at http://bitly.com/2TxeMC6

APPLICATION: PLAY WITH RADIO WAVES
To understand the idea behind radio waves, it’s fun to start by making an electromagnet. You’ll need a battery, a nail and copper wire. Wrap the wire around the nail, and touch each end of the battery to pick up some paperclips. To make a radio, the easiest way is buy a kit, like this one for $15 from Elenco https://amzn.to/2IQvmIZ.

If you want to see the power of radio waves at work, simply put a small piece of Ivory brand soap in a microwave. The radio waves heat up the tiny bubbles of air to create a rather dramatic effect. Make sure to tell your parents if you put anything unusual in the microwave oven. Learn more at https://www.scienceinschool.org/2009/issue12/microwaves.

Radio Waves on YouTube

Want more? Here’s a video playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcBVHzUUEKwk7i9KO-Vu8OJXs5j_ouf4C\

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Future

buckleit — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 04:51:33 +0000

Our friend Alan Kay is fond of saying “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” No where is this more true than the CES show, held each January in Las Vegas. Here are five cool inventions we spotted that help us better understand what lies ahead.

Download this page as a PDF –> lcfeb

1. A flying electric school bus. Well sort of. Thanks to advances in drone-like multi-rotor technologies, not to mention stronger batteries and GPS navigation, we’re only a few years away from flying shuttles that can take off and land in a driveway or parking lot. Learn more about the Bell Nexis, at http://www.bellflight.com/company/innovation/nexus

2. Airbag for riding your bike. Everyone knows — it’s no fun to fall off a bike. What there were a special jacket with sensors that could tell if you were falling, and fill up with air right before impact? Learn more about this technology, at http://bitly.com/2DbOECP.

3. Language translator earpiece Waverly Labs displayed an earpiece for pilots that allows them to understand an interpret up to 15 languages in real time — using speech recognition. The cool thing is that we spotted several models. Soon we’ll all be able to afford them. Learn more at http://bitly.com/2DfcCwG

4. A bluetooth solar beehive. The CoCoon behife https://www.beelife.fr uses solar power and heat or cool a beehive as sensors monitor the conditions inside. You can get an alert on your phone if something is needed. Sweet!

5. Wave-powered Emergency Signal Device. Developed by Hanyang University, this floating signal device produces it’s own electricity using the movement of the waves, so that it’s LED light will never go out. Learn more about the Korean inventor, at http://bitly.com/2DeGHwE

APPLICATION: Design your own Tesla

Few cars have more futuristic than the all-electric, mostly self driving Tesla. Visit http://bitly.com/2SxQmIa where you can design your car using a series of options that include engine power, color, wheels and electronics. As you select each option, the price changes automatically, and you can see how much your monthly payments would be. Just don’t click “buy.” Your parents might get mad.

Welcome to the Future on YouTube Want more?

Here’s a video playlist that https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcBVHzUUEKwmBohkXsv2beElPjl0s-V5F

Concrete

buckleit — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 02:59:53 +0000

Download this column as a one page PDF, at Jan 19-concrete

What can stop a river and hold up a skyscraper?

It’s not superman — it’s concrete — an ancient building material that’s easy to take for granted. So… how much do you know about concrete? Is it he same thing as cement? Do you know the where the world’s largest concrete structure is, or how much a bag of cement costs? Let’s find out…

1. How long has concrete been around? Various forms of concrete can be found in the Egyptian pyramids, as well as ancient Rome. The first concrete-like substance was found in the Middle East, used by builders in 1300 BC. Learn concrete’s history at http://www.rumford.com/articlemortar.html

2. Is “cement” the same as “concrete?” No. Concrete is a mixture of sand, crushed rocks and cement. Cement is a fine grey powder made up of calcium, silicon, iron, and aluminum. It reacts with water to bind sand and rocks together, into a single lump of hard rock. Learn about the chemistry of concrete, at http://bitly.com/2FbTOC7

3. How long does concrete last? At http://bitly.com/2F6DXE6 you can learn that the Hoover Dam will last 10,000 years. The Pantheon– a round building in Rome, has a concrete roof that is 2000 years old and is doing just fine.

4. Do artists use concrete? Yes! It can be molded, carved or cast, there are many fun project ideas. See https://www.etsy.com/market/concrete_art for example.

5. What is the world’s largest concrete structure? At http://bitly.com/2F9QtmU you can read about the Three Gorges Dam in China. It was made out of 21 million cubic yards of concrete — five times the size of the Hoover Dam. That’s enough concrete to build a five highways across the USA. Learn more about the concrete in the Hoover Dam at https://on.doi.gov/2F6uEVA

APPLICATION: Make a casting

Start with about $14 and a strong parent to take you to a building supply store.

Pick up a bag of pure Portland Cement (named after the Isle of Portland, in England) and store it in a dry place. It will weigh 94 pounds, so get some help, and remember that cement dust is bad for you. Mix the one part cement powder with about three parts sand, and some gravel (or marbles!); along with enough water so the goop can pour into a mold.

Make a handprint or drop in some coins, or scratch a design with a stick before your cement hardens. Here are more ideas http://bitly.com/2F7Zs8u. If you happen to own a kiln and a rock crusher, you can make your own concrete. Learn how at http://bitly.com/2F63NYG.

VIDEOS Here’s our YouTube playlist with select Concrete videos for this month.

Plastics

buckleit — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 14:12:24 +0000

Teachers and librarians — download this month’s column as a one page PDF, to send home with your children –>Sep18-littleclickers

How long does it take for a plastic water bottle to disintegrate? (About 400 years!) Who invented plastic? Do elephants like plastic? How many types of plastic are there?

Plastic is an amazing substance that we use for just about everything. It’s greatest advantage — it’s strength and the fact that it never decomposes — is also it’s greatest disadvantage (that it never decomposes). It’s amazing to think that as recently as 100 years ago, people lived without it. Let’s learn some more!

1. Why do elephants love plastic? According to Scientific American, thousands of elephants were hunted in the early 1800’s to make billiard balls (for the game of pool) out of their tusks. That changed in 1867, when John Wesley Hyatt, a printer in New York, figured out how to make billiard balls out of a crude form of molded plastic called bakelite. His invention saved many elephants. http://bit.ly/2LV0jIh

2. How long does it take for a plastic water bottle to naturally break down? It depends on where it. If it’s in the ocean, it might float for a year before being ground into billions of tiny bits that will float for hundreds of years. A bottle by the side of the road could last for at least 400 years. That means if George Washington’s army left their water bottles on the shore the Delaware before the famous battle of Trenton, they’d still be there today! Yikes. That’s why it is important for everyone to recycle. Learn more at http://bit.ly/2LWBRqf

3. Can a “brass” instrument be made out of plastic? Yes! Increasingly, plastic is replacing metal and wood for all sorts of things. The Allora brand plastic trombones and trumpets are cheap (1/10 the cost of a good brass instrument), light and dent free, made with ABS plastic — the same kind that LEGOs are made from. The come in 11 colors http://bitly.com/2Q5MbPI. Here’s a video of one being played https://youtu.be/NLAHSgZaMU0

4. Where does plastic come from? Oil, mostly, although different types of plastic have different components; and LEGO is exploring using sugar cane based plastic (see https://bloom.bg/2M2qJbc). Here’s a video that explains the entire plastic life cycle, from oil to plastic. https://youtu.be/IwdUwffecsM

APPLICATION: Make a Plastic Collection

How many types of plastics can you find in your house?

Look on the bottom of containers and you can find numbers that help you know what type of plastic you’re dealing with. Here are the seven standard classifications for plastics. Learn more about each type, at http://bitly.com/2wOvtLU or watch https://youtu.be/_qTelxi3MjU

#1 – PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) cold drink bottles
#2 – HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) grocery bags
#3 – PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) pipes, clothes, toys
#4 – LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene) squeezable bottles
#5 – PP (Polypropylene) microwave plastics
#6 – PS (Polystyrene) styrofoam cups, egg cartons
#7 – Other (BPA, Polycarbonate) baby bottles

Exploring Scratch

buckleit — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 00:41:31 +0000

Teachers and librarians — Download this month’s topic as a one page PDF.

Scratch is a free, easy to learn computer language that is growing in popularity. Did you know there are six types of projects you can make? Can you name them? Let’s take a closer look, at https://scratch.mit.edu/explore/projects/all

1. Animations. Use the camera and timing features to make things move on the screen. https://scratch.mit.edu/explore/projects/animations/

2. Art. Scratch has built in drawing tools that make it possible draw in freestyle. You can also create interesting geometric patterns, like this one. https://scratch.mit.edu/explore/projects/art/

3. Games. From Pong to Pokémon, you can find all sorts of games in Scratch. Maze games are good to start with, because they introduce you to motion and collisions. https://scratch.mit.edu/explore/projects/games/

4. Music. Scratch gives you a library of sounds, or you can record your own. https://scratch.mit.edu/explore/projects/music/

5. Stories. You can mix your writing with pictures, videos or recordings. In fact, Scratch makes it easy to narrate your story. https://scratch.mit.edu/explore/projects/stories/

6. Tutorials. What to teach somebody how to train a puppy or build a treehouse? Make your own tutorial, at https://scratch.mit.edu/explore/projects/tutorials/

APPLICATION

How do I start with Scratch? Scratch won’t work with mobile devices, so you’ll need a Chromebook or Laptop (Windows or Mac) plus good internet access. A camera and microphone is recommended. Follow these three steps.

Step 1: Find Scratch. On your computer, type the word “Scratch” into any search engine, or go to http://mit.scratch.edu

Step 2: Register. Think up a screen name and password. You’ll also need an email address in order to confirm the account. Login, and choose “Create.”

Step 3: Take the tutorials. We’ve linked to some tutorials in this month’s YouTube playlist. It’s also smart to preview samples. https://scratch.mit.edu/starter_projects/

Drone Rules

buckleit — Tue, 15 May 2018 14:13:10 +0000

Teachers and librarians — download this topic as a one page PDF (all hyperlinks are spelled out, so it works on paper). Use this link.

Drones are a mixture of the powerful technologies, many of which didn’t exist a few years ago.

Today you can purchase a drone for about the price of a bicycle that can fly for 20 minutes while taking clear, stable videos. Your new eyes in the sky requires new responsibilities, so let’s take a crash course in flying a drone.

1. How high can I fly? 400 feet; or a 40 story building. At the https://faadronezone.faa.gov you’ll find as set of rules that include:

Only fly for fun. You must register with the FAA if you are hired for a job, such as to take photos of a roof. If the police spot you flying an unregistered drone or if someone complains, you could get fined.
Fly during the daytime, when you can see your drone.
Your drone can’t be too big. But this shouldn’t be a problem, because the FAA says it must weight less than 55 lbs (a heavy suitcase).
You must always keep your drone in view when flying.
Stay away from other aircraft or emergency response efforts.
Never fly over active roads, moving traffic or people.
Be aware of controlled airspace, such as around military bases or around airports.

2. Can anyone fly a drone? There are more and more rules about drones. If you’re serious you should register your drone with the FAA (Federal Aviation Association). It only costs $5, and takes a few minutes. Visit https://www.faa.gov/uas/ to learn more.

3. What does UAS stand for? Unmanned Aircraft Systems. That’s what a drone is. Check out this college degree in UAS, at Embry-Riddle University http://bitly.com/2rrOu4r

4. I’m really serious about drones, and I don’t want a toy. What should I get? You have a lot of choices. One of our testers uses a the DJI Spark for about $550. It can fly for about 20 minutes and works with your smart phone. It comes with crash guards and spare parts.

APPLICATION: MAKE A DRONE OBSTACLE COURSE
Sharpen your drone flying skills! Check out this drone store, full of ideas for making a drone obstacle course http://bitly.com/2KAVAMw. Or you can make one inside your house. Here’s a plan we found http://thomasrenck.com/share/Microdrone_Course_Project.pdf

Drones Rules on YouTube Want more? Here’s a video playlist that go along with this column. Use this link.

Lasers

buckleit — Sun, 01 Apr 2018 21:12:30 +0000

It can keep a car on the road, read a bar code, prevent blindness and entertain your cat. That is it? The laser. How is laser light different than regular light? Who invented lasers? How does a laser work? Here are some answers:

1. Who invented the laser, and when? According to http://www.laserinventor.com/bio.html, Theodore Maiman was the first person to demonstrate a working laser while working at the Hughes Research Laboratory in California.

2. Many people don’t know that the word “Laser” is an acronym. What does it stand for? At http://bitly.com/2GcWIav you learn that LASER stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

3. Why does a cat chase a laser? At Petful http://bitly.com/2GizQ5B you learn that cats chase lasers because they think the little red dot is prey. And they can get frustrated because they never get the “catch.” The solution? Offer a lot of other types of toys for your cat. PS. It works with dogs and fathers, too.

4. How do Lasers work? At http://bitly.com/2pZ9kXV you learn that light is made up of photons, but laser light is special, because all the photons line up on the same wavelength; in sync. So the beam is concentrated. Most lasers use tiny red ruby crystals, which is the most laser beams are red

5. Where is the world’s strongest laser? Meet “Bivoj”– a 20 ton laser in the Czech Republic. It’s powerful beam is helping medical research and is being used to treat metals. Two other huge lasers are in Austin, Texas (one petawatt) and Osaka, Japan (two petawatt). Learn more at http://bitly.com/2pWuRRa

6. Is there such a thing as a laser light show artist? Absolutely. There’s an entire group of programmers and artists who make their living designing laser shows. Learn more at http://www.ilda.com, where you can also learn that the lasers in light shows and laser pointers can’t damage your eyes.

APPLICATION

Make a sound visualizer. Here’s an experiment you can do that shows you how to turn a small speaker and a laser pointer into a sound visualization system. Have a look at https://youtu.be/eA2CaK9TNBM

VIDEOS

Want more? Here’s a YouTube video playlist that go along with this column.

Silly Human Tricks

buckleit — Fri, 09 Jun 2017 19:19:55 +0000

Download this page as a one page PDF —–> Silly Human Tricks

We humans are amazing creatures. We can teach ourselves to play musical instruments, read, and … flip water bottles.

Thanks to some good web sites and YouTube, here are five silly human tricks to try yourself.

1. Flip a water bottle. How do you flip a water bottle perfectly so it lands on it’s base? Learn how at bitly.com/2qB27wq. Next, watch this TV coverage of Water Bottle flipping today.com/2rbxLDr and see how flipping a bottle is a lot like diving into a swimming pool, at the Institute of Physics bitly.com/2qBnf5H

2. Learn a Fidget Spinner Trick. We found some of the science behind Fidget Spinners, at http://www.livescience.com/58916-fidget-spinner-faq.html as well as some starter tricks https://youtu.be/DH1fRza6SOU.

3. Stack some Cups. Cup stacking is an affordable trick to learn. Start with 12 plastic cups and watch this video to get started: https://youtu.be/xh0RmfqejSE. Learn about the sport at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_stacking. Remember, practice makes perfect!

4. Learn a New Handshake. Handshakes are great fun to learn. First watch this amazing teacher and the handshakes she taught her kids bitly.com/2rbscEW. Next find a friend, mom or dad and make up your own.

5. Do some slow motion. This video by OK Go takes place in just 4.2 seconds. But it involves some incredible film editing, timers and LOTS of things that explode https://youtu.be/2dFdNUz2cQc

APPLICATION: Learn to Juggle

Find three tennis balls and watch this video: http://www.jugglingpoet.com/crju/jugthree.html. Next, go to http://dev.juggle.org and meet some other jugglers, for moral support. Remember — practice makes perfect!

Silly People Tricks on YouTube

Want more? Here’s a video playlist that goes along with this column.

Inventing the Future

buckleit — Tue, 02 May 2017 20:33:55 +0000

Download this column as a one page PDF.

Computer scientist Alan Kay once said the best way to predict the future is to invent it. If this is true, what are inventors currently working on? Fasten your seat belts, because we’ve found some amazing examples, like flying cars and electric jets — powered by solar roads. There’s even a group working on a Mars colony. Here are some sites and videos worth exploring.

1. We’ll live on another planet. Mars makes three things hard — breathing, eating and not freezing. Engineers at Mars One have a solution. Visit http://www.mars-one.com to see what it might look like to live on Mars someday.

2. We’ll “fly” a car. This New York Times article http://nyti.ms/2p48kQR describes a company that has created flying car/boat vehicle, and the people who are investing in the idea. Currently they can only fly over water, but soon you might take one to school.

3. We’ll ride in an electric powered airplane. Electric cars are an old idea. But airplanes? Learn about the E-Fan from Airbus at bitly.com/2prxMlU that has already been able to fly across the English channel.

4. We’ll swallow a robot. We found a pill-sized robot that you swallow. It then unfolds inside your stomach and fixes things. After it finishes, it simply dissolves. Learn more at bitly.com/2p1Mzjv

5. We’ll see the beauty of math. Computers are helping mathematical artists like John Edmark create hypnotic patterns using geometry and something called the “golden angle.” See some examples, at bitly.com/2prUrhO

APPLICATION: DESIGN YOUR OWN TESLA

How far can you drive an electric car before the battery dies? How long does it take to charge? The answers depend on many things, like if you are using the air conditioner or if you are going up hills. Visit Tesla’s site where you can design a car and or try out different simulators. In case you were wondering, most Teslas can go 265 miles on an overnight charge, and it costs about $10 to “fill up the tank.” That’s about 4 cents per mile. Learn more at https://www.tesla.com/models

Try this month’s YouTube playlist! You’ll find a set of hand-picked videos that show these ideas in action. Here’s the link.

Quadcopters

buckleit — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 16:53:15 +0000

Teachers and librarians — Download this is column as a one page, easy to print PDF to send home.

WARNING — once you’ve flown a quadcopter (aka a drone) you won’t want to stop. Today’s “toy” drones are affordable and very easy to fly, thanks to some quickly evolving technologies like motion sensors, gyros and tiny batteries. The technology behind this marvelous toy didn’t happen by accident. Let’s learn more.

1. Who, When and Where was the Quadcopter invented?
In 1907, in France by two brothers, according to http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Breguet-Richet_Gyroplane. The Breguet Bros. worked with a professor (Richet) to make a working quadcopter that could lift a person off the ground, but was impossible to steer. The design was so clunky and dangerous that it was abandoned.

2. T/F All four rotors spin in the same direction.
Answer: False. The two front rotors spin in opposite directions, as do the two back rotors. To illustrate the point, watch the air around the rotors in this Wired magazine video, at bitly.com/2nQU0gE. Next, visit the Discovery Channel’s page dedicated to drones at bitly.com/2nFOoVX.

3. Can a quadcopter pick up a person? Almost. The Breguet Brothers dream is coming true in the form of the Hoverbike. This could make getting to school a lot more fun. Have a look at http://www.hover-bike.com.

4. How long can a drone fly? Most professional drones can fly about 25 minutes, according to Drones Globe bitly.com/2nEMsLG

5. What are some tricks you can do with a drone?
Popular Mechanics has a list of the common tricks, at bitly.com/2nEWv3D

Application: Set up a drone flying station in your school or library

STEP 1: First get at least two cheap, easy to fly toy drones, like the Holy Stone or the Sky Viper. [Reminder, we do not use affiliate links, so we're not making any money if you choose to buy one of these drones].

They’ll cost about $40 each, and come with everything you’ll need. Let one charge, while the other one is being flown.

STEP 2: Create well marked take-off and landing spots, and find an open area.

STEP 3: Teach up and down. The most important skill is to learn how to kill the power (usually left thumb down).

STEP 4: Fly around! After they can hover and land, let them steer. This can be tricky and takes a lot of practice… but it’s very rewarding.

Select Videos About Quadcopters

Here’s a set of hand-picked videos that go along with this column http://bit.ly/lcdrones