Simple Machines

A simple machine is best described as any of the basic mechanical devices for applying a force, such as an inclined plane, wedge, or lever. Simple Machines are used in our everyday lives. For instance, a ladder or flag pole could be considered a simple machine.

 

Types of Simple Machines:

Lever: a rigid bar resting on a pivot, used to help move a heavy or firmly fixed load with one end when pressure is applied to the other. Some examples of levers are crowbars, bottle openers, and seesaws.

 

Wedge: a piece of wood, metal, or some other material having one thick end and tapering to a thin edge, that is driven between two objects or parts of an object to secure or separate them. Some examples of wedges in our everyday lives are wood axes, door stops, and knives.

Inclined Plane: An inclined plane is quite self-explanatory. It's a plane inclined at an angle to the horizontal. Examples of inclined planes are limited since most people refer to them as ramps, and there aren't really any variations of a ramp. 

Pulley: a wheel with a grooved rim around which a cord passes primarily used to lift heavy objects. Pulleys can be found on flag poles, on theater stages, and in construction.

Screw: a short, slender, sharp-pointed metal pin with a raised helical thread running around it and a slotted head, used to join things together by being rotated so that it pierces wood or other material and is held tightly in place. Screws are most frequently used in construction.

Wheel and Axle: a simple lifting machine consisting of a rope that unwinds from a wheel onto a cylindrical drum or shaft joined to the wheel to provide mechanical advantage. A Ferris wheel and vehicular wheels are considered wheel and axle simple machines because the both are wheels with an axle. 

The majority of simple machines can be determined through common sense.

 

The History of Simple Machines:

The idea of a simple machine originated back around 200 B.C from ancient Greek philosopher Archimedes. It was Archimedes himself who had developed the theory of Mechanical Advantage in the lever. He also had the idea of the screw and pulley.

Next came many more minor progressions after Archimedes death, until Heron of Alexandria came along. He listed in his works Mechanics the five different simple machines that make tasks easier; lever, windlass, pulley, wedge, and screw. However early mechanics didn't have a full grasp on the concepts of simple machines, as they hadn't yet discovered dynamics; tradeoff between force and distance.

During the Renaissance, mechanics experimented to see how far they could lift a certain amount of weight, with a certain amount of force, eventually revealing a concept known as mechanical work. 

The inclined plane was only considered a simple machine when Flemish engineer Simon Stevin proved its Mechanical Advantage in 1586.

The dynamic theory was studied and introduced by Italian scientist Galileo Galilei in 1600 in his works.

My Mousetrap Car

First for my mousetrap car, I knew I had to add traction to the wheels or else the whole car would barely move. My initial thought was to add some form of rubber to my wheels, however I was not able to find liquid rubber or rubber glue, so I had to improvise. I thought balloons would work best, but then of course there was the dilemma of getting them on to the CD's. Then it hit me- if I blew up the balloon and pressed the CD into the center while slowly releasing air from the balloon, eventually when the balloon deflated, it would cover the CD. I proved my theory right and repeated the process for all four wheels.

After that, I carefully sawed out my frame from a 2-by-4 chunk of craft wood. I made sure it was wood particle instead of wood because I knew real wood would be to heavy and take away from the car's performance.

The first thing I did to the infrastructure of the car was make it the exact width of the mousetrap, however make it very long, so it would add to the distance. The longer the frame, the longer the lever, the farther it goes.

For my lever I sawed out the bottom portion of a plastic hanger because I knew it would be flexible, which would allow me to wind the string up more. The tricky part was attaching my lever. I thought the best way to go about it would be through melting the hanger onto the snapping part of the mousetrap, and then let it cool to make sure it was secure. I heated the snapper on the opposite side of the lever because I knew it was metal which is a conductor meaning no matter which spot I heated, it would heat enough. I pressed the hanger arm onto the heated metal and watched as it melted. After about five minutes I was able to test the durability of the lever arm and it seemed sturdy enough to proceed.

Though I was heavily focused on distance, speed would be a huge factor as well. I made sure my car had an equal balance of speed
and distance by giving the axle a free, yet firm, rotation, in addition to adding a gear. I cut a cork in half and slid it onto the middle of the axle. Then I added a small piece of a toothpick to serve as an anchor. Next came the fishing line in which I tied a loop on the end, so I could hook the toothpick, however I made sure the fishing line would come off at the end so it wouldn't rewind in the opposite direction and tangle. My fellow classmates made this mistake and therefore took away both speed and distance for their cars. If I could have a redo I would definitely a more complex gear so it would have a much higher top speed. Instead of making the cork smaller, I should have made it cone shaped so it would be easier to unwind and therefore have less resistance resulting in higher velocity and distance.

I had carefully thought this out and had experience in building mousetrap cars, and knew mine was good enough for first place, however a stroke of bad luck hit and a balloon fell of a back wheel. If this had been a front wheel it wouldn't really have mattered because the back wheels are the ones that grip and pull forward, while the front wheels just spin and don't do any gripping. In fact, it may have been an even better idea to have just put balloons on the back wheels. Though this unfortunate event occurred to my mousetrap car, I feel it is still good enough to get first place. It has the speed and goes approximately fourteen and a half to fifteen meters. Hopefully it will be good enough!

Robotics

 Robotics Today:

Robotics is a subdivision of engineering and computer science, in which robots, or machines capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically, are programmed to be capable of performing human-like tasks. Today, the field of robotics seems to be on the rise, however the field did not start to receive recognition until the late 20th Century when great innovations in the world of science were unleashed.

History of Robotics:

The idea of a robot was first displayed in the movie Metropolis in 1927. German actress Brigitte Helm played a robot named Maschinenmensch, also referred to as Maria impersonator.

The next step in the history of robotics was when science fiction writer, Isaac Asimov, created his three laws of robotics. The first of these laws was, "A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm." The next was,"A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law." And finally,"A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law." These laws are prominent in Asimov's robotic-based fiction, including his most famous series, Lucky Starr.

In 1984, Norbert Wiener concocted the principles of cybernetics. These principles involve the exploration of different systems, their structure, and the different possibilities and constraints. Concepts explored in cybernetics include; learning, cognition, adaptation, communication, and efficiency. Mr. Wiener defined cybernetics in 1948 as "the scientific study of control and communication in the animal and the machine."

The latest major step in the field of robotics occurred in the late 20th Century, in which fully autonomous robots were first introduced to the world. An autonomous robot is one that performs with a high degree of autonomy, meaning it performs with a certain measure of freedom. The first autonomous robot was Unimate. It was installed in 1961 to remove hot pieces of metal and stack them. Today, robots occupy many jobs that are too dirty or unreliable to have a human perform. Not only are commercial and industrial robots widespread in today's world, but many improvements in A.I. are allowing people to experience everyday lives in a new way. Nowadays, most people own a smartphone, in which a basic A.I., such as Siri, or Cortana, can assist anybody in need of information, with a simple,"Hello Siri," or "Hello google". Vast improvements continue to be made in the field of science, but even more so in the field of robotics. Boston Dynamics has brought robot fiction to life. They created four legged robots that resemble different animals of today's world. For example, they have created a cheetah-like robot called Wildcat, as well as a dog-like robot named BigDog, and finally a humanoid named PetMan. Their most recent innovation is Spot.

 

Newest Inovation:

Spot is a smaller, quieter, more Eco-friendly version of the series of robots. Spot is approximately the size of a large dog and slimmed down to 160 pounds, not even close to the original series robots. A two-stroke engine powering a hydraulics system, would have made Spot one loud puppy, much like the other robots. However, Boston Dynamics found a way to make Spot much quieter. As opposed to sounding like a chainsaw, like the other models, emitting carbon dioxide, Boston Dynamics switched out the gas engine for an electric engine, making Spot more friendly to the environment, as well as more pleasant to have around. Here's a video of Spot and his owner taking a nice jog around the yard.

 

Innovations in the field of robotics have come a long way. Robots went from being an invention thought to be thousands of years away, and a century later, here we are. As we began to improve upon the beginning stages, in only 50 years, we went from one industrial robot completing simple tasks such as stacking, to being capable of learning and adapting to situations on their own. For example, they can run on different terrains at high speeds and adapt upon switching terrains. If you try to knock it over, it can regain its balance on its own. These machines can now adapt to changing circumstances, and essentially think for themselves.

Technological Singularity

Technological Singularity is the idea that computers will continue to evolve until they have great enough intelligence to "think," or be "awake," or in other words, until they are conscience. The most controversial topic in the study of Technological Singularity, is whether we can create an Artificial Intelligence (AI) that's equivalent to human conscience. One that would allow machines to be human. If a machine were to gain consciousness, it would most likely recognize humans as an inferior being, and most likely leave us behind, while they explore the universe. However, unlike most robot-apocalypse movies, in which the robots decide to destroy the human race, the robots would view us as their gods, or their creators, because we gave them life. This is most likely the reason, if they were to leave us, they would do so peacefully.

Charles Platt, Technological Singularity enthusiast, says he would not be surprised if human-like AI is created before 2030. The exact date in which this new AI is created, depends solely on the continuous advancement of technology. If humans continue to advance technology at the exponential rate, in which it has been going for the last several decades, this new AI shouldn't be too far in our future.

One of the most popular suggestions to avoid being left behind by this intelligence, is to simply turn into one of them. Putting our brains in a mechanical exoskeleton is not as futuristic as it seems. People today are essentially turning themselves part robot by implanting computers and other mechanics into their body, technically making them cyborgs. The next step in evolution could very well be becoming cyborg, or eventually even become robots.

Despite the preconceived notion that technological singularity is far from our generation's time, the truth is, we really aren't very far from being inferior to machines. The age of machines is only just beginning, and the fact that we are advancing as much as putting machinery inside us proves it. The days, in which man is smarter than machines, are in the past.

Sources: http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/vinge/misc/singularity.html

Programming and Coding

Programming is the process of embedding sets of instructions in order to execute commands. In order to code, you need to have knowledge of the application domain, as well as formal logic, and specialized algorithms for different desired functions and commands.

Coding first originated from within the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia, more specifically, Sumer. This early Sumerian contraption was the first basic mechanism established for computing numbers. It was created around 2500 BC and was nothing more than a flat surface, usually wood, with sand evenly spread across and small numbers carved into the grain of the wood. The abacus wasn't innovated until roughly 200 BC, right after the death of famous mathematician, Archimedes. The only change made, was that the device now had tiny grooves for counters, and the sand was ultimately removed. The next version of the abacus eliminated the grooves for the counters and instead had the counters attached to thin metal rods, allowing the counters to move more freely. This is the most historically known version of the abacus. Each wire corresponded to a digit in a positional number system, commonly base 10. Greek mathematicians were generally the people who had their hands on this version of the abacus the most during the time period of this innovation.

Coding and programming continued to slowly evolve throughout the years, until eventually becoming what it is today. The next step in programming came as a bit of a surprise because, in truth, it wasn't really coding. Charles Babbage created his famous difference engine, which could only be made to execute tasks by shifting gears, which executed calculations, making this the earliest form of computer language, but it was physical motion rather than on a computer.



Programming and coding didn't really start to become advanced until the ENICA was invented in 1942 by John Mauchly and John Presper. The ENICA was not only a calculating device created for the Armed Forces, but it also worked as an artillery firing device. It allowed computerized aiming and firing, which had never been imagined, never-mind seen. After this amazing innovation, the technology quickly spread to other parts of the world and continued to evolve into what it is today. The internet is the product of computer programming, and without it we wouldn't have the internet today. This is completely unimaginable considering everything we do nowadays is on the computer. In reality, if early computer programming had never come to be, I wouldn't be writing this right now. But fortunately, I am able to write this, so I guess I'll close it out.

In conclusion, I've just reviewed the history of programming and how it has developed since it was first developed in 2500 BC.

Sources: www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/abacus.shtml
               cs.brown.edu

My Mousetrap Catapult

I have very little experience in building catapults, so my first model was a bit shaky. However, I was able to finally construct a half decent catapult after numerous trials and errors. My first model was simply a spoon duct taped to the mousetrap, and set off with the pull of a string. I had no intention of this being my final model, I just wanted to see where the areas I needed to improve were. After the first shot I immediately noticed that without a heavy base, the force generated by the mousetrap was to great and it caused the catapult to flip. I then sawed a small rectangle of wood and glued it to the mousetrap in order to increase the stability, make it easier to hold, and also lift the catapult higher in order prevent the spoon from hitting the ground. After the second test shot, I noticed the catapult shot the ping pong ball very low to the ground and its initial contact with the ground was only a few feet away, and in addition to that, the spoon nicked the ground and nearly broke in half, so I knew I had to add a stopper that would prevent the spoon from hitting the ground and allow the ball to come off the catapult arched, which would maximize its distance. After the third try, the stopper definitely seemed to pay off and the ball traveled much faster. I was still unhappy with my catapult and tried thinking of a different way I could improve it. After several minutes of wondering, I thought maybe if I increased the length of the spoon, the ball would travel farther. So after removing the old spoon and taping a knife to it in order to make it larger, I tested it out and just like I predicted, it made the ball go even farther. This was surely the final product, but I continued to test it throughout the week, trying to see what I could improve. This morning before heading to school I decided to test it out just to assure myself it was the best catapult I could make, and just my luck, the spoon hits the table and shatters. I quickly re-taped a new knife and spoon, and tried to figure out where I went wrong. I noticed that because I increased the length of the spoon, I also had to increase the height of the stopper. After making the subtle change to my catapult I tested it out one last time, and thankfully my catapult at least stayed intact before I had to make my way onto the bus.

The History of Catapults

Catapults were essential to siege, especially in the Middle Ages. It was one of the most effective weapons of its time. The first version of a catapult was the Ballista, which was merely an enlarged crossbow. The word Ballista comes from the Greek word Ballistes meaning "to throw". The smaller version of the Ballista, but still larger than crossbow, was the Springald. It was mainly used in smaller confines like castles or towers, as opposed to the Ballista, which was used primarily out in the battlefield.
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The next developed version of the catapult was the Mangonel. It is the most known catapult and is typically what people think of when they hear "catapult". The Latin word "manganon" means engine of war. Though some argue the name comes from the mangon, a french hard stone found in southern France. This catapult had incredible range that had never really been introduced to the battlefield before, but the downside was it's for accuracy. That's why the Trebuchet was such a significant advancement.
 

The Trebuchet was one of the most hated siege weapons because of its massive range and massive force. The men who manned the Trebuchet were called "gynours" and were constantly being shot at by arrows and missles of the opposing army. It was also a lot more accurate than the Mangonel. Believed to have been created first by the chinese around 300 BC, the Trebuchet was later introduced to Europe around 500 AD. It continued to be used effectively through the 12th century in both Christian and Muslim lands. It died off at about the 15th century, well after the introduction of gunpowder. Renaud Beffeyte is credited with the first modern reconstruction of a Trebuchet in 1984, with the help of documents dating back to 1324. The most famous Trebuchet was the WarWolf designed and constructed by Master James of St. George the chief engineer of Edward I, the king of England from 1272 to 1307.