Ryan

3/23/11
 * Electrics- Log Entry 1 **

Electricity involves many things. A very important one is Electronic Signals. Analog and Digital are the two types of electronic signals. Analog signals change gradually in time. Rather than taking big step it goes from piece to piece. An example of something that has an analog signal would be a telephone. Digital signals are signal that change in jumps or steps. It is exactly the opposite of an analog signal. A //digital// watch is a perfect example of a digital signal. If the time was 3:29 and it changed to 3:30 then that would be a digital change. Semiconductors are also things involved in circuits. A semiconductor has the conductivity between a metal and a nonmetal. The advantage to having a semiconductor is the electrical conductivity can be controlled by adding impurities. So you can choose to have a lot of energy to go through it, or not much. Diodes, Transistors and Integrated circuits are a major part of Electronics. A diode is a solid-state component that allows the current to only flow in one direction. It’s used when you want an electric current to go in a certain place. A transistor is a solid-state component that can be used to amplify signals in an electric current. It’s also used as an electronic switch. Lastly, an integrated circuit is a chip that contains a large number of interconnected solid-state components and is made from a single chip of semiconductor material such as silicon.

The main reason for electronics is control. Without any electronics it wouldn’t be possible to go into space. You wouldn’t be able to breathe because the suits wouldn’t exist. You would still have something to travel in but you wouldn’t be able to control where it was going. You wouldn’t even be able to get the ship off the ground without electronics.

//Ms. Mc. Good summary of electronic signals and components. For the second paragraph, you were to discuss what electronic devices we would use on on a mission to Mars. Your discussion would have benefitted from including more examples of devices such as computers, navigation systems, communication systems, cameras, solar panels. etc. Please put a line between your entries. 8.5/10//

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Rocket History

Log Entry #2 Rockets started out as an accidental discovery. In China during the first century A.D. the Chinese created the first rocket. In festivals the Chinese created explosives made with gunpowder in a bamboo stick and throwing the stick into a fire. Perhaps one of the rockets failed to explode and instead flew out of the fires. After this incident the Chinese started experimenting with gunpowder filled tubes. In 1232 China and Mongolia were at war. The Chinese decided to use their rockets for military purposes. After this rockets spread all over the globe. People in every country were trying to improve the formula. A man named Joanes de Fontana made a surface running torpedo made to sink enemy ships. Without all of these discoveries the world wouldn't be as advanced. Later in history a Russian schoolteacher named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky proposed the idea of the rockets going into space. Late he received the name: Father of Modern Astronautics. An American man named Robert H. Goddard created the first liquid powered rocket. Goddard's gasoline powered rocket went on to progress rocket building. Goddard was known as the Father of Modern Rocketry. In the 20th century Germany created a rocket called a V-2. The V-2 was made to destroy entire city blocks. Since this discovery was made to late in the war to mater it didn't make a difference. After the Germans created the V-2 the United States and the Soviet Union discovered how rockets could be a great military weapon. On October 4, 1957 America put a satellite orbiting the moon. Later there were more spacecraft made by Russia. In 1958 NASA was developed with a goal of peaceful exploration of space. It's hard to believe that rockets started out as tiny pieces of bamboo and developed into spaceships.

 Ms. Mc: Good overview of the history of rocketry. Please be sure to include a caption with figure # and title for all of your drawings/photos. 14.5/15

Log Entry #4=  The Nose Cone leads the rocket and controls the direction of flight. The Body Tube is inside the rocket and acts as an air frame. The Recovery System is a parachute that brings the rocket down to safety so it doesn't break. The Recovery Wadding is a flame retardant paper that protect the recovery system from hot gases. The Launch Lug directs the off the launch pad so it flies up balanced. The fins maintain the rockets flight path. The Motor Mount hold the rocket motor in a specific place. Lastly, the Rocket Motor is used to propel the rocket off the ground.

//Ms. Mc: Good definitions and labels. You were to write (inside) for the parts that were inside but I understand what you meant :). The body tube, however, is not inside (-1/2). Don't forget to include a title for your entries (-1/2). 19/20. //

4/17/11 Log Entry # 5 ** Introduction ** The purpose of this assignment was to see if mass(g) affected the height of the apogee(m) of a rocket. Gravity and air resistance were the two main forces that affected the apogee of the rocket. The motor of the rocket was made with gunpowder was lit. Other forces that helped the rocket reach a high apogee were: inertia, thrust, and lift-off. The first stage of the rocket was ignition. Ignition is the point in time where the rocket engines have been ignited. The second stage is lift off, this is where the rocket is lifted off the ground due to the thrust from the engines. The third stage is coasting. This is when the engines are turned off and the rocket keeps moving because of Inertia. The last step that used was called Apogee. This is where the rocket reaches the peak of its height.

The data in this graph shows that there was a direct relationship. The outlier is clearly shown as 82. The mass data varied from 42.5g (smallest) to 45.4g (biggest). The range of this data was 2.9g. The apogee data ranged from 60 (smallest) to 93 (biggest).

It was hypothesized that the heavier the rocket the lower the apogee would be. This was not confirmed. The 4th heaviest rocket had the highest apogee. While the experiment went accordingly there were still some uncontrollable variables. The temperature, wind, fin placement, motor, and rocket size are all errors that might've affected the accuracy of this experiment.

Log Entry # 6 2 Questions from Crash Course in Astronomy


 * What is a Galaxy? How did they form?**

Groups of stars, solar systems, gas, and dust. After the Big Bang stars, dust, and gases formed into things called galaxies. They are held together by gravity.

A group of subatomic particles with a slight charge. There are two categories of quarks: up and down. It is believed that there are 6 types of quarks.
 * What is a Quark? Why types of Quarks are there?**

//Ms. Mc: Your answers were a litlle lacking of detail. When did the galaxies form? (-1) What are the other 4 types of quarks (-1). You also were to refer to your figures and explain them in your text (-2). Please be sure to check your work against the prompt guidelines before posting. Also, please include a date for your entries. 6/10//

Log Entry # 7 Challenge 1

The purpose of this challenge was to experiment with how the robot moves and to experiment with sound and display

Block 1- Motion Block. The servomotors are connected to ports B and C. They are used to tell the robot forward for 3.9 rotations of the robot’s wheels at 75% of its speed and braked. In the final experiment it moved 61. 5 cm. Block 2- Motion Block. The servomotors are connected to ports B and C. They are used to tell the robot to turn 180 degrees after the 3.9 rotations. It moved at 75% power and braked. In the experiment it really turned 90 degrees. Block 3- Motion Block. The servomotors are connected to ports B and C. They are used to tell the robot to drive straight for 2 rotations. It moved at 75% power. Then it braked. It really moved 31 cm. Block 4- Motion Block. The servomotors are connected to ports B and C. They are used to tell the robot to turn backwards 180 degrees. It moved at 75% power. Then it braked. Block 5- Motion Block. The servomotors are connected to ports B and C. They are used to tell the robot to drive backwards for 1.5 rotations.It moved at 75% power. Then it braked., In the experiment it moved 26.5 cm. Block 6- Motion Block. The servomotors are connected to ports B and C. They are used to therobot to spin around clockwise for 1440 degrees.It moved at 75% power. Block 7- Sound Block used to play applause after all of the motion blocks have completed their job. Block 8- Display Block used to display a picture of a smiley face at the end of the process.



Log Entry # 8 5/8/11



Robotics is a branch of technology that involves manufacturing and design. A seen in Figure 7, robots manufacture as well if not better than humans. Robots can be used for many different purposes. One of them is to manufacture certain equipment that cannot be manufactured by people. Another is for entertainment. For example, in the robotic unit that we are in currently ,our robots are programmed to move, make sounds, etc. Historically, robots have been beneficial all over the world. Most recently, in Japan, they were using robots in order to disable the damaged nuclear plant because it wasn't safe for humans to go inside. Soon robots will become more and more advanced and help people all over the world.



History In the early 1800s Europe developed mechanical puppets for entertainment. The first industrial robots were made in the 50s and 60s. Seeing that robots could become a significant part of human life Isaac Asimov made these rules:
 * 1) A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm.
 * 2) A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the first law.
 * 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law

In outer space people have used robots also known as rovers such as the one that landed on Mars. As seen in Figure 8 robotics has developed many intricate devices. All of this started out with small puppets used for entertainment and eventually formed into Rovers looking for life beyond earth.

//Ms. Mc: Good general overview and nice photos. The titles for the figures should be a little more detailed/specific. Also, please include a title for your enrtries. +6 bonus points.//