Day: January 30, 2020

Proposal: We are in a high school engineering program and we propose to build the best trebuchet with a pivot point under four feet the world has already seen. We will work on this project for about a month. We will build, test, evaluate, refine and continue to make it better. History: The trebuchet dates back to the middle ages where they were used as a siege weapon. On average these machines could fling material of 350 pounds onto an enemy territory. Unlike now, the humans pulled ropes instead of…

The word “laser” is an acronym for “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.” The first laser, using a silver-coated ruby cylinder as the resonator, was developed in 1960 at California’s Hughes Research Laboratories.[1] Today, lasers are used for purposes ranging from measurement to reading encoded data, and there are several ways to make a laser, depending on your budget and skills. https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Laser

The return of Robot Wars to the BBC this summer is looking like it’ll be a nostalgic delight, with first the return of the classic House Robots and now news that original contestants (from the series that ran from 1998 to 2004) will compete alongside newer models. Rejoining the ring will be robots including the burly Behemoth (see below), the piercing and iconic Razer (main image), the speedy Storm 2 and Welsh battler The General, as well as many more familiar machines (see below) However, experience isn’t everything, as series…

When I taught a college class in Network Analysis and Design, I decided it would be both fun and educational to revisit the pringles cantenna, a directional 2.4 Ghz wireless network yagi antenna, with a collector rod assembly, compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g wireless networks. My first 2.4GHz cantenna “homebrew” experiment (click on the thumbnail images below) was way back in September 2001 (recorded in cinema verite style as a short digital movie — currently offline) at the first San Diego “wireless install fest”. The design was based on Rob…

Learn how to make a potato gun (spud cannon) in a few steps with pictures and animations. Tutorials include both combustion and pneumatic launchers and even video tutorials.