Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Objects that know when they are touched

Touche is a new device that senses when objectss are touched. This works on humans, screens, liquids, and everday objects. Basically, it means everything. Touche requires a single wire to be attached in order to catch the movement. For example, a door knob will know whether to open or not based on how its being gripped. This new device is amazing because it'll keep you safe. Touché is a form of capacitive touch sensing, the same principle underlying the types of touchscreens used in most smartphones. But instead of sensing electrical signals at a single frequency, like the typical touchscreen, Touché monitors capacitive signals across a broad range of frequencies. Touche may enable us from key boards to computers one day. Touche is really cool because its basically another way of keeping yourself safe and monitored. Touche will lock doors depending on the grip and in the video I watched Touche is teaching kids how to eat with the proppar utensil. It buzzes when the wrong utensil is used and says "good job" when the correct utensil is used. This invention is really cool and I would love to be able to have the use of it.
LINK: popsci.com http://www.rdmag.com/News/2012/05/Information-Tech-Electrical-Engineering-Objects-that-know-when-they-are-touched/

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Heating Earth's Surface Lab

PURPOSE: The purpose of this lab was to see what the heat did to the sand and water. It was to see which one heated faster. HYPOTHESIS: The water temperature is to get warm and level is to increase. Also, the sand temperature is to get warmer and the level is to rise. MATERIALS:2 thermometers or temperature probes, 2 beakers, 400 mL, water, 300mL, metric ruler, string, ring stand and two ring clamps, sand, 300mL, lamp with 150-W bulb, clock or stopwatch, and graph paper. PROCEDURE: !) put 2 filled beakers of water(300 mL), and sand(300mL) separatly on the ring stand. 2) Then, use the clamp to get the lamp/bulb over the beakers. 3) turn on the lamp by plugging it into an outlet. 4) Attatch 2 pieces of string coming down the ring stand. 5) take 2 thermometers and hang on on each piece of string so that one is touching the water and the other is touching the sand. 6) measure how high the water and sand are going after a few minutes witha metric ruler. 7) use clock or stopwatch to time yourself when to measure the water and sand. 8) record your results in the packet. 9) After packet is complete, make a line graph showing the increase in height. 10) follow the instuctions and start the lab report. RESULTS: There were changes during the procedure. The water and sand levels increased a lot from what they originally were. The sand level increased more than the water did. Temperature with Lights On(C) Time(min).sand......water Start 1) 2 degrees C..... 2 degrees C 2)2.3 degree C.....2.2 degrees C 3) 2.4 degrees C....2.2 degrees C 4) 2.4 degrees C....2.2 degrees C 5) 2.4 degrees C....2.2 degrees C 6) 2.4 degrees C....2.2 degrees C 7) 2.4 degrees C....2.2 degrees C 8) 2.4 degrees C....2.3 degrees C 9) 2.4 degrres C....2.3 degrees C 10) 2.5 degrres C....2.3 degrees C 11) 2.5 degrees C....2.3 degrees C 12) 2.5 degrees C....2.3 degrees C 13) 2.5 degrees C....2.3 degrees C 14) 2.5 degrees C....2.3 degrees C 15) 2.6 degrees C....2.3 degrees C ^^SAND ^^WATER Temperature with Lights Off(C) Time(min) SAND.........WATER 16) 2.6 degrees C......2.3 degrees C 17) 2.6 degrees C......2.3 degrees C 18)2.6 degrees C......2.3 degrees C 19)2.6 degrees C......2.4 degrees C 20) 21) 22) 23) 24) 25) 26) 27) 28) 29) 30)^^ SAND..............^^WATER (MY GROUP DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO FINISH THE DATA TABLE). CONCLUSION: During this lab, the water and sand temperature to get warmer and the level to to increase was expected. This is exactly what happened. The sand temperature was warmer and the level also increased more than the water. The surface layers of water and sand get heated directly by the sunlight. If none of this heat is conducted away, the sand will reach a higher temperature than water because of the lower specific heat. However, the heat does get conducted away. But again, since it is conducted away more slowly by the sand, than by the water, the surface of the sand stays hotter. This is why the sand is warmer than the water. The purpose of the lab was to if the water or sand got warmer. Also, to see which one increased in height more. This was a fun lab and we should do more of them.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

USING MAGNETIC BACTERIA TO CONSTRUCT THE BIOCOMPUTER OF THE FUTURE

This is magnetic bacteria. The article I read was about Magnetic Bacteria. This will help later in the future with the technology then. The main idea was the parts in the computer are decreasing in size and its become very difficult when it comes to manufacturing the computer. This problem is making prices increase. With the new Magnetic Bacteria, there will be less computer parts and prices will go down for sure. All of this research was done in the UK and Tokyo University of Algerculture and Technology. To me, this is an amazing idea!Who would'nt want to pay less for getting their computers manufactured? These products don't harm your computer at all because they are natural, coming from the earth. Researchers are now growing tiny magnets that can serve as components in the minuscule hard drives in the future. These Magnetic Bacterias can even help human beings with surgeries or even live permenantly inside the human body. The Magnetic Bacteria is a great idea.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Current Events

In class, we were assigned to print out a science related article. My article has to do with the worlds largest radio telescope, the Square Kilometer Array(SKA). This article was about extratterrestrial life may being detected by Square Kilometer Array telescope. Also, 3,000 dishes will be used to spread over South Africa and Australia. This is bidding to host the project will which will start in 2016. There is a possibility that this will take place in South Africa and Australia. This construction is supposed to start in 2016. This happend to uncover the secrets of the history and future of the universe. This is a great way to learn more about the world!








I feel strongly towards this article. I think it a good idea. It will help us discover more about our history and what might be coming in the future. The telescope will shed new light on dark matter, blackholes, stars, and galaxies. This is awesome because we will discover things we never did before. Also, alien life might be detected. It would be cool if scientist discoverd that there are aliens. It will involve twenty countries and seventy institutes. It will provide a tremendous amount of data. This is benefitial because science teachers will have more to teach and students will have more knowledge. It's attracted a lot of young people into science and math in Africa. It's always good to learn knew things and it's great that Africa is taking an interest in learning more.

LINKS:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/26/tech/innovation/ska-telescope/index.html

PICTURE: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=innovations+radio+telescopes+in+2016&um=1&hl=en&biw=997&bih=484&tbm=isch&tbnid=sI3a8bSZ_PwjGM:&imgrefurl=http://www.businessinsider.com/giant-chinese-infrastructure-projects-2011-6%3Fop%3D1&docid=JG-Q-78zcnx42M&imgurl=http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4ddacd16cadcbba62b050000-590/102-million-the-pingtang-telescope-will-be-the-worlds-largest-radio-telescope-when-completed-in-2016.jpg&w=590&h=443&ei=UtVzT7y0Kob20gHs5bz_Ag&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=114&vpy=55&dur=470&hovh=193&hovw=258&tx=127&ty=86&sig=106875363580700162757&page=1&tbnh=135&tbnw=190&start=0&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Changes of Matter

 Last week we worked on a lab which included physical and chemical change. We worked on four different  labs. We worked on two candles; one small and one big, a marshmallow, and a sugar cubes. All these labs had some chemical changes and some physical changes. 

This is an example of chemical change.

This is an example of physical change.


       The small candle was the first lab we did. In this lab, we watched the candle burn down and melt. You were clearly able to see the wax dripping down the candle. When the candle was not put on fire, it was a  physical change. When we set it on fire, it became chemical change. Next, we lit a bigger candle. For this candle, we mixed several substances together and poured it over the big candle and it instantly blew out. This was one of my favorites because I have never seen anything like it before. Again, just like the little candle when this candle was not lit it was a physical change. When it got lit, it became chemical change.

This picture shows a big and small lit candle.



       The next lab was burning the marshmallow. In this lab, we had to taste the marshmallow before it was burnt and after it was burnt. Before it was burnt, it was physical change. After it was burnt, it was chemical change. Before I burnt it, the marshmallow had a sweet taste and soft feeling. After I burnt it over the bunsen burner, it tasted burned and it became crispy. The original white color of the marshmallow was gone. It was dark brown, almost black. This happened because I left mine on the fire for a longer time. This was my favorite lab because we got to eat it. It reminded me of s'mores. I really enjoyed this lab. 
This is how my marshmallow looked after I roasted it over the bunsen burner.


      Finally, comes the sugar cube lab. We crushed two of the four sugar cubes and poured it into the test tube. Then our group put the test tubes with the sugar over the bunsen burner. It was boiling and caramelizing the sugar. Then, all of a sudden the sugar came up like it was going to explode. We turned off the bunsen burner and took the tongs and put the test tubes down. The sugar was totally burnt just like the marshmallow. The sugar would not come out of the test tube. The test tube was broken apart and   we tasted the burnt sugar. It tasted really bad. Although, this was not my favorite lab it taught me a lot. This can help me in the future when I cook. 

This picture shows burnt sugar.

        All in all, these labs all had a purpose to them. It was to show us the states of matter. It showed us physical and chemical changes. All the labs had to do with fire. The marshmallow and sugar lab were similar in my opinion. They both started out as white. Then they turned burnt which made them brown/black. I enjoyed all these labs and I hope we get to do something like this again.