ELECTRICITY - LEMONS LIKE ELECTRICITY CONDUCTORS

One lemon, half a lemon, electricity. In this video you can see how conecting two lemons with cooper wires we obtend electric energy.

ELECTRICTY - PAINTING LIKE ELECTRICITY CONDUCTOR

We always have seen the electricity like a thing that we only could transmit with wires, but there are more things capables of conduct this energy like painting with "Bare Paint" A substance capable to conduct electricity in walls, plastics, papers (not skin)...It isn´t toxic. In this video, you can see how it found.

ELECTRICITY - LETTUCES LIKE ELECTRICITY DRIVERS

The University of West England has done an experiment very interesting using a plant of lettuce. The result is that the lettuce can conduct the electricity. With this, in the future we will can substitute materials like copper (electricity conductor) that there are less for other new forms that this university is investigating like lettuces.

For more information click here

OFF TOPIC - TECHNOLOGICAL COSTUMES FOR CARNIVAL

Are you tired of being the superhero of turn? Do you think that romans´ costumes are very seen?  Do you think that there are too many clowns, indians, cowboys, princesses and boys dressed as womens? This is your post. Here you have many ideas of  technological and original costumes!!

Google maps costume...we´re here!!!

Google costume....or Mr.Google, please.

My favourite, Error 404 costume...impossible to get easier!

And, for all the family...who is who? costume!

MECHANISMS - MECHANISMS IN ATTRACTIONS

Also, there are technology in fairs. These are two attractions which attractions that are powered by mechanisms. 

TREADMILL: It´s a transmission system of friction wheels. 

Here, the cabins aren´t inserted and we can see the driven wheels. The work with a belt and a electric motor.

KANGAROO: It has a lever of the third degree. In the medium, there are a fixed point and hidraulic pistons move the arms. In the photo you can see the pistons.

UNIT 6 - WHEEL MEETS FRICTION

In this short video in which you can see what are friction wheels and how they work easily and interesting. 

MECHANISMS - ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM

In 1900, between the ruins of a shipwreck in Antikythera island, it was discovered the most complicated mechanism that we have of the ancient. It was build around the second half of the second century B.C. and it is in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. It has 30 gears converved but in the ancient it has twice approximately. It permited make several astronomical calculations, including the position of the Sun, the Moon phase, perhaps the situation of planets, the stars appearance on the horizon and the dates of the Olympic games. Today, the function of this mechanism is disputed because it is very complicated.

  For more information click here

UNIT 5 - Can you identify these mechanisms?

In this video, you can see some mechanisms constructed with Lego that we have studied in class. Can you identify them?

ENERGIES - Clean energy beginning with dirty water

A progress of 2013 in the solar energy of low cost, was a solar cell very small. This solar cell can produce energy  like a sheet of a tree, it can suppose a energy souce for emerging countries. This types of technologies not only will improve the quality of live of emerging countries or sites where there aren´t electricity, also, on the environment.This cell would be a hit because the price of oil is very high and consumers search accessible solutions.

ENERGIES - "Green toys" are trendy!

Spatial bases with solar panels, hydro-powered cars, doll houses with wind turbines and receivers to collect rainwaters are some of the "green toys" that are trendy.

Environmental toys promote that young children think about where energy came and how much can use, increasing their knowledge about renewable energies through the game. The manufacturers think that this toys will have an important role in our future. 

Click here for more information

UNIT 5 - RESOURCES

Some resources for review this unit:

- Here you have an interesing game to know the use of the simple machines (inclined plane, level, wheels, pulley) This is a game of the museum of the Science of Chicago. Try to obtend the objects with simple machines!

- In this web, you can see a section of mechanisms and you can find a lot of webs, presentations, notes and animations for review this unit.

UNIT 5 - HOUSE OF MACHINES

This is a good example of connected mechanisms in which you can see a house of machines in which there are mechanims made with wood. 

UNIT 5 - "THE GREAT SEARCH"

Here we have a short video in which you can see the evolution of the technology with the use of the energy souces and simple machines. Hope you like it:)

UNIT 5 - Mechanisms

Man builds objects for meet his needs and improve his quality of life. If you look around you, you can see that the majority of this objects have or produce some kind of movement with a purpose, like: clear the clothes, indicate the time, move people...

Here we have the example of a coffee grinder. It has a  simple operation and it´s based on a lever on the top that turns gears of the machine and the grains of coffe become pulverized. The result is collected in a drawer and it´s ready for be taken in a cup of coffee.

OFF TOPIC - ELECTRONIC APOCALYPSE

Solar storms are produced by the magnetic activity when the sun is stronger, it happens each 11 years. This phenomena can produce in the Earth magnetic storms and affect to the satellite communications, navegation systems and electrical networks. The electronic apocalypse could be produced if there are a solar superstorm (which restricts these systems two years) and it can be worse than the strongest solar storm that ocurred because we have a lot of technological dependence.

CHRISTMAS TOPIC - TECHNOLOGY AND CHRISTMAS, RISKS

"I am going to download a christmas postcard and share it" or "I received an incredible pffer of products to 50% of an online store, I am going to enter for look" This things that we do are dangerous. In christmas, more than ever, we share our devices (this increases the possibility of infection or malicious access to the data) Also, we look for offers for gifts or funny files to share with friends and family (visits to pages that contain malwares, involuntary downloads of virus ...) To this we add that we accept invitations from people who we don´t have a lot of contact  or  we connect to public WiFi networks (stations, airports, etc..) for take look at our email, with this, security risks increase too.

This are some tips for the safe use of our technology devices for Christmas:

1. Always keep protection updated of our computers and other devices.
2. Prevent access to WiFi networks of public places.
3. Don´t share devices with thirds.
4. Prevent messages with suspicious offers or put our data.
5. Control surfing habits of younger children, they have more time and they are more exposed to the risks of the web.

CHRISTMAS TOPICS - SANTA AND HIS GIFTS, FULL OF TECHNOLOGY!

Christmas holidays have arrived and the most of the people think of gifting technology, the star gift of this holidays: electronic tablets, mobiles, laptops, video games, etc.. Also, many people will buy christmas gifts  by Internet in electronic comerces. It has become a reference not only to find information, also to find a variety of products. With electronic commerce you saves time, best prices and buy gifts from the comfort home. Also, you prevent queues and exhauted products.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014!

OFF TOPIC - VIDEOGAMES CHANGE OUR BRAIN?

This are two opinions about about how they affect to the brain:

1. Most of people have played a game in the last year. When we play a lot, changes occur in our functions like our capacity. Also, play can be associated to changes in certain areas of our brain. It promotes obesity, unsociability and violence. 

2. A benefit of this vice is that scientific evidences increases to the contrary affirmation, as long as they are not abused, video games are positive in many ways. Another study shows that our hobby can change the brain in a positive way. Play improves memory, creativity, decision making, perception, hand-eye coordination and night vision. The investigators compared the play activities such as learning to play an instrument, read or memorize urban maps.

What do you think? Videogames are positive or negative?

SUPER OFF TOPIC - POST 50!

Welcome to a super off topic: In TechnoMind team, we are celebrating, this is our post number 50 and we wanted to do something special! Our blog borns in a weekend of October, the 12th of this year with the intention of publish posts related to the topic that we have been seeing in technology classes and other interesting things. I think that we have learned a lot with it about things that  i didn´t know that exists with my post and with the post of my mates and it has made that at the time to study this was easier. Also, i learn a lot about a blog and informatic things.

In the first classes of technology, we saw a video about work in teams. I think that in my team we´re all producers and we pull on the cart.

We try to post all weeks about the unit that we´re seeing in class and also, about things related with technology called OFF TOPICS (because they aren´t related with the unit that we are seeing) The background of the blog is a MAN FORGING because the day that we started with the blog, we were seeing that in class and the title of the blog TECHNOMIND comes of <use your technomind>. The symbol of our blog is our pet, a monkey, called TECHNOMONKEY.

I hope we will go better and better!

EXERCISES - MIND MAPS UNIT 4

 An inconvenient truth (alarmists)

The great global warming swindle (skeptics)