Miles

Entry #1 Electronic Devices
 * 3/23/2011 **

In an object that uses an analog signal the signal is always smooth and rises and falls smoothly, an analog signal is represented by a continuum. In an object that uses digital signals the signal can jump from high to low signal. A semi-conductor can be useful in an electric device because their electric conductivity can be controlled by adding impurities (doping). Semi-conductors are used to control the amount of electricity going into an object in certain situations. A diode is used in a device so that the electricity can only flow in one direction; a transistor is often used as electronic switches because they can amplify electronic signals. Integrated circuits are used in computers, phones, and other electronic devices. Integrated circuits are basically scaled down circuits.

Electronics on Mars
 * 3/23/2011 **

Without modern electronics, the exploration of Mars wouldn’t be possible. One important thing to remember is communication. Without it, the astronauts wouldn’t be able to relay information to the ground team and if something went wrong then the astronauts wouldn’t have any help. Computers which are electronics would be vital in the running of the spaceship because without the on-board computer the astronauts would have to fly manually. Further, without computers and electronic the spaceship wouldn’t be able to be made in the first place because the scientists rely on computers to assist in the building of the spaceship. Without electronics we wouldn’t have small robots to dig and search Mars for life, therefore the exploration for life on Mars would be essentially impossible if there were no electronics.

Ms. Mc - good general overview of electronics and how we might use electronic devices on a mission to search for life on Mars. Remember, we aren't currently sending astronauts to Mars, however, if we were to do so, many more electronic devices including those to support life would be needed. 9/10

Entry #2 History of Rockets 3/28/2011

Rocketry has been around for a long time, believe it or not. A device very early on in history and important to rockets was the aeolipile. Hero was a Greek inventor and learned how to harness steam to create a propulsive power. His machine used a kettle to turn the water into steam and the steam traveled through tubes into a sphere with two, open L-shaped tubes on the sides. The steam spurted out of the tubes and propelled the sphere. The first true rockets were accidents, the Chinese used bamboo sticks filled with simple gunpowder in religious festivals. At some point some of the bamboo sticks got loose and were propelled by the gunpowder. The Chinese were intrigued and started experimenting by shooting arrows with the bamboo sticks until they realized the arrows could propel themselves. The Chinese used fire arrows against the Mongols in the battle of Kai-Keng, this led to the Mongols creating fire arrows of their own and was probably the way rockets were spread to Europe. An English monk called Roger Bacon created a more explosive form of gunpowder which resulted in much greater range for rockets. Jean Froissart of France proposed that shooting rockets through tubes would result in greater accuracy the result of which was the father of the modern bazooka.

Figure 1: The Greek Aeolipile

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was Russian schoolteacher who first thought of the idea of employing rockets in space travel using liquid fuels; he is regarded as the father of Modern Astronautics. An American by the name of Robert Goddard experimented with solid-fuel rockets in 1915, but he was unsatisfied and convinced that liquid-fuel rockets would go farther and higher. In 1926 he completed the world’s first liquid-fuel rocket and began a whole new era of rocketry. After the fall of Germany in WWII the Allies captured many V-2 missiles which thankfully had not been used against them yet. German rocket scientists went to both the USA and the Soviet Union. The scientists were delighted and surprised by the extent of Goddard’s work. The discovery of space became a competition between the Soviet Union and the USA. NASA was formed to compete against the soviets. As time went on NASA began to pull ahead of the Soviet Union and eventually put the first man on the moon.

Figure 2: The Chinese Fire Arrow compared to a rudimentary rocket.

Ms. Mc - Excellent summary of the history of rocketry and very good drawings! 15/15

Entry #3

4/5/2011

media type="custom" key="8956828"

Instructions:


 * Press the red button.
 * Set volume at a comfortable level.
 * Press the green button.
 * Enjoy!

Entry #4 4/13/2011

A rocket has many different components, all of which help the rocket in one way or another. The nose cone on the very top of the rocket helps give the rocket some aerodynamics for less wind resistance. The body tube is the long tube which all of the components are attached, like the base of the rocket. The body tube is usually a strong cardboard/paper tube. The recovery system is the parachute inside the rocket that deploys at the apogee of the flight. The parachute allows the rocket to be used multiple times with minimal wear. Recovery wadding is like the protector of the recovery from the rocket, which might scorch or damage the recovery system. The launch lug is the part of the rocket that connects it to the launcher, and guides the rocket for a straighter trajectory. The motor mount is the place where the rocket is held in place inside the rocket. The fins are a very important part of the rocket, guiding the rocket after it leaves the launcher. Last of all, the rocket motor is the propulsion system of the rocket. The engine gives the rocket power and allows it to shoot up into the air.



//Ms. Mc: Excellent explanation of the function of each of the rocket parts. You forgot to indicate which parts were inside the rocket (-1/2). Also, don't forget a title for your entry along with the date and entry # (-1/2) 19/20//

Entry #5 4/17/2011

The purpose of the experiment was to find out how the weight of a rocket affects the height of its apogee. When the rocket was on the launch pad the force of gravity and the force of the launch pad canceled each other out and the rocket was still. At lift off the force of the thrusters overcame the force of gravity and shot up. While in powered flight the thrusters overcame the force of gravity as well as the force of air resistance. Right before the apogee, the thrusters cut out and the rocket coasted, and the inertia of the force of the thrusters kept the rocket going. Finally, at the apogee of the flight, the rockets lost the force of the thrusters and the force of gravity pulled the rocket down against the force of air resistance. It was hypothesized that if a rocket is lighter it will fly higher because it will have less mass and therefore gravity will not affect the rocket as much. Gravity will not affect the rocket as much because the heavier or more mass something has, the more gravity will affect it.



The mass of the rockets in numerical order from group 1 to group 7 was 45.4 g, 44.4 g, 44.2 g, 46.9 g, 45.5 g, 45.2 g, and 41.5 g. The height of the rocket’s apogee’s in numerical order from group 1 to group 7 was 90 m, 119 m, 85 m, 62 m, 93 m, 82 m, and 69 m. Both sets of data are as seen in Graph #1. There was no relationship in the data between the dependent and independent variables in the data. The hypothesis was partly confirmed and partly not; there was evidence of an inverse relationship between the dependent and independent variables, but there was an outlier which threw the data trend off. Different people using the angle guns, whether people crouched or lay on the ground for more accurate measurements, and whether people measured the rockets mass accurately all could have been unforeseen variables that would have thrown the data off.

Entry #6

A quark is an elementary particle and the smallest known particle to date. Quarks make up composite particles, the most common and stable of which are called neutrons and protons. There are 6 types of quarks, up, down, strange, top, bottom, and charm quarks. The quarks found in protons and neutrons are the up and down quarks, with the up quarks having a 2/3 positive charge and the down quarks having a -1/3 charge. As seen in Figure 1, the 2 up quarks make the atom 4/3 positive charge and the down quark gives it -1/3 and makes it have no charge, a neutron.

Figure 1: The quark composition of a neutron.

A galaxy is a massive system bound by gravity, which consists of stars, planets, dark matter, dust, and gas. Scientists today believe that in the middle of most or all galaxies there is a supermassive black hole. Galaxies are formed when big clumps of helium and hydrogen are collapsed by gravity and made into galaxies. There are 3 types of galaxies, classified by their shape. Elliptical, spiral (as seen in Figure 2), and irregular. Figure 2: NGC 4414, a spiral galaxy.

//Ms. Mc: Excellent answers, pictures and captions! Please be sure to have a title for your entries (-1/2).//

Log #8

5/9/11

The programming of challenge 1 was not as hard as it may seem. The first step was to make the robot move forward about half a meter with a move command, for 2.68 seconds at 75% power activating servomotors B and C. The next step was to make the robot do a right turn by placing another move block; the robot was set at 200 degrees at 75% power still activating servomotors B and C. After that, the robot was programmed to go forward about a foot for 1.6 rotations of the wheels at 75% power with a movement block activating servomotors B and C. A left turn was then executed; the robot was set at 75% power at 175 degrees activation servomotors B and C. After that the last stretch was conquered using another movement block at 75% power for 1.5 rotations activating servomotors B and C. Then, at the end the robot did a 720 degree point turn at 50% power using a movement block activating servomotors B and C. When the robot was finished a display block showed a smiley face and a sound block created applause. Lastly, there was a stop block which ended the program.