We’ve all seen science fiction, and let us all agree upon something that there is a part where the protagonist is faced with a life-threatening situation and makes it through. I don’t remember where I saw this, a space walker floats away into space after the cable that tethers him to the rest of his team gets cut loose. Unable to save himself, he intentionally depressurizes his suit. I’ve also read this on BBC Knowledge that NASA already has a space suit propulsion system, though I thought of that idea once only to realize it’d already been perfected. We’ve also seen Ryan Stone in the blockbuster, Gravity where she nudges herself towards the Chinese space station using a discarded fire extinguisher and I found that very smart of her. Today’s tech wouldn’t allow this to happen, since space suits would usually carry a gas canister for this purpose. If this was to fail, we’ll have to rely on primitive methods to get back to the ship.
Ideas
Instant messaging with a REAL emoji
Instant messaging has evolved much in the past decade. Today’s instant messengers like WhatsApp lack a real touch of emotion and emotion is something that sets humans apart from other beings by a big disparity. I’m looking at ways to solve this by using a facial mood recognition software which would be built into the instant messenger for categorizing a person’s real mood on the basis of various criteria. Lets say for example, if a person is really happy, he or she would have a slight smile. The software would record this change of facial expression as a happy mood and put a small smiley or some indicator of that sort close to the text message sent out by the person. The receiver would have a better idea of the true state of the sender rather than relying on happy phrases or emojis. Someone who LOL’s isn’t always laughing, let us be honest about this!
Designing my high altitude balloon
Hi everybody! I’ve just begun working on a high altitude atmospheric photography balloon. The project ideas and design are my own. Being new to high altitude UAV design, I was looking at some content online and some advice from amateur balloonists, all while treating my ears to Charli XCX. I don’t know why I chose to listen to that song, ‘Break the Rules’, not to leave out ‘Boom Clap’ but that kinda got stuck in my head. I saw her perform in the EMA’s and loved it. I intend to use a 50 – 70 inch wide latex balloon (Helium-grade) with an aerodynamically deployable chute that shall deploy when the craft is under free fall. An IMU (accelerometer+gyros+magnetometer+barometer) will be part of the electronics design. A GPS receiver shall also be used in conjunction with the IMU for better altitude reference and positioning. The flight computer?
VOR and NDB, are they really necessary today?
Bonjour! I’ve been watching some video tutorials from Humble Aviation’s YouTube channel on VOR and NDB navigation and I started to wonder if it really makes sense in a world where technology has evolved so much. I suggest John Oliver make a video on ‘Radio Navigation, how is this still a thing?’ LOL I understand the present day scenario, a lot of small aircraft aren’t fully equipped with a GPS navigation system and hence are forced to rely on conventional navaids for navigation. Navaids like VOR-DME’s serve good purpose at terminal points like for approaches. Still, I don’t think many airliners today would use them either, the VORs I mean, for point to point navigation. GPS waypoints do a better task at precision and efficiency making it easier to use, who would want a swinging VOR needle anyway.
DIY Wi-Fi range extender
Wi-Fi is something we USE everyday. It has become so significant in our everyday lives that internet trolls have come out depicting WiFi as a fundamental necessity to human survival, therefore rewriting the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. To begin with, I’ve been thinking of a WiFi range extender as the ones that are commercially available are expensive. On the right is the application schematic of MGA-22003 by Avago. It is a RF power amplifier with high linearity, making it ideal for use with data networks.
LA4440 based power amplifier
I worked on this like a year ago, and probably the last DIY electronics project I did during recent times. I’m a music maniac and like anyone who loves enjoying music, I wanted a good music system (though I have one now). I had a couple of surround speakers lying around and thought I’d make good use of it if I could design a simple power amplifier. I was no good dealing with power transistors at that time, like MOSFETs so I decided on a chip amplifier. I couldn’t source components required for advanced builds so I stuck to a primitive(yet discontinued) chip from Sanyo. The LA4440 requires very little external components, a couple of electrolytic capacitors like any audio system.
Can you store energy from a lightning strike?
We’ve all seen one, certainly. It can be scary but it packs a whole lot of power, enough power to light up your city. Storing all that isn’t theoretically possible. Lightning strikes are of two types – Negative and positive. Negative lightning strikes are the most common type where the cloud has a negative charge buildup and the ground is positive. The resulting ionization is observed as a flash of light, caused by super-heated gases (plasma). During negative lightning, the negative charges move down and the positive charges from the ground move up creating a channel for a lightning strike. I came up with a solution which I haven’t researched much on so I need your help. My design comprises mainly of a lightning conductor and capacitors.
Reclining seats? Planes diverted.
It’s been kinda weird to note that on two separate occasions, commercial planes have been forced to divert causing inconvenience to not just passengers but losses to the airline and it’s operation. The reason: Passengers quarreling over reclining seats. It’s rather disappointing to observe that people quarrel over such pity issues and most of the arguments arise when the passenger in the front reclines the seat and the person behind is caught off guard and either spills his coffee or causes him irritation. To avoid such a similar situation from reoccurring we could device an indication light behind every seat but that’s a costly retrofit. As soon as the recline button is pushed, a tiny LED shall light up behind to let the passenger seated behind know and get himself ready for the new configuration. Implementing this can prove to be expensive and the rewards may not be worth all the work.
Repetitive patterns – much ‘pleasing’?
We all have seen a row of lights or something else where symmetrically similar objects lined up or placed in definite pattern. And we feel satisfying to look at them. But is there some reason behind this ‘appealing’ feeling when we look at something well-placed in definite rows or columns in repetitive pattern. To fully understand what I’m saying, look at this picture below:
The picture above seems to be pleasing to look at. Comment and let me know that I’m not alone. I don’t fully understand why symmetrically similar objects placed in definite pattern(rows) seem to be ‘satisfying’ to look at. Here’s another example. I find the lights on the taxiways and runways at airports pleasing to look at. If you feel the same way, I guess most people do or is it just me.
Airfoil simulator
Planes are 21st century masterpieces. Period. That’s all I can say. They are reliable, safe and provide the fastest means of transport within Earth. Aircraft today, are state of the art. The only thing that remains is to make them efficient. The wings help take flight generating lift. Lately, Airbus had been working on shark skin painting of aircraft to reduce skin friction drag. Shark skin has a texture that helps eliminate skin drag to an extent. I’m not sure if this new coating on aircraft might actually add extra weight that might counter the efficiency benefits from the reduced drag coating. This airfoil simulator from NASA’s website is pretty cool!! You can set the angle of attack, chord, airfoil type and so much more. You can even set the viscosity and density of the atmosphere you want the simulation to take place in and the altitude and speed variables to determine lift and drag. Check out: FoilSim III(Beta)
all things S C I E N C E 