Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

I feel pretty guilty about not writing up some more fun stuff, however we all need a break sometime. I'm out of town (and thus away from my equipment), but I do have my computer with me. So, here are some new articles coming soon:

Before the end of break

1) html tutorials

2) Xcode/ iPhone SDK updates, info, etc.(sorry, because of the "NDA" I can't legally put up tutorials, and I'm really not in the mood to get sued by Apple).

3) How to upgrade your macbook to make it better than the newer models for much less.

And after Break

1) How to build a full-on computer about the size of your fist.

2) Science Quarterly articles

3) and much, much more!

I've been having a great time with my family, reading up on Xcode, learning html, working on Science Quarterly, reading my cousin's blog on how to annoy your older sisters.

Coming Soon: A BW Science Labs App on The iTunes Store!

I understand it has been a while since I've updated, and I apologize for that. However, I have not neglected BW Science Labs. On the contrary, I've been working more than ever on it.

I was curious to see how well the iPhone could load BWSL, so I borrowed a friend's iPhone, opened Safari, and typed in www.bwsciencelabs.com. I was very disappointed. It took an extremely long time to load, at lease a few minutes. "This is no way to periodically check for updates," I told myself. I had to do something...

Using the iPhone SDK (or Software Development Kit) I have been developing a BW Science Labs application that will display all of the most recent articles in an easy to access format. It automatically updates its self, and will only open up safari when an article is clicked. I wrote it in Objective-C, and made sure there would be no memory leaks, however, it not very pretty and it still has to open up safari and take a while to load once tapped. So, I created another version in Dashcode, rather than what I just made in Xcode.

As it turns out, the Dashcode version is beautiful. It's very aesthetically pleasing to look at, its simple, and fast. It does not need to open up Safari, it loads all text and images swiftly when a single article is tapped, much, much faster than the previous version.

However, since I made it in Dashcode, and not Xcode, it will be much harder to put on to the app store. Believe me, I'm currently working as fast as I can to test it on my own iPod Touch, debug it, and later upload it to the app store. The are several hoops I have to jump through, lots of legal stuff to deal with, and so on, so please be patient. There is also a tiny chance that Apple will reject my App altogether, so it will never be on.

So how much will it cost?

To cover the expense of licenses(very pricey), labor, etc. I may charge $0.99 if I end up using the Dashcode version, but it will more likely be FREE if I end up using the Xcode version, which is not nearly as good.

Keep your fingers crossed that it all works flawlessly!

Meteorites and Computer Programming

Today I gave a small, fun presentation in Science class on meteorites. More importantly, I used Scratch to make a meteorite trajectory simulation. A few years ago MIT created a simple program called Scratch that kids could use to create games, animations, etc. This program was what first got me interested in programming, and inspired me to move on to other programming languages. Its simple building block style makes it a joy to use, as kindergartners can make programs as well.

One of the best things is that on the Scratch Website you can post everything you make in a single click. For me presentation, I made a short quiz on meteorites, and put it online. Then, the students used laptops and took the quiz. It worked flawlessly. You can take my quiz here.

Jailbreak the Ipod Touch

I've heard a lot about Jailbreaking the IPhone and the Ipod Touch, so I wanted to see for myself how cool it really is.

So firstly, what is Jailbreaking?

When you "Jailbreak" an Ipod Touch you usually put two new apps on it: Installer and Cydia. These programs in turn let you install many more games, utilities, etc.

I downloaded Ziphone (visit the site here) for my mac to see if it would work, but unfortunately after several tries it would only keep making me restore my ipod touch.

Kevin Lin has a video on Youtube promoting his jailbroken Itouch on ebay, so I asked him what program he used. Apparently, QuickPwn (visit the site here) works, so I installed and ran it. Surprisingly, it worked almost flawlessly, though there is supposed to be a small risk involved.

I make my slider look like a Space Invaders game, and I changed all my app icons to Star Wars images. However, I didn't get any new quality applications. I was pretty disappointed.



[Please excuse the low-quality images]

So was it worth it?

I honestly don't think that Jailbreaking an Ipod (or Iphone) is worth the time or risk. Though you get some bragging rights and a better looking GUI the available
applications can't do a whole lot. Most of the applications in the iTunes store are great, and usually low cost. Also, during the holiday season some games and apps are on discounts of up to 80% off. I think I'll stick with iTunes.

The Night Sky in a Shoe Box

I know its been far too long since my last update, however we all need a break every once in a while.

According to the polls, a slight majority of readers wanted more posts on Astronomy, which honestly surprised me. So, I took a look at what I could do that would be fun, interesting, and relatively easy so readers at home could follow along.

I decided to use the concept of using LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) to represent stars, and put that idea to the test. You can take any star constellation you wish, but I choose the Big Dipper because of its fame, and it could be done quickly and efficiently. I chose these little green LEDs because they don't break or blow out as easily ans others, and they are extremely inexpensive. I bought them from Mouser Electronics (see them here) for $0.06 each, but that's partly because I buy by the hundred.

You will need to solder for this project, so please follow the safety instructions here. I burned a hole through my rubber glove doing this project, so please, for your sake, do not skip the safety part.

So, let's get started. You can print out any astronomy picture you want, but make sure you plan where you want to put the LEDs ahead of time. This makes constellations ideal, and many of the LED locations are already marked for you. Also, be sure that the LEDs are not too far away from each other, otherwise you will need to use additional wiring to connect the LEDs.

Glue your image onto the top of a shoebox, make sure you have plenty of room for the LEDs and wires. I tried to use the tip of my soldering gun to puncture holes in the box, however I ended up using my trusty dremel tool to drill the holes.



Place your LEDs inside the holes, facing outward. Be sure to test each LED before inserting them in, I ended up having to replace a few after I soldered, which can be a real pain.



Make sure each anode and cathode are aligned (positive and negative). You can do this easily by remembering to connect them from the short leds coming out of the LEDs' bottom to the next LED's long one. Short-to-long, otherwise it will not work at all. Before soldering, use a glue gun to make sure the LEDs will not fall out.

Solder the LEDs together one by one (remember short-to-long). Once again, please work with adequate protection against the fumes and the very hot soldering gun. As stated earlier, instructions can be found here.





I chose to use alligator clips to connect to batteries. Be sure to experiment with different power supplies based upon what LEDs you used and how many.

Now, you can package it all up into the original shoebox and flip it on.



Be sure to let me know what you want in future posts by voting on the poll!

I'm Back!

After much harassment from a friend, I finally got around to putting up another post.

Though this was not my 1st time in D.C., I was still able to learn quite a bit. Needless to say the Air and Space Museum is undoubtedly still my favorite place to visit.

The Pentagon was fascinating to me, and I was very tempted to take a picture even after I was told they would take my camera if I did. A very special thanks to my good friend Jeremy Stern for being my photographer and camera man throughout the trip. More if his well-done pictures will be coming soon to BW Science Labs and perhaps Science Quarterly as well.

I understand that BW Science Labs has been a little slow lately. I suppose I am the one to be blamed for that, however please stay tuned as in the next few days I will do my best to put up more great content. In the meantime, keep voting so I can know what you want from BW Science Labs.

I look forward to filling BWSL with many great things.

Off to The Capital

Hi Everyone,

I will be in Washington D.C. starting at 5 AM tomorrow until Thursday or Friday. I will be away from my computer, so there will be no new posts. :(

However, all of BW Science Labs's functions still work, e.g. email subscriptions, polls, etc.

See you soon, and I'll be sure to take lots of pictures! :)

Brennon W
BW Science Labs

A Quick Note On BW Science Labs Security

The last post seemed to worry a person or two, and I would like to quickly clarify any gray areas that may have arised.

BW Science Labs runs on Google's servers. Google owns some of the most powerful multi-layered firewalls on the planet. BW Science Labs is just as safe as Google.com, which I can promise you is not going to be broken into any time soon.

My personal computer could be ransacked and destroyed by every single virus ever created, and BW Science Labs would be untouched. The actual site BW Science Labs is happily sitting in one of Google's digital storage facilities, surrounded by a plethora of firewalls and security counter measures that no supercomputer or human could ever break into.

Also, BW Science Labs isn't exactly a primary target for computer "crackers" (the most accurate term), as no money or sensitive data ever circulates through it.

I hope this clears things up.

Attempted Security Breach

Literally moments ago, my computer was almost broken into. I own a macbook, and was heavily disappointed in its failure to respond.

While reading about rockets, I opened up a new link from google. A "The Internet Plug-In Cannot Be Found" message came up, and I could see the download bar on the page. I attempted to cancel out of the page, but messages kept popping up, I did not waste any time reading them. I quit out of my browser and restarted my computer. From what I could see the download was about half-way done when I quit. I will not post any of the links here, for your safety, however I will tell you what not to click on.

I took these out of my "History" folder:
[Please click on any image to enlarge]





This is a picture of the Google link that took me to the virus:



Ironically the words: "Internet Security is Important" was the name of the virus download page.



What I find troubling was that the link was highly ranked on Google. I'll be spending this weekend assessing my computer's security risk, and I will be making some adjustments.

Thankfully, I keep no sensitive data on this computer, however that doesn't mean I want it broken into.

The irony is I just wrote an article on hacking. I will refrain from calling the attacker a "Hacker". Instead I prefer "Cyber-terrorist" for two reasons: Its more accurate, and it sounds very exciting (joking).

Well, I'm off to check for damage and to upgrade security.

I really need to stop using Safari...

"Ethical Hacking"- An Introduction

The term "Hacker" is now an evil one, someone looked upon as scum by the public eye.

In reality, however, being a "Hacker" does not necessarily mean you are a bad person. People who open up old toys and computers to learn how they work are, technically speaking, hackers.

It was these hackers that made it so that the Internet is as dynamic as it is today. They were explorers and experimenters who were excited to discover the unknown. And it was these hackers who became among the wealthiest in the United States.

So why are hackers today now "bad guys"? Well, as always, we can always blame Hollywood. War Games was THE movie that changed America's perception of Hackers.




Now, hackers are seen as young, rebellious teens who have far too much time on their hands. Many people are now breaking into computer networks, I do admit that. However, these people are not necessarily "Hackers" in the traditional sense. They are more or less "Cyber- Terrorists", and should be arrested.

As far as computer-hacking goes, there is an alternative to the illegal route seen in War Games. Ethical Hacking is still pretty exciting, and worth-wile. However, it is done to help people defend against cyber-terrorists, and people who want to break into their systems with the intent to make money, get revenge, etc.

This Ethical Hacking or "White Hat Hacking" method involves many options. One could do what's called penetration testing, where a computer or network is attempted to be broken into with the consent of the user.

Another option is to attempt to increase the security of one's network by using additional firewalls and counter measures.

When ever I am explaining the concept of White-Hat Hacking I refer to the famous Harry Potter books when someone doesn't understand What I'm trying to say. The "Dark Arts" in these books are used by evil people, however the "Defense Against The Dark Arts" class at Hogwarts attempts to counter the "Dark Arts". This is exactly what an Ethical Hacker does.

Yes, I know, its a crude metaphor, but an effective one.

Today, White Hat Hackers work for the government, corporate businesses, or themselves, and they usually end up helping themselves or other people.

Be One of The First to Subscribe to BW Science Labs via Email!

You may notice something a little different about BW Science Labs today. That's right, there a little box on the top of the left bar that will let you easily subscribe to BW Science Labs via email with the option to unsubscribe at any time.

Of course, subscription will always be free, so please, subscribe now. Your support is always appreciated.

BWSL has always had the option to subscribe via Atom or RSS feeds, however email is much more widely accepted.

I've always wondered about putting up a subscription option, and I only hesitated because it would extract traffic from the actual site. After much contemplation, I have decided that it is worth it. Though, I ask you to please consider coming back every now and then to post a comment or two.

I have tested it on two of my email addresses, one Yahoo and one Gmail, they both work great, however the link in the conformation email appears to be dead at first. When you click on the link, it may not work. Just close the new window and click the link again, it will take you to a "Thank you for subscribing" page.

Thanks as always,

Brennon Williams

Evil Postcards at you Digital Doorstep

The other day I was emailed about a virus that was spreading. I never put much stock in chain-mail, but in this case I would rather be safe then sorry.

I checked Snopes.com because there was supposed to be a page on it there. However, Snopes's catch phrase is "Rumor has it", not "fact has it", so I remain skeptical. However, Snopes did present some accurate data, and its article seemed to be based upon facts. You can read about it here.

All the same, do not open any emails that have anything to do with ecards or postcards. Contrary to what the chain-mail might tell you, this virus is not necessarily the "worst virus ever", nor is it new.

It is possible that it leads the recipient to the Storm Worm, which you can read about here.

I do not recommend opening any emails entitled:



Good luck, and please let me know if you receive any emails like this.

Science Quarterly Released!

Unfortunately, I have not posted in a long time, however it was for a good reason. Science Quarterly was released today, and featured some very exciting content, not to mention a redesigned cover.

RFID Chips inside 20 Dollar Bills? - An Unexciting Truth

I've been reading about a little myth floating around on the net. Supposedly, the U.S. Government has but RFID chips inside every new $20 bill after 2005. Skeptical, I took a closer look.




I read the first article at: http://www.prisonplanet.com/022904rfidtagsexplode.html. In the article, the author said that When you put a $20 bill into a microwave, the RFID chip inside explodes. I was shocked. RFID has been somewhat of an obsession to me, and I have a hard time believing that a tiny little chip would explode creating such a large hole in a bill. The article said that the chip was located inside Jefferson's right eye. Using my powerful high resolution microscope I went in manually...

Using my set of tiny tools, I went into our founding father's eyes.

I started with the left, to make sure the author didn't mean the observer's right, instead of Jefferson's.



I tediously removed layer after layer of ink.



Sure enough, Jefferson's left (our right) eye was clean.



Now to the right eye I entered. Each eye took about 20 minutes to carefully dissect, so by the second eye I was frustrated, but undeterred.

So I started once again from scratch.



Nothing. I searched carefully, moving bits of cotton here and there. Alas, there was no mystery chip.



Just to be sure I went through two more twenties. Empty. I scanned each very thoroughly, and I knew what I was looking for. It is not for certain that the United States is once again innocent.



But then how to explain the burning?

As it turns out, most paper, cotton, etc. will burn at a concentrated point when showed into a microwave. There was no "exploding RFID chip". Sometimes the truth is unexciting, but that doesn't change the fact that it is still the truth.

Consider this myth busted.

Exploring Hard Drives- Inside your computer

Firstly, I want to apologize for taking so long to write up another post. Needless to say, I certainly have not been waisting time, and the Science Quarterly publication that gets nearer every second.

Last post explored the basics of RAM, and so it is only logical to move onto the hard drive (a.k.a. hard disk) that lives inside your computer.

The hard drive stores all of the data on your computer, making it one of the most important parts of your PC or MAC. Your firewall protects it from infiltration, and just about everything you do on your computer is recorded and put onto your hard drive. This is why recovering the hard disk is such an important task when your computer crashes. All of your personal data is stored onto a "doughnut from the future": a small and thick mirror-like disk. If you want, you may go back to the Xbox dissection and read up on the destruction of the gaming device's hard drive.

This is very important, so pay attention:

When you get rid of a computer (i.e. throw away, give away, etc.) remove the hard drive and destroy it! An intact hard drive is a holy grail for all dumpster divers. It does not matter if all of your files have been deleted, they can be recovered through new software that can be purchased over-the-counter.

Destroying it is not a complex task, on the contrary, it can be very fun. The absolute best way is to ensure your safety it to melt it down into a little ball (or army man), however most of us don't have access to 2,000 + degrees of heat. An old fashioned hammer will do the trick, so will a rock, piece of wood, or just about any thing else. There is literally an unlimited number of ways to destroy your hard drive (all of them pretty cool).

This is the perfect application for a dremel tool. Next time I have a hard drive I want to destroy, I'm going to sand it with my dremel and cut it to pieces so I have more dremel experience under my belt.

Be sure to let me know the creative ways you've made up to destroy your hard disk!

Exploring Random Access Memory- Inside Your Computer

I love computers. I marvel at how far the human race has come every time I take one apart. I find it amazing that all these bits of plastic and metal can come together to make something that can do things no man can. However, I also expect a lot from computers, and I get very impatient if they run a few seconds to slow. This is where RAM comes in.

Firstly, what is RAM?

Random Access Memory allows your computer to access any bit of data at random from what are called integrated circuits. Though certainly not cleverly named, RAM plays an enormous factor in the speed of your computer.

I just-so-happen to have a handy-dandy dead laptop laying around, so I decided to take out the RAM to show you what it looks like.

I unscrewed it, opened it up, and...



Sure enough, there they were:
there are really two of these, but I took the picture with a microscope that did not like to zoom out.



There they both are, happily sitting in their places:



I did a bit of exploring, and was not disappointed. There was a very cool little world sitting on these RAM sticks.



No wonder that computer died. It only held 256 MB (there were, of course, two of them). To put that into perspective, macbooks typically have 2 GB, or 2048 MB. However, an amazing computer has 4 GB, and the best have 8 Gigs (Slang for GB). A very big difference.

I squeezed on the little metal clasps and pulled them out.



Before you throw away your computer, always remove the RAM, they can have some cash value. Of course, the 256 MB ones, are not worth more than a few dollars, however the ones with 2+ (or maybe even 1) GB can be sold on ebay...

BW Science Labs Glitch Found!

Hi Everyone,

I've gotten reports about a glitch here on BW Science Labs. The first voting poll does not appear to be working properly. I'll be working on it.

If you are having trouble as well, please let me know by posting a comment.


Thanks.

Unveiling the LHC- One Giant Leap For Physics

You may have seen the Linear Accelerator at Stanford University. If you have then you know how amazing it is, stretching nearly a mile long it is remarkable that it was build by a school. Now, a structure built by CERN will dwarf Stanford and all other atom smashers around the world.

The LHC (Large Hadron Collider) has been talked about in many books and lectures like one of my favorites: Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku. Now, the LHC has been built, and it more magnificent then anyone of us could have ever predicted.

Some people were supposedly worried that when the LHC was fired up for its first test the world would explode, every time I hear that I laugh out loud.



Picture Credit: Roy Langstaff, © CERN
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/the_large_hadron_collider.html



Picture Credit: Maximilien Brice, © CERN
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/the_large_hadron_collider.html

I look forward to upcoming tests, as this is a milestone in the development of Quantum Physics.

Exploring Radiation: A Science Quarterly Sneak Peek

As you may know, my publication Science Quarterly has been continuing for four years now. Last year, I built a website for it that would make its many articles avalible to the public for free. However, I refrained from publishing the website due to legal implications that I'm working on.

This edition will feature among other things, an article on radiation. So, I decided to give a sneak peek:

Practical Uses For The Geiger Counter

"When it comes, will you please let your readers know what practical applications in everyday life the Geiger Counter will have? I have heard of it for years and thought it was good mainly for finding metals under the soil."- Anonymous BW Science Labs Reader.

My Geiger Counter did arrive, but the only reason I was hesitant to immediately create a post was because the ebay seller failed to send the special headphones and the 6 dosimeter tubes as promised. The reason I can't use any normal headphones is because the Geiger Counter I have is so old that it was a "phone" jack rather than a headphone jack. The seller has not responded to any of the emails I have sent to him requesting the items he forgot.

Furthermore, the six dosimeter tubes are still missing. Dosimeter tubes display how much radiation the wearer has accumulated over a period of time. Dosimeter tubes are checked periodically to see how much radiation they have been exposed to since its last charge. Dosimeters can also be in the form of badges that you see dentists an x-ray operators wear. The difference between a dosimeter and a Geiger Counter is a Geiger Counter tells you how much radiation your GM (Geiger-Muller) tube on the counter is picking up at one point in time. Dosimeters are better to use in a radiation lab while Geiger Counters are better for searching for radiation leaks, sources, etc.

An experiment I wanted to do with the dosimeters is see how much radiation an average person accumulates in one day going to school, work, etc. because as you read this, tiny radioactive particles are zipping through your body, however only in trace amounts. I wanted to see how much radiation there would be total. Unfortunately, I cannot do so without a dosimeter tube.

Metal detectors are typically used to locate metal (i.e. underground as the asker mentioned), but they fail to locate radioactive sources. That's where the Geiger Counter comes in. Many houses are built on radioactive sources without knowing it. Also, something called Radon gas can inhabit enclosed areas, doing enormous long term damage to whoever lives in the house. By using a Geiger Counter you can check your home for radiation, which is pretty practical. After going through my home many times, I was "disappointed" to find nothing radioactive.

Many old watches are painted with radioactive materials to glow in the dark. Geiger Counters can pinpoint this radiation for you to clean up.

Thank you for your question, but please leave your first name later to make it easier to reply and reference.

Thanks.

The New BW Science Labs Look

Today, I upgraded BW Science Labs's look, which I think was a good decision overall. Unfortunately, many parts of BWSL were deleted (thankfully no content) like the poll, NASA picture of the day, etc. I will restore all of these, however it will take some time. Please, bear with me.



All of the opinions that were put up on the poll were deleted, so please post them again.

Let me know what you think about the new BW Science Labs look or by responding to the poll at the bottom left of the page. You only have 2 weeks to answer it!

Thank you.

My First (Real) C# Application

Sure, I've made some simple apps in the past, a few "Hello World"s and such. But I've never had the time or skill level to really make an effective application. All this recently changed. Armed with "Head First C#" I was able to create My own contacts list in C#. Click on an image to see its full size.



It looks pretty good, and it works even better.



The great thing about C# is that the IDE writes most of the repetitive code for you.



Finally, I packaged it up and gave it an installation package, so it could be put on other computers, which can be very useful.

Remembering 9/11

Today's NASA image of the day (featured down on the right column) is something truly special. This image was taken by the International Space Station the day of the attack. Even the peaceful and quiet outer space was not the same that day, as astronauts from all over the world watched this tragic incident take place.



Rather than only remember those who died 1 day a year, I decided to put this image as my background for now, so I would always remember. I suggest you do the same.

Geiger Counter Update

Apparently, the delay of my Geiger Counter has quickly flipped into a positive. To compensate the lateness of the Geiger Counter the ebay seller is sending a more expensive unit. Though he wasn't very specific on what model, I'm happy to wait for a higher quality device.

I am anxiously awaiting its arrival.

Visual C# Update

I ordered Head First Visual C# from my local bookstore today, so it should be ready for me to pick it up tomorrow. I look forward to doing some OOP (Object-Oriented Programming) for a change. In the meantime, I've been writing code in PYTHON, which I will do a formal post on very soon.



Picture credit: Amazon.com

Geiger Counter Delay

My Geiger counter should have arrived on Friday, however the ebay seller's "relative got sick".

Ah well, at least it will come some time (hopefully this week).

The Return of Visual C#

In my early days of computer programming, I contacted MIT's programmers. To my surprise, I got great feedback in information from very nice and sincere people. I owe my love of programming to MIT's John Maloney, Tamara Stern, Andres Monroy-Hernandez, and of course Mark Stafford at Extend Health.

I won't pretend to be a pro at programming at all, on the contrary, I'm still learning, and I've got a very long way to go. I've spent the past two years bouncing around from programming language to programming language, and I've finally decided to settle down once and for all at the first real language I started at, Visual C#. Though I can't program much hardware with it, it has proven its self worthy as I can create all sorts of applications with much less code to write than other languages like C++.

I have re-installed C# for my macbook, and I'm ordering a "Head First" book on C#. my Parallels Desktop has proven its value, something I never anticipated.

The Geiger Counter

This is just a quick update, as I have little time to do any formal experiments or projects. I have ordered a Geiger Counter, six dosimeter pens, and a dosimeter charger. I'm getting some fun projects and experiments in line for future posts.

This is a model of a Geiger Counter I made when I was on a plane flight a few months ago. Every time I see it I laugh at myself, and my lack of drawing skills, though then I was very new to radiation tools, its pretty much accurate, to my surprise.



Brennon W.

The Mathematics, Science, and Future of Flight: Exploring Flight Theory

“Can you write something about theory of flight and new navigation technology?”
This is what a BW Science Labs reader asked me a few days ago.
I am now very comfortable writing about flying as I have written many articles on the topic.
I first discovered the true basis of Flight Theory when I was 11. In Alaska, I asked a pilot to teach me to fly. It was a bolder statement than I first realized, but not at all impossible. It was then that I learned about weight (ok, when I was 11 I knew what weight was), lift, drag, and thrust.
Weight is the most obvious factor, the measure of the gravitational pull on an object, any fourth grader can tell you that. Because the plane stays on Earth during flight (excluding space ships, of course. “I’ll have to wait until I’m 16 to fly those,” I thought.) weight is a constant. It never fluctuates, though its Gs can of course. If you fly in an arc theWeightne point you will reach 0 Gs you will simulate zero gravity for a short period of time. NASA has a plane to train astronauts by taking them into a zero G environment for up to 40 seconds. NASA calls it the “Weightless Wonder” (cough*, cough* the Vomit Comet). Weight can be easily calculated using the basic equation w= mg, or Weight = Mass multiplied by the acceleration of gravity as a result of the pull between the Earth and the plane.
Lift is what keeps the plane up, and I find it more frustrating to explain. The Alaskan pilot Dan taught me that as you pull up, air particles are forced downward pushing the plane upward. This is in accordance with Newton’s third law that everything has “an equal [or proportionate] and opposite reaction”. I read another explanation years later, one a bit more confusing, but equally logical. The Bernoulli principle or effect as its called says that the shape of the wing splits the air into two parts. The air above the wing has less pressure than the air below it. Thus, the plane is pushed up not by air particles, but by a pressure difference. To this day there is still much debate over which explanation is correct.
Drag is the force that slows the plane down. Drag is also a fancy name for “air resistance” which a seventh grader can tell you about easily. The air in front of the plane resists the plane’s forward movement. Imagine running through a pit of floating bowling balls, the heavy spheres would get in your way, and you would have to push through them to continue. Though this metaphor is exaggerated quite a bit, the plane would feel similar resistance, just not on the same scale.
Finally we’re left with thrust, what moves the plane forward. Newton’s Second and Third Law are at work here. Propellers can pull the plane forward (or push if they’re on the back of the wings) by taking in air and pushing it backwards (once again, reverse the two for planes with propellers on the back).
In the title I promised to put a little something about the future of flight. In later posts, papers, and articles I will dive into depth of aerodynamics and how that will affect flight. By making plane airfoils and bodies more aerodynamic we can maximize efficiency in terms of speed and fuel consumption. I would like to see what future planes will look like. Unfortunately, I have to wait.

All data was checked for accuracy at:
http://web.mit.edu/16.00/www/aec/flight.html
and
http://www.livescience.com/technology/060828_how_planes_fly.html

Dissecting the Mini Solar Show

One of the most useful items I have ever gotten as a gift is my new digital microscope. I can take pictures and video, I can zoom in hundreds of times farther than the human eye, it has eight super-bright LEDs to illuminate the object being viewed.

Call me paranoid, but I'm always afraid that the LEDs will burn out, a thought I can't bear. Of course, I still turn them on when I'm showing off my microscope to friends, but when I'm doing my own work, I tend to turn on other lights to save the LEDs. One of my more powerful lights is attached to a mini solar show. When light hits the solar panel a motor turns a bunch of little airplanes. I decided to put it to use.



I took off the bottom cover with a common screwdriver to find its insides. Simpler than I imagined, the wires were neatly connected with plastic covers. Very convenient, its like I was expected to dissect it.



Making sure it was unplugged, I unscrewed the panel that covered the motor.



Under it sat the unsuspecting motor, ready to be taken apart.





I took off all the little metal prongs, which was actually tedious work because of how they were fastened.



I unscrewed the bulb so it wouldn't get damaged, and decided how to cleanly separate it from the rest of the body.



I whipped out my dremel tool, and put on some goggles and a simple respirator for protection. The cutting took no more than a couple seconds and I used a metal gripping tool to hold it so my fingers would be in no danger.



I cut through the short plastic tube I was left with. I now had a bulb that I could easily use with my microscope freely!



In addition, I now have a solar panel and a motor to use. This project was well worth it.







Coming soon: The Science, Mathematics, and Future of Flight: Exploring Flight Theory.