Author: anayakkar26

Blog Post #6 – Tech 7 – Properties and Bells

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For this post, I will be talking about a video I watched on how bells are made. There are many types of bells, boxing bells, jingle bells, cowbells, etc. The one thing each of these types of bells has in common is that they all make a unique sound based on the shape of the bell. For example, jingle bells make a festive jingle sound due to a ball bearing within the flower shell that forms the iconic shape of this bell. There many properties that are applicable to bells, and I choose some of them. First, bells are very malleable, meaning you can strike them with a hammer or put it under some sore of hydraulic machine, and it will sort of form that bell. Bells have a high malleability. Another property is formability, which shows how durable the material is. In this case, like the last, you can easily hammer or dent bells. Bells have high formability. The last property I have is acoustic or sonorous. Obviously, bells are known for making a sound when they are struck. Sonorous means that it can make a sound if you hit it, and so bells are very sonorous. Below are some images of bells and how they are made.

Sleigh Bells - Nickel Plated | Bevin Bros

Classic Boxing Bell | Brass Bell, NYSE, boxing bell | Uncommon Goods

Bell Making | Getty Images Gallery

Blog Post #5 – Tech 7 – PC’s

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For this post, I thought I would maybe step away from the project I have been working on as there has been no real progress and I need to pick up my materials. For this post, I wanted to write about my new interest in PC’s and how I am going to be building a gaming PC. I am somewhat of a techie and I love learning about tech and how the devices we use in our everyday lives actually work, and such is the same as PCs. The first and most important part of the PC is the CPU, which is the brain of the computer itself. There are many variants, some faster, some slower. How fast one is based off of its clock speed, measured in hertz, and its cores and threads. There are more components that make up the CPU itself, but I don’t really want to dive into it. Next is the motherboard, which is a big circuit-board that houses the CPU, GPU, all your ports like fan headers and SATA ports, RAM, M.2 SSD’s, and much more. There are many more components, but the real thing I wanted to explain in this post is how cool PC’s really are and how interesting they can be.

How to build your own gaming PC: STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE - Business Insider

Blog Post #4 – Tech 7 – Nixie Tube Clocks

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I wanted to change it up a bit this time for my blog post. Regarding my project, we are currently working on a 3d model in a digital software called Tynker, which is much like another software called Blender. Anyway, I will update when I start building. For now, I want to talk about something different. I was just browsing the internet when I stumbled upon this cool invention made during the Soviet times in Russia (I believe) called Nixie Tube Clocks, which look really cool. They have this industrial/steampunk look to them, which I find pretty cool. But the way they work is also very interesting. They basically work like neon lamps. There are a bunch of small glass tubes and this neon gas is inside these tubes. The way the numbers show up in the tubes is through a process called gas discharge. When electrons are introduced in the gas (when you power it on) those electrons move through the gas very, very fast (at about 2 percent of the speed of light). This is how it creates this image of a number. There is a bunch more to it, but I don’t want to make this post an essay, so I will leave it at that. I really find these clocks interesting and very cool. Below is a picture of one of these clocks. This technology wasn’t originally intended to display numbers, but it has transformed, over time, to do so.

Nixie Tube Clock - The coolest clocok ever. | Steampunk clock, Nixie tube, Clock design

*Note, this clock has small LED’s to make it look better, but this is basically how most look like, excluding the blue lights.

Blog Post #3 – Tech 7 – First Project (continued)

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Hello! This is a continuation of my second post about my final project. Since the shelf didn’t work out, I re-designed what I would make, and this time, I’m making a small wooden succulent holder! I know it’s a bit boring, but I really like plants, so I thought a succulent would be perfect for my room, and to make it more personal, I would make a small wooden pot for it! Anyway, I have a layout with a diagram and some further details regarding the construction. For my wood joinery method, I will be using a mitered butt joint to connect each piece of wood. I will need 2 planks of balsa wood as I am thinking of doubling up on the thickness as it would look better and add more structural support. Additionally, I was thinking of assing nails to give it a more industrial look and help it stay strong, but I realized that, if I added nails, it would split the joined wood, as I will attach the wood with glue, so I had to give up on that idea. I don’t know if I’m allowed, but I was also thinking of staining or painting the wood to make it look nicer, but if I can’t, I’m fine with just the pale color of the balsa wood. There really isn’t much more to say, but I will make an update once I am done with the project. I can’t wait to see how it turns out!

Blog Post #2 – Tech 7 – First Project

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In tech, we are currently working on brainstorming for our first projects! What I’m thinking I will make is a shelf out of balsa wood planks, and kind of make my own plywood by gluing the thin planks on top of each other. Although it won’t be a thick shelf (as it’s width is only 3″) I think it would be useful to store any trophies, collectibles, and small books I have in my room. I really think this project will be fun, and I can’t wait to start building. I have already made a sketch of how I want it to look like, but I’m still debating on whether or not I should add screws for a more industrial look, or if I should just layer the planks and paint it for a minimalistic and modern look. The hardest part of this project is definitely going to be mounting it. I don’t have any metal lying around, so I guess the shelf will be more of a display to mount things. Hopefully, I can work something out and figure out a way to make it look good. Anyway, that’s it for today, but I will post more updates on how the process is going. I think I may have to re-think my idea, but I’m not sure yet.

Blog Post #1 – Tech 7 – Wood

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It’s been a very long time since I last blogged, but I’m already in seventh grade! Anyway, I have to make a blog post about lumber and the process of turning trees into wood we humans can actually use. One thing I definitely found interesting was the process of timber harvest in the first video. I understand that they were cutting redwood trees (which are huge) and they had limited technology back in the 1940s, but it was a much longer process compared to the more recent videos. There is an obvious difference between the process of timber harvest in the 1940s and the process nowadays, but some of the big ones I noted were that, back then, they used wedges and saws and axes to cut down trees. Some even went as far as climbing up the tree to cut the top off, which is obviously very dangerous, but in the more recent videos, you can see that they simply use machines in a nice and organized process. Also, the part when they were getting ready to transport the wood was much longer in the older video. In the old one, they had many cams and pulleys and, basically, very complicated machinery, but in the recent video, they used machines and loaded the truck in a matter of minutes. Anyway, there is a huge difference between both videos, and I feel like this shows how much the human race has evolved. At one point in prehistory, we were monkey-like beings who hunted and gathered food to live, but now, we are much more advanced. Humanity has changed and it continues to change, which I find very interesting.

Tech Post #9: Nikola Tesla

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This is, sadly, my last post. I thought it would be nice if I talked about another great inventor in this post, and that inventor is Nikola Tesla. Tesla was born July 10, 1856. In his later years, he was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, and a mechanical engineer. He was most known for his contribution to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. He studied engineering and physics in the 1870’s without receiving a degree. But the lack of the degree didn’t stop him since he became one of the world’s most renowned inventors of all time. Some of his inventions were the discovery of radar technology, X-ray technology, and the basis of most AC machinery. Now his life story is pretty long and I mostly just wanted to express my gratitude towards him since he is an amazing inventor and made technology that we still use to this day. All in all, I think he was a great inventor. Again, this is my last technology post, and it deeply saddens me that we didn’t do that many projects but I still loved this quarterly and it’s probably my favorite quarterly I’ve had so far.

Tech Post #8: Mechanical Engineering

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Hello everyone! This post is going to be about our new topic, mechanical engineering. The Coronavirus is still spreading, thus having us stay and work from home. Anyways, the new topic I think is pretty fun. So far, we are learning about how different shapes can affect how durable a structure is, and we learned that triangles are the best shape to use since all of the angles rely on each other, so the angles would only move if the corresponding sides move. I honestly think this is really cool and I now have a totally different view on triangles. I can’t wait to see where this takes us, but with the end of the marking period rolling around, I’m afraid that it would have to be cut short. I am also very sad that we barely got to build anything in this technology class and all the other classes got to. But I’m still grateful since I’ve learned a lot about atoms, metals, and now mechanical engineering.

Tech Post #7 (Metals and Substances)

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Hello everyone!

We still have not gone back to school, and I wonder if we will continue the rest of the year like this…

Anyways, we just finished our atoms unit, and we learned about metals. I thought it was really cool to learn new stuff I never knew before this, like steel is actually an alloy made of iron and carbon, and people are inventing new metals such as metal foam which may or may not have a huge impact on the world. We also learned that the atoms in certain types of metal (like copper) are arranged in rows and columns, and when metal (like copper) conduct electricity, the subatomic particles known as electrons pass through the spaces and move towards the electrical current. I really loved this unit, and I thought it was very interesting. It’s so cool to imagine that everything in this world is made up of small particles, which we still don’t know all about to this day. I can’t wait to get to 8th grade and learn about more atoms! 😁

Tech Post #6: Leonardo da Vinci

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Hello! I thought I might take a break from posting about online learning and technology, and instead focus on one of my other favorite inventors, Leonardo da Vinci. Many people know him for his fantastic art pieces such as The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa, but not many people know he was also an amazing inventor. One of my favorite inventions he has made is the Scythed Chariot. His first impression of this idea was ink on a paper sketch showing how this amazing war machine worked.

If you read my post about Archimedes, you may know that I am fascinated in anything war related, and this chariot is nothing different. The spinning blades would move courtesy to the pulleys and cams in the box under the blades. This chariot would take out entire infantry lines, and due to added protection on the back, no one could possibly attack the charioteer from the rear. Though this invention may not have existed, it is still one of my favorite inventions, and in my opinion, a great idea for an ancient war tank.