This is my last post.
Have a great summer everyone.
Camilo Aguilera
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Assignment 5
Willis Haviland Carrier was an American engineer and inventor. He was born in
Willis Haviland Carrier:
http://z.about.com/d/inventors/1/0/W/3/17carrier.jpg
Assignment 4
Sarah E. Goode was born in the 1850's as a slave. She gained her freedom after the American Civil War and eventually moved to
Goode's Cabinet Bed
http://www.csupomona.edu/~plin/inventors/images/sarahgood2_big.jpg
Assignment 3
Gaston Plante was born on April 22, 1834 in Orthez, France. In 1854 he worked in Paris at the Conservatory of Arts and Crafts as an assistant physics lecturer. In 1960 he became a Professor of Physics at the Polytechnic Association for the Development of Popular Instruction. His first discovery, which has nothing to do with why he is famous, was the discovery of the first fossils of a prehistoric flightless bird. While this was an exciting discovery at the time he is much better known for his invention of the first rechargeable battery.
In 1859 he created the first lead-acid battery. It consisted of two sheets of lead rolled into a spiral and separated by rubber strips. The lead sheets were then placed into a sulfuric acid solution. A year later he presented a nine cell version (nine lead sheet elements connected in parallel) of his battery to the Academy of Sciences. While Camille Faure would develop a more efficient version Plante is still known as the initial inventor of the rechargeable battery.
Gaston Plante:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/Gaston_Plante.gif/150px-Gaston_Plante.gif
Gastons lead-acid battery
http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Biographies/images/batt2.jpg
Monday, April 28, 2008
In regards to the grading fiasco
I think the root of the entire problem can be linked to the fact that an assignment was directly tied into a competitive event. If Ruane had instead made the competition into an individual event where one person would get dinner with him based on... say... the best Research Paper about World War I, then I feel that everyone would be a lot cooler about the situation.
Hell, if this wasn't a contest at all, I honestly think that people's built-in human drive of competition wouldn't be taking over right now. Trust me, I understand how everyone feels about the event, I thought our project deserved an A or at least the rankings be changed based on the time frame some other teams got that we didn't. But I'll take my B+ and scram!
I guess I dunno what I'm trying to get at here, but perhaps the best thing I could suggest for future classes is to exclude the prize-orientated nature of the assignment. I know that nobody cares more about the food than the grade, but lets face it, when we all built our machines, we felt that each of ours was better than anyone else's. No one goes into a 4x400 relay thinking their team is mediocre; they strive to beat everyone else. It's how we tick.
Anyway, I'm ranting now when I should be writing about DNA or something. Sorry for bumping the Final post down, but I just needed to get this off my chest.
Hell, if this wasn't a contest at all, I honestly think that people's built-in human drive of competition wouldn't be taking over right now. Trust me, I understand how everyone feels about the event, I thought our project deserved an A or at least the rankings be changed based on the time frame some other teams got that we didn't. But I'll take my B+ and scram!
I guess I dunno what I'm trying to get at here, but perhaps the best thing I could suggest for future classes is to exclude the prize-orientated nature of the assignment. I know that nobody cares more about the food than the grade, but lets face it, when we all built our machines, we felt that each of ours was better than anyone else's. No one goes into a 4x400 relay thinking their team is mediocre; they strive to beat everyone else. It's how we tick.
Anyway, I'm ranting now when I should be writing about DNA or something. Sorry for bumping the Final post down, but I just needed to get this off my chest.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Assignment 4- Richard Trevithick
Late assignment: I don't believe we discussed him in class, but I'm not 100% sure. It sounds like we would have. No one discussed him in the blogs though.
Richard Trevithick was born April 13 1771 in Cornwall, England. He died April 22, 1883 in Kent, England. Trevithick was a mining engineer. His father was a mining captain and his mother was a daughter of a miner. He didn't do very well in school, except for math. His school teacher said he was very disobedient and frequently late or skipped class. Growing up around the mines, Trevithick was fascinated with steam engines. He even lived next door to the steam engine pioneer William Murdoch for a while. He realized that new boiler technology allowed safe production of high pressure steam, and that this could be made to move a piston in a steam engine, instead of "using a pressure of close to one atmosphere in a condensing engine". Murdoch has the idea first, but it was Trevithick who was the first to make the high pressure steam work in 1799. The high pressure steam engine allowed the use of a smaller cylinder saving space and weight. Originally he built a stationary steam engine, but soon after he attached one to a road carriage. The exhaust came out of a vertical pipe or chimney, which made it possible not to use a condenser and not "infringing" on Watt's patents. Trevithick also used a a crank instead of a beam. In1801 he built a full size steam locomotive. He called it the Puffing Devil, and on Christmas Eve, he proved it worked by carrying several men into the next town. Trevithick built a longer running steam powered road vehicle, but it was very uncomfortable for the passengers and far more expensive than horse and carriage, so he abandoned the idea. Trevithick invented more than just the locomotive, he also invented the Cornish boiler, portable room heaters, and he worked with water jet propulsion and refrigeration.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/Images2_R-Z/Richard
Trevithick_SteamEngine_2_small.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/Penydarren
Locomotive.htm&h=100&w=130&sz=47&tbnid=arpTieiZsKYJ:&tbnh=100&tbnw=130&prev=
/images%3Fq%3DRichard%2BTrevithick&hl=en&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=imag
e&cd=3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Trevithick
Richard Trevithick was born April 13 1771 in Cornwall, England. He died April 22, 1883 in Kent, England. Trevithick was a mining engineer. His father was a mining captain and his mother was a daughter of a miner. He didn't do very well in school, except for math. His school teacher said he was very disobedient and frequently late or skipped class. Growing up around the mines, Trevithick was fascinated with steam engines. He even lived next door to the steam engine pioneer William Murdoch for a while. He realized that new boiler technology allowed safe production of high pressure steam, and that this could be made to move a piston in a steam engine, instead of "using a pressure of close to one atmosphere in a condensing engine". Murdoch has the idea first, but it was Trevithick who was the first to make the high pressure steam work in 1799. The high pressure steam engine allowed the use of a smaller cylinder saving space and weight. Originally he built a stationary steam engine, but soon after he attached one to a road carriage. The exhaust came out of a vertical pipe or chimney, which made it possible not to use a condenser and not "infringing" on Watt's patents. Trevithick also used a a crank instead of a beam. In1801 he built a full size steam locomotive. He called it the Puffing Devil, and on Christmas Eve, he proved it worked by carrying several men into the next town. Trevithick built a longer running steam powered road vehicle, but it was very uncomfortable for the passengers and far more expensive than horse and carriage, so he abandoned the idea. Trevithick invented more than just the locomotive, he also invented the Cornish boiler, portable room heaters, and he worked with water jet propulsion and refrigeration.
 |
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/Images2_R-Z/Richard
Trevithick_SteamEngine_2_small.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/Penydarren
Locomotive.htm&h=100&w=130&sz=47&tbnid=arpTieiZsKYJ:&tbnh=100&tbnw=130&prev=
/images%3Fq%3DRichard%2BTrevithick&hl=en&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=imag
e&cd=3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Trevithick
Assignment 2 - Napoleon Bonapate
This assignment is late, and was extremely hard to find someone who wasn't done already and wasn't talked about in class. (I should get some extra credit points for this one!)
Napoleon Bonaparte is known mostly for his military endeavors and being the self-proclaimed Emperor of the French (note not France because he wasn't an absolute monarch). However, it is the thins we don't know about him that make him a great person for this assignment. Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769 and died May 5, 1821. He was trained in France as an artillery officer and quickly rose to power as a general in the French revolution. In 1799, Napoleon held a coup d'etat and became First Consul. Five years later he became the Emperor of the French. He took over most of Europe through military victories, until he fought Russia in 1812. His troops were defeated and they exiled Napoleon to Elba. He returned to France and regained his power for 100 days, only to be permanently defeated. He was watched by the British at St. Helena until he died.
Interestingly, Napoleon was a mathematician. He discovered and proved Napoleon's Theorem. Napoleon's Theorem states "if we construct equilateral triangles on the sides of any triangle (all outward or all inward), the centers of those equilateral triangles themselves form an equilateral triangle".
http://www.mathpages.com/home/kmath270/kmath270.htm
http://www.eupedia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24223
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_I_of_France
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Code
Napoleon Bonaparte is known mostly for his military endeavors and being the self-proclaimed Emperor of the French (note not France because he wasn't an absolute monarch). However, it is the thins we don't know about him that make him a great person for this assignment. Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769 and died May 5, 1821. He was trained in France as an artillery officer and quickly rose to power as a general in the French revolution. In 1799, Napoleon held a coup d'etat and became First Consul. Five years later he became the Emperor of the French. He took over most of Europe through military victories, until he fought Russia in 1812. His troops were defeated and they exiled Napoleon to Elba. He returned to France and regained his power for 100 days, only to be permanently defeated. He was watched by the British at St. Helena until he died.
Interestingly, Napoleon was a mathematician. He discovered and proved Napoleon's Theorem. Napoleon's Theorem states "if we construct equilateral triangles on the sides of any triangle (all outward or all inward), the centers of those equilateral triangles themselves form an equilateral triangle".
http://www.mathpages.com/home/kmath270/kmath270.htm
http://www.eupedia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24223
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_I_of_France
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Code
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Truly disappointed
I must admit i am disappointed at the fact that so many students were complaining after the initial grades to the project were posted. I am totally aware that my group did not succeed at the project but reducing my team's grade after Complaints from the group who finished below us initially is a bit unfair. The swing team clearly did not pass the project at hand, they could not even get past there second step. I must mention after there candle burnt out they did not start the project in the same manner and they were unable to trigger any of there other steps successfully. I am not contesting the grade C+ which my team got but i am contesting the fact that the swing team deserves a better grade than which we got. In future you may consider not giving the grades publicly to prevent this type of thing form happening again, in that case if a person or persons have issues with there grades they issue will be with there grades and not the other teams' grades. I am really sorry a seemingly fun class such as this had to be tainted childish behavior of poor participants.!!!!! Have a good day!!!!!!!!
Final Reposted
Bumping this back to the top of the blog. Nothing has changed...
Final Exam
Here are the long awaited final exam questions. You must turn in a typed copy of your answers by 6 pm on Tuesday, April 29th. Late exams will be docked one letter grade for every hour they are late; no exam will be accepted past 6 pm. Please bring the exams to me personally or place in my mailbox opposite the elevators on the 6th floor of Crawford. Do not submit online!
The length of your answers may vary, depending on how well you decided to answer the questions. Any quotations need to be properly cited. Do not copy the answer from the book(s). These questions are usually part think piece, part historical. If you any questions, please send me an email.
YOU MUST ANSWER ONE QUESTION FROM EACH SECTION!
1.) Medicine and Modernity
A. Discuss the rise of tropical medicine as a speciality in the 19th and 20th centuries. What were some of the problems these new specialists had to face? How did exploration and travel in various parts of the world create new challenges for western medicine, not only a 100 years ago, but today as well?
B. By the end of the 20th century, medicine had become a "proverbial Leviathan" according to Roy Porter, comparable in size to that of the military as far as government intervention was concerned, and in many cases no less business- and money oriented than today's large corporation. How and why did medicine transform itself into a proverbial "industrial-medical" complex during the 20th century? Is this a good thing for western society?
2) Scientific Questions Big and Small
C. John Gribbin calls the "last hurrah of classical science" the transformation of geology into geophysics. Discuss this transformation in the 19th century, not only briefly explaining the transformative process, but also what was being discussed by these new scientists. How do discussions by scientists seeking to explain the ice ages give us insight into the current debate about global warming?
D. Discuss briefly the developments in biology, from Mendel to the Human Genome Project. How do these discoveries shape how we see ourselves? How might current research into DNA, RNA and genetic material effect Darwin's ideas about natural selection?
3) Global Technology
E. How do the Internet, McDonald's and Hollywood lead to the creation of a "Global Culture" based in part on technology and the benefits of science? What is this supposed global culture argued about by pundits from all sides of the political spectrum? Is there really a global technology and culture for the 21st century? Explain.
Assignment 4 : Theophilus Van Kannel
In 1841 Theophilus Van Kannel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a Swiss-American who is known for inventing the revolving door. The revolving door usually is constructed of a center shaft that a set of 3 or 4 doors rotates around with in a circular enclosure. A main benefit of a revolving door is that it is energy efficient. It eliminates drafts that would normally come through a regular door. By eliminating these drafts cooling and heating requirements are reduced for the building that the revolving door is present in. Another benefit to the revolving door is that it allows more people to pass through it at the same time. These doors also can be required in skyscrapers for safety. In skyscrapers it has been said that a great volume of rushing air from a normal door is capable of blowing out windows with in the building. The door is also noiseless, so it causes less disturbance in whatever environment it is placed. Theophilus gained a US patent for the revolving door in 1888. Theophilus founded the Van Kannel Revolving Door Company. In 1907 this company was purchased by the International Steel Company. Von Kannel was awarded recognition for his invention from the Franklin Institute. He was given the "John Scott Legacy Medal" for the contribution of the revolving door.
Theophilus Van Kannel:
http://www.invent.org/images/images_hof/search/inventors/vanKannel1200h.jpg
Revolving door
http://www.madehow.com/images/hpm_0000_0007_0_img0091.jpg
http://www.usgates.com/images/mirrorfinishmaroon.jpg
http://www.funkypancake.com/blog/2007/01/DSC01641-thumb.jpg
Theophilus Van Kannel:
http://www.invent.org/images/images_hof/search/inventors/vanKannel1200h.jpg
Revolving door
http://www.madehow.com/images/hpm_0000_0007_0_img0091.jpg
http://www.usgates.com/images/mirrorfinishmaroon.jpg
http://www.funkypancake.com/blog/2007/01/DSC01641-thumb.jpg
Assignments
Better late than never, although late isn't good either.
Assignment 1: Simon Stevin
Stevin was born at Bruges in 1548, and eventually became a book-keeper in Antwerp. Following this, he managed to gain a position at the Franc of Bruges. He traveled through several countries until he stayed in the Netherlands for the rest of his life, dying at Leyden in 1620. He began to learn mathematics and engineering here, as well as science. In 1582, he published his “Tables of Interest,” which provided an easy way of calculation for businessmen. He also later published “De Thiende,” which explained decimal calculus and is probably the oldest pamphlet to do so. He also published a book with theorems including: the hydrostatic paradox, equilibrium of bodies on inclined planes, and the parallelogram of forces.
Stevin: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Simon-stevin.jpeg
Assignment 2: John Montagu
In my honest opinion, John Montagu is one of the most important men that ever lived. Although there is some debate over whether he actually invented this item or not, it is still one of the best inventions EVER. It is also not technical, but I still think it's the best invention ever. Aside from maybe pizza. Montagu is said to have invented the sandwich. He makes me happy. Montagu was born in 1718 and died in 192. At the age of ten, he became the 4rd Earl of Sandwich. He studied at Cambridge, and later, in 1739 supported the Duke of Bedford. Eventually he became a colonel in the army. In 1748, he was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. Eventually he left his post to become a secretary of state, only to again become FLotA again. Aside from his hopping around throughout career paths, he was a married man with one son. His son eventually became 5th Earl. However, his wife’s health began to deteriorate, both physically and mentally. He eventually found another woman to spend his life with, Martha Ray, and they had several children. However, he could not reach a break—His first wife, Dorothy Fane had gone insane, and Ray was murdered in 1779. Another notable thing about him, besides the REAL sandwiches of course, were that James Cook presumably named the Sandwich islands after him.
His awesome invention: http://www.ntscblog.com/images/thumbnails/liverwurst.jpg (Or its anscestor)
Montague: http://www.nmm.ac.uk/mag/images/700/BHC3009_700.jpg
Assignment 3: Louis Daguerre
Daguerre was born in 1787 in France. He apprenticed in architecture and theatre design, and he invented the Diorama in 1822. He died in 1851.
Daguerre did many things, including medicine and set designing. However, his most notable invention is the “daguerreotype.” He began experimentation on his own, but by 1833, he had been working with another man for four years. This was when his partner, Niepce, died. By 1839, Daguerre and his son had managed to create a method for producing photographs on a silvered copper plate. He took his invention to the Paris Academy of Science.
One of his images:http://www.energyhill.com/assets/louisDaguerre_720.jpg
Daguerre:http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/3271602.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=2C48553CC6AAB74C6BBB204B0E512BDFA55A1E4F32AD3138
Assignment 4: Elias Howe
Elias Howe was born in 1819 in Massachusetts. As a child, he was an apprentice at a textile factory. Howe invented an improved sewing machine and patented it in 1846. Unlike the previous sewing machines, his used two threads, not one. This two thread system was called the lockstitch design. One thread made a stitch that would unravel easily. With two threads, the sewing is much stronger-today we use two threads, one from a bobbin and one from the roll. Howe was forced to defend this design in 1854 against Isaac Singer, a European who had been selling sewing machines with these same methods. Howe won. Starting in 1862 until 1865, Howe was a private in the Civil War, Union side. After the war, he set up a company in Connecticut: the Howe Machine Company. He died in New York at the age of 48 in 1867.
Machine: http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=19170&rendTypeId=4
Howe:http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=19472&rendTypeId=4
Assignment 5: Heinrich Focke
Focke was born in 1890 in Bremen, Germany. He was the co-founder of the Focke-Wulf company. He began building gliders, but eventually in the 1930’s started working on helicopters. In 1936, he and Gerd Achgelis created the Focke-Achgelis Fa 61, which was considered to be the first working helicopter. It was essentially a biplane with blades on either side for lift. The craft was stable, and capable of hovering. It was a great start for helicopters. It could reach speeds of up to 76mphm and could fly for distances of 143 miles at a time in one hour and 20 minute flights. The altitude it could reach was 11,243 ft. Most importantly, the Fa 61 was sturdy and undamaged after this. Eventually Focke moved to Brazil, and five years later, to the US, where he helped in the helicopter industry. He died in 1979.
Fa 61: http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Rotary/Focke/HE5G3.htm
Focke: http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-59152/Heinrich-Focke
Assignment 1: Simon Stevin
Stevin was born at Bruges in 1548, and eventually became a book-keeper in Antwerp. Following this, he managed to gain a position at the Franc of Bruges. He traveled through several countries until he stayed in the Netherlands for the rest of his life, dying at Leyden in 1620. He began to learn mathematics and engineering here, as well as science. In 1582, he published his “Tables of Interest,” which provided an easy way of calculation for businessmen. He also later published “De Thiende,” which explained decimal calculus and is probably the oldest pamphlet to do so. He also published a book with theorems including: the hydrostatic paradox, equilibrium of bodies on inclined planes, and the parallelogram of forces.
Stevin: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Simon-stevin.jpeg
Assignment 2: John Montagu
In my honest opinion, John Montagu is one of the most important men that ever lived. Although there is some debate over whether he actually invented this item or not, it is still one of the best inventions EVER. It is also not technical, but I still think it's the best invention ever. Aside from maybe pizza. Montagu is said to have invented the sandwich. He makes me happy. Montagu was born in 1718 and died in 192. At the age of ten, he became the 4rd Earl of Sandwich. He studied at Cambridge, and later, in 1739 supported the Duke of Bedford. Eventually he became a colonel in the army. In 1748, he was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. Eventually he left his post to become a secretary of state, only to again become FLotA again. Aside from his hopping around throughout career paths, he was a married man with one son. His son eventually became 5th Earl. However, his wife’s health began to deteriorate, both physically and mentally. He eventually found another woman to spend his life with, Martha Ray, and they had several children. However, he could not reach a break—His first wife, Dorothy Fane had gone insane, and Ray was murdered in 1779. Another notable thing about him, besides the REAL sandwiches of course, were that James Cook presumably named the Sandwich islands after him.
His awesome invention: http://www.ntscblog.com/images/thumbnails/liverwurst.jpg (Or its anscestor)
Montague: http://www.nmm.ac.uk/mag/images/700/BHC3009_700.jpg
Assignment 3: Louis Daguerre
Daguerre was born in 1787 in France. He apprenticed in architecture and theatre design, and he invented the Diorama in 1822. He died in 1851.
Daguerre did many things, including medicine and set designing. However, his most notable invention is the “daguerreotype.” He began experimentation on his own, but by 1833, he had been working with another man for four years. This was when his partner, Niepce, died. By 1839, Daguerre and his son had managed to create a method for producing photographs on a silvered copper plate. He took his invention to the Paris Academy of Science.
One of his images:http://www.energyhill.com/assets/louisDaguerre_720.jpg
Daguerre:http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/3271602.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=2C48553CC6AAB74C6BBB204B0E512BDFA55A1E4F32AD3138
Assignment 4: Elias Howe
Elias Howe was born in 1819 in Massachusetts. As a child, he was an apprentice at a textile factory. Howe invented an improved sewing machine and patented it in 1846. Unlike the previous sewing machines, his used two threads, not one. This two thread system was called the lockstitch design. One thread made a stitch that would unravel easily. With two threads, the sewing is much stronger-today we use two threads, one from a bobbin and one from the roll. Howe was forced to defend this design in 1854 against Isaac Singer, a European who had been selling sewing machines with these same methods. Howe won. Starting in 1862 until 1865, Howe was a private in the Civil War, Union side. After the war, he set up a company in Connecticut: the Howe Machine Company. He died in New York at the age of 48 in 1867.
Machine: http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=19170&rendTypeId=4
Howe:http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=19472&rendTypeId=4
Assignment 5: Heinrich Focke
Focke was born in 1890 in Bremen, Germany. He was the co-founder of the Focke-Wulf company. He began building gliders, but eventually in the 1930’s started working on helicopters. In 1936, he and Gerd Achgelis created the Focke-Achgelis Fa 61, which was considered to be the first working helicopter. It was essentially a biplane with blades on either side for lift. The craft was stable, and capable of hovering. It was a great start for helicopters. It could reach speeds of up to 76mphm and could fly for distances of 143 miles at a time in one hour and 20 minute flights. The altitude it could reach was 11,243 ft. Most importantly, the Fa 61 was sturdy and undamaged after this. Eventually Focke moved to Brazil, and five years later, to the US, where he helped in the helicopter industry. He died in 1979.
Fa 61: http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Rotary/Focke/HE5G3.htm
Focke: http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-59152/Heinrich-Focke
Assignment 5 - JP Knight
JP Knight was a European Inventor who lived during the early 1900’s. He attended school
The traffic light used today is a modified version of what JP Knight introduced. Today’s traffic lights are usually powered by electricity, so exploding gas lanterns are not an issue. The traffic light has evolved to use multiple lights to serve multiple purposes. Some traffic lights have been designed to incorporate 14 different signals.
Please visit the following link to view a picture of the traffic light designed by JP Knight:
http://www33.brinkster.com/iiiii/trfclt/hydra2.jpg
Friday, April 25, 2008
Percy Julian
While working at the Glidden Company, Percy made several inventions. He developed Aerofoam, a liquid that could extinguish gasoline and oil fires, from soy protein extracts. He developed this during World War 2. Percy is most known for his synthesis of cortisone from soy beans. This greatly reduced the cost of it and made it much easier to produce for the treatment of inflammatory condition, such as arthritis.
Percy Julian died in 1975 and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1990.
Image of Percy Julian
http://www.chemistry.msu.edu/Portraits/images/julianc.jpg
Andrew Meikle
Andrew Meikle was born in
Meikle’s most remembered for his creation of the threshing machine in 1786, used for getting rid of the outer husks of grain. Before creating the threshing machine, he made windmill spring sails. These could retract the fans on windmills quickly through the use of levers in case a storm was coming through.
Image of Andrew Meikle
http://www.todayinsci.com/R/Rennie_John/RennieJohnThm.jpgImage of Threshing Machine
http://www.historylink101.com/lessons/farm-city/horse_powered_threshing_machine.jpg
Group Project Final Grades Redux
Alright, this caused me a relatively sleepless night, and a morning exercise routine distracted thinking about the answers I would provide to soothe everyone's ruffled feathers. I don't think I can make everyone happen, and honestly, I have never, ever had to justify my grading decisions before. This is a first, and the last time, I am going to justify my decision making process to an entire class, but I know there were enough ruffled feathers and one or two of the criticisms made had me thinking. If you still have complaints about my decision process, come see me on Tuesday afternoon, from 12-3 during office hours.
Also remember, this project is still only 25% of the grade, and the team grade can still be modified up or down based on the information provided by team leaders about your individual contributions and by your own final report on the project. Remember, for the vast majority of you, with the grades (and the extra credit) already out there, the final exam has a bigger impact on what your final grade might be then this project will.
DO NOT CONSIDER THE TEAM GRADE TO BE YOUR OVERALL GRADE FOR THE PROJECT!
As for how the team grades were assigned:
First off, the Rube Goldberg machine rules indicate that the machine must function and be able to be reset and function again within a set period of time. Second, there are limited attempts to make it work, in this case 3 attempts. Third, it doesn't matter how complex the machine was, or how many steps involved, it still must function and be reset in the time period allowed.
So with the above in mind:
Group #1: Hit the Easy Button. Grade A
Fairly complex number of steps. Worked the first time, and was reset and worked the second time immediately thereafter. Obviously met the demands of the assignment and was a functioning Rube Goldberg device.
Group # 2: Click Pen. Grade B+
The only issues with this design was that it did not seem overly complex, with fewer steps than other projects, but it did work after failing the first time. It was reset and worked again.
Group #3: Swingline Group. New Grade B-/C+
This group got a bonus to their project despite failing to have the project complete its intended actions or work without outside help. In fact it only worked with outside assistance and the device hung up continually at a single failure point. Their bonus grade comes from the extensive presentation and the fact that they tried to tie each section of their design to something they learned in the course.
Group #4: Launch a Doggy Toy. Grade B+
Highly complex and intricately designed, but did not work the first time as was intended. Managed to make it work the second time and was able to be set up to work a third time, but time failed. Complexity boosted grade; grade diminished because it did not reset and run second time in allotted time frame.
Group #5: Bottle Pourers. Grade C
While individually the most complex of the designs, it ultimately failed to work as was intended. Yes the individual sections of the design seemed to work, this project was perhaps overly ambitious with numerous potential (and actual) failure points. What brought it down to the lowest grade, perhaps over the other two failed projects, is that they had the longest preparation time of any group (more than 40 minutes before their 20 minute allotted time began) and yet they still failed to have the device do what it was going to do even once. The only way the project even completed its final goal at the end of the allotted time was from the physical interaction of two of the team members in the machine's processes.
Group #6: Nosepicker. Grade A-
While it was not the most complex of designs (I think I counted 6-7 individual steps) and it was somewhat simple in its purpose, it did work as advertised the first time, and then immediately was set up to run a second time. While the most complex part of the design was spelling out my name in Dominos, they had the foresight to have a fall back plan in case that did not worked. It saved them the second time when the fall back option triggered the device the second time. Technically the only thing separating them from the other B+ grades was that it worked the first time and was reset to operate in the second try and did so successfully.
Group #7: Pick a Pen. New Grade C+
Obviously a design that they worked hard on, but the individual parts did seem to work as they were partially activated when triggered by the students. However, as was pointed out by numerous observers (and was in my notes), the design never did work as it was supposed to, and ultimately failed. Ran out of time to reset one more time for a third attempt.
Also remember, this project is still only 25% of the grade, and the team grade can still be modified up or down based on the information provided by team leaders about your individual contributions and by your own final report on the project. Remember, for the vast majority of you, with the grades (and the extra credit) already out there, the final exam has a bigger impact on what your final grade might be then this project will.
DO NOT CONSIDER THE TEAM GRADE TO BE YOUR OVERALL GRADE FOR THE PROJECT!
As for how the team grades were assigned:
First off, the Rube Goldberg machine rules indicate that the machine must function and be able to be reset and function again within a set period of time. Second, there are limited attempts to make it work, in this case 3 attempts. Third, it doesn't matter how complex the machine was, or how many steps involved, it still must function and be reset in the time period allowed.
So with the above in mind:
Group #1: Hit the Easy Button. Grade A
Fairly complex number of steps. Worked the first time, and was reset and worked the second time immediately thereafter. Obviously met the demands of the assignment and was a functioning Rube Goldberg device.
Group # 2: Click Pen. Grade B+
The only issues with this design was that it did not seem overly complex, with fewer steps than other projects, but it did work after failing the first time. It was reset and worked again.
Group #3: Swingline Group. New Grade B-/C+
This group got a bonus to their project despite failing to have the project complete its intended actions or work without outside help. In fact it only worked with outside assistance and the device hung up continually at a single failure point. Their bonus grade comes from the extensive presentation and the fact that they tried to tie each section of their design to something they learned in the course.
Group #4: Launch a Doggy Toy. Grade B+
Highly complex and intricately designed, but did not work the first time as was intended. Managed to make it work the second time and was able to be set up to work a third time, but time failed. Complexity boosted grade; grade diminished because it did not reset and run second time in allotted time frame.
Group #5: Bottle Pourers. Grade C
While individually the most complex of the designs, it ultimately failed to work as was intended. Yes the individual sections of the design seemed to work, this project was perhaps overly ambitious with numerous potential (and actual) failure points. What brought it down to the lowest grade, perhaps over the other two failed projects, is that they had the longest preparation time of any group (more than 40 minutes before their 20 minute allotted time began) and yet they still failed to have the device do what it was going to do even once. The only way the project even completed its final goal at the end of the allotted time was from the physical interaction of two of the team members in the machine's processes.
Group #6: Nosepicker. Grade A-
While it was not the most complex of designs (I think I counted 6-7 individual steps) and it was somewhat simple in its purpose, it did work as advertised the first time, and then immediately was set up to run a second time. While the most complex part of the design was spelling out my name in Dominos, they had the foresight to have a fall back plan in case that did not worked. It saved them the second time when the fall back option triggered the device the second time. Technically the only thing separating them from the other B+ grades was that it worked the first time and was reset to operate in the second try and did so successfully.
Group #7: Pick a Pen. New Grade C+
Obviously a design that they worked hard on, but the individual parts did seem to work as they were partially activated when triggered by the students. However, as was pointed out by numerous observers (and was in my notes), the design never did work as it was supposed to, and ultimately failed. Ran out of time to reset one more time for a third attempt.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Group Project Final Grades
Note: Due to some valid comments from other groups and project leaders, I am going to revisit some of these grades tomorrow. The top three teams don't need to worry, but I am going to look at all of the team grades and provide some explanations as to why the teams got the grades they deserved. I know you may not think you deserve the grades you got, but I made notes, and I have some reasons for the grades I gave.
Okay, keeping in mind that I have to still read the final reports submitted by each team member, these are the working grades for each team. Remember, except for the team with the lowest grade, the team captain's gets a half letter grade higher than the rest of the team. For the lowest grade team, their team captain gets a half letter grade lower. There are some ties, for differing reasons, but I think you can pretty much figure out why the teams got the grades they did.
For the winning team, dinner will be provided at 6 pm ish on Tuesday. Meet at my office, 625 Crawford.
If you have any questions, please contact me through email or come see me in my office on Tuesday afternoon, from noon to 3 pm.
Winning team:
Group #1: Hit the Easy Button. Grade A
Group # 2: Click Pen. Grade B+
Group #3: Swingline Group. Grade C+
Group #4: Launch a Doggy Toy. Grade B+
Group #5: Bottle Pourers. Grade C
Group #6: Nosepicker. Grade A-
Group #7: Pick a Pen. Grade B-
Group #1 was the overall winner. Fairly complex set up. Worked the first time, and reset immediately to work the second time. Good job!
Okay, keeping in mind that I have to still read the final reports submitted by each team member, these are the working grades for each team. Remember, except for the team with the lowest grade, the team captain's gets a half letter grade higher than the rest of the team. For the lowest grade team, their team captain gets a half letter grade lower. There are some ties, for differing reasons, but I think you can pretty much figure out why the teams got the grades they did.
For the winning team, dinner will be provided at 6 pm ish on Tuesday. Meet at my office, 625 Crawford.
If you have any questions, please contact me through email or come see me in my office on Tuesday afternoon, from noon to 3 pm.
Winning team:
Group #1: Hit the Easy Button. Grade A
Group # 2: Click Pen. Grade B+
Group #3: Swingline Group. Grade C+
Group #4: Launch a Doggy Toy. Grade B+
Group #5: Bottle Pourers. Grade C
Group #6: Nosepicker. Grade A-
Group #7: Pick a Pen. Grade B-
Group #1 was the overall winner. Fairly complex set up. Worked the first time, and reset immediately to work the second time. Good job!
Assignment 5: Adolph (Adi) Dassler
There was a duplicate of my blog entry because during the writing period another person had posted it. It all occurred within 30 minutes of each other. As the rules state, I was the second person to post it, so I will rewrite the blog with another European inventor. Sorry for the delay.
The next time you are jogging down a scenic path, playing basketball on a paved court, or even just walking out to get your mail remember that foot ware had to begin some where… There are so many name brand shoes out there, but one is recognized by almost anywhere in the world. This recognizable emblem is the three stripes of Adidas.
These shoes have been worn by Olympic track stars, boxers, and even entire soccer teams as uniforms. Adidas was the beginning of what today would be known as trend-setter designed shoes.
Adolph Dassler was born on November 3rd, 1900 in Herzogenaurach, Germany. He was the son of a factory shoe-maker and brother to other foot apparel designers. His brothers would go on to find the business of Puma, as well as other item lines. Adi’s son, Horst who would later help run his father’s business would be the founder of yet another line, Arena, for swimming gear. Well, Adolph’s journey began in his mother’s kitchen soon after World War 1. He was just 20 years old when he assembled the first model of Adidas which was made out of a leathery canvas. Adolph, Adi as he was called, had a mission with his shoes, to “provide every athlete with the best footwear for his respective discipline”. Adi would keep to his goal over the course of his successful career in the shoe industry.
By 1928, Adi’s shoes made their first appearance in the Olympic Games, which was held in Amsterdam. Over time though, his shoes became more and more catered to the athlete’s needs; this was apparent with the development of spike inserts. These spike inserts were used to help with gripping the surface of grassy or other slick ground material. These spiked shoes can be remembered for one really important event: the World Cup finals in soccer when German defeated Hungary with the help of these infamous shoes.
Adidas surprisingly didn’t get its name until 1948 when Adi deemed it a combination of both his first and his last names. A year after, the Adidas shoe would dawn it’s new logo: the Three Stripes. By this time, Adi had already made 30 different types of shoes for more than ten different sports. Within 20 years, unbeknownst to Adi, Adidas would become one of the world’s leading providers of shoes.
In the mid 1960s the Adidas campaign added to its solo shoe line…Apparel. This shoe company was now manufacturing both competition and training gear for all sports. The company was shocked though when Adi passed away in 1978, reaching the age of 78. This successful company would shift to new owners, his widow, Kathe and his youngest son, Horst. Horst would do only great things for this company in the years to come and soon it was a global leader in most areas of sports products and marketing. He would also spread Adidas to other countries such as France. Like his father, Horst died unexpectedly at the age of 51.
Soon after the Adidas Company hit a bit of a downward spiral as it tried to find targeting ages to sell their product too. By going back to it’s original model, the popularity began to sore and in 2006, the newly adapted company bought out Reebok and is now compared to other top names in the shoe business.
So next time you are out and about and see the Three Stripes, know that it has had the history and development behind it. Sometimes shoes made in the weirdest of places make the biggest impacts on society… hey, “if they shoe fits, wear it!”
Resources:
http://www.press.adidas.com/DesktopDefault.aspx/tabid-28/41_read-1203/
http://german.about.com/library/blerf_dassler.htm
Images:
Adolph Dassler:
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/OB-AD058_Dassle_20060915184042.jpg
http://www.sad-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/1184934861_0.jpg
Original Logo:
http://www.gemagema.tv/blogs/saverscreen/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/adi6.jpg
Video link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e3AUrst64Y
The next time you are jogging down a scenic path, playing basketball on a paved court, or even just walking out to get your mail remember that foot ware had to begin some where… There are so many name brand shoes out there, but one is recognized by almost anywhere in the world. This recognizable emblem is the three stripes of Adidas.
These shoes have been worn by Olympic track stars, boxers, and even entire soccer teams as uniforms. Adidas was the beginning of what today would be known as trend-setter designed shoes.
Adolph Dassler was born on November 3rd, 1900 in Herzogenaurach, Germany. He was the son of a factory shoe-maker and brother to other foot apparel designers. His brothers would go on to find the business of Puma, as well as other item lines. Adi’s son, Horst who would later help run his father’s business would be the founder of yet another line, Arena, for swimming gear. Well, Adolph’s journey began in his mother’s kitchen soon after World War 1. He was just 20 years old when he assembled the first model of Adidas which was made out of a leathery canvas. Adolph, Adi as he was called, had a mission with his shoes, to “provide every athlete with the best footwear for his respective discipline”. Adi would keep to his goal over the course of his successful career in the shoe industry.
By 1928, Adi’s shoes made their first appearance in the Olympic Games, which was held in Amsterdam. Over time though, his shoes became more and more catered to the athlete’s needs; this was apparent with the development of spike inserts. These spike inserts were used to help with gripping the surface of grassy or other slick ground material. These spiked shoes can be remembered for one really important event: the World Cup finals in soccer when German defeated Hungary with the help of these infamous shoes.
Adidas surprisingly didn’t get its name until 1948 when Adi deemed it a combination of both his first and his last names. A year after, the Adidas shoe would dawn it’s new logo: the Three Stripes. By this time, Adi had already made 30 different types of shoes for more than ten different sports. Within 20 years, unbeknownst to Adi, Adidas would become one of the world’s leading providers of shoes.
In the mid 1960s the Adidas campaign added to its solo shoe line…Apparel. This shoe company was now manufacturing both competition and training gear for all sports. The company was shocked though when Adi passed away in 1978, reaching the age of 78. This successful company would shift to new owners, his widow, Kathe and his youngest son, Horst. Horst would do only great things for this company in the years to come and soon it was a global leader in most areas of sports products and marketing. He would also spread Adidas to other countries such as France. Like his father, Horst died unexpectedly at the age of 51.
Soon after the Adidas Company hit a bit of a downward spiral as it tried to find targeting ages to sell their product too. By going back to it’s original model, the popularity began to sore and in 2006, the newly adapted company bought out Reebok and is now compared to other top names in the shoe business.
So next time you are out and about and see the Three Stripes, know that it has had the history and development behind it. Sometimes shoes made in the weirdest of places make the biggest impacts on society… hey, “if they shoe fits, wear it!”
Resources:
http://www.press.adidas.com/DesktopDefault.aspx/tabid-28/41_read-1203/
http://german.about.com/library/blerf_dassler.htm
Images:
Adolph Dassler:
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/OB-AD058_Dassle_20060915184042.jpg
http://www.sad-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/1184934861_0.jpg
Original Logo:
http://www.gemagema.tv/blogs/saverscreen/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/adi6.jpg
Video link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e3AUrst64Y
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Assignment 4 (Lewis Howard Latimer)
Lewis Latimer was a African American inventor and draftsman who was born on September 4th 1848 in Chelsea Massachusetts. He was the youngest of four children from run away slaves. Latimer grew upa simple lifestyle and at the age of 15 he joined the United States Navy and remained there for approximately one year at which time he was granted and honorable discharge. After that time he joined a Patent Law firm this was where he gained his skills as a draftsman. Latimer was so skilled he was promoted to senior Drafts man at the firm in 1878. During his time working at the firm he worked on his own patents and in 1876 he co patented an improve toilet system for the trains. Also to notable mention in 1876 he was hired by Alexander Graham Bell to draft the necessary plans for the patenting of Bell's telephone. In 1879 he moved to Connecticut where he took the job as a manger and draftsman with the US Electric and lighting Company. In 1881 he designed and patented his most notable invention and improved Carbon filament for the light bulb. In 1884 he was hired by the Edison light Company in New York but he never worked directly for Thomas Edison in one of his Labs. Lewis Latimer died on December 11th 1928 succeeded by his wife and two children.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Final Exam
Here are the long awaited final exam questions. You must turn in a typed copy of your answers by 6 pm on Tuesday, April 29th. Late exams will be docked one letter grade for every hour they are late; no exam will be accepted past 6 pm. Please bring the exams to me personally or place in my mailbox opposite the elevators on the 6th floor of Crawford. Do not submit online!
The length of your answers may vary, depending on how well you decided to answer the questions. Any quotations need to be properly cited. Do not copy the answer from the book(s). These questions are usually part think piece, part historical. If you any questions, please send me an email.
YOU MUST ANSWER ONE QUESTION FROM EACH SECTION!
1.) Medicine and Modernity
A. Discuss the rise of tropical medicine as a speciality in the 19th and 20th centuries. What were some of the problems these new specialists had to face? How did exploration and travel in various parts of the world create new challenges for western medicine, not only a 100 years ago, but today as well?
B. By the end of the 20th century, medicine had become a "proverbial Leviathan" according to Roy Porter, comparable in size to that of the military as far as government intervention was concerned, and in many cases no less business- and money oriented than today's large corporation. How and why did medicine transform itself into a proverbial "industrial-medical" complex during the 20th century? Is this a good thing for western society?
2) Scientific Questions Big and Small
C. John Gribbin calls the "last hurrah of classical science" the transformation of geology into geophysics. Discuss this transformation in the 19th century, not only briefly explaining the transformative process, but also what was being discussed by these new scientists. How do discussions by scientists seeking to explain the ice ages give us insight into the current debate about global warming?
D. Discuss briefly the developments in biology, from Mendel to the Human Genome Project. How do these discoveries shape how we see ourselves? How might current research into DNA, RNA and genetic material effect Darwin's ideas about natural selection?
3) Global Technology
E. How do the Internet, McDonald's and Hollywood lead to the creation of a "Global Culture" based in part on technology and the benefits of science? What is this supposed global culture argued about by pundits from all sides of the political spectrum? Is there really a global technology and culture for the 21st century? Explain.
The length of your answers may vary, depending on how well you decided to answer the questions. Any quotations need to be properly cited. Do not copy the answer from the book(s). These questions are usually part think piece, part historical. If you any questions, please send me an email.
YOU MUST ANSWER ONE QUESTION FROM EACH SECTION!
1.) Medicine and Modernity
A. Discuss the rise of tropical medicine as a speciality in the 19th and 20th centuries. What were some of the problems these new specialists had to face? How did exploration and travel in various parts of the world create new challenges for western medicine, not only a 100 years ago, but today as well?
B. By the end of the 20th century, medicine had become a "proverbial Leviathan" according to Roy Porter, comparable in size to that of the military as far as government intervention was concerned, and in many cases no less business- and money oriented than today's large corporation. How and why did medicine transform itself into a proverbial "industrial-medical" complex during the 20th century? Is this a good thing for western society?
2) Scientific Questions Big and Small
C. John Gribbin calls the "last hurrah of classical science" the transformation of geology into geophysics. Discuss this transformation in the 19th century, not only briefly explaining the transformative process, but also what was being discussed by these new scientists. How do discussions by scientists seeking to explain the ice ages give us insight into the current debate about global warming?
D. Discuss briefly the developments in biology, from Mendel to the Human Genome Project. How do these discoveries shape how we see ourselves? How might current research into DNA, RNA and genetic material effect Darwin's ideas about natural selection?
3) Global Technology
E. How do the Internet, McDonald's and Hollywood lead to the creation of a "Global Culture" based in part on technology and the benefits of science? What is this supposed global culture argued about by pundits from all sides of the political spectrum? Is there really a global technology and culture for the 21st century? Explain.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Assignment 1
Simon Stevin (1548-49 – 1620) was born in Belgium and accomplished many things throughout his life. He translated many mathematical terms into Dutch, allowing others to understand the theories without knowledge of Latin. He also invented the land yacht, which was many sails attached to a boat type mechanism that sailed between different islands such as Scheveningen and Petten. He also had a theory that Dutch would become the new scientific language, replacing Latin because it was easier to put terms into one syllable words than any other European language. He therefore did all of his scientific work in Dutch, so as to allow others to have to translate it into Latin or any other language. His work encompassed many different areas, such as music theory, book keeping, geometry, and physics in his work.
Picture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Stevin
Picture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Stevin
Assignment 2
Louis-Sebastien Lenurmand was a French physicist and inventor. (May 25, 1757 – December 1937) He grew up as the son of a clock-maker and attended school studying chemistry and physics. During his school days he studied the properties of saltpeter and gun powder. After school, he returned back home to study the art of parachuting. He invented the parachute, and parachuted successfully from a tree and later a tall building. The parachute was 14 feet across with a wooden frame. Before trying the parachute himself, he would test the parachutes with different animals attached. After his parachutes were somewhat perfected, he became a monk to study "pure technology." Shortly thereafter, the French Revolution began, and he had to marry and move to a different town. He then became a technology professor at a new college. He began publishing books at this time on different subjects: bookbinding, a technology dictionary, and food stuff. After this brief stint of marriage, he decided to once again join the monastery, divorcing his wife and moving back to his hometown where he eventually passed away in 1937.
Picture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9bastien_Lenormand
Picture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9bastien_Lenormand
Assignment 4
Henry Nicholas Bolander was an American botanist. He was the state botanist for California in 1864. He attended a Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio but never became a minister. His neighbor introduced him to botany while he was teaching English and German at a school. He then became ill and upon the advice of his doctor, moved to a different climate in California. At this time he became the state Botanist until the job was discontinued. He published two books, A Catalogue of Plants Growing in the Vicinity of San Francisco in 1870 along with chapters on the different grass in California in Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. He traveled to many different countries to study the plants there including Guatemala, Chile and Peru. After his travels, he began teaching English and botany at a school in Oregon until he passed away in 1897.
Picture:
http://www.huh.harvard.edu/libraries/archives/BOLANDER.html
Picture:
http://www.huh.harvard.edu/libraries/archives/BOLANDER.html
Assignment 5
Assignment 5
Ferdinand von Zeppelin founded the Zeppelin Airship company in Germany during the early 1900's. His interest in flying began as he attended many balloon shows throughout his life around the world. In 1899, he invented his own airship that would fly, and flew three times over the Bodensee sucessfully. He began his own foundation to raise the money to create such air crafts through lotteries and private donations. His ariships were primarlily used in military type operations including World War 1 until 1909, when civillians began using them as well. The airships provided transportation to many Germans throughout the time of the zeppelin's use. Ferdinand von Zeppelin died in 1917, 2 years before the end of WW1, when his ships were no longer needed for the German military forces. Many later air ships were named after him, along with the rock band Led Zeppelin.
Ferdinand von Zeppelin founded the Zeppelin Airship company in Germany during the early 1900's. His interest in flying began as he attended many balloon shows throughout his life around the world. In 1899, he invented his own airship that would fly, and flew three times over the Bodensee sucessfully. He began his own foundation to raise the money to create such air crafts through lotteries and private donations. His ariships were primarlily used in military type operations including World War 1 until 1909, when civillians began using them as well. The airships provided transportation to many Germans throughout the time of the zeppelin's use. Ferdinand von Zeppelin died in 1917, 2 years before the end of WW1, when his ships were no longer needed for the German military forces. Many later air ships were named after him, along with the rock band Led Zeppelin.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Project Guidelines Posted
History of Science 2, Spring 2008
Class Project Assignment
The class project is a team project and the final project is due on the date listed in the syllabus and below. There will be occasional progress reports due to ensure that sufficient and regular meetings and work is being undertaken before the end of the semester. The revised list of dates for these interim reports is presented below.
All teams will consist of five members (in a few situations six), randomly chosen in class. Members of the various teams are allowed to rearrange their composition of members, only if all involved agree to the switch. If there is any dispute about switching teams, no changes made be undertaken. Final team rosters are required to be posted on the blog site by 9 am, Wednesday, February 5, 2008. No changes may be made after this date without the instructor’s permission.
All team members will present individual progress reports and provide the instructor any criticism of other team members’ contributions or lack there of. Each progress report will also consist of a discussion about some aspect of the project undertaken by the teams. Teams should meet on a regular basis to discuss the progress of their design and any research that has gone into the design and building processes. Each team will also select a captain/leader who will ultimately be responsible for the success or failure of their team. Choose your captain/leader wisely.
The Assignment:
Each team will construct a Rube Goldberg device. Goldberg was a cartoonist who created complex machines to do the simplest of tasks. A trained engineer, his devices were often spoofs of other machines that were marketed to people to make their lives faster and easier, but actually did neither. The formal definition of a Rube Goldberg machine is:
A Rube Goldberg machine is an extremely complicated apparatus that performs a very simple, easy task in an indirect and convoluted way. The most horrible examples of his machines have an anticipation factor, as the machine makes slow but steady progress toward its goal.
Each team member will also have to contribute at most $20 dollars towards the construction of the final project. No budget for the project may exceed $100.00 in materials. At an engineering university, I expect you to not only equal previous devices built by other engineering schools, but also show ingenuity and creativity in your own designs and final projects. Please do not repeat any existing design! However, on the website below, there is a national contest and this year’s is to assemble a hamburger with a machine that involves no fewer than 20 steps and can be no bigger than 6’ by 6’! If anyone wants to do the national contest, feel free to do so as all the guidelines and rules are on the rube-goldberg.com website.
Important Dates:
Team Rosters due: 9 am, Wednesday, February 5, 2008
Report #1 (What design have you chosen & why? List of research sites examined) Due: February 20th
Report #2 (Construction budget & initial discussion of construction, materials, problems) Due: March 12th
Report #3 (Final design sketches, methodology & team progress) Due: April 2nd
Report #4 (Results of preliminary testing of your device & lessons learned) Due: April 16th
Final Project Report Due with Demonstrations: Week of April 24th
The average lengths of each of these reports (#2-final report) should be at least 2-3 pages typed, double-spaced. Report #1 can be posted to the blog.
Class Project Assignment
The class project is a team project and the final project is due on the date listed in the syllabus and below. There will be occasional progress reports due to ensure that sufficient and regular meetings and work is being undertaken before the end of the semester. The revised list of dates for these interim reports is presented below.
All teams will consist of five members (in a few situations six), randomly chosen in class. Members of the various teams are allowed to rearrange their composition of members, only if all involved agree to the switch. If there is any dispute about switching teams, no changes made be undertaken. Final team rosters are required to be posted on the blog site by 9 am, Wednesday, February 5, 2008. No changes may be made after this date without the instructor’s permission.
All team members will present individual progress reports and provide the instructor any criticism of other team members’ contributions or lack there of. Each progress report will also consist of a discussion about some aspect of the project undertaken by the teams. Teams should meet on a regular basis to discuss the progress of their design and any research that has gone into the design and building processes. Each team will also select a captain/leader who will ultimately be responsible for the success or failure of their team. Choose your captain/leader wisely.
The Assignment:
Each team will construct a Rube Goldberg device. Goldberg was a cartoonist who created complex machines to do the simplest of tasks. A trained engineer, his devices were often spoofs of other machines that were marketed to people to make their lives faster and easier, but actually did neither. The formal definition of a Rube Goldberg machine is:
A Rube Goldberg machine is an extremely complicated apparatus that performs a very simple, easy task in an indirect and convoluted way. The most horrible examples of his machines have an anticipation factor, as the machine makes slow but steady progress toward its goal.
Each team member will also have to contribute at most $20 dollars towards the construction of the final project. No budget for the project may exceed $100.00 in materials. At an engineering university, I expect you to not only equal previous devices built by other engineering schools, but also show ingenuity and creativity in your own designs and final projects. Please do not repeat any existing design! However, on the website below, there is a national contest and this year’s is to assemble a hamburger with a machine that involves no fewer than 20 steps and can be no bigger than 6’ by 6’! If anyone wants to do the national contest, feel free to do so as all the guidelines and rules are on the rube-goldberg.com website.
Important Dates:
Team Rosters due: 9 am, Wednesday, February 5, 2008
Report #1 (What design have you chosen & why? List of research sites examined) Due: February 20th
Report #2 (Construction budget & initial discussion of construction, materials, problems) Due: March 12th
Report #3 (Final design sketches, methodology & team progress) Due: April 2nd
Report #4 (Results of preliminary testing of your device & lessons learned) Due: April 16th
Final Project Report Due with Demonstrations: Week of April 24th
The average lengths of each of these reports (#2-final report) should be at least 2-3 pages typed, double-spaced. Report #1 can be posted to the blog.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt
Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt developed the first Practical RADAR system. He is a Scottish born scientist born in Angus Scotland April 13th 1982. He is a descendant to James Watt the inventor of the first steam engine. Although the Radar System was initially developed before his system, he perfected it and made it functional and revolutionized the face of warfare. he improved invention was attributed to the allied forces against Germany. Bur before these accomplishments he graduated with a BS in engineering from University of St Andrews in Dundee Scotland. Upon hos graduation ffrom university he was awarded as assistantship by a professor Peddie and it was there he began his in depth work into radio or wireless telegraphy. He eventually joined the meteorological office where he used he knowledge to track thunderstorms. He contuinued his work whic eventually lead him to the development of the RADAR system based from existing technology of the time.
Assignment #5 George de Mestral
George de Mestral was a Swiss electrical engineer and inventor born June 19, 1907 in Colombier Switzerland. When he was twelve years old, he designed and patented a toy airplane. After graduating from a Swiss polytechnic university, he got a job in a machine shop of an engineering company. In his free time, he enjoyed outdoor activities like hiking in the nearby mountains. Oftentimes, George would return home with many burrs stuck to his own clothes and the fur of his dog. He looked at the burrs through a microscope and found that there were tiny little hooks that enabled them to cling to animals for relocation.
George de Mestral was able to manufacture artificial strips of burrs and intended to use them as a sort of fastener, much like a zipper. Although there was some early public resistance to the idea of Velcro, the product sold enough for George to start his own company earning him millions of dollars. In 1951, he successfully patented the material and would sell about 55,000 kilometers annually. Eventually, Velcro would become a household term and product, although it is a trademarked name. Today, velcro can be found on things like shoes, clothes, football and other sports equipment, pocket flaps, and book bags among countless other things.
http://www.velcro.com/about/history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_de_mestral
George de Mestral was able to manufacture artificial strips of burrs and intended to use them as a sort of fastener, much like a zipper. Although there was some early public resistance to the idea of Velcro, the product sold enough for George to start his own company earning him millions of dollars. In 1951, he successfully patented the material and would sell about 55,000 kilometers annually. Eventually, Velcro would become a household term and product, although it is a trademarked name. Today, velcro can be found on things like shoes, clothes, football and other sports equipment, pocket flaps, and book bags among countless other things.
http://www.velcro.com/about/history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_de_mestral
Assignment 5 - Georges Claude
Georges Claude was born in Paris, France in 1870. He is credited as being an inventor, engineer, and chemist. In 1902 he created the first neon lamp by applying an electrical discharge to a sealed tube filled with neon gas. In 1902 he also co-founded the French company Air Liquide, which produced oxygen by liquefying air.
The world saw the first public display of neon light in Paris in December of 1910 at the Paris Motor Show. However, no one was interested in using his lights to light their homes. In response he developed a way to bend the tubes and form different shapes. In 1915 he received a U.S. patent for the neon tubes used for lighting. In 1923 he introduced neon signs to the U.S. The first signs belonged to a car dealership in Los Angeles. People were so fascinated by the 'liquid fire' signs that they would stop and stare at them. The signs read "Packard". It did not take long for the signs to catch on for outdoor advertising. The signs eventually made it to Las Vegas where they took over the city. The signs were originally red, being the natural color of neon. Today the signs are available in over 150 different colors. Georges Claude died in 1960.
http://inventors.about.com/od/qstartinventions/a/neon.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Claude
The world saw the first public display of neon light in Paris in December of 1910 at the Paris Motor Show. However, no one was interested in using his lights to light their homes. In response he developed a way to bend the tubes and form different shapes. In 1915 he received a U.S. patent for the neon tubes used for lighting. In 1923 he introduced neon signs to the U.S. The first signs belonged to a car dealership in Los Angeles. People were so fascinated by the 'liquid fire' signs that they would stop and stare at them. The signs read "Packard". It did not take long for the signs to catch on for outdoor advertising. The signs eventually made it to Las Vegas where they took over the city. The signs were originally red, being the natural color of neon. Today the signs are available in over 150 different colors. Georges Claude died in 1960.
http://inventors.about.com/od/qstartinventions/a/neon.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Claude
Assignment 5- Hedy Lamarr
Hedwig Eva Maria Keisler, better known as the film star Hedy Lamarr, was born in Vienna, Austria on November 9, 1913 (died January 18, 2000). After attending an acting school owned by a man named Max Reinhardt (famous director of the era--http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0718121/) , Lamarr landed a role in Extase (or Ecstasy), which was controversial, mainly because of its graphic sexual nature. Appearing in this film did not stop Lamarr from becoming a leading lady of the silver screen in Europe, and in 1937, she would emigrate to the United States and work for MGM in Hollywood, where her stage name, "Hedy Lamarr" would be given to her by Louis B. Mayer himself.
Throughout her life, Hedy Lamarr could be known for three things: her acting, her number of marriages (six), and her inventions. Most notable, was Lamarr's first marraige to a military industrialist named Fritz Mandal. Fritz Mandal's company manufactured artillery, such as shells and granades, but conducted research on control systems, mainly for aircraft. Though the marraige did not last, the knowledge Lamarr gained would make an impression on the world forever. In 1940, Hedy Lamarr met George Antheil, a musician who would be her co-inventor. Together, Lamarr and Antheil came up with the idea of "frequency hopping" and the synchronization between the transmitter and reciever. The general idea of frequency hopping is that commands are sent out over changing frequencies, to which the receiver is tuned to switch to at the same time they are transmitted, to get the whole message. Lamarr and Antheil wanted to use this as a torpedo guidance system. Their basic design was that of a player piano, where the tapes have slots in them that the piano 'reads' to play the music. The US Navy rejected the idea, even though, in 1942, Lamarr and Antheil were granted a patent. The ironic part is, in 1957, the project was taken up again by Sylvania and became wildly successful in torpedo guidance after the papers with slots were upgraded to electronics. (http://www.inventions.org/culture/female/lamarr.html)This method is still used today, and is known as 'spread spectrum' technology. The scattering of the commands or communications makes them less susceptible to jamming or interception. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spread_spectrum)
The Leading Lady:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hedy_Lamarr_in_Dishonored_Lady_7.jpg
Her Co-Inventor:
www.antheil.org/photos_hires/Antheil1927.jpg
Player Piano:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_piano
Throughout her life, Hedy Lamarr could be known for three things: her acting, her number of marriages (six), and her inventions. Most notable, was Lamarr's first marraige to a military industrialist named Fritz Mandal. Fritz Mandal's company manufactured artillery, such as shells and granades, but conducted research on control systems, mainly for aircraft. Though the marraige did not last, the knowledge Lamarr gained would make an impression on the world forever. In 1940, Hedy Lamarr met George Antheil, a musician who would be her co-inventor. Together, Lamarr and Antheil came up with the idea of "frequency hopping" and the synchronization between the transmitter and reciever. The general idea of frequency hopping is that commands are sent out over changing frequencies, to which the receiver is tuned to switch to at the same time they are transmitted, to get the whole message. Lamarr and Antheil wanted to use this as a torpedo guidance system. Their basic design was that of a player piano, where the tapes have slots in them that the piano 'reads' to play the music. The US Navy rejected the idea, even though, in 1942, Lamarr and Antheil were granted a patent. The ironic part is, in 1957, the project was taken up again by Sylvania and became wildly successful in torpedo guidance after the papers with slots were upgraded to electronics. (http://www.inventions.org/culture/female/lamarr.html)This method is still used today, and is known as 'spread spectrum' technology. The scattering of the commands or communications makes them less susceptible to jamming or interception. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spread_spectrum)
The Leading Lady:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hedy_Lamarr_in_Dishonored_Lady_7.jpg
Her Co-Inventor:
www.antheil.org/photos_hires/Antheil1927.jpg
Player Piano:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_piano
Sir James Dewar
James Dewar was born in 1842 in Kincaide, Scotland. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh and later became a professor of experimental natural philosophy at the University of Cambridge in England. In 1877 he became a professor of chemistry at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. He did quite a bit of work dealing with chemical structures and was the first person to produce liquid hydrogen (1898) and to solidify it (1899). In 1891 he made a machine that could make liquid oxygen in large amounts. Working with Sir Frederick Abel in 1889, he helped to invent cordite, a smokeless gunpowder. He was knighted for his many discoveries and his work in chemistry in 1904.
Perhaps what James Dewar was most known for was his creation of Dewar Flask in 1892. More commonly known as a thermos, a dewar flask consists of two flasks, on inside the other, with a vacuum in the space between them. This greatly cuts down on any transfer of heat to whatever is inside the thermos. He created it to help with all his work with various kinds of gas. It became manufactured for commercial and home use in 1904.
Link to a picture of James Dewar
http://www.absolutezerocampaign.org/get_involved/short_bios/images/dewar.jpg
Link to a picture of a Dewar Flask
http://www.finemech.com/kgw_isotherm/spherical_flasks.gif
Perhaps what James Dewar was most known for was his creation of Dewar Flask in 1892. More commonly known as a thermos, a dewar flask consists of two flasks, on inside the other, with a vacuum in the space between them. This greatly cuts down on any transfer of heat to whatever is inside the thermos. He created it to help with all his work with various kinds of gas. It became manufactured for commercial and home use in 1904.
Link to a picture of James Dewar
http://www.absolutezerocampaign.org/get_involved/short_bios/images/dewar.jpg
Link to a picture of a Dewar Flask
http://www.finemech.com/kgw_isotherm/spherical_flasks.gif
Dennis Gabor
Dennis Gabor was a European inventor who lived in Europe during the time period of 1900 – 1950. He was born in Budapest, Hungary. His father was a mining director. His passion for physics began at an early age. He was eager to go to college. Once he got to collage, the microscope and color photography amazed him. Dennis and his brother set up a small laboratory in their home where they could repeat the experiments that they were interested in. Some of these experiments included X-Rays and radioactivity. He received his degree in electrical engineering even though his true work was mostly done in applied physics. He worked on his doctorate work involving high speed cathode ray oscillographs. In 1927 He went to work for the Siemens Company.
In 1933 when Hitler came into office Dr. Gabor left Germany to go to England. In England, he worked at British Thomson-Houston Co. In his studies of wave front reconstruction, Gabor accidently invented the hologram. The original goal was to improve the electron microscope to see single atoms. After some collaboration with the AEI Research Laboratory, the idea was slowly becoming a success. Optical holography became a huge success after the invention of the laser. In January of 1949 Dennis Gabor went to work at the imperial Collage of Science and Technology in London where he worked as a professor of Applied Electron physics. There he worked on many theories including plasma theory, magnetron theory, and fusion. He also contributed to inventions such as the holographic microscope, a new electron-velocity spectroscope, and a flat thin color television tube.
After Gabor retired in 1967 he moved to Connecticut to work at CBS Laboratories. Dennis Gabor was a fellow member of the Royal Society. In 1971 he received the Nobel Prize in physics. He died in 1979.
Please visit these sites for pictures of Dennis Gabor and his invention:
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761562367/Dennis_Gabor.html
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1971/gabor-autobio.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holography
\
In 1933 when Hitler came into office Dr. Gabor left Germany to go to England. In England, he worked at British Thomson-Houston Co. In his studies of wave front reconstruction, Gabor accidently invented the hologram. The original goal was to improve the electron microscope to see single atoms. After some collaboration with the AEI Research Laboratory, the idea was slowly becoming a success. Optical holography became a huge success after the invention of the laser. In January of 1949 Dennis Gabor went to work at the imperial Collage of Science and Technology in London where he worked as a professor of Applied Electron physics. There he worked on many theories including plasma theory, magnetron theory, and fusion. He also contributed to inventions such as the holographic microscope, a new electron-velocity spectroscope, and a flat thin color television tube.
After Gabor retired in 1967 he moved to Connecticut to work at CBS Laboratories. Dennis Gabor was a fellow member of the Royal Society. In 1971 he received the Nobel Prize in physics. He died in 1979.
Please visit these sites for pictures of Dennis Gabor and his invention:
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761562367/Dennis_Gabor.html
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1971/gabor-autobio.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holography
\
Assignment 5-Erik Rotheim
Without Erik Rotheim our lives might have been incomplete without hairspray, domestic cleaners or spray paint. Our atmosphere, however, may have also been a little cleaner. Erik Rotheim (1898-1938), a Norwegian engineer, is famous for his invention of the aerosol can. On February 9, 1926 he produced the first spray can to hold and dispense liquids. It was refillable and had a valve and propellant system. He would patent this invention in 1927, and sold the rights to America. He would also later revise his original design to include hydrocarbons as the propellant gas with a spray nozzle. The Norwegian post office would issue a stamp celebrating the invention of the spray can in 1998.
However, the invention would not be fully used until World War II. During the war it was used by the Americans to hold an insecticide, mainly against bugs carrying malaria. After this, its' potential was realized and was utilized more frequently, especially to dispense insecticides for killing disease-carrying insects. Lyle Goodhue and William Sullivan often get the credit for the invention when they worked for the Department of Agriculture, as they invented a small version in 1943 which was pressurized with a flurocarbon.
Original illustration included with his patent:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/aerosol-can.htm
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1899181,00.html
http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/Cambridge/entries/050/Erik-Rotheim.html
http://inventors.about.com/od/astartinventions/a/aerosol.htm
However, the invention would not be fully used until World War II. During the war it was used by the Americans to hold an insecticide, mainly against bugs carrying malaria. After this, its' potential was realized and was utilized more frequently, especially to dispense insecticides for killing disease-carrying insects. Lyle Goodhue and William Sullivan often get the credit for the invention when they worked for the Department of Agriculture, as they invented a small version in 1943 which was pressurized with a flurocarbon.
Original illustration included with his patent:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/aerosol-can.htm
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1899181,00.html
http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/Cambridge/entries/050/Erik-Rotheim.html
http://inventors.about.com/od/astartinventions/a/aerosol.htm
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Assignment 5: Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Every invention has the purpose of simplifying some commonality in this world. For all underwater adventurers, the aqualung contributed to their underwater exploration. Before this period of time, people were expected to hold there breath for as long as they could, hoping not to pass out before they reached the waters surface. The aqualung was device that helped humans breathe air without being exposed to the direct atmosphere. It was technology that transformed the exploration of the deep blue.
The inventor of this amazing aquatic device was a French man by the name of Jacques-Yves Cousteau. He was born on June 11th 1910 in Saint-Andre-de-Cubzac, France, to a Daniel and Elizabeth Cousteau. As a young boy it soon became apparent that Jacques had a fascination with water, as well as, everything involved with machines. In his early teens he built both a model crane and a battery-powered vehicle. Surprisingly enough, the young Jacques wasn’t content with studying just machines and water, so he decided to purchase a camera and shoot home films. By his high school years, it was clear that Jacques was becoming bored with school as he caused trouble. His parents sent them to a stricter private school where he learned to excel. After completing his high school education, he attended Ecole Navale, a Naval Academy.
At the age of 23, Jacques acquired the title of a gunnery officer in the French Navy. It was at this point that he truly began his exploration in the area of the deep blue. He began to work on various ideas which would eventually transform into the aqualung.
By 1937, Jacques had married a woman by the name of Simone Melchior and together they had two sons. Jean-Michel was the eldest born in 1938, followed by Phillipe born in 1940. Jacques would have two more children after Simone passes 1991 from cancer with a woman by the name of Francine Triplet.
Just a few years after Simone and Jacques married he left to fight in World War II, where he was a spy among other things. During his reign he met a French engineer by the name of Emile Gagnan, who helped Jacques perfect his designs for the aqualung. In the 1940s the aquatic device was actually built and used in the field to remove enemy mines. This Aqualung was a device consisting of a pressurized driving cylinder and a regulator. It’s purpose was to supply the diver with an air supply to breathe during deep aquatic explorations.
Over the next few years, Jacques advanced up though the ranks of the French Navy. He also became the president of the French Oceanographic Campaigns.
Returning back to his childhood fantasies Jacques traveled on a ship called the Calypso and began to produce a large number of books and films as well as a TV show.Some of the films he made were: The Silent World and The World Without Sun. Because of the many tasks he took on in his life, Jacques eventually retired from the Navy and continued his aquatic pursuit. He would eventually become a member of many non-profit groups to help the ocean life and receive a Medal of Freedom.
Jacques accomplished so much in his life: he was an officer, a scientist, an inventor and an activist. In 1997, at the age of 87 he passed from a heart attack due to complications during his recovery of a respiratory illness.
Related Websites:
http://www.nndb.com/people/250/000085992/
http://www.incwell.com/Biographies/Cousteau.html
http://www.terrace.qld.edu.au/academic/lote/french/yr5cous.htm
Photos of Jacque-Yves Cousteau:
http://www.wylandfoundation.org/icon/images/icons/JaquesYvesCousteau.jpg
http://www.medaloffreedom.com/JacquesCousteau_RonaldReagan.jpg
Photos of Aqualung:
http://www.gomanzanillo.com/features/scuba-50%20years/jacques&simone.jpg
The inventor of this amazing aquatic device was a French man by the name of Jacques-Yves Cousteau. He was born on June 11th 1910 in Saint-Andre-de-Cubzac, France, to a Daniel and Elizabeth Cousteau. As a young boy it soon became apparent that Jacques had a fascination with water, as well as, everything involved with machines. In his early teens he built both a model crane and a battery-powered vehicle. Surprisingly enough, the young Jacques wasn’t content with studying just machines and water, so he decided to purchase a camera and shoot home films. By his high school years, it was clear that Jacques was becoming bored with school as he caused trouble. His parents sent them to a stricter private school where he learned to excel. After completing his high school education, he attended Ecole Navale, a Naval Academy.
At the age of 23, Jacques acquired the title of a gunnery officer in the French Navy. It was at this point that he truly began his exploration in the area of the deep blue. He began to work on various ideas which would eventually transform into the aqualung.
By 1937, Jacques had married a woman by the name of Simone Melchior and together they had two sons. Jean-Michel was the eldest born in 1938, followed by Phillipe born in 1940. Jacques would have two more children after Simone passes 1991 from cancer with a woman by the name of Francine Triplet.
Just a few years after Simone and Jacques married he left to fight in World War II, where he was a spy among other things. During his reign he met a French engineer by the name of Emile Gagnan, who helped Jacques perfect his designs for the aqualung. In the 1940s the aquatic device was actually built and used in the field to remove enemy mines. This Aqualung was a device consisting of a pressurized driving cylinder and a regulator. It’s purpose was to supply the diver with an air supply to breathe during deep aquatic explorations.
Over the next few years, Jacques advanced up though the ranks of the French Navy. He also became the president of the French Oceanographic Campaigns.
Returning back to his childhood fantasies Jacques traveled on a ship called the Calypso and began to produce a large number of books and films as well as a TV show.Some of the films he made were: The Silent World and The World Without Sun. Because of the many tasks he took on in his life, Jacques eventually retired from the Navy and continued his aquatic pursuit. He would eventually become a member of many non-profit groups to help the ocean life and receive a Medal of Freedom.
Jacques accomplished so much in his life: he was an officer, a scientist, an inventor and an activist. In 1997, at the age of 87 he passed from a heart attack due to complications during his recovery of a respiratory illness.
Related Websites:
http://www.nndb.com/people/250/000085992/
http://www.incwell.com/Biographies/Cousteau.html
http://www.terrace.qld.edu.au/academic/lote/french/yr5cous.htm
Photos of Jacque-Yves Cousteau:
http://www.wylandfoundation.org/icon/images/icons/JaquesYvesCousteau.jpg
http://www.medaloffreedom.com/JacquesCousteau_RonaldReagan.jpg
Photos of Aqualung:
http://www.gomanzanillo.com/features/scuba-50%20years/jacques&simone.jpg
Assignment 5: Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, a lover and pioneer of the sea, was born in St Andre-de-Dubze in France on June 11th, 1910. His most recognized work was the co-invention of the aqualung in 1943 with Emile Gagnan but is also recognized as a great explorer. From a young age he showed his creative talents as he built machines such as a model crane and a battery powered car. In 1930 he attended Ecole Navale in Brest where he first found his love for the sea and began his work on the aqualung. While serving the navy during the war he continued his work and finally completed the device that would allow a diver to stay underwater for a couple of hours. His device was later used to remove mines after the end of the war. The Aqualung was the precedent for modern underwater breathing apparatus. He was named Captaine de Corvette of the French navy, and led the oceanographic campaign. He ran a research vessel known as Calypso, and was able to fund his research by making films about the unknowns of the seas. One of his more popular films "The Silent World" was shown at the Cannes film festival in 1956. In 1974, Cousteau founded a non-profit organization called the Cousteau Society dedicated to the conservation of marine life. Jacque Cousteau died in June 1997, a legend of the seas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Cousteau
http://www.gomanzanillo.com/features/scuba-50%20years/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Cousteau
http://www.gomanzanillo.com/features/scuba-50%20years/index.htm
Ludwig Prandtl - Assignment # 5
A little known physicist, by the name of Ludwig Prandtl, is considered the father of modern aerodynamics. He was born Feb. 2, 1875 to Alexander Prandtl, a professor of surveying and engineering at the agricultural college at Weihenstphanand. He spent most of his time with his engineer father because of his mother’s lengthy illness. He grew up as an only child because two earlier children died at birth. He graduated from Technische Hochschule Munich in 1900 after only spending 6 years to obtain his Bachelors, Masters, and PhD in Solid Mechanics.
At the age of 29, he was a professor at his alma mater and presented at the Third International Mathematics Congress. His ten minute presentation introduced the concept of boundary layer flow over a surface. This presentation, which revolutionized the understanding and analysis of fluid dynamics, was published in only 8 pages. The work he did helped the Germans develop more sophisticated airplanes in WWI. He theorized that an effect of friction was to cause fluid immediately adjacent to the surface to stick to the surface, assuming a no-slip condition on the surface and thusly only experienced in the boundary layer, a thin region near the surface. This boundary layer has very large velocity gradients thusly the skin-friction drag force is the majority of the drag on the body. Prandtl was never awarded a Nobel Prize for his work in fluid dynamics because rumor had it that the Committee was reluctant to award the prize for work in classical physics.
The Lanchester-Prandtl wing theory, mathematical tool for analyzing lift from “real world” wings, was published in 1918-1919. The first theories about supersonic shock waves and flow came from Prandtl and Theodore Meyer, one of his students, in 1908. He didn’t continue working on the theory till the 1920s. Adolf Buseman worked with Prandtl to developed a method for designing a supersonic nozzle in 1929. Prandtl worked with Riech’s Air Ministry, particularly Hermann Goring earlier to and during World War II. He also worked in such areas meteorology, plasticity, and structural mechanics. He died in 1953 on August 15th.
A PDF about Ludwig Prandtl’s Boundary Layer, biography of his life, and pictures of the man can be found at: http://www.math.lsa.umich.edu/~krasny/math654_prandtl.pdf
Additional information about his life’s contributions can be found here: http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1539.htm
At the age of 29, he was a professor at his alma mater and presented at the Third International Mathematics Congress. His ten minute presentation introduced the concept of boundary layer flow over a surface. This presentation, which revolutionized the understanding and analysis of fluid dynamics, was published in only 8 pages. The work he did helped the Germans develop more sophisticated airplanes in WWI. He theorized that an effect of friction was to cause fluid immediately adjacent to the surface to stick to the surface, assuming a no-slip condition on the surface and thusly only experienced in the boundary layer, a thin region near the surface. This boundary layer has very large velocity gradients thusly the skin-friction drag force is the majority of the drag on the body. Prandtl was never awarded a Nobel Prize for his work in fluid dynamics because rumor had it that the Committee was reluctant to award the prize for work in classical physics.
The Lanchester-Prandtl wing theory, mathematical tool for analyzing lift from “real world” wings, was published in 1918-1919. The first theories about supersonic shock waves and flow came from Prandtl and Theodore Meyer, one of his students, in 1908. He didn’t continue working on the theory till the 1920s. Adolf Buseman worked with Prandtl to developed a method for designing a supersonic nozzle in 1929. Prandtl worked with Riech’s Air Ministry, particularly Hermann Goring earlier to and during World War II. He also worked in such areas meteorology, plasticity, and structural mechanics. He died in 1953 on August 15th.
A PDF about Ludwig Prandtl’s Boundary Layer, biography of his life, and pictures of the man can be found at: http://www.math.lsa.umich.edu/~krasny/math654_prandtl.pdf
Additional information about his life’s contributions can be found here: http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1539.htm
Assingment 5- Peter Reijnders
Peter Reijnders, born Petrus Lambertus Wilhelmus (Peter) Reijnders on July 24th, 1900, was a Dutch inventor, photographer, and film director.
He was born in 's-Hertogenbosch and found his love for photography and film early on. By the end of his life he directed over 58 films; winning awards and world recognition for many of them and his photography became just as well known. It was this passion that brought him to work with a now famous Dutch company...Philips (Yes, who invented the CD and makes awesome electronics. With Philips, he helped to invent many of the little gadgets that made Philips famous after their very popular radio sold over 100million units. Gadgets like the new electric razors with heads that moved to fit to your face better; Philips made transistors, helped to reinvent the lightbulb, and would go on to invent the first compact audio device; the tape.
But Reijnders is even more famous for what he decided to work on once he left Philips- the first modern themepark. Philips had created the Eindhovense Stadswandelpark to celebrate their 60th anniversary- where a public park and its nearby forest was turned into a (Grimm) fairy tale; castles, shops, story tellers, haunted woods... When Philips dismantled the entire set up at the end of the season, Reijnders quit Philips and decided he wanted to built a permanent park there- where the lavish gardens and heavy wood would be the perfect set up for what would be called the "Efteling".
In this park, before it opened in 1952, parts was build, demolished, and rebuilt because they were built too well. The houses of elves were straight (They should be crooked!!) pathways were even and it simply wouldn't do for the aurora Reijnders and others wanted to deliver. After an investment of nearly 1 million gilders and then a last minute crunch to redo another area of the park; it opened and was widely successful- having won hundreds of awards and even the award for best theme park in the world on several occasions. Walt Disney himself based much of his original Disney Land park off of the Efteling; shouting delightfully that this was how a theme park was supposed to be- where everyone was happy, the food was good, the rides were fun, it gave an air of mystery, and employees played their part in the park.
http://www.usa.philips.com/about/company/local/history/index.page
http://www.friso.addr.com/index.htm?http&&&www.friso.addr.com/informatie.htm?http&&&www.friso.addr.com/geschiedenis/decennium1952.htm
http://www.usa.philips.com/about/company/local/history/index.page
http://www.cultuurwijzer.nl/www.cultuurwijs.nl/cultuurwijs.nl/cultuurwijs.nl/i000800.html
He was born in 's-Hertogenbosch and found his love for photography and film early on. By the end of his life he directed over 58 films; winning awards and world recognition for many of them and his photography became just as well known. It was this passion that brought him to work with a now famous Dutch company...Philips (Yes, who invented the CD and makes awesome electronics. With Philips, he helped to invent many of the little gadgets that made Philips famous after their very popular radio sold over 100million units. Gadgets like the new electric razors with heads that moved to fit to your face better; Philips made transistors, helped to reinvent the lightbulb, and would go on to invent the first compact audio device; the tape.
But Reijnders is even more famous for what he decided to work on once he left Philips- the first modern themepark. Philips had created the Eindhovense Stadswandelpark to celebrate their 60th anniversary- where a public park and its nearby forest was turned into a (Grimm) fairy tale; castles, shops, story tellers, haunted woods... When Philips dismantled the entire set up at the end of the season, Reijnders quit Philips and decided he wanted to built a permanent park there- where the lavish gardens and heavy wood would be the perfect set up for what would be called the "Efteling".
In this park, before it opened in 1952, parts was build, demolished, and rebuilt because they were built too well. The houses of elves were straight (They should be crooked!!) pathways were even and it simply wouldn't do for the aurora Reijnders and others wanted to deliver. After an investment of nearly 1 million gilders and then a last minute crunch to redo another area of the park; it opened and was widely successful- having won hundreds of awards and even the award for best theme park in the world on several occasions. Walt Disney himself based much of his original Disney Land park off of the Efteling; shouting delightfully that this was how a theme park was supposed to be- where everyone was happy, the food was good, the rides were fun, it gave an air of mystery, and employees played their part in the park.
http://www.usa.philips.com/about/company/local/history/index.page
http://www.friso.addr.com/index.htm?http&&&www.friso.addr.com/informatie.htm?http&&&www.friso.addr.com/geschiedenis/decennium1952.htm
http://www.usa.philips.com/about/company/local/history/index.page
http://www.cultuurwijzer.nl/www.cultuurwijs.nl/cultuurwijs.nl/cultuurwijs.nl/i000800.html
Percy Shaw
Percy Shaw was one of many born in 1890 in the Lee Mount area of Halifax. Coming from a rather large family of 14 children, Shaw spent much of his time working with his brothers to support the family selling their garden vegetables in Boothtown. Eventually the family's financial situation progressed to him having to leave school at the age of 13 to work. For the next few years Shaw held several random jobs which gave him the experience to open a blacksmith's forge with this father Jimmy. His new shop allowed him the flexibility needed to begin a career as an inventor. Shaw began his understanding of inventions by putting rubber backing on carpets and rugs. He is even acknowledged for a horribly failed attempt to create a petrol pump. It wasn't until the 1930s when Shaw's career started to grow.
When driving down the road one day in 1933, Shaw suffered a car crash near Bradford, England. Frustrated that his accident was caused by the inability to view the sharp drop on the side of the road due to the fact that the tram tracks that are typically used for direction were not visible, Shaw became determined to create a new invention to warn drivers of the dangers on the road. While sitting on the side on the road in though, Shaw saw the reflection of his car's headlights in the eyes of a cat, which sparked his new ideas.
Unfortunately the story of the cat eyes cannot be assured to be true, since many stories were passed around to tell about Shaw's inspiration. Nevertheless, the inspiration came to create a reflective road marker to warn travelers of the road. This invention took several years to create due to the fact that there wasn't many materials available that would be bright enough to be seen during the night, severe weather, and even the bright lights of other vehicles. In 1934 Shaw patented a design of four glass beads which faced in opposition directions in a rubber cast. This rubber was molded onto a cast iron base which was then buried into the road with asphalt. His patent even included a maintenance free, or lazy free, way to clean itself by collecting water to clean the beads once the dome was pushed into the group when cars would drive over it. With the hit of his patent, Shat started the Reflecting Roadstuds Ltd company one year later in Boothtown. He received many skeptical comments about the device, and so he installed 50 "Catseyes" on a road known famous for its accidents. Miraculously, the frequency of accidents quickly fell which created fame for his invention.
Later in 1937 the Department for Transport hired Percy Shaw to mass produce the Catseyes for the roads in England. It wasn't until WWII, however, that his inventions were actually used during the blackouts. This caused a peak in production and caused the company to expand to a 130 staff, 20 acre facility. His Catseye Reflector quickly spread across the world which created a life of luxury for him and his family. However, Shaw never married and spent the remainder of his life taking care of his siblings. He eventually died on September 1st 1976 in Boothtown where he lived since he was 2 years old.
Mr. Percy Shaw: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?xml=/portal/2007/11/30/ftcatseye130.xml
The location of his "inspiration": http://www.designmuseum.org/media/item/5246/-1/150_2.jpg
The actual catseye: http://www.designmuseum.org/media/item/5249/-1/150_5.jpg
Picture of the catseye at night: http://www.designmuseum.org/media/item/5251/-1/150_7.jpg
His 20 acre facility is Boothtown: http://www.designmuseum.org/media/item/5252/-1/150_8.jpg
When driving down the road one day in 1933, Shaw suffered a car crash near Bradford, England. Frustrated that his accident was caused by the inability to view the sharp drop on the side of the road due to the fact that the tram tracks that are typically used for direction were not visible, Shaw became determined to create a new invention to warn drivers of the dangers on the road. While sitting on the side on the road in though, Shaw saw the reflection of his car's headlights in the eyes of a cat, which sparked his new ideas.
Unfortunately the story of the cat eyes cannot be assured to be true, since many stories were passed around to tell about Shaw's inspiration. Nevertheless, the inspiration came to create a reflective road marker to warn travelers of the road. This invention took several years to create due to the fact that there wasn't many materials available that would be bright enough to be seen during the night, severe weather, and even the bright lights of other vehicles. In 1934 Shaw patented a design of four glass beads which faced in opposition directions in a rubber cast. This rubber was molded onto a cast iron base which was then buried into the road with asphalt. His patent even included a maintenance free, or lazy free, way to clean itself by collecting water to clean the beads once the dome was pushed into the group when cars would drive over it. With the hit of his patent, Shat started the Reflecting Roadstuds Ltd company one year later in Boothtown. He received many skeptical comments about the device, and so he installed 50 "Catseyes" on a road known famous for its accidents. Miraculously, the frequency of accidents quickly fell which created fame for his invention.
Later in 1937 the Department for Transport hired Percy Shaw to mass produce the Catseyes for the roads in England. It wasn't until WWII, however, that his inventions were actually used during the blackouts. This caused a peak in production and caused the company to expand to a 130 staff, 20 acre facility. His Catseye Reflector quickly spread across the world which created a life of luxury for him and his family. However, Shaw never married and spent the remainder of his life taking care of his siblings. He eventually died on September 1st 1976 in Boothtown where he lived since he was 2 years old.
Mr. Percy Shaw: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?xml=/portal/2007/11/30/ftcatseye130.xml
The location of his "inspiration": http://www.designmuseum.org/media/item/5246/-1/150_2.jpg
The actual catseye: http://www.designmuseum.org/media/item/5249/-1/150_5.jpg
Picture of the catseye at night: http://www.designmuseum.org/media/item/5251/-1/150_7.jpg
His 20 acre facility is Boothtown: http://www.designmuseum.org/media/item/5252/-1/150_8.jpg
Assignment 5: Konrad Zuse
Konrad Zuse was born in Berlin on June 22,1910. He worked as a construction engineer for the Henschel Aircraft Company in Berlin, Germany at the beginning of WWII. Konrad Zuse earned the title of "inventor of the modern computer" for his series of automatic calculators. He invented these calculators to aid him with his lengthy engineering calculations. Zuse did not accept this title. He held the notion that many of the inventions of his contemporaries and successors were equally if not more important than his own. One of the most difficult aspects of performing a large calculation with either a mere slide rule or a mechanical adding machine is keeping track of all of the results of the intermediate calculations and using them at the right time or the in the right order. Zuse set out to remedy that difficulty.
He realized that an automatic-calculator would require a control, memory, and a calculator for the arithmetic. In 1936, Zuse made a mechanical calculator called the Z1. The Z1 was the first binary computer. Zuse used it to explore several revolutionary technologies in calculator development. These included floating-point arithmetic, high-capacity memory and modules or relays operating on the yes/no principle. Zuse's ideas succeeded more with each Z prototype. By 1939 Zuse had completed the Z2, the first fully functioning electro-mechanical computer. Konrad Zuse completed the Z3 in 1941. He did this with recycled materials donated by fellow university staff and students. The Z3 was the world's first electronic, fully programmable digital computer based on a binary floating-point number and switching system. Zuse used old movie film to store programs and data rather than using paper tape or punched cards. At this point in time paper was in short supply in Germany due to the war. The block structure of the Z3 is very much like that of a modern computer. The Z3 consisted of separate units, such as a punch tape reader, control unit, floating-point arithmetic unit, and input/output devices. Konrad Zuse wrote the first algorithmic programming language called 'Plankalkül' in 1946. He used his language to program his computers. Zuse wrote the world's first chess-playing program using Plankalkül. Zuse was unsuccessful at convincing the Nazi government to support his work for a computer based on electronic valves. The Germans thought they were close to winning the War and, as a result, felt no need to support further research. The models of the Z1 through Z3 were destroyed during the war along with Zuse Apparatebau, the first computer company that Zuse formed in 1940. They were later rebuilt in 1960 and 1984. Konrad Zuse died on December 18, 1995.
Image of Konrad Zuse: http://free.pages.at/webarchiv/zuse/bilder/konradZuse.jpg
Image of his Z1: http://www.kerryr.net/images/pioneers/gallery/z1_lg.jpg
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Assignment 5: Fritz Haber
Fritz Haber (1868 - 1934) was a German chemist who received a noble prize for chemistry in the development of fixation of nitrogen from the air; synthetic ammonia; publishing a book on thermodynamics of technical gas reactions. He is recognized as the father of chemical warfare where he was appointed a consultant to the German War Office in developing gases and organizing attacks with gases such a chlorine in World War I. He studied in the University of Heidelberg, Berlin, and Charlottenburg. During 1904 he researched on electrolysis of solid salts. In addition he studied loss of energy by steam engines, turbines, and motors driven by fuel. Haber also produced a firedamp whistle for the protection of miners, quartz thread manometer for low gas pressures, and observed that "adsorption powers can be due to unsaturated valence forces of a solid body, which Langmuir fournded his theory of adsorption." Haber had knowledge in not just science but politics, history, and economics. Haber died of an illness in Basle in 1934.
For picture and article:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1918/haber-bio.html
For picture and article:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1918/haber-bio.html
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Assignment 5 - Dr. Hans J. von Ohain
Dr. Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain was born in 1911 in Dessau, Germany. He received a doctorate in physics and aerodynamics at Goettingen in 1935. He was employed by the German Heinkel-Hirth Company, where in 1936 he received a company patent for his development of the first aircraft turbine engine. He was a firm believer that sophisticated testing and development were essential before practical application was possible. In 1937, his work resulted in the first successful sustained operation of an aircraft turbine engine. It was fueled by gaseous hydrogen. He soon produced an engine that ran on liquid hydrocarbon fuels. On August 27, 1939, the Heinkel HE-178 became the first aircraft to fly with a turbine engine. This engine ran on liquid hydrocarbon fuel. While at Heinkel-Hirth Company, Dr. Ohain was credited with more than 50 company patents. His continued development of the gas-turbine engine during World War II resulted in the abandonment of the centrifugal flow concept. Instead, the axial flow compressor type engine was adapted. Dr. Ohain and Sir Frank Whittle are now both regarded as the co-inventors of the jet engine.
In 1947, Dr. Ohain came to the United States, and became a research scientist at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. During his 32 years working for the US government, he published more than 30 technical papers, and registered 19 US patents. While working for the government, he developed new ideas in the fields of propulsion and power generation, electrofluid dynamics, advanced diffusers and ejectors, dynamic energy transfer, and V/STOL aircraft. He received many awards for his work, including the coveted Goddard Award of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He retired in 1979 and moved to Melbourne, Florida with his wife, where he died in 1998. He is survived by his four children.Sources:
http://www.ascho.wpafb.af.mil/encounter/vonbio.htm
http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/ohain.htm
Photo of Ohain:
http://www.pr.afrl.af.mil/focus/ohain.jpg
Jet engine:
http://www.energie-consult.com/img/jet-1.jpg
Assignment 5- Wernher Von Braun
It's not like it's rocket science! But for Wernher Von Braun this statement would have been true. He lived in Germany from 1912-1977 and was one of the most important rocket developers around in the 1930s-1970s. In 1932 he went to work for the German army to develop ballistic missiles. In July of 1934 while still engaged in his work he earned a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Berlin and continued to help develop rockets for the German army through the 1930s. He worked in a secret laboratory on the V-2 Rocket which came right before similar ones used in the space exploration programs in the United States and the Soviet Union. By the beginning of 1945 it became apparent to Wernher that the Germans would not win the war against the Allies so he orchestrated the surrender of himself and 500 other top rocket scientists to the Americans. For fifteen years after the end of WW2 he would work with the United States Army to develop ballistic missiles. He then worked in Alabama with the Army Redstone Arsenal team on the Explorer project because the US realized that he was the leading rocket scientist in the world. This is all after Sputnik was launched by the Soviet Union, consequently just 50 years ago this past October in 2007. Explorer was the first United States earth satellite sent out into space. In 1962, he was on of the people that started working on the Saturn 5 rocket which eventually took people to the moon. Interestingly enough, Wernher was a technical advisor on three space-related television films that Walt Disney produced in the 1950s. By working together these two men were able to portray the possibilities of this new technology. He worked on the Collier's series, the television show Man in Space and also helped design Tomorrowland in Disneyland in California which had posed quite a problem for original designers. He died in Alexandria, Virginia in 1977.
This really was rocket science!
For images:
http://www.moonhoax.com/images/von%20braun%20nasa.jpg
http://eobglossary.gsfc.nasa.gov/Library/Giants/vonBraun/Images/rocket_firsts.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u166/bocktherobber/wernher%20von%20braun/von_braun_15.jpg
This really was rocket science!
For images:
http://www.moonhoax.com/images/von%20braun%20nasa.jpg
http://eobglossary.gsfc.nasa.gov/Library/Giants/vonBraun/Images/rocket_firsts.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u166/bocktherobber/wernher%20von%20braun/von_braun_15.jpg
Assignment # 5
Lazlo and Georg Biro
In 1935 Hungarian brothers Lazlo and Georg Biro invented the first non leaking ballpoint pen. Lazlo was a chemist and Biro was a newspaper editor.Lazlo Biro applied for patents in 1938 and 1940 with the European Patent Office. In 1938, the newly formed Eterpen Company manufactured the Biro pen. Lazlo eventually sold the patents to Eversharp. The ballpoint pen was first invented and patented in 1888 by John Laud. Laud's was too course for letter writing but could be used on rough surfaces and it leaked. Lazlo noticed that the type of ink used in newspaper printing dried quickly, leaving the paper dry and smudge-free. He decided to create a pen using quick-drying ink instead of India ink. The thicker ink, though, would not flow from an ordinary pen nib and Biro had to devise a new type of point.The ballpoint pen, commonly called the 'biro' became popular in Great Britain during the late 1930s. As Biro had neglected to obtain a North American patent for the pen, he missed the lucrative opportunity of manufacturing the pen in the US. In addition, this enabled the British government to purchase the licensing rights.In 1939, the Royal Air Force needed a new type of pen because the conventional fountain pen leaked when fighter planes flew at high altitudes with reduced pressure. During World War II, the ballpoint pen was widely used by the military forces because of its toughness and ability to survive the battle environment. By the mid-1940s, pens of this type were widely used throughout much of the world. The press hailed the success of the biro because you could write for a year with it without refilling. Since none of the inventors or Eversharp patented this in the U.S they became the second to largely produce ballpoint pens and it came into a high competition between Parker Pens and Eversharp. Once these pens were massed produced a lot leaked and many were returned. It would not be until 1945 when frenchman Bich would come along and discover the real potential for the ball point pen.
pen picture:
http://cache.eb.com/eb/thumb?id=62971
pen design:
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/gifs/Ballpointpen.GIF
Assignment #5 Hans Wilsdorf
Hans Wilsdorf was born in Bavaria, Germany in 1881. His parent were iron monger and they died when he was 12. He then lived with his Aunt in Uncle and they sent him to Boarding school in Coburg, Germany. There he learned English there. Eventually he got fed up with the school and left for Geneva, Switzerland and worked for a pearl merchant whole bought pearls and sold them without actually doing anything to them and still made a lot of money. He later got a job with Cuno-Korten a pocket watch company in Switzerland. He got the job because he could speak and write English to The British Empire and America.
While at this company he picked up on how the watches worked. He partnered up with Alfred Davis and the started a watch company. The contacted a company that would create watches movements that were small enough to fit on the wrist. In 1908, he registered the name Rolex. These watches were known to keep time extremely well. In 1926 he made the watch waterproof and called it the Oyster. He used convinced Mercedes Glietz to wear the Rolex Oyster on her 15 hour swim through the English Channel and said it would keep perfect time, and it did. This helped to make his watch famous around the world. Before he died, he set up a foundation that held all his share in the company and to this day it makes donations to orphanages around the world. His wife died in 1944 after a 14 day illness and he died in 1960.
https://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Montres-Rolex-SA-Company-History.html
http://www.watchmasters.net/the-rolex-story-hans-wilsdorf.html
While at this company he picked up on how the watches worked. He partnered up with Alfred Davis and the started a watch company. The contacted a company that would create watches movements that were small enough to fit on the wrist. In 1908, he registered the name Rolex. These watches were known to keep time extremely well. In 1926 he made the watch waterproof and called it the Oyster. He used convinced Mercedes Glietz to wear the Rolex Oyster on her 15 hour swim through the English Channel and said it would keep perfect time, and it did. This helped to make his watch famous around the world. Before he died, he set up a foundation that held all his share in the company and to this day it makes donations to orphanages around the world. His wife died in 1944 after a 14 day illness and he died in 1960.
https://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Montres-Rolex-SA-Company-History.html
http://www.watchmasters.net/the-rolex-story-hans-wilsdorf.html
Assignment #5: Alexander Fleming
Sir Alexander Fleming lived from 1881 until 1955. He was a Scottish scientist that specialized in biology and pharmocology throughout his life. He is best known for his discovery of the antibiotic Penicillin and then his innovative methods for mass producing a stable form of the antibiotic for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Fleming's accidental discovery and isolation of penicillin in September 1928 marked the start of modern antibiotics.
Fleming served throughout World War I as a captain in the Army Medical Corps. After the war and all of the disease and death he had witnessed as a result of infected wounds, Fleming began searching for anti-bacterial agents. In 1922 he discovered the enzyme Lysosome which he referred to as the “body’s own antibiotic. In 1928 he accidentally discovered the antibiotic Penicillin. He published his findings in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology by 1929, but little attention was paid to it. This was mostly due to the fact that actually cultivating and using Penicillin was very difficult. By the 1940’s his work along with chemists finally created a usable form of Penicillin. He was quoted as later saying, "When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or bacteria killer, but I guess that was exactly what I did." By 1945 just in time for D-day, they had invented a method for mass production and distribution of the antibiotic, and they had enough to treat all of the wounded allied forces.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Faroe_stamp_079_europe_%28fleming%29.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Alexander_Fleming.jpg
Fleming served throughout World War I as a captain in the Army Medical Corps. After the war and all of the disease and death he had witnessed as a result of infected wounds, Fleming began searching for anti-bacterial agents. In 1922 he discovered the enzyme Lysosome which he referred to as the “body’s own antibiotic. In 1928 he accidentally discovered the antibiotic Penicillin. He published his findings in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology by 1929, but little attention was paid to it. This was mostly due to the fact that actually cultivating and using Penicillin was very difficult. By the 1940’s his work along with chemists finally created a usable form of Penicillin. He was quoted as later saying, "When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or bacteria killer, but I guess that was exactly what I did." By 1945 just in time for D-day, they had invented a method for mass production and distribution of the antibiotic, and they had enough to treat all of the wounded allied forces.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Faroe_stamp_079_europe_%28fleming%29.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Alexander_Fleming.jpg
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