Applied Physics
I was able to find the EYESPY Spydercam at Goodwill. Several hacks for it came to mind, but the simplest is attaching it to a remote control vehicle. I have an old Lego remote control car that’s been gathering dust so I decided to use it for this article. You can, however, attach it to any remote controlled vehicle you may have. I've attached it to the Popular Mechanics RC Tank--hint: use a rubber band to fasten the Spydercam to the battery block. You might not be able to find the RC Tank any more except on eBay. I've also attached it to the Snap Circuits Rover. The disadvantages of the Rover…
Why does beer transform from a liquid to a foamy state after an impact? Science is on the wave propagation case.
As you know, if you shake a carbonated beverage, it will foam over when you open it. But one messy and slightly dangerous bar trick involves hitting a bottle on the opening and watching the base explode. It can happen unintentionally also. Home brewers of beer call this a bottle bomb.
Like most good science, the idea started in a bar. It was observed that the foam of a beer spilled over when somebody jokingly hit the neck of one bottle against the base of another. "We all began to…
A new battery that runs on sugar has an "unmatched energy density", according to the team behind it.
Other sugar batteries have been developed but energy density has always been the problem. There is a reason gasoline is still popular after 150 years and that reason isn't big oil marketing, it is that the energy density of gasoline is terrific.
The energy density of this new battery is order of magnitude higher than others, allowing it to run longer before needing to be refueled, said Y.H. Percival Zhang, an associate professor of biological systems engineering at Virginia Tech. They…
Researchers recently got 54 volunteers to try on free shoes. But this wasn't for fun, it was for a biomechanical study of the shoes manufactured by the Majorcan Camper brand.
The six designs of men's and women's footwear were then analyzed using optical motion capture systems, force plates, in-shoe pressure measurement devices and electromyography (EMG) sensors. The aim was to determine the parameters that affect how comfortable the shoes are.
Josep Maria Font, director of the biomechanics division of the Biomedical Engineering Research Centre (CREB) at the Universitat Politècnica de…
Hank |
Comic book heroes get into all kinds of crazy situations, everything from alien invaders to losing their powers. Most often, though, might simply makes right - but what happens when the thing you are fighting gets stronger from being hit? How do you defeat something like that?
It actually happened in "The Mighty Thor" #140 from 1967.
Comics were a lot different in 1967; fantastic, supernatural events were routine plot devices, but even then Marvel was the more 'scientific' of the two large superhero comics companies. Marvel loved genetic mutations and scientists were often heroes or…
Inventor and AC electricity proponent Nikola Tesla was on a mission to transmit energy through thin air almost a century ago, but, claims about a conspiracy to keep his work quiet aside, experimental attempts at the feat have resulted in cumbersome devices that only work over very small distances.
The Toyota Research Institute of North America and Duke University have demonstrated the feasibility of wireless power transfer using metamaterials to create a "superlens" that focuses low-frequency magnetic fields over distances much larger than the size of the transmitter and receiver.…
In the comments section of my previous article I demonstrated an optical Theremin. This article is the build for that circuit. The circuit and circuits that are similar to it in function have also been called a “Light Sensitive Tone Generator,” “Photo Theremin,” and “Audible Light Meter.” These three circuits are usually based on the two-transistor Light Sensitive Tone Generator from The Forrest Mims Circuit Scrapbook, Volume 1 (Radio Shack, 1976). The circuit built in this article is based instead on the 555 timer IC. For an introduction to Snap Circuits and the 555 timer, see this article…
littleBits are color coded electronic modules that connect together magnetically to create simple electronic circuits. They are designed for ages 8 and up so hobbyists, designers, makers, and artists, and can add light, sound, and motion to their crafts and projects. Since they connect up magnetically (no need for circuit boards, breadboards, or solder), you can’t accidentally connect them the wrong way. With littleBits you can quickly build electronic circuits in a matter of minutes.
The color coded modules are divided into four categories. Blue, for power, currently includes three modules—…
A way to microscopically view battery electrodes while they are bathed in wet electrolytes means it is possible to mimic the realistic conditions inside actual batteries.
It may not seem possible that batter science still has some things to accomplish, but there it is - and just this once, the hard sciences got something from the life sciencesWhile life sciences researchers regularly use transmission electron microscopy to study wet environments, this time scientists have applied it successfully to rechargeable battery research.
The results showed that many aspects can be studied under…
Physics can give pointers for energy saving and an can provide materials scientists with tips for the development of high-temperature superconductors.
Nearly two percent of the electrical energy generated by power stations is lost in the grid. In Germany, for example, this is equivalent to the power delivered by a medium-sized coal power plant. With the fad of windfarms, these losses will increase in the future as power from large offshore energy is transported to the landlocked south.
Superconductors could provide a remedy if they were able to deliver power to consumers without…