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B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore

Thursday, September 11th, 2008 by www

If you or any member of your family has an interest in locomotives, railroads, or history, you must visit the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum. The museum has one of the greatest collections in the nation. Visitors will find pieces in the museum that date all the way back to the very start of the railroad in the United States. Everything from entire buildings to locomotives and small collections are on display for the public to see. You can see actual steam engines from the heyday of the railroad down to personal artifacts used by people on the rails. Some of these artifacts include china, watches, artwork, and tools. The family can even take a ride on one of the trains to see what it was like to travel more than one hundred years ago. The museum offers a wonderful glimpse into the past and everyone who comes to the museum is sure to appreciate all that it has to offer. It has incredible exhibits and artifacts that do a wonderful job of painting the picture of the American railways. The museum is open daily, except on the following holidays: Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day.

Some Interesting Science Fair Project Ideas

Sunday, September 7th, 2008 by www

Learning the scientific method and all of the basic science facts is important, but the best way for kids to learn has always been through doing. Science experiments are often neglected in schools, but when they are used for learning, a lot of good can come of them. A science experiment can not only teach young students about geology, biology, or whatever else they are working on, but can also help them to understand the scientific method, and inspire a love of learning. And a love of learning, after all, is the most valuable tool a student can have. Learning to be inquisitive is central to being a good student and a knowledgeable adult.

When I was in school, I absolutely loved doing projects using different science fair ideas. I know that that fact marks me as a nerd, but I do not care. I would drop everything for an interesting science experiment. Whether it was learning to make a glider in middle school or testing various compounds on bean plants in high school, it was all fascinating to me.

As a matter of fact, with all of the science projects that I did as a kid, I used to think that I would be a scientist when I grew up. My interests ended up taking me in a much different direction later in life, but I still have kept up with the main discoveries in the sciences. I love to go to science expositions and fairs, read Scientific American, and experiment with electronic circuits in my basement.

Still, it is rewarding to me to help young people succeed in their school science fair project. I volunteer as a mentor and after school tutor, and get to work on all kinds of projects. I even got to take a group of students to a national robotics championship last year, one of the most interesting experiences that I have had. Although I can not spend my full time doing science, I still get to inspire young people to enjoy it.

Of course, I do get to do some genuine scientific research every now and then. I am an avid and scientific gardener, and every year I try different things to get the best yield. My last science experiment with my tomatoes resulted in the best crop yet. I got an extra 3 tomatoes from every plant last year – not bad for a minor alteration in soil chemistry.

Awesome Ideas And Projects For Your High School Science Class

Saturday, September 6th, 2008 by www

Practical steps to make your school science fair projects a success are as follows:

Have you been asked to make a science fair project? Are you feeling tensed about the whole thing? Well, forget those worries. Science is a very exciting subject so make the best use of this opportunity. Here we have some great middle school science fair ideas that can make your science fair project a huge success.

Topics you can choose from Science is a vast subject and the topics on which you can make your projects are innumerable. However, if you want to make your project even more interesting you should opt for topics that everybody can understand. For instance you can go on to make a thermometer. A thermometer is something that is part of every household. But you will find very few people who know how a thermometer is really made and what specifications are followed during its making.

If you want you can also make a volcano model. It would be eye catching if you can make an exploding volcano and then explain how this eruption takes place in reality. If you want to be a little more innovative and want to do something out of the ordinary, you can go on to make a battery out of a potato. You can project how natural products can be substituted for making things like a battery. Of course you would need a few other things along with it to make your battery working, but it is something that most people would find interesting.

While brain storming brilliant science fair ideas, it is very important to have a chart that will give step-by-step instruction about the various phases of the project. You will also have to make a list of the materials that you are using to make your science fair project model. For instance for the potato battery project you would be needing two potatoes, two small pieces of heavy copper wire, two ordinary galvanized nails, some wire units and a lead clock which can function with one to two volt button batteries. What you have to do is, list all these components in one chart and mention the procedure in detail.

Inclusion of charts and graphs You should have charts and graphs of the project. If for some reason you are not able to make you viewers understand the project verbally, you can turn to graphical representations of the project. This will enable them to understand your project more easily as all the steps of your project will be included in these graphs. You should also develop blueprints for your science fair projects.

If these middle school science fair ideas are followed religiously there is no reason why your science fair project cannot be a success. So start your project soon. If you follow these ideas, who can say, perhaps you might emerge as a winner in your school, too.

Defining The A Dioptre As It Relates To An Eyeglass Prescription

Monday, August 18th, 2008 by www

For optical devices that bend light, the unit of measure is referred to as a diopter. By definition, a diopter is the reciprocal of the focal length measured in meters. This means that a lens of 1 diopter will bring light rays into focus one meter away. Three diopters will bring light rays in to focus 1/3 of a meter away.

The higher the diopter power of a lens, the closer an image will be brought in to focus. How does this relate to everyday things like eyeglasses, magnifying glasses, and mirrors?

For starters, an eyeglass prescription is written in diopters of either a plus or minus form. Plus powers are for farsighted eyes and the eyeglass prescription will enlarge the image. Minus powered lenses are for nearsighted eyes, and these lenses tend to minimize an image.

There is a condition that gets us all around the age of 40 called presbyopia that takes away our close up vision and requires us to use reading glasses. Readers are in plus powers, they enlarge an image. Usually over the counter glasses are available in powers ranging from +1.00 to +3.00 diopters.

When we go to pick out a pair of reading eyeglasses with a diopter strenght of +2.00 diopters will essentially be the same as enlarging the image as if it were ½ of a meter closer. In reality, this enlarges the image enough so your eye can relax and see the details. In order for this to work, the lens must be within a ½ meter of the object being viewed.

A magnifying glass works much the same way. Magnifying glasses and plus powered eyeglasses actually create what is called a virtual image. The larger the power of the lens, the larger the viewed image. Conversely, the higher the power, the smaller the lens must be. This is because all magnification and diopter power comes from the curvature of the lens. And the higher power lenses must have thick centers. A larger lens will create a thicker lens, adding more weight, and more distortion.

Magnifying mirrors work in much the same way as magnifying glasses, only they are reflecting light back at the subject rather than letting it pass through. The object being viewed through the mirror must be within the diopter powers range. For example, if the mirror is 4 diopter strength (mirrors annotated as 4x) then you must be within ¼ of a meter to view yourself. When you get beyond that point, the mirror portrays and inverted and blurred image.

Lenses used for magnification are convex, while lenses used for minification (eyeglasses for myopia) have concave surfaces. They are opposite than plus lenses as they have thin centers and thick edges.

This is why it so important for an qualified optician to analyze an eyeglass prescription prior to helping you choose the suitable pair of eyeglasses. Most prescriptions will require different style frames or lens type in order to satisfy a person’s eyeglass prescription.

Another way to look at an eyeglass prescription for a nearsighted person is this. Say your prescription is -5.00. This means that for you to see an object clearly, that object must be within 1/5 of a meter, which is 20 cm, which is about 7.9 inches. In short, a -5.00 myope’s world is blurred beyond 7.9 inches, unless they are wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Thank goodness for diopters and the wonderful world of optics. Otherwise the huge majority of our population that is nearsighted would be in a huge blur.

How To Make Biodiesel

Monday, July 28th, 2008 by www

Biodiesel has many benefits, but one of the most exciting things about biodiesel is that anyone can make it at home. Imagine you can process your own fuel supply for your automobileor even supply the energy requirement for your home. That translates to significant savings for you who rely heavily on commercial fuel suppliers.

Make biodiesel at home is not really that difficult of a process, either. It is great to get into making your own biodiesel if you are able to because you will get even more rewards from using biodiesel thorough doing so.

Supplies

To make a small batch of biodiesel at home all you need are a few supplies. The main inputs for the production include - alcohol, lye and vegetable oil. You also need some supplies to mix the fuel- empty plastic bottles, duct tape, a blender and measuring cups. Be sure anything you use to make your biodiesel is only used for that purpose and never used again in the kitchen for cooking.

Once the supply requirements are available, you can start your journey in learning the procedure to make a biodiesel.

Safe Process

Biodiesel production is safe. There is little risk for fire or explosion as you may expect with fuel.|Cases of fire or explosion pose a little concern. In fact, the only major area of concern, as far as safety, is exposure to possible burns. You just need to take extra precautions especially in dealing with mixture temperature.

You will undergo the simple process of biodiesel production which takes into account the mixing of input ingredients, separation of the by product and cleaning of the biodiesel. The whole process can take a few days to a few weeks. That depends on how clean your vegetable oil was to start with.

Small or Large Scale

You have the option to make biodiesel on a small scale or a large scale basis. Biodiesel kits are appropriate for low volume production. If you are running your lawnmower or other lawn equipment then [/pin]a biodiesel kit would be perfect|you can embark on biodiesel kit[/spin]. It is simple to use and will require a small amount of supplies.

If you are looking to make more biodiesel, say to fuel your vehicle, then you will need a biodiesel processor. This makes the process super simple, so you can make more than a few gallons at a time. With a processor you will need some more supplies but you also will not have to spend a lot of time making biodiesel since the processor does most of the work for you.

A Quick Guide To Genetics

Friday, July 11th, 2008 by www

Genetics is all about scientists changing ‘procedures’ for making life. genetics are found in all living things. It may surprise you to know that the genetics in a whale are no bigger than the genetics in a snail. genetics are pieces of information about how to create parts of living bodies. It’s a bit like a small computer or to put is simply it is like recipe for a cake. genetics are all wrapped up in long pieces of string that are called chromosomes. All the instructions for the creation of me or you are crammed in to the middle of tiny cells. There are millions of these cells and they all stick together. How all of this process happens no body really knows but what we do know is that it is complicated. As we grow some of the cells split into identical pairs. You could compare this to copying a CD or tape to say LABORATORY MICE. So every living thing on the planet from an ant to an elephant or a penguin to a human has a genetic code inside of it. DNA is like a human thumbprint there is no two pieces of DNA identical, unless you are an identical twin. The DNA nucleus is grouped into 23 sets of chromosomes these sets are called genome. DNA is grouped into genetics each genome carries around 35,000 genetics. Each gene carries information that communicates with the cell to make a protein that performs a particular function. These tiny cells contain all of the instructions that make your whole body keep working. In the nucleus of nearly every cell within your body is where the information is stored to make your body work. The genetics which are inside your body hold the information which denotes whether your eyes are blue or green, whether or not you have straight or curly hair, blond or ginger hair. genetics from a variety of traits are passed down through families from parent to child. Ie. If your parents have black hair then the probability is that you, your brother or sister will too have black hair, which surprisingly is the same in HEALTH. This is not always the case and once in a while a baby with blond hair will be born to parents who have black hair. Genetic testing can also be done on babies to see weather they have abnormalities before they are even born. The Amniocentesis test is performed during the 16th to 18th week of pregnancy. The doctor removes a small amount of amniotic fluid from around the baby and this can be tested to check for genetic problems and to determine the sex of a child. Many different sorts of body fluids and tissues can be used in genetic screening. For DNA screening only a very small amount of skin, blood, bone or other tissue is needed. Genetic testing has developed enough so that doctors can identify defective or missing genetics. Genetic tests are completed by taking a small sample of blood or body tissue. The can determine whether you carry genetics for certain hereditary disorders.

Rapid Manufacturing, Prototyping, And Metal Fabrication

Saturday, July 5th, 2008 by www

Additive fabrication can be defined as an assortment of techniques of making solid objects through the chronological delivery of material and/or energy to specific points in the space for production of that solid. Rapid Manufacturing is also known as solid freeform fabrication, layered manufacturing, rapid manufacturing, and rapid prototyping.

Techniques: Additive Fabrication is carried out using a number of techniques. Let some of them be studied in detail.

‘Electron Beam Melting’: EBM (Electronic Beam Melting) can be described as the ‘Rapid Manufacturing’ for metals. It is better known as ‘rapid manufacturing’ method. The parts are manufactured by having the metal powder melted layer by layer through a beam of electron in high vacuum. The parts produced acquire strength, solidity, and are void-free as well. The electrons have a very high speed; around 5 to 8 times the light speed. The bombardment of these electrons takes place on the work material’s surface. This generates heat which is enough for melting the part’s surface and causing it to vaporize locally. Vacuum is required for the operation of EBM. This means that the size of work piece is directly proportional to vacuum used. This technique works on composites, ceramics, non-metals, and as stated above, metals.

Fused Deposition Modeling: Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) can be described as a kind of rapid manufacturing (RP) or rapid prototyping technology which is generally used in engineering design. S.Scott Crump had founded this technology in 1980s. It caught the commercial market in 1990. Like most of the RP processes, the principle of working of FDM is the ‘additive principle’. It states that the material has to be laid down in layers. The metal wire or plastic filament is then unwound and material is supplied through it to the extrusion nozzle that can turn off and on the flow.

The nozzle’ then is heated for melting the material. It could be moved in vertical and horizontal directions with the help of a mechanism which is numerically controlled. This numerical control is obtained through ‘Computer Aided Design’ software package. Like stereo lithography, the building of the model takes place from layers. This happens because the material starts hardening after getting extruded from nozzle.

Numerous materials are offered with diverse trade-offs between temperature and strength. One can use the FDM technology with polycaprolactone, polycarbonates, polyphenylsulfones, and Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). Temporary supports can be made by using a ‘water-soluble’ material. These supports are needed when manufacturing is still going on. The commercial applications include making prototypes of servo or stepper motors.

‘Selective Laser Sintering’: Selective Laser Sintering can be defined as an additive type of rapid manufacturing wherein a ‘high power laser’ (like carbon dioxide laser) is used for fusing tiny particles of ceramic, metal, or plastic powders into mass representing the desired three-dimensional object. In comparison to other methods of rapid manufacturing, ‘selective laser sintering’ has the capacity of producing parts from several powder materials available. They include polymers (polystyrene and nylon), metals (composites, alloy mixtures, titanium, steel), and not to forget- green sand. This physical process could be liquid-phase sintering, partial melting, or full melting.

Universal Gravitation

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 by www

In Aristotle’ physics, objects simply returned to Earth because everything was thought to return to its natural state, and the natural state of objects was to be on the ground. Newton improved on Aristotle’s explanation by providing a mathematical expression for the gravitational force between two objects and by identifying the force which causes apples to fall as the same force that keeps planets in their orbits. The latter is the more subtle and profound of Newton’s contributions because until Newton, people believed that planets were kept in place by divine purpose. Newton’s laws of universal gravitation provided a physical explanation for the patterns in planetary motion.

But Newton’s law of universal gravitation extends gravity beyond earth. Newton’s law of universal gravitation is about the universality of gravity. Newton’s place in the Gravity Hall of Fame is not due to his discovery of gravity, but rather due to his discovery that gravitation is universal. ALL objects attract each other with a force of gravitational attraction. So as you sit in your seat in the physics classroom, you are gravitationally attracted to your lab partner, to the desk you are working at, and even to your physics book.

Newton knew that the force which caused the apple’s acceleration (gravity) must be dependent upon the mass of the apple. And since the force acting to cause the apple’s downward acceleration also causes the earth’s upward acceleration (Newton’s third law), that force must also depend upon the mass of the earth. So for Newton, the force of gravity acting between the earth and any other object is directly proportional to the mass of the earth, directly proportional to the mass of the object, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance which separates the centers of the earth and the object.

Today, Newton’s law of universal gravitation is a widely accepted theory. It guides the efforts of scientists in their study of planetary orbits.

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The Truth About Pet Food Nutrition - An informative story of the pet food industry and what to look for when choosing a pet food.

Extreme Hard Materials

Monday, June 23rd, 2008 by www

Extreme hard materials are the result of recent research and development. The last century witnessed tremendous progress in many fields of science and technology including material science. The recent developments in science and technology resulted in the use of very hard materials in mechanical, automobile, precision metal stamping and aviation industries. This in turn resulted in the invention of new ultra hard cutting materials to make cutting tool to machine these parts. Beside carbide cutting material several other ultra hard materials like ceramic, polycrystalline diamond (PCD), mono-crystalline diamond (MCD-natural diamond), diamond coatings on cutting tools, synthetic mono-crystalline diamonds as well as polycrystalline cubic boron nitrite are developed.

Super Hard Materials
Proper use and applications of cutting tools made out of these ultra hard materials will result in noticable timing saving, increases cutting tool life, high cutting speeds, improved accuracy, high quality surface finish and can reduce the cost.
Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD)
Polycrystalline diamonds or PCD plates are produced by high temperature and high pressure method where the diamond coating is directly combined with a carbide support. Polycrystalline diamond is produced by sintering of high quality diamond powder with metallic binder. Depending upon the application polycrystalline diamond materials are available in various grain sizes. For instance the diamonds with rough grain sizes are used for manufacturing cutting tools with very good wear resistance due to its ability to retain cutting edge for a very long period. If you are looking for very high surface finish on manufactured item, and then super micro grain sizes are highly preferred.
Medium grain sizes are used for normal all purpose cutting tools since it is a balance between high wear resistance of rough grain size and superior finish of ultra micro grains. This makes the medium grain sized polycrystalline diamond as a very good choice for manufacturing high quality metal cutting tools.
Natural Diamonds
Mono crystalline diamond (MKD) is natural diamond out of pure carbon. These natural diamonds enable the manufacturing of geometric defined flutes with absolutely notch free flutes. Natural diamond (MKD) is one of the ultra hard materials which are appropriate for attaining superior surface finishes for mirror bright surfaces, machining of non-ferrous materials, micro machining and machining of titanium without burr.
Synthetic Mono-crystalline Diamond
More researches resulted in developing synthetic mono crystalline diamonds which are available in triangles and rectangle shapes with an edge length of approximately 8millmteres. The natural diamonds often contains nitrogen and it could have varying hardness and heat conductivity. On the other hand the synthetic mono-crystalline diamonds have uniform structure with same thermal conductivity and less internal stress.
Today synthetic mono-crystalline diamonds are being manufactured in various shapes and sizes which offers great application possibilities of this ultra hard material in future. Researches have found very good improvements in synthetic mono-crystalline tool life, improved surface finish and fixed wear and tear behavior compared to other ultra hard materials like PCD and natural diamond. Read more about ultra hard materials.

Solar Energy - An Overview Of A Home Solar Powered System

Saturday, December 1st, 2007 by www

The article below is from a series of alternate energy articles and tips on the uses of solar energy …

As people are educated about the need to conserve energy, many people are choosing to install a solar power system in the home. The solar powered home consumes less electricity and is verymost environmentally friendly. However, many people are concerned about the costs involved. In this excerpt, we’ll share briefly with you how installing solar panels in your home can actually be an investment that will save you a lot of money in the future.

Photovoltaic means electricity from light. This solar power system uses the light of day to power common electrical equipment like household appliances, computers and lights. Having your own solar photovoltaic (PV) system means that you can generate your own electricity from the free and inexhaustible sun power. A photovoltaic system never needs refueling, emits no pollution and can be expected to operate for twenty to twenty-five years with minimal maintenance needed. A typical PV system on a house roof could prevent over 34 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions during its lifetime.

The electrical output of a PV cell depends on the intensity of the light to which it is exposed. Thus, PV cells usually generate more electricity on bright days than when skies are grey. This does not mean that your solar system will not work when skies are grey. Over the last few years, PV technology has also started to be introduced into urban areas, incorporated into the roofs and facades of homes, business premises and factories.

There are a few ways to determine what size a solar powered system for your home or business should be. You can install as many solar energy modules as your roof can handle. This will increase the solar power generating capacity to the point where it can eliminate your electric bill. At first, installing more solar energy panels increases the overall value of the system. However, installing more modules beyond a certain point ceases to be cost effective. It is necessary to do a careful solar site survey using a Solar Pathfinder to determine the net energy output of partially shaded modules and then determine if it is economically beneficial to install modules in those locations.

Investing in a solar power system for your home or business is a wise decision, both economically and environmentally. A properly designed and installed solar system can pay for itself in as little as 5 to 10 years — and even faster if you take advantage of manufacturer and government rebates. Solar electricity can raise the value of the home and create a brighter outlook for the future of our planet.

For more tips on alternative energy, go here: Solar Thermal Energy

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