Mousetrap Car!

My Mousetrap Car

For my project, I built a car that was very similarly structured to this one.

        This car has wheels made from LP records, a crossbar made of wood (some of this design are made with metal but I did not want the car to seem parent-made like others), and a string of fishing line. My mousetrap car was pretty successful when I tested it. It went about 26 feet the last time I tested it. 

        I chose this design because it starts off with a burst of energy as the string unravels and then just as it seems like it is about to stop........IT DOES NOT!! In fact, because of its very large wheels, the car keeps freewheeling and freewheeling and freewheeling....and freewheeling...and freewheeling.....and freewheeling..... Sorry. Point is, that this car has big wheels and uses this because it is hard to stop them from rolling as opposed to small wheels. So that is pretty much my design and why I chose it.

Simple Machines

What is a Simple Machine?

According to Webster's Dictionary, a simple machine is "any of various elementary mechanisms formerly considered as the elements of which all machines are composed and including the lever, the wheel and axle, the pulley, the inclined plane, the wedge, and the screw"

What REALLY is a Simple Machine?

In simplest terms (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), a simple machine is a noncomplex singular device that often makes up other much larger devices. There are six different types:

The Lever

The Wheel/Axle

The Inclined Plane

The Wedge

The Screw

The Pulley

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OOOPS!

Levers are a very useful device that we use everyday in things like wheelbarrows, car jacks, tweezers/tongs, and bottle openers. There are three types of levers: first class, second class, and third class. 

First class levers have the fulcrum in the center with the load on the left with a downward force and the effort on the right with a downward force.

This is a first class lever. They are things like scissors and seesaws.

Second class levers have the fulcrum at the end with the load in the middle pushing down and the force at the other end with an upward force.

This is a second class lever. They are things like bottle openers and staplers.

Third class levers have the fulcrum at the end, very similar to the second class lever, with the effort in the center pushing up and the load at the other end pushing down.

This is a third class lever. They are things like a baseball bat and tweezers or tongs.

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This is what happens when a hamster meets a simple machine...

A wheel and axle are two components that make up devices found everyday, everywhere...CARS! A wheel and axle consists of one circular vessel and one pole that the circular vessel spins on. When this pole is sandwiched with a vessel on both ends, it is called an axle and two axles make up the wheel system of a car. This is a better diagram that shows the parts.

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An inclined plane is a device that is used to carry things that are hard to move up large heights gradually. The key to an inclined plane is that they are usually long and form some sort of triangle. They are useful because it is much easier to move something slowly up a gradual incline then to carry something directly upwards.

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Wedges are beautiful shoes with a gradual heel..... OOOPS! Just Kidding.

Wedges are a simple machine used for many different things. Wedges are a device mostly used to push apart, lift, or hold something in place. Wedges are often used on axes, as door stops, and as part of chisels.

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Simple Machines...Gotta Love 'Em!

A Screw is a device that was basically an inclined plane wrapped around a pole. The threads of the screw, when twisted and plugged into something, hold the screw in place. Archimedes' Screw was the first screw. His screw twisted and brought water up the shaft and out of a well to the people of Syracuse.

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A Pulley is a device that consists of a length of rope threaded through a metal wheel that is attached to a load. When pulled, the rope lifts the load and carries it upwards. There are three different types.

A fixed pulley is where the pulley is connected to a structure. The load is pulling on one end of the rope and a person pulls the other end.

This is a fixed pulley. They are things like wells and cranes.

A movable pulley has a load that is attached to the pulley itself while a rope threads through it forming a "U" shape.

This is a movable pulley. They are used in things like elevators and modern gyms.

A compound pulley or a block and tackle pulley is a combination of a fixed pulley and a movable pulley. These typically consist of at least 2 or more individual pulleys. 

This is a block and tackle pulley. They are used in things like raising sails and cargo.

SOURCES

Google Images

www.merriam-webster.com

The New World Encyclopedia

I. AM. ROBOT.

The first ever robots were known as automatons created by the Ancient Greek and Romans. They were used as tools, toys, and for religious ceremonies. The Greek God Haephestus was believed to have built a giant automaton named Talos. Here is a picture:

In the Middle Ages, in the Middle East and Europe, automatons were used as parts of clocks and religious worship. A man named Al-Jazari left texts describing mechanical devices. In Europe, an automaton monk that kisses a cross in his hands was created shown here:

Jacques de Vaucanson, a French engineer, is credited with creating the first biomechanical automaton. His automaton played the flute. Automata were so popular that they traveled Europe entertaining heads of state such as Frederick the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte.

Charles Babbage worked to develop the fundamentals and basis of computer science. His most-successful projects were the analytical engine and the difference engine.

During the Industrial Revolution, automatons continued to entertain many people. Machines were mainly steam-powered. Factories employed the work of machines to increase works loads and/or precision.

In 1920, Karel Capek published a play called R.U.R. or Rossum's Universal Robots. This was the first use of the word "robot." This word comes from an old Slavic word for forced labor.

In the 1950s, George Devol created the Unimate, a robotic arm. Devol paired with Joseph Engelberger to produce the first robotics manufacturing company, Unimation.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first autonomous satellite.

In 1968, R. Mosher invented the first manually controlled walking truck.

In 1969, designed by Ichiro Kato, WAP-1 was the very first bipedal robot. WAP-3 was later designed to walk up and down stairs, turn while walking, and walk on flat surfaces.

In 1973, Ichiro Kato built WABOT-1. It was the first anthropomorphic full-scale robot in the world. It had a system for controlling limbs, vision, and conversation.

In 1985, RB5X was a programmable robot with infared sensors, audio/video transmission, bump sensors, and a voice synthesizer.

In 1989, Aquarobot was created at the Robotics Laboratory of the Ministry of Transport in Japan. The robot was built for underwater use.

In 1996, RoboTuna was created by David Barnett at MIT. The robot was used to study how fish swim.

In 1997, IBM's Deep Blue beat the champion Gary Kasparov at a chess match.

In 1997, Honda created the P3, the second major step in creating their ASIMO. The P3 was Honda’s first completely autonomous humanoid robot.

In 1998, LEGO released their MINDSTORMS robotic development product line, which is a system for inventing robots using a modular design and LEGO plastic bricks.

 In 2002, iRobot released the first generation of Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners.

In 2003, NASA launched twin robotic rovers on June 10 and July 7, 2003 called Spirit and Sojourner, as part of their mission to explore Mars. Spirit:

Sojourner:

Created in 2011, IBM's Watson 

took home the most cash after a three-day matchup.

Sources:

"History of Robotics: Timeline." RobotShop (n.d.): n. pag. RobotShop. RobotShop Distribution Inc. Web. 25 Feb. 2015. <http://www.robotshop.com/media/files/PDF/timeline.pdf>.

"History of Robotics." History of Robotics. Thomas Publishing Company, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2015. <http://www.thomasnet.com/articles/engineering-consulting/robotics-history>.

Google Images

Fun With Coding Part II

Great Places to Start!
http://www.codecademy.com/
http://code.org/
http://www.tynker.com/hour-of-code/
http://www.codeavengers.com/
http://www.codeavengers.com/javascript/17#1.1

The last link will take you to a game. Enjoy!

Fun With Coding

What is coding?

         Coding is what makes it possible for us to create computer software, apps and websites.
The First Programmable Computer
        Colossus was the world's first electronic digital computer that was programmable. The Colossus computers were developed for British code-breakers during World War II to help in the cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher.

How it works 

        A computer can only understand two distinct types of data: on and off. In fact, a computer is really just a collection of on/off switches or transistors. Anything that a computer can do is nothing more than a unique combination of some transistors turned on and some transistors turned off. Binary code is the representation of these combinations as 1s and 0s, where each digit represents one transistor. Binary code is grouped into bytes, groups of 8 digits representing 8 transistors.
Programming Languages

         A programming (or coding) language is a set of syntax rules that define how code should be written and formatted. Different languages are designed to be used for different purposes – some are useful for web development, others useful for writing desktop software, others useful for solving scientific and numeric problems. Low-level languages are closer to the binary code a computer understands, while high-level languages bear a lot less resemblance to binary code. High-level languages are easier to program in, because they’re less detailed and designed to be easy for us to write. There are:

• Python
• Javascript
• BASIC
• C
• C++
• COBAL
• FORTRAN
• Ada
• Pascal

Sources:

http://www.codeconquest.com/what-is-coding/how-does-coding-work/
Google Images

Technological Singularity

What is technological singularity?

        Vernor Vinge coined the term "Technological Singularity" or "the Singularity" in 1986 with the publish of his book Marooned in Realtime. The idea was later developed in The Coming Technological Singularity in 1993. He believes that mankind will develop a superhuman intelligence before 2030. "Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended. [...] I think it's fair to call this event a singularity. It is a point where our models must be discarded and a new reality rules. As we move closer and closer to this point, it will loom vaster and vaster over human affairs till the notion becomes a commonplace. Yet when it finally happens it may still be a great surprise and a greater unknown." He believes this may happen in four different ways:

• Scientists could develop advancements in artificial intelligence
• Computer networks might somehow become self-aware
• Computer/human interfaces become so advanced that humans essentially evolve into a new species
• Biological science advancements allow humans to physically engineer human intelligence

 Computers tend to double in power every two years or so. This trend is related to Moore's Law, which states that transistors double in power every 18 months. Vinge says that at this rate, it's only a matter of time before humans build a machine that can "think" like a human.

Ray Kurzweil believes that we're approaching a moment when computers will become intelligent, and not just intelligent but more intelligent than humans. When that happens, humanity — our bodies, our minds, our civilization — will be completely and irreversibly transformed. He believes that this moment is not only inevitable but imminent. According to his calculations, the end of human civilization as we know it is about 35 years away. There are a lot of theories about it. Maybe we'll merge with them to become super-intelligent cyborgs, using computers to extend our intellectual abilities the same way that cars and planes extend our physical abilities. Maybe the artificial intelligences will help us treat the effects of old age and prolong our life spans indefinitely. Maybe we'll scan our consciousnesses into computers and live inside them as software, forever, virtually. Maybe the computers will turn on humanity and annihilate us. The one thing all these theories have in common is the transformation of our species into something that is no longer recognizable as such to humanity circa 2011.

Can We Avoid Machines Taking Over?

In 1965 Gordon E. Moore, a semiconductor engineer, proposed what we now call Moore's Law. He noticed that as time passed the price of semiconductor components and manufacturing costs fell. Rather than produce integrated circuits with the same amount of power as earlier ones for half the cost, engineers pushed themselves to pack more transistors on each circuit. The trend became a cycle, which Moore predicted would continue until we hit the physical limits of what we can achieve with integrated circuitry.

Sources:

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2048299,00.html

http://www.singularitysymposium.com/definition-of-singularity.html

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/technological-singularity.htm
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