Applied Physics

"In space no one can hear you scream" was the tagline for the movie Alien. I finally created a Twitter account, but in Twitter, if you have no followers, no one can read your tweets. You are welcome to follow me on Twitter: @SteveSchuler20 Pictu ...

Blog Post - Steve Schuler - Nov 7 2014 - 3:48pm

Introduction To Pulse Width Modulation Using Scratch On The Kano Computer

In my previous article about the Kano Computer, I demonstrated how to use MIT’s Scratch graphical programming language on the Kano to flash an LED (the “Hello World!” program of hardware hacking). In this article, I’ll again demonstrate how to flash an LED ...

Article - Steve Schuler - Nov 14 2014 - 4:01pm

Snap Circuits Science: The Electronic Relay

What’s a relay? You’ve probably seen a relay race where one runner hands off a baton to another runner. Similarly, an electronic relay hands off control from one circuit to another. A relay is a very simple device consisting of an electromagnet, an armatu ...

Article - Steve Schuler - Nov 20 2014 - 1:10pm

Chillin' With The Coldest Matter In The World

Physicists have developed a new cooling technique for mechanical quantum systems by using an ultracold atomic gas, cooling a membrane down to less than 1 degree above absolute zero. Ultracold atomic gases are among the coldest objects in existence. Laser ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 24 2014 - 1:47pm

Wall Crawling With More Accuracy: Van Der Waals Force Re-Measured

The van der Waals force, named after Dutch chemist Johannes Diderik van der Waals, is the total forces between molecules not due due to covalent bonds. The famous sticking power of the geckos is thanks to the van der Waals force. Although it was discover ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 26 2014 - 1:30pm

This Battery Has One Billion Components- But Is The Size Of A Postage Stamp

How is this for the ultimate miniaturization of energy storage: A new tiny nanopore includes all the components of a battery though it is just is a tiny hole in a ceramic sheet that holds an electrolyte to carry the electrical charge between nanotube elec ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 28 2014 - 4:59pm

Fluoropore: 21st Century Non-stick Finish Means Your Car Never Gets Dirty

Imagine a car that can't get dirty or a business in Ferguson, Missouri that can't be graffiti'ed by unhinged protesters. It might be possible with a new class of highly fluorinated super-repellent polymer called a “fluoropore”, which mimics ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 30 2014 - 11:12am

Snap Circuits Science: The Diode

The diode has a number of applications in electronic circuits. One application you may be familiar with is a rectifier. A rectifier converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC). Alternating current periodically changes direction while direct cu ...

Article - Steve Schuler - Dec 5 2014 - 11:45am

Sunlight Converted To Electricity With Over 40 Percent Efficiency

Using commercial solar cells, researchers have converted over 40 percent of the sunlight hitting a solar system into electricity, the highest efficiency ever reported. ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 7 2014 - 11:48am

Compact Particle Accelerator Sets New World Record

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab have accelerated subatomic particles to the highest energies ever recorded from a compact accelerator- a laser-plasma accelerator, which is a new class of particle accel ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 9 2014 - 12:13am