Paper Planes

You know when your bored in class*, and have nothing to do? Well the following video shows a step-by-step guide to how to build the perfect paper plane! Note: not my video, just found it, enjoy!



*=never bored in english class

Turn a Pencil into a Light!

The following is a youtube video about converting any normal pencil into a light. You do not need a jumper cable or a car battery, and wire and a regular 6volt battery should work too. Note: not my video, just found it on youtube, enjoy!

Thomas Edison and the Lightbulb

Thomas Edison's greatest challenge was the development of a practical incandescent, electric light. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't "invent" the lightbulb, but rather he improved upon a 50-year-old idea. In 1879, using lower current electricity, a small carbonized filament, and an improved vacuum inside the globe, he was able to produce a reliable, long-lasting source of light. The idea of electric lighting was not new, and a number of people had worked on, and even developed forms of electric lighting. But up to that time, nothing had been developed that was practical for home use. Edison's eventual achievement was inventing not just an incandescent electric light, but also an electric lighting system that contained all the parts necessary to make the incandescent light practical, safe, and affordable. After one and a half years of work, success was achieved when an incandescent lamp with a filament of carbonized sewing thread burned for thirteen and a half hours. He is also famous for his quote "I haven't failed once, I found out 2,000 ways how not to make a lightbulb".

Dynamics of Flight

Many people wonder just how birds and planes fly, to understand how, start with the basics. Air is a physical substance which has weight. It has molecules which are constantly moving. Air pressure is created by the molecules moving around. Moving air has a force that will lift kites and balloons up and down. Hot air expands and spreads out and it becomes lighter than cool air. When a balloon is full of hot air it rises up because the hot air expands inside the balloon. When the hot air cools and is let out of the balloon it comes back down. In the case of airplanes, the wings are curved on the top which make air move faster over the top of the wing. It moves slower underneath the wing. The slow air pushes up from below while the faster air pushes down from the top. This forces the wing to lift up into the air. Birds' wings are the same way, their feathers are also hollow which make the bird lighter. By moving its wings up and down, a bird can turn while in the air. For example, if a bird moves it's left wing up, and right wing down, it will turn right because all of its weight falls onto that wing, this is called the aileron. A bird or plane can move up and down by controling its head of body. If a plane's nose or a bird's head is moved down, the body will follow.

History of the Airplane

Orville and Wilbur Wright, commonly refered to as the Wright brothers, had a dream of flying, and dedicated their lives to create a "flying machine". After countless failed attempts, they made their first successful airplane in December 1903. Their plane flew at an altitude of 10 feet, traveled 120 feet, and landed 12 seconds after takeoff. Their invention is known today as the first airplane vehicle. The "Kitty Hawk" as the brother's called it, was the starting point for engine powered airplanes and gave birth to not only a new passage for discovery, but for transportation, entertainment and warfare

History of the Engine and the Car

The engine is one of the most useful and famous inventions of all time. In 1769, a guy named Nicholas Cugnot created the first self-powered vehicle, which used a steam engine. However, the first gas-powered engine, which is used in the cars we use today, was invented by Gottlieb Daimler, which later formed the company known as Chrysler today. Daimler had competition though, a man named Karl Benz was also on the quest to create the first gas-powered car, and even though Daimler is recognized to be the first to create the engine, Benz received the first patent for a gas-powered vehicle in 1886. Over the next several decades, many other car companies formed, competing to make a vehicle that no other car could rival. Companies such as Ford, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz and Oldsmobile cars are still around today and may even be parked in your garage. The first break-through vehicle was the Ford Model-T in 1908. By 1927, more than 15 million Model-T's were sold.

Rube Goldberg

A Rube Goldberg is a device or contraption that involves several "dominoe effects" taking place to usually end in the completion basic task. The following youtube video shows a great example of a Rube Goldberg contraption. Note that this is not my video, i just found it on youtube. Enjoy!

An example of Mechanical Engineering

I founf this video on youtube about a mechanical engineering project, enjoy! Note that i did not make this video, i just found it.

University of Waterloo

University of Waterloo is another university i have been looking into. This university has been known to be one of the best for engineering in the whole world! Even more prestigious for engineering than UFT, this school has the best of the best when it comes to engineering. However, this school lacks the vintage, "Hogwarts" style that I love about UFT. This university isn't in the middle of a downtown area, so it isn't as busy as UFT and is easier to get into, price wise and applicant wise. Both schools have their own perks and unique qualities like scholarships, sports teams and school clubs, and at the end of the day, these are the things that make you enjoy going to a university you love.

UFT~ University of Toronto

I've been looking into universities myself to consider for my own

post-secondary education, and after intense searching, a few have resonated in my mind. UFT, or University of Toronto has 3 different campuses in the Greater Toronto Area. St. George, known as the downtown campus is known for its Applied Science and Art department. It has a very good reputation for engineering and features a unique program called Mechatronics. This along with its great campus life makes it a top choice for my education. However, many other prospective engineers are going to be thinking the same thing, which makes getting into the course which only allows 300 students per year, a big challenge. UFT is known as a very prestigious school all over the world, and a degree from here would be very intriguing to any hiring company. To any other prospective engineers, after thoroughly looking into this school, i highly recommend it to anyone who is able to get it, good luck with your applications!

The University Life

In order to become an engineer, attending university is a must. Yet there are so many different universities with so many things to offer, its hard to choose and know what is right for you. Courses offered, reputation, tuition, residencies and even the people and staff come in to play when considering a university. First of all, always remember to apply to several universities, this increases your chances of getting accepted into one you like. Remember, if the university doesn't pick you, you can't pick it, so make sure your interview and transcript are the best they can possibly be. Everyone has a price range, and some universities can just be too expensive, luckily there are thousands of scholarships around that can relieve a lot of stress of your back, and bank account! So always remember to apply to all the scholarships that you are allegable for, cause you never know, you may just qualify. Every campus also has its own environment. I reccomend taking tours of the universities before you decide which one, cause with 4 or more years in the same place, you have to enjoy where you live and work. While touring, try to meet some of the proffesors that might be teaching you if you go there and get their input on what they think about the university. University can be the best time of your life, just remember to balance work and fun!

IQ: what is it? what is my IQ? what does it mean?

IQ or Intelligence Quotient is a standardized test that is meant to access how smart you are. The test asks you various questions that test the different parts of a person's intelligence, such as spatial, numerical, intrapersonal and logical intelligence. However, the test does not base your score on your answers alone, time taken to complete the test, age and even gender are considered. The average IQ is 100 (85-115) and an IQ of 150 considers you to be "gifted". There are many websites online that offer you a free IQ test if you are interested. If you got lower than you expected, don't be alarmed, your true IQ is not accurate on your first test, try again and you'll probably get a better score. So what does my IQ mean to me? Well, there are several international corporations, such as Mensa, that are exclusive "clubs" for people with higher than average IQ's. Also, some companies only hire people who have a high enough IQ. I higly suggest that everyone takes the test, it isn't just for bragging though, the test helps point out your weaknesses and strengths which can help you improve on areas in your life that are lacking.

Dr.Phil~

In class we made a mock Dr.Phil scenario based on the book, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. We got together in small groups and were assigned a character. I was Victor, the main character of the book. The point of this assignment was to work out our problems with the other characters in the book, and Dr.Phil (another person in the group) had to give the best solutions to these problems. Obviously, this "episode" is not realistic, as all the characters are dead by the end of the book, but we all learned different things about the different characters. But I think the bigger picture of this assignment was to understand that there is rarely a right or wrong answer to life problems. Everyone has their own view on things and sometimes, they are all "right". We all have to consider what the other person (or monster) is feeling before we make instinct decisions. I feel the assignment went well and that all the groups did leanr something not only on the book, but a life lesson.

The Big Bang Theory

According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe expanded from an extremely dense and hot state and continues to expand today. Scientists estimate that this ongoing explosions happened 13.7 billion years ago. This theory suggests that our universe was created by a small amount of electronegativity that expanded until it created the first sub-atomic particles. These particles kept dividing and generating heat until tthe universe as we now it was formed. This theory also suggests that this "explosion" is getting faster and faster. Evidence shows that galaxies are getting farther and farther apart. The Big Bang is an example of how such a tiny piece of matter is able to create so much and that a little goes a long way.

Legends of the Alchemists~ Lost secrets

Alchemy dates back over 2500 years ago, and its origin is probably in or anicent Egypt or Persia. Alchemists (or early chemists) were known to be very wise and spiritual with the world. The practice of alchemy was not only a science to them, but a way of life. For thousands of years, they studied and grew with the world around them. Our idea that the transformation of lead to gold was a literal interpretation of what their goals were, was actually a symbolic representation of what alchemy truly is. Both the transmutation of common metals into gold and the elixir of life symbolized evolution from an imperfect, diseased and corruptible state towards a perfect, healthy and everlasting state. The philosopher's stone then represented a "gateway" that would make this evolution possible. Applied to the alchemist himself, the two goals symbolized his evolution from ignorance to enlightenment, and the stone represented a hidden spiritual truth or power that would lead to that goal. In documents that are written according to this view they typically contain many forms of hidden meanings and must be decoded in order to discover their true meaning. The true alchemists did not seek eternal life or riches but they seeked wisdom, the ones who failed only seeked gold.

Intro to Alchemy~ The ancient science

Alchemy is both a practise and a philosophy that aims to achieve ultimate wisdom. Alchemy is an ancient science that dealt with transforming virtually anything into whatever the user wanted. The best known goals of the alchemists were to transform common metals into gold and the creation of an "elixir of life" that gave the drinker immortality. The philosopher's stone, or the Master Work, was the key to the alchemists' secrets. This legendary stone was able to turn anything to gold and it produced the elixir of life. Alchemy was thought as a form of sorcery and dates back thousands of years, but it is now known and recognized as basic modern chemistry. Alchemists were the first scientists of the world, and made countless discovery's that they themselves did not fully understand. Alchemy is now a dead science, being replaced by factual sciences such as biology and chemistry, but remains as the bedrock for today's sciences.

Water on the Moon!

That's right, NASA has officially announced that there is significant amounts of water near the south pole of our closest cosmic neighbor. About a month ago, NASA purposely launched a rocket into a crater near the moon's south pole, bringing up dust and debris that a small spacecraft following the rocket would test for water among the debris. This is an extremely important step on exploring our solar system. NASA can now consider setting up bases on the moon now that it has access to water. This opens up a lot of possibilities for space exploration and engineering. Having a base on the moon makes it a lot easier for us to reach Mars. Aerospace engineers are now going to be busy trying to create the materials and equipment needed for this. This discovery has forever changed the image of the moon, and has opened the opuurtunity to once again look at the moon with wonder and hope.

Riddle Answers!

Last week I posted several riddles, to test how effective you can think. For the first question, the 3rd son had bought a lightbulb, and the light filled the entire room, hence him winning his father's inheritance. In the second question, the man was outside of teh window looking in, he was a window washer and he jumped into the building. In the last riddle, the 3 men were musicians, hence them all having different "scores" and they were playing for money, that is how they all gained.
These riddles were meant to stretch your mind. And PS. I included hints in the pictures :P

Riddles III

Last Riddle for this week, this one is preeeeeeeeety hard, if you thought the last ones were hard, you don't stand a chance.

Q: Four men sat down to play.

They played all night till break of day.

They played for gold and not for fun.

With separate scores for everyone.

When they had come to square accounts.

They all had made quite fair amounts.

Can you the paradox explain.

If no one lost, how all could gain?

Riddles II

Another riddle to keep you busy :P this one is a little harder.

Q: Brad stared through the dirty soot-smeared window on the 22nd floor of the office tower. Overcome with depression he slid the window open and jumped through it. It was a straight drop outside the building to the ground. Miraculously after he landed he was completely unhurt. Since there was nothing to cushion his fall or slow his descent, how could he have survived the fall?