Bridges

Imagine if we lived in a world without bridges. Every time you came upon a river or small body of water you would need to go through it or find some other way around. In today’s world, that would make it impossible to drive across the country, state, or in some cases the town. Our world wouldn’t be nearly as advanced as it is today if people could not travel very far. The trade and migration routes of ancient civilizations would have been shortened or nonexistent, which means societies would not have developed as quickly and we probably wouldn’t be here today.

Fortunately, we do have bridges. Bridges come in many forms, but they all do the same job. They allow people and objects to move across a stretch of hazardous terrain quickly and safely. As you can see, bridges take on many architectural shapes:

These bridges are very different in appearance, but they all deal with the same two types of forces: compression and tension. Compression is when the downward force on a horizontal beam makes it bend and the molecules on the inside of the curve become smashed closer together. Tension is the opposite, and that refers to the pulling apart of molecules on the outer side of the curve. If the compression becomes too much for the beam to handle, buckling occurs. If the tension is too much, snapping occurs. All bridges have to hold up against these forces, and the trick is to distribute weight as evenly as possible throughout the bridge. Once forces are distributed evenly, they must be transferred to the ground. This allows bridges to hold up massive amounts of weight without collapsing.

Three main types of bridges are beam, arch, and suspension bridges. Beam bridges consist of a flat roadway with support columns underneath. This is the simplest type of bridge and is similar to a plank resting on two boxes that are spaced apart. More columns can be added in the middle of the bridge to increase strength.

The arch bridge is similar to the beam bridge, except instead of rectangular support columns underneath there are arches. The bridge in the top right picture above is an arch bridge.

Lastly, a suspension bridge has a flat roadway with posts coming straight up on either side of the bridge. Between sets of posts there are cables that swoop down from the top of one post, connect to the roadway, then swoop back up to the top of another post. The Golden Gate Bridge is one example of this. There are many more types of bridges, but these are three major ones.

No matter what kind of bridge it is, most large bridges have trusses. Trusses are any type of  beams that are added above or below the bridge for structural support. The trusses on a bridge help it distribute the weight. In the top left picture there are trusses connecting the roadway to the arch. Trusses take on many styles, and they often form triangles. Triangles are very sturdy and efficient at directly distributing weight throughout bridges.

Millions of different bridges are used by millions of people each day. The idea of a bridge is simple, yet the engineering that goes into a single bridge is immense. Bridges take on many forms, but they are all essential to our lives.

When Technology Can’t Help

We use, and sometimes rely, on technology in most aspects of our lives. With my recent experience of being sick I found it amusing that technology could only help me so much. The rest had to be left up to mother nature.

When you’re sick, the first thing most people do is take some type of over-the-counter painkiller to help relieve a headache, stomach ache, or whatever it is that hurts. This often does the job or at least greatly helps.

However, what happens when you’re so sick that you can’t keep anything down in your stomach? If you try to take medicine, it will just be brought back up by your body. This leaves an icky feeling inside, plus whatever was hurting before. In this situation, there is nothing you can do except wait. It’s funny how there are so many medicines out there, so many surgical procedures that miraculously save so many lives, and yet at this time mother nature is the only thing that can help you get better.

Sure, you could go to the hospital and have medicine put directly into your bloodstream, but that would cost a lot of money. The hospital workers might also say it would be better to heal on your own. There are dozens of other people in much worse conditions than just having the stomach flu, so it would be better if you did not take up hospital resources and stayed home anyway.

Most times when you’re sick you can take advanced medicines to help you feel better. However, there are some cases where even the most expensive pill cannot help you. From now on I will be much more appreciative when pills do work, and I hope you do the same.

Smoke Detectors

In today’s world it is nearly impossible to find a home or building without smoke detectors. This is because smoke detectors are extremely important at stopping fires as early as possible and saving people’s lives.

There are two main types of smoke detectors, photoelectric detectors and ionization detectors. Photoelectric detectors have a small beam of light inside them and a sensor that is not in the light’s path. When smoke particles enter the smoke detector, they scatter the light in different directions. When the sensor is hit with light, the alarm is activated.

Ionization detectors are slightly different from photoelectric detectors. Ionization detectors have two metal plates spaced apart. One plate will have a negative charge and the other a positive charge, which are both kept that way using a battery. Alpha particles are present in the smoke detector, and they take the electrons off of nitrogen and oxygen atoms in the air. The electrons then flow to the positively charged plate, while the nitrogen and oxygen cations flow to the negative plate. This creates an electric current. When smoke particles get inside the ionization detector, it causes a drop in the current that will set off the alarm.

Both types of smoke detectors are highly effective, and one is not necessarily better than the other. One difference is that ionization detectors are more sensitive to tiny amounts of smoke. This means they are more likely to go off from cooking or blowing out a candle. On the other hand, they will alert you quicker if there is a small, smokey fire.

It’s annoying when smoke detectors go off in the middle of the night, but there is a reason for this. When the battery of an ionization detector runs low, the current will drop. This will cause the alarm to go off. It will only be quiet when the old batteries are replaced with fresh ones. While this is frustrating to deal with at two-thirty in the morning, it lets you know when your batteries get old so you can change them and continue to be safe.

It is thanks to smoke detectors that many houses and buildings have avoided being completely burned down. A countless number of people and pets have been saved too. Always make sure you have smoke alarms that are in good, working condition. Hopefully you will never need them, but if you do, you will be glad you had them.

The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is one of the largest man-made monuments in the world. It stands at 1063 feet tall, which is the equivalent of an 81 story building. To put this in another perspective, the Washington Monument is 555 feet tall. The Eiffel Tower is located on the Champ de Mars, a large public park in Paris. It attracts millions of people each year, and reached a total of 250 million visitors in 2010, making it the most visited paid monument in the world.

The construction of the tower was no easy task. There are a total of 18,083 pieces joined together by 2.5 million rivets. Each rivet hole was positioned to within 0.1 mm and the angles of each iron beam were measured to one second of arc. Each section of the tower was built and assembled in a factory, then the sections were assembled on site. If something needed to be adjusted, it was sent back to the factory.

During the dangerous construction of the tower, safety rails and screens were used. This resulted in only one death during the entire construction period. During the construction of the Great Wall of China, it is estimated that anywhere from 1 to 6 million people lost their lives. This reflects the huge advancements made in construction safety.

There is much more to be said about the Eiffel Tower, for it is a magnificent piece of beauty and engineering. I highly recommend visiting it if you ever have the chance.

Do Video Games Make Kids Violent?

Today there are more video games than ever before, and that number is constantly increasing. Many games involve learning, solving puzzles, or passing each level. There are also many video games out there that involve violence. In most cases, the player is encouraged to participate in and cause this violence. These types of games were originally targeted at teenagers and young adults, but kids are starting to play violent games at younger and younger ages. Parents have become increasingly worried about what sort of effects this has on children.

While this is not a new concern, it continues to be present in our society. According to Dr. Provenzo, a professor at the University of Miami who has studied the effects of electronics on children, video games can cause violent and aggressive behavior. When children play violent video games, they become exposed to all sorts of violent acts and gory images. As they become used to this, acts such as hitting someone seem to be not a big deal. This can lead to children slowly becoming more violent without even realizing it.

Dr. Provenzo also claims that video games promote unhealthy attitudes. When you play a video game, the intent is to win. This means showing little consideration and beating other people. Even if it is a team game, you want your team to win against the others. This can cause kids to develop “rugged individualist” attitudes.

Another side of the debate is that video games, even violent ones, help children develop cooperative skills. When playing video games, you can often talk with other people through a headset, such as with Xbox LIVE. This allows kids to share tactics and secrets or have a normal conversation, thus promoting cooperation and communication.

Some people also believe that video games simply do not make kids more violent. The idea is that making a character commit violent acts in a video game is completely different from physically doing those same things. For example, hijacking a car in a game only requires pressing a few buttons. It is much different to do in real life, and kids know that it is illegal.

There is still no consensus on whether video games make children more violent or not. Video games have ratings just like movies to tell consumers how appropriate games are, and parents should restrict certain games when they feel it is necessary. Video games are not going to disappear, so we must make individual decisions on which games we allow our children to play.

Technology in Your Clothing

Everyone has participated in a sporting event of some sort, whether it be the Olympics or a game of catch in the backyard. Many people exercise or play sports every day. Whatever it is you do to be active, it is important to have the right type of clothing. Improvements in technology are being made to help athletes in many ways.

When you think about someone exercising, you often picture someone at least a little sweaty. Sweat is an issue for athletes, and some fabrics are better at handling sweat than others. Cotton, for example, absorbs water and holds it next to your skin. When you are being physically active, this is not only uncomfortable, but also harmful to your skin and can decrease your athletic performance. This is why most athletic apparel wicks away moisture. The fibers in the material distribute moisture more evenly, which draws it away from your skin and allows it to evaporate faster.

One clothing company called Outlier took this a step farther and has begun treating its products with NanoSphere. This adds a finish to clothing that holds moisture and dirt particles out away from the body with tiny, harmless spikes. These particles then evaporate or blow away, helping you stay dry and clean. These clothes are also designed to look casual, not like athletic wear, so people can wear them while playing sports and while doing everyday activities.

Another major advancement has been made with keeping people warm while outside. A material called Zero-Loft is extremely thin and its products consist of four layers. The innermost layer wicks away moisture, the next is a heat-reflecting material, the third layer is made of Zero-Loft and is for insulation, and the outermost layer blocks the wind. Zero-Loft works by containing a high percentage of air while still being thin and lightweight, which gives it an insulating capacity 39 times that of fiberglass insulation (think of the yellow fluffy material used for insulating houses). Coats made with Zero-Loft technology were tested on a Mount Everest expedition, and one climber reported they were too warm.

While keeping warm is important when in a cold environment, most athletes have the opposite problem of overheating. In general, it is easier to become to warm than too cold because people naturally generate heat, especially when moving around. The typical way to stay cool while being physically active is to wear lightweight clothing that lets moisture easily evaporate. Some ideas to improve this cooling process include running water through the fibers of fabrics to enhance evaporative cooling.

Clothing technology has come a long way. However, there have been some complications. Nanosilver and triclosan are substances that have been used to decrease the odor associated with sweat. Nanosilver combats microbes, such as those producing bad smells, but other microbes as well. This can be toxic to humans and the environment when these clothes are washed and nanosilver runs off into the water. Triclosan specifically kills bacteria, which prevents odors, but by doing this it promotes the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. There are currently some soaps and detergents, such as ScentPrevent, that reduce body odors and are safe for the environment. Soon this may become more available to the public.

Nearly every brand of athletic gear has clothing or equipment that makes use of new technologies. Having the right clothing and equipment can enhance athletic performance. Even if it actually only helps a little, thinking you have an advantage will help you psychologically, which can produce great results. There is no doubt even more clothing technology will be developed in the future.

The information in this post can be found here: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/20/health/la-he-high-tech-workout-clothing-20100920

Balloons

No matter what age you are, balloons can be fun to play with. They are great decorations as well as toys for children to hit around and try to keep in the air. You can blow them up and tie them, or you can release the air and let the balloon fly around the room in unpredictable ways. You can even pull the opening tight and let the air out slowly to make a loud screeching sound. While this is fun for the person making the sound, it is usually annoying to everyone else around.

Balloons today are made out of materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or nylon. Balloons can also be made out of dried animal bladders, but this is not commonly used anymore. Not only are balloons fun toys, they are used for meteorology. Weather balloons are sent high into the atmosphere to record data such as the temperature, pressure, and wind speed and direction. Balloons are also used for military and medical purposes. Militaries have used barrage balloons, which are large balloons with metal cables attached, to damage low-level enemy planes. In the medical field, balloons are used for angioplasties. An angioplasty is done when an artery becomes blocked. For this procedure, a tiny, deflated balloon is inserted into the artery, the balloon is inflated to widen the artery and break up the blockage, then the balloon is deflated and removed.

Whether you are using balloons for fun, research, military defense, or for a medical procedure, they help improve society. In some cases they can brighten your day, and in others they could save your life.

Treadmills

Every year, many people make New Year’s Resolutions to lose weight. Whether this applies to you or not, everyone wants to try to be healthy, and getting exercise is one aspect of that. In order to get more exercise, some people join a gym. Often times people have busy lives, and going to a gym several times a week is not always possible. Other people buy workout videos they can use at home. Another option is to go running on a trail or around your neighborhood.

While these are all great ways to get exercise, many people also own a treadmill. These machines are perfect for everyone wishing to get a little exercise. They have multiple settings and features that allow for different intensity workouts.

The most obvious setting is the speed of the treadmill. This allows you to walk, jog, or run, depending on what you want to do. Most treadmills also allow you to adjust the incline. Walking at a steeper uphill angle will give you more of a workout than travelling on flat ground will. If you’re looking to go for a medium paced, long-distance jog, you may prefer a more level surface. However if you want a more strenuous workout, an incline could provide you with that challenge.

Some treadmills have other features as well. Pre-programmed routes are sometimes available, which take you on a paths that involve varying speeds and inclines. It is also common to have a device that measures your heart rate. On the treadmill’s control panel, it will usually display numbers showing you how much work you have done. This includes displaying the distance you have travelled, the length of time you’ve been moving, the amount of calories you’ve burned, and even the calories from fat you have burned. Newer treadmills will even have different user profiles and will store this information so that you can track how much exercise you have done over time.

Another great thing about treadmills is that they can be used during any season. Some days it’s nice enough to run outside, but other times it seems like torture. When its blistering hot in the summer or shockingly cold in the winter, you can always stay inside and use your treadmill. Furthermore, not everyone lives in a neighborhood that is safe to run alone in, and a treadmill will give you the freedom of running on your own schedule.

There is no doubt that treadmills are an effective way to get some exercise. They are easy to use and can provide workouts of different intensities, making them suitable for everyone. All treadmills have some basic settings, while others have more complex features as well. No matter what your fitness goals are, a treadmill can help you become healthier.

Flashlights

Imagine you’re camping and you need to use the bathroom at night. Unless you have a camper with a bathroom inside of it, you will need to walk outside in the dark. How are you going to be able to see where you’re going? With a flashlight, of course. This light will help you see the ground below you so you don’t trip while you’re walking. It will also help you see any branches or objects that may be in your way. If you have to cross a road, using a flashlight will allow cars to see you. You also need to be able to see the bathroom you’re headed to, or it will help you select a nice, hidden place in the woods to go.

There were many uses for a flashlight in that one example. There are hundreds of other uses for flashlights, and it would be impossible to list them all.

There are several different types of flashlights available. Nearly every flashlight has some type of bulb, a reflector (the part curved part around the bulb), a lens over the bulb, a battery, and a switch to turn the light on and off. Most older flashlights have incandescent light bulbs, while newer ones have LED bulbs.

If you’re looking to buy a flashlight, the right choice for you will depend on what you will be using it for. There are standard flashlights that are medium-sized and can be used for just about anything. Then there are more specialized flashlights. Bulky flashlights with strong lights and large reflectors are ideal for lighting up a large area. However, it would not be the best choice to bring one of these on a backpacking trip where you want to carry as little weight as possible. In that situation, you would want a small, lightweight flashlight that will easily fit in your backpack or pocket.

Another specialized flashlight is the headlamp. These lights are attached to a stretchy headband that allows any person to wear it on his or her forehead. Most of them have lights that can be angled differently depending on what you wish to look at. These lights are useful when you need both hands free to do other tasks.

Some flashlights, especially newer ones, have white/yellow lights as well as a red light. The red light is useful when you need to see something, but you don’t want to turn on a blinding light. If people around you are sleeping, a red light will be less likely to wake them up than a powerful white light.

Lastly, there are flashlights that can be charged manually. Some of these flashlights have a crank, while others have a freely moving magnet. Shaking the flashlight will cause the magnet to slide back and forth, which will charge a battery. These types of flashlights are useful in emergency situations when other power sources are not available.

Flashlights can be useful in almost any nighttime situation. Whether you’re camping, taking a walk at night, or preparing for an emergency, it is important to have a working flashlight nearby. There are numerous different types of flashlights available, and they are useful in different ways. Overall, it is important to have a flashlight with you out in the dark. Be thankful for this piece of technology.

Antifreeze

Has your car ever looked like this? Hopefully not, but chances are you have experienced something of a lesser degree.

Imagine it’s the middle of winter, and a huge blizzard just came through. There is snow and ice everywhere. The main streets are plowed, but the ice makes it difficult to drive. On top of everything else, the high for the day is five degrees with a windchill making it feel like negative ten. Most people would stay at home on days like this, but you need to go out for one reason or another. Maybe you need to get to work, or you forgot to buy fish food. Whatever the situation, you need to drive somewhere and your car was parked outside during the storm. You can easily brush off the snow, but you quickly realize there is a layer of ice coating your car. What do you do? Get out the antifreeze, of course.

Antifreeze solutions work because dissolving particles in water will lower the freezing point of the liquid. The most common ingredient in antifreeze solutions is called ethylene glycol. This chemical is inexpensive, won’t easily react with other substances, and when mixed in a 1:1 ratio with water it will have a freezing point of approximately -40 degrees farenheit. This means when you put it on ice it will melt the ice, mix with the water, and continue melting more ice. Unless it is extremely cold outside (less than -40 degrees), antifreeze will work like magic.

Windshield washer fluid has antifreeze in it. This is useful because you can use it to defrost your windshield while you’re driving. Sometimes you can make your windows clear of ice beforehand, but they will refreeze once you begin driving. It would be extremely dangerous to continue driving when you can’t see out your windshield, which is why windshield washer fluid has antifreeze properties. It is also dangerous to not be able to see out your side and back windows, but these are not as critical. However,  you should make sure all your windows are ice-free before you drive anywhere.

When you are not using a bottle of antifreeze, make sure it is stored away safely. Antifreeze is highly toxic when ingested, and most poisonings involve accidental ingestion by young children and pets. Drinking antifreeze can lead to breathing difficulties, kidney failure, brain damage, and death. It is even harmful to the environment. Dumping antifreeze down the sink or letting it get into the sewer system will lead to contamination of rivers and lakes. This will harm wildlife and contaminate soil and groundwater. If you must get rid of antifreeze, cities often have places where you can take it to have it recycled properly.

While antifreeze can be harmful, it is useful for removing ice from your car. When you use antifreeze, do not pour it into your car because there will be some runoff that will hurt the environment. Instead, spray it on icy spots. On frigid, icy winter days when driving is necessary, antifreeze can be incredibly helpful in making your car safe to drive.