How to Build a Robot Tutorial - Society of Robots Introduction to Gears No good robot can ever be built without gears. As such, a good understanding of how gears affect parameters such as torque and velocity are very important. In this tutorial I will first talk about the basics of gears, how to use them properly along with simple equations, and then I will go into specific types of gears. Mechanical Advantage, Torque vs. As with all motors, by looking at the motor datasheet you can determine the output velocity and torque of your motor. With gears, you will exchange the high velocity with a better torque. Torque_Old * Velocity_Old = Torque_New * Velocity_New Torque_Old and Velocity_Old can be found simply by looking up the datasheet of your motor. So for example, suppose your motor outputs 3 lb-in torque at 2000rps according to the datasheet, but you only want 300rps. 3 lb-in * 2000rps = Torque_New * 300rps With highschool algebra you can then determine that your new torque will be 20 lb-in. 3 lb-in * 2000rps = 5 lb-in * Velocity_New
Water Pressure and Dams- The Naked Scientists Listen Now Download as mp3 from the show The Science of Water Security What you Need What to do First you need to make some holes in the side of the bottle. 5mm holes in a line about every 30mm works well though it is not critical. Be careful the bottle is very slippery so the drill can slip. It also helps to use a smaller drill (3mm is good) to make the holes and then use the larger one to open them out. Cover the holes with a piece of tape (just to make filling easier and drier. Fill the bottle with water. Remove the tape. What may happen You should find that you have a series of streams of water coming out of the side of the bottle. Why does it happen? This is all because water is a fluid, it is squishey, this means that if you squash it in one direction it will push out in all directions. Water is quite heavy so the water at the top of your bottle will compress the water below, so the deeper you go the higher the pressure. This is also the reason that hydro-electric dams have to be deep.
Graphene's love affair with water: Water filters allow precise and fast sieving of salts and organic molecules -- ScienceDaily Graphene has proven itself as a wonder material with a vast range of unique properties. Among the least-known marvels of graphene is its strange love affair with water. Graphene is hydrophobic -- it repels water -- but narrow capillaries made from graphene vigorously suck in water allowing its rapid permeation, if the water layer is only one atom thick -- that is, as thin as graphene itself. This bizarre property has attracted intense academic and industrial interest with intent to develop new water filtration and desalination technologies. One-atom-wide graphene capillaries can now be made easily and cheaply by piling layers of graphene oxide -- a derivative of graphene -- on top of each other. Two years ago, University of Manchester researchers discovered that thin membranes made from such laminates were impermeable to all gases and vapours, except for water. Small salts with a size of less than nine Angstroms can flow along but larger ions or molecules are blocked.
How to Extract DNA from Anything Living First, you need to find something that contains DNA. Since DNA is the blueprint for life, everything living contains DNA. For this experiment, we like to use green split peas. But there are lots of other DNA sources too, such as: Spinach Chicken liver Strawberries Broccoli Certain sources of DNA should not be used, such as: Your family pet, Fido the dog Your little sister's big toe Bugs you caught in the yard Step 1: Blender Insanity! Put in a blender: 1/2 cup of split peas (100ml) 1/8 teaspoon table salt (less than 1ml) 1 cup cold water (200ml) Blend on high for 15 seconds. The blender separates the pea cells from each other, so you now have a really thin pea-cell soup. Step 2: Soapy Peas Pour your thin pea-cell soup through a strainer into another container (like a measuring cup). Add 2 tablespoons liquid detergent (about 30ml) and swirl to mix. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes. Pour the mixture into test tubes or other small glass containers, each about 1/3 full. Why am I adding detergent?
A Solution For Graphene Production [+]Enlarge Beaker Bath Immersing platinum and graphite electrodes in an inorganic salt solution and running a current through it (left) causes sheets of graphene to flake off the graphite into the solution (center). Credit: J. Graphene is easy to acquire, at least in small amounts. Several other methods have been developed for producing graphene, but each has its drawbacks. Xinliang Feng and Klaus Müllen of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, in Mainz, Germany, and their colleagues decided to improve upon an electrochemical technique for producing graphene. The process turned more than 75% of the graphite electrode into graphene flakes. Of the solutions they tested, the ammonium sulfate worked the best, producing the highest quality graphene in the fastest time. James M. The exfoliation process is also more environmentally friendly than previous methods for generating graphene, Feng says, and doesn’t require high temperatures.
What is graphene? Here’s what you need to know about a material that could be the next silicon Graphene, an emerging material that could change the way electronic components are made and help computing performance continue to grow, is everywhere in the research world these days. This month alone, advancements suggested it could boost internet speeds, serve as a touch sensitive coating and extend the lives of computers. It is stronger than diamond and conducts electricity and heat better than any material ever discovered, and it will likely play an important role in many products and processes in the future. What is graphene? Graphene is made of a single layer of carbon atoms that are bonded together in a repeating pattern of hexagons. Carbon is an incredibly versatile element. These single layers of carbon atoms provide the foundation for other important materials. How was it discovered? Chances are good that you have made graphene many times in your life. Graphene was first studied theoretically in the 1940s. Why is it unusual? What can it be used for? What are the critiques?
Forget WiFi, Connect to the Internet Through Lightbulbs - Technology - GOOD Whether you’re using wireless internet in a coffee shop, stealing it from the guy next door, or competing for bandwidth at a conference, you’ve probably gotten frustrated at the slow speeds you face when more than one device is tapped into the network. As more and more people—and their many devices—access wireless internet, clogged airwaves are going to make it increasingly difficult to latch onto a reliable signal. But radio waves are just one part of the spectrum that can carry our data. What if we could use other waves to surf the internet? One German physicist, Harald Haas, has come up with a solution he calls “data through illumination”—taking the fiber out of fiber optics by sending data through an LED lightbulb that varies in intensity faster than the human eye can follow. Haas says his invention, which he calls D-Light, can produce data rates faster than 10 megabits per second, which is speedier than your average broadband connection. Photo (cc) via otto-otto.com
So You Think You Know Renewables? Take the Quiz Shining solar cells, whirling wind turbines, massive dams and advanced geothermal heat pumps are all crucial pieces of infrastructure that currently generate renewable energy. And they'll likely play a big role in the future as the world looks to slash carbon dioxide emissions. But these seemingly new technologies each had humble beginnings many years ago. In fact, it may surprise you just how many years ago. Go ahead and test your renewable energy expertise by guessing their birth years below. You May Also Like1,001 Blistering Future Summers Measuring Cow & Pig Emissions Goes to New Heights New CO2 Milestone: 3 Months Above 400 PPM Map Shows When Summer Heat Peaks in Your Town
Graphene light bulb set for shops - BBC News A light bulb made with graphene - said by its UK developers to be the first commercially viable consumer product using the super-strong carbon - is to go on sale later this year. The dimmable bulb contains a filament-shaped LED coated in graphene. It was designed at Manchester University, where the material was discovered. It is said to cut energy use by 10% and last longer owing to its conductivity. The National Graphene Institute at the university was opened this month. The light bulb was developed by a Canadian-financed company called Graphene Lighting - one of whose directors is Prof Colin Bailey, deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Manchester. It is expected to be priced lower than some LED bulbs, which can cost about £15 each. Based on traditional light bulb design, the use of graphene allows it to conduct electricity and heat more effectively. Prof Bailey told the BBC: "The graphene light bulb will use less energy.