Ralph J. Coppola --- r_j_coppola<at>hotmail.com
SAS Disclaimer
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Feature
Last week, I did an Internet
search because I was curious about the “home made” explosive
that was used in the recent London bombings. On one site
I saw that this explosive was very shock and heat sensitive,
and it could spontaneously explode if it wasn’t “cooked” just
right. Another site (for teenage backyard bombers) gave the
recipe of how one could mix up a batch of this stuff from
common materials. They didn’t list any of the precautions
that one should take while making or using it. In fact, they
went on to say that it was a relativity safe explosive!
To re-emphasize what I
have stated several times in the past, “Be very cautious of
the information that you may find on the Internet. There’s
a lot of junk out there!”
LEGO
building blocks are no longer just toys
for the RugRat crowd. Adults, too,
are finding that these plastic building blocks are fun to
play with. There’s nothing like getting down with the wee
ones and building a castle or something equally spectacular.
But we are also finding that with the introduction of the
Mindstorms
“smart bricks”, the Technic
series of components and LEGO
Pneumatics that many other uses are evolving. How about A LEGO Harpsichord?
To get you started have a look at:
If your local toy store doesn’t carry
the “good stuff” try:
Several
CAD programs have been developed to
assist you with the design and documentation of your LEGO
creation. What’s really nice about these is the fact that
they are all FREE!
Each September, the First Lego League announces the annual Challenge, which engages
the teams of children (9 to 14 yr olds) in hands-on robotics
design and authentic scientific research.
Tamara's
Solar Cooking Pages is another good source of solar information.
Wanderings
Lowegian’s
dspGuru site’s purpose is
to promote resource-sharing among Digital Signal Processing
(DSP) users and designers. Also, have a look at Bores on-line DSP tutorials.
Leiwen’s Einstein Page contains a collection of Einstein’s quotations.
Are wind turbine farms the answer
to our energy requirements in the coming decades? There are concerns
about the health aspects in relation to the noise pollution
that can be produced by these turbines.
My daughter, Jennifer, is presently
taking part in a hydrographic survey
in the North Sea and the Ocean
Weather site lets me keep track of how things are
going for her.
Two Russian physicists, Nikolaj
Volodichev and Mikhail Panasjuk,
have found that neutron
flashes from the Earth’s crust may be used to forecast earthquakes.
Physicsweb offers the latest news
from the world of physics.
Check the current
space weather conditions on NOAA’s
web site.
The
Vaisala Lightning Explorer brings us a map of the
current lightning strikes across the continental US.
You might find something useful or
interesting in Ed
William’s Aviation Formulary.
Google
Earth puts a planet's worth
of imagery and other geographic information right on your
desktop. Before downloading your free version, check out what you
will need to run this software.
Multimap.com
– Online Maps to Everywhere
The Kids Room
Drive
Red Rover --- a simulated Mars
Rover.
Davis Creek Elementary
School has a very
informative LEGO Site.
Following
the Path of Discovery shows us how to repeat some of the famous science experiments
from history.
Teachers, have your class recreate
Galileo's experiment and determine the acceleration
of gravity.
TERC
is a non-profit education
research and development organization whose mission is to
improve mathematics, science and technology teaching and learning.
The
Salters' Chemistry Club Handbook contains many interesting
scientific experiments for 11-14 year old students.
Experimental
Errors and Significant Figures
are discussed on The Doing Science Web
Site.
The
goal of CPO Science’s Online Web Labs is
to bring hands-on science fun to
the student.
Here is a resource site for New York Earth
Science Teachers.
On The Lighter Side
How many combinations can one construct
using six 2X4 LEGO bricks of the same color?
From The Far Side
The performers at the
Philadelphia venue of the
recent Live 8 concert were
given Performer Gift Bags
(search on “gift”), each valued in the thousands of dollars.
Did the performers in the other cities receive similar gifts?
Just think ---- The money that was spent on these gifts could have been
put to better use by World Vision, Save
a Family Plan or other NGO.
A
Russian astrologist, Marina Bai,
is suing NASA because, “The actions
of NASA (Deep Impact mission) infringe
upon my system of spiritual and life values, in particular
on the values of every element of creation, upon the unacceptability
of barbarically interfering with the natural life of the universe,
and the violation of the natural balance of the Universe.”
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