Avery+C

= Wiki-Entry 1 =

= Signals, Semiconductors and Circuits and There Uses in Space =

A basic introduction of signals, semiconductors, and circuits. Signals are changing electronic currents that carry information. There are two types of signals analog and digital. analog signals are smooth like the motions of an analog clock, the hand moves around all the numbers smoothly. A digital signal is a signal that can be represented by 1s and 0s, this is called the binary code. The binary code is a code that uses 8 digits (1s and 0s) to represent characters (text, computer commands, etc.) An anolag signal is like a wavy line and a digital signal is a signal that jumps from 1 to 0. Semiconductors are useful in electron devices because they can amplify signals or acts as switches. Diodes are used to help control the flow of the electric current in a device. They allow the current to flow in only one way.

Electronic devices are very important in the journey to and search for life of Mars. Without electronics we could not calculate the root from our moving planet (Earth) to another moving planet (Mars). Electronics are needed for life support, to control the thrust, and navigation. Without life support the astronauts would not be able to breathe inside of the spaceship because there would be no oxygen. Without the control of thrust we would not be able to increase, lessen, or stop the ships propulsion at a moments notice. Navigation is also very important so that you can tell where you are in relation to everything around you. Without electronics the search for life and a journey to Mars would not be possible.

= WIKI ENTRY 2 =

= ROCKETS IN HISTORY = = =

It is unclear when the first rocket was invented but one of the first “rocket like devices” was invented by the Greek inventor named Hero of Alexandria, he used steam to propel a mounted sphere in a circle. The Chinese had made bamboo tubes filled with an explosive like gunpowder used to create explosions at religious festivals in the 1st century A.D. Later, it was reported that the Chinese were experimenting bamboo tubes attached to arrows. In 1232, the official use of rockets was in war between the Chinese and the Mongols in the battle of Kai-Keng. The Mongols were forced back by what they called “arrows of flying fire”. The arrows were used to help keep the rocket balanced so it would fly straight. After the battle of Kai-Keng the Mongols started experimenting with rockets and soon they had rockets of their own. Jean Froissart’s idea was to launch rocket out of tubes to make them more accurate in flight. In 1898 Konsantin Tsiolkovsky suggested using liquid propellant instead of solid propellant to achieve a greater ranger, this contributed to modern rocketry enormously. He also stated that range was limited by the amount of exhaust velocity of escaping gases. On March, 16 1926 Robert H. Goddard flew the first liquid propellant rocket which flew for 2 ½ seconds and only went up 12 ½ meters. This was like the write brothers first flight for rocket history. In Germany the V2 rocket was created which was used against London during World War II. NASA was formed with the goal of a peaceful exploration of space for the benefit of all mankind.

= Rocket Stages Animation = media type="custom" key="9018850"

= Labeled Rocket =



= Rocket Experiment Results and Conclusion of Experiment =



On the whole the mass did seem to affect the rocket by lowering the height, but there were a few rockets that were odd ones out e.g.: some went high Carly & Rachel's went 140 meters and some went low Katherine & Michaela's went 60 meters. The rocket that went the highest (with out being unusual) was Mr. Himburg's traveling 111 meters. The rocket that went the lowest was Julianne & Gabby's going 85 meters. In this experiment mass was affected by adding different amounts of paint. The engine type was not affect as we all used the same motor.

The purpose of this experiment was to find out if mass affects the height of a rocket. We found it does with the heaviest rocket weighing 47.6 grams went only 64 meters. The lightest rocket also went the highest weighing 41.4 grams and going 111 meters high. I believe these rockets went the highest or lowest because the lighter the rocket the faster it accelerates causing it to go higher in a shorter amount of time. The shorter the time the higher it goes before the rocket runs out of fuel.

The experiment was performed by placing rockets on a launch pad then igniting an igniter which had tar on it which caught on fire. The tar smolder then caught igniting the solid fuel in the engine. There was a small hole in the engine that would be the nozzle to direct the hot gasses out of the rocket for maximum propulsion. The igniter used was an electric igniter that when a button and key was pushed and held down would send an electric current to the igniter. The results of the experiment as stated above prove that the higher the mass the lower the height of the flight, thus proving my hypothesis right.

Our rocket flew straight at the beginning of the launch but when the rocket reached apogee the parachute was expelled the parachute did not inflate. Later, when the rocket was 5-10 meters above the ground the rocket's parachute filled with air(with a h\gust of wind) and then seemed to rise 1-2 meters. Our rocket had one of the lowest weight which is what caused it to go higher than most.

The I mportance of Astronomy for the Search of Life on Mars

Astronomy is important for the search for life on mars because it is needed for navigation. Without astronomy you might launch off our planet to late or to early and smash into our moon, the sun, or mars. We might also just completely miss it. Astronomy has also taught us that if we look directly at the sun it will blind us.

astronomy_AJC

= Robotics: A History of the Beginning =

Robotics are thought to have begun in 350 B.C. when Greek mathematician, Aristotle, invented a mechanical bird he named “The Pigeon.” This is thought by some people as the first advance into flight and robotics. Later, in 200 B.C. the Greek inventor and physicist, Cestibus of Alexandria, created the first water clock. This was a huge advance because before then everyone used hour glasses which had to be turned every hour. The clock worked by having the water fall at a constant rate. In the year of 1495, Leonardo DaVinci designed a robot that looked like a knight on the outside. He designed the robot so it made movements that looked human. This was the beginning of automata. Four hundred years later, in 1898, Nikola Tesla built a remote controlled robot which he demonstrated at Madison Square Garden. Issac Asimov made one of the biggest contributions to robotics when he wrote the Three Laws of Robotics: 1) A robot may not injure a human being, or, through any action, allow a human being to come to harm. 2) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First law. 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict the Second Law. =Robots: Sensors and Motors=



Motors are used on robots for walking, orbiting, rotating, and many other things. Motors work like the muscles and joints in ones arm, they can lift, pull, push, and even grab. Motors allow robots to move and without them robots would be completely immobile and incapable of the things robots are used for today. Programs like NXT Mindstorms can be used to program motors on a robot to do specific things whether its turning a wheel or lifting an arm. NXT is a program that allows you to program you robot by using a chain of commands that activate different motors, connected to the different gears and levers. Challenges I faced when working with motors and NXT was trying to get the right amount of rotations or degrees so that the robot would turn or move forward the way I wanted it to. This was often frustrating and sometimes led to having to rewrite the program.

Sensors that are used on robots can detect many things. The sensors we used were capable of most sense but not smell for we had no use of using that sense. Sensors vary in size and shape so most sensors can not fit on your robot unless you build an attachment for them. Some of the sensors we used are the light sensor, the ultrasonic sensor, the touch sensor, and the sound sensor. The light sensor is helpful because it allows your robot to look for a line by averaging out the colors. The ultrasonic sensor is used to detect distance because it emits a wave thats like the echolocation that bats use to find objects. The touch sensor is used to detect touch when a button is pushed in. Lastly, the sound sensor detects different sounds near it and can be used to move according to the type of sound. Sensors allow you to do many different things, without these our robots would be "blind" so to speak .

=Is It Alive Or Is It Not Alive?! That Is The Question!=

To be considered alive you must: be made of cells, need material, homeostatic, respond to stimuli, reproduce, grow, are adapted, and respire. However to be considered alive something must meet not some but all of the criteria listed above. There are two types of cells, animal’s cells which are more circular, and plant cells which are squarer like. The difference between the cells is plant cells make food and animal cells don't. The fundamental units of all living things are Cells. Cells have many parts called organelles. Cells have a nucleus which acts as their brain and tells them what to do. All living things need material such as water, minerals, and air. Animals get these things by taking from the environment. To be homeostatic means for internally living things (things inside of your body) to stay about the same despite environmental changes. A good example of this is your body temperature which stays at 97.5o Fahrenheit where ever you go. Living things expend a great deal of energy to maintain Homeostasis-- 95% of your energy is used to heat you up and cool you down. When you respond to stimuli you are responding to something that is stimulating. To stimulate is to cause something to react. There are two types of reactions: negative reactions and positive reactions. A positive reaction is when you move towards the stimuli and a negative reaction is when you move away from the stimuli. To be alive you must reproduce or you would die out and become extinct. Sexual reproduction is between two parents and asexual reproduction is when one individual has a baby by his/her self. Asexual is when there is cellular division in only one parent. To be alive one must have the ability to grow. To grow is when something develops from a lower or simpler state to something higher or more complex. Adaptations are modifications that make an organism more suited to its way of life. A good example of this is birds whose hollow bones allow them to fly more easily by keeping weight down. Respiration is releasing energy stored in the chemical bonds of food (sugars). Consumers are organisms that must take in food to survive. Producers create their own food.

Life can be detected on other planets if we search for the characteristics of life. One thing that we must look for is the material to sustain life because without it life is impossible. We can search for this by sending out probes to take samples of the environments on different planets. We must also look to see if there is evidence that something was once alive on that planet.