What Is An Arduino? Why Should I Choose It? What Are They Used For?

Arduinos are small electronic prototyping platforms.  Arduinos are becoming more common because of their cheap price and open accessibility. They are very simple to use because they are plugged in by a USB cord.  It also offers many analog and digital inputs.

Arduinos can be used for a variety of different reasons.  They can take inputs from switches and sensors.  They can be used to control motors or lights or any other simple machine.

Arduinos are plugged into both a computer and a "bread board".  You can put joysticks on the "bread board" and control the arduino by that joystick.

How Do Roller-Coasters Work?

For roller coasters to work they need the correct balance between Potential Energy and Kinetic Energy.  Also the physicists who construct them need to find out the maximum speed the roller coaster can handle.  If the roller coaster exceeds the limit of that velocity then that puts the riders' lives aboard in jeopardy.  The amount of potential and kinetic energy fluctuates during the ride.  There is more potential energy the higher you are and the lower you are there is greater kinetic energy.  When there is greater kinetic energy then that means there is a greater velocity there as well.  The total amount of kinetic energy and potential energy remains the same during the ride although the amount of each may change.

 As you can see above, the scale on the right shows the amount of KE and PE there is.  It also shows how the amount of each changes throughout the ride.  To find the amount of speed necessary or the amount of kinetic energy used, physicians would use the equation KE=mv^2 or to find the amount of PE in they would use: PE=1/2mgh

How Does 3D Printing Work?

3D printing is when a printer is able to take 3D digital input and transforms that data into a solid form.  The transformation process produces the solid in layers.  Every object that is 3D printed is printed in many small layers.  Objects that are 3D printed can vary from all sorts of ranges.  From jewelry to Ears, it can be almost anything.  Most of the objects are made from a waxy plastic substance the is in very thin wire.  The wire coils into the layer it is told to be.  that waxy material is melted into place so it stays there. 

A 3D Printer:

People create the digital image on a 3D printing software and then they can print it.  This object is made out of a waxy plastic material

3D Printers have produced medical advantages such as the ability to recreate organs by 3D printing with stem-cells.  3D printers helped this man regain a mask of half of his face after his accident.

Who Is Dr. Edward Amoroso?

Dr. Amoroso is the Chief Security Officer for the largely renown Internet Company AT&T.  He protects the AT&T servers from harmful viruses brought by hackers who were hired to receive information within a server.  What hackers do is, they send information in quantities that the server cannot handle.  This makes the server shut down due to it no longer being able to handle all the information.

 

In this video Dr. Amoroso Gives us tips and information 

about the security of our mobile devices

This LINK will take you to an animation explaining what Dr. Amoroso's job is like on an everyday basis: Click Here

How Rockets Work

Rockets use basic rules of Physics to create that powerful launch that blasts them out of the Atmosphere.  Isaac Newton created three laws of motion.  These laws are acknowledged as a somewhat baseline for any physics motion problem.  In the case of a rocket launch, the Newton law that is proved is number three or:
Law Three: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction
The rocket pushes on the ground when the explosion occurs.  This creates an opposite and equal reaction that pushes the rocket off the ground.

In the image above, the magnitude of the force pushing against the ground.  The stronger the force pushing against the ground, the longer the rockets journey will be.

Rockets that are made to go into Space, use an insane amount of force.  this is because the force needed to reach Space is very high.  This picture shows the launch of a rocket going into Space.  You can really see the great explosion needed to get this large mass up into the air.

 In this video we see our own model-rocket launches.  This was very fun! And it also helped us all learn about rockets and what is needed to make a rocket work.

How Engines Work

Engines are able to work because of the Pistons inside.  These Pistons use 5 steps to create energy for the engine.  the 5 steps are

1. Intake
-The Pistons take in fuel  through the intake valve

2. Compression
-The fuel is compressed inside the Piston

3.  Ignition
-the fuel ignites causing it to explode

4. Power
-the release in energy from the explosion causes the piston to decompress

5.  Exhaust
-When the piston decompresses an exhaust valve opens where the waste from the explosion is released through that valve.  Also the intake valve reopens and the cycle begins again.

A Piston in Action:

How Heating and Cooling Systems Work

Overtime, we as Humans developed ways to stay warm.  These ideas became more complex and sophisticated as time progressed.  Today, we have many systems to heat our homes.  These systems are much more advanced then our earlier systems in the late 1800's.
4 Most Common Heating Systems:

 

1.  Hot-Water Heating

-This system started by a burner that heats up water and the hot water is pumped into a baseboard convector.  The baseboard convectors create convection currents in the air of the room.

2.  Steam Heating System

-Similar to the Hot Water system, this system heats water by a burner, but instead of water going into the baseboard convector, Steam goes into it.  And the heat is again convected in the air of the room

3.  Radiant Hot-Water Heating System

-This is the exact same as a regular Hot-Water Heating System but instead of a baseboard convector in the room dispersing the hot air.  The hot water goes into pipes that heat the floor and that heat rises into the room

4. Warm-Air Heating System
-Warm air is created by burner and rises through a vent in the room.  The hot air convects throughout the room and when it cools it goes back into a separate duct.  A fan blows the cool air back into the furnace to repeat the cycle.