Maker Message Monday!
Hi All!
Here is your weekly dose of “Maker Message Monday”, a list of what we are enjoying or pondering as Makers!
Random Shower Thoughts
The next time you are looking up at the stars, try and find the brightest star you could find. Chances are you might be looking at Betelgeuse.
Betelgeuse is a supergiant that is about 430 light-years from Earth. It has a luminosity about 10,000 times greater than that of the sun.
Let’s just say that if it were positioned at the center of our sun, it’s radius would extend out past the orbit of Mars.
Betelgeuse is likely to explode into a supernova and could happen any day within the next couple of thousands of years.
When this happens, the transition to supernova would light our sky continuously for TWO MONTHS!
That is a lot of tanning potential right there…
Videos We Are Watching
Think about the concept of a bullwhip for a second.
Using your arm you can break the sound barrier in a few milliseconds of motion.
That is actually a pretty crazy accomplishment!
So how exactly is a Bullwhip able to break the sound barrier?
Dustin from Smarter Everyday works alongside April Jennifer Choi (Mechanical Engineer/Professional Whip Artist) to learn what is happening during this process.
Watch how Dustin and April conduct their experiment to figure out what is the cause of a bullwhip being able to break the sound barrier.
Articles We Are Reading
Have you ever played the game Jenga?
Jenga is a classic game that involves pulling wooden blocks from a tower until the tower collapses.
The first person to knock over the tower loses!
This game is challenging enough for humans, but what about robots?
Artificial intelligence has already tackled classic games like Chess and Go but what about games that involve a physical aspect like Jenga?
Mechanical engineers at MIT have been building a two-fingered bot that uses AI and sensors to figure out the physics of Jenga in order to beat you!
“The machine relies on two sensors to perceive it’s jenga-filled world: a camera that sees the tower, and a force sensor in its “wrist” to know how hard it is pushing…”
Read the full article here and watch the video below to learn more about how this Robot operates!
Projects We Are Enjoying
Have you ever gifted a flower to your loved one?
How about a mechanical flower?
In this project of the week, learn how to build a mechanical tulip that slowly opens and lights up into any color possible with the gentle touch of a hand.
So how does it work?
“The Mechanical Tulip consists of 6 petals each with 5 SMD white LEDs. Each petal is connected with one of the Arduino output pins. Blossom hides 7 NeoPixel RGB LEDs. From an electrical point of view, the whole flower is ground and veins in petals are a positive voltage.
Petals are opened by a pushrod which is going all the way down the stem to the base. The pushrod is controlled by a movement of a small hobby servo. Small leaf on the side of the stem is connected to TTP223 touch sensor inside the base and creates a capacitive touchpad.
The wooden base contains a servo motor, touch IC and Arduino Nano.”
Read the full tutorial by Jiri Praus here!
Podcasts We Are Listening To
Our brains are divided into two distinct sections.
The left brain is connected to logic, sequencing, linear thinking, mathematics, facts, and thinking in words.
The right brain is connected to imagination, holistic thinking, intuition, arts, rhythm, nonverbal cues, feelings visualization, and day dreaming.
So the question is… why is the brain divided?
In this episode of NPR Hidden Brain, Psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist explains why popular distinctions between the “left brain” and “right brain” aren’t supported by research. He argues that one hemisphere has come to shape Western society — to our detriment.
Listen to the full episdoe by NPR here.
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