Science Posts
Where does 9600 bps come from?
We use serial communication all the time. But why are we using multiples of 300?
T³: Using LEDs as Light Sensors
It's a known trick that we can use LEDs in reverse. We'll explore how to use them as photodetectors with Arduino and create a simple demo that responds to hand swipes.
Building Your Own Seismometer
How to make your own seismometer to measure ground activity, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Enginursday: Automating Greenhouses
Check out the next chapter in the aquaponics automation saga. The project has moved beyond a small indoor system to automating an entire geodesic dome greenhouse full of many different systems.
Enginursday: Aquaponics and the Internet-of-Things
A brief overview of the numerous internet-enabled devices I've used to monitor my aquaponic systems.
Enginursday: Turtleponics
In this week's Enginursday, Joel shows off his aquatic turtle habitat, complete with an above-tank basking area, automated lighting, and an aquaponic feeding system.
Guest Blog: Circumventing Science Lab Budget Cuts with Open-Source Hardware
High-school science teachers can radically reduce the cost of building up science labs while giving students opportunities to engage in genuine design processes by introducing them to open-source hardware. A vast collection of free and pre-designed low-cost scientific tools are available, many of which can be printed on a open-source 3D printer, including the printer itself. Not only can students benefit from access to research grade equipment, there are ample opportunities for students to build on, improve, and customize scientific tools as part of their curriculum. In this way the number and value of the open-source hardware designs can expand with student effort, enabling a powerful motivating factor for science education.
Turkey Scratch -- Thanksgiving, Programming, and a 'lil Data
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Check out this quick little hack using a standard temperature probe from my oven thermometer, our PicoBoard, and a little creative coding in Scratch!
Enginursday: Solving Real-World Problems with Data.SparkFun.com
Learn how data.sparkfun.com can help you not just collect data, but also use that data to make hypothesizes, see trends, and make adjustments to a variety of systems.