Thomas

Entry #1

March 24, 2011.

In this entry, I will talk about how anaolg signals are different from digital signals. How semiconductors are useful in electronic devices. Also how diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits are used. Lastly I will talk about how electronic devices would be useful when going and searching for life on Mars. Analog signals vary smoothly and digital signals do not vary smoothly but change in steps or jumps. Think about a digital signal can be represented as a series of numbers because each jump or step can be represented as a number moving from one number to another number. Analog signals move much more smoothly like a hand moving in slow motion, it is smooth. Semiconductors can be turned on and off at will so they won’t be always on or always off. You can choose when it is on and when it is off. Diodes are used to help electricity flow in one direction. Transistors are used to amplify sound. Transistors might be used in amps for guitars to amplify the sound. Integrated circuits contain large numbers of interconnected solid-state components and are made from a single chip of semiconductor material such as silicon.

Electronic devices would be important when going to mars for a trip to Mars for several reasons. First of all because the robot that goes to Mars will need electronic devices such as lights and devices that can pick up soil and analyze it. Also when humans eventually travel to Mars, they will need devices such as lights, a motor to pump oxygen into the space suit, and many other electric devices for the ship to go to Mars and the car/buggy that the astronauts will drive on Mars in.

Ms. Mc: Good summary of electronics and ideas about how we would use electronic devices on our mission to Mars. Since we aren't sending humans (either is NASA right now), I would have liked more devices no involving humans. 9/10.

Log entry #2 4/5/2011 History of Rockets

Rockets are an amazing feat that has been engineered. Rockets have taken man-kind into space and taken them to the moon. These amazing inventions have helped humans determine some of the greatest mysteries about space. One of the first devices to successfully employ principles essential to rocket flight was a device called an aeolipile. Close to 100 B.C. a Greek inventor by the name Hero of Alexandria used steam as a propulsive gas. When rockets first true rocket first appeared is still unclear today. The Chinese were the first to experiment with gunpowder. They would put gunpowder in bamboo tubes and launch them. This in essence was the beginning of rocketry.

Modern rocketry began in 1898 when a Russian schoolteacher proposed the idea of space exploration. One of the most famous rockets was a missile to be launched and blow up at whatever target. This rocket is the V-2. In comparison to today’s rockets, it is small. It achieved great thrust by burning a mixture of liquid oxygen and alcohol at a very fast rate of one ton every seven seconds. Fortunately the V-2 was never used against them by the Nazi’s. It came too late in the war to cause the war to turn tides. The first satellite was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. Its name was Sputnik. A few months later, the US launched their first satellite, Explorer I. Since the first launched satellite to the idea of space travel, rockets have been a magnificent engineering feat that we should be proud of. Figure 1: Sputnik, the first satallite to orbit the Earth.

Figure 2: A Chinese fire arrow.

//Ms. Mc: Good overview of the history of rocketry. It would be good to mention Goddard, the father of modern rocketry, however. Also, NASA has done the most to advance modern day rocketry and should be included. On a layout note, please put your drawings/photos in your text when you discuss them as opposed at the end. Good job! 14/15//

4/4/2011 Log entry #3 Rocket Flight Stages Simulation

media type="custom" key="8963860"

4/13/2011 Log Entry #4 Rocket Parts



Figure 3: Rocket and parts labeled.

The nose cone guides airflow around the rocket. The body tube is the main structural par which is usually made from a strong paper tube. The recovery system is the device that is responsible for getting the rocket back safely and intact for use again. The recovery wadding protects the recovery system from hot ejection charge gases from the engine below. The launch lug guides the rocket straight off the launch pad so it will liftoff at a 90°. The 3 fins keep the rocket straight during flight. The motor mount holds the rocket motor in place. Finally, the rocket motor is a safe non-reusable device. A new motor is need for each flight.

// Ms. Mc: Good labels and definitions. What is the recovery system? (a parachute -1/2) Spelling error; "par" should be "part." (-1/2). 19/20 //

4/17/2011 Log Entry #5

**INTRODUCTION** The purpose of this experiment was to determine the apogee of the rockets and to determine how the mass of the rocket would affect its flight. It was hypothesized that the more mass a rocket had, the less altitude it would have because the more mass a rocket would have, the more air resistance it would have. It was also determined that if a rocket had more thrust than another, that rocket would go higher. Lastly, the more inertia to keep moving up, the higher the apogee would be.



Graph 1: Graph about mass and apogee.

The masses of the rockets were similar except for the rockets with the masses of 42.5 and 43.2. The apogee of each rocket was pretty close except for the rockets with the apogee of 61 and 68 as seen in graph 1. This graph had a direct relation except for the rockets with the apogee of 82 and 85. 93 and 68 both show that this is a direct relationship. Other than that this graph was a good example of a direct relationship. The hypothesis was incorrect. It was actually the complete opposite of correct. Instead of the more mass the less altitude the rocket would gain, the less mass the rocket had, the less altitude it would gain. Some error might have been because the amount of wind would have been different from rocket to rocket. The major factor that could have lead to error were the angle gun measures. Every time, new angle guns measures were used. Some of the measures might have been better at it than others.

Log Entry #6 4/25/2011

A quark is an elementary and also a fundamental constituent of matter. There are six kind of quarks known a flavors. They are: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom. Figure 4: picture of a quark. Galaxies are made up of stars, gas, and dust. Our galaxy is 100,000 light years across. Galaxies are classified according to their shape: elliptical, spiral, or irregular. Galaxies formed by hydrogen and helium gas within the proto-galaxies began to condense and make the first stars. Thus the first galaxies were formed. Figure 5: picture of a galaxy.

//Ms. Mc: Your answers were a little brief. Don't include "picture" in the title of a figure caption as "figure" takes care of that. Figure 4 is not a quark but a proton with 2 up quarks and 1 down quark. (-1/2). How did the matter come together to form galaxies and when did this happen? (-1). What galaxy or type of galaxy is depicted in Figure 5? You were to refer to the figures in your text and explain them. (-1) 7.5/10//

Log Entry #8 5/6/2011 Figure 6: A mindstorms program.

The purpose of this experiment was to have the robot stop 5 centimeters from the edge of the table. The Mars rover could use this so it doesn't fall off a cliff or into a hole. Block 1-A wait block that tells the sound sensor attached to port 2 to wait to do what the next block tells it to do until it detects a sound greater than 50. (In real life the robot would wait for me to say go) Block 2-A movement block telling motors C and B to move forward forever at 75% power. (In real life the robot would move forward forever) Block 3-A wait block that tells the light sensor attached to port 3 to wait to do what the next block tells it to do until it detects a line less than 40. (In real life the robot would stop on a blue line of tape on the edge of the table) Block 4-A movement block telling motors C and B to stop. (In real life the robot would stop) Block 5-A sound block telling the speakers on the robot to play the sound "watch out" at 100% volume. (In real life the robot would produce a sound)