Bridge design simulation

Westpoint bridge designer is software that has been written to allow people to enter a competition but you can download and use it for free in schools regardless.

The software allows the user to construct a variety of bridges for a variety of situations, it seems very open ended and easy to get in to.  You quickly get drawn into the software and want to improve your work.

The ‘test’ mode creates short film of your bridge under load and shows where struts are under compression and tension and shows buckling and failure.  Great stuff.

Oh yes .. it’s free

Download

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Development in 3D printing

The latest printer from "Objet Geometries" will print mixed material assemblies in one go. I guess that this is like the move from black and white printers to the first colour printers.

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Google goes green

The global internet search company have announced that they are to invest "Hundreds of Millions" of dollars into finding cheep and clean sources of energy.

They believe that the goal can be achieved in years and not decades

Guardian Article

Slowly does it

You may have come across a book called "In Praise of Slow" by Carl Honore

The principles can be summarised as:

1.To strive for appropriate excellence in the making process
2. To make objects that enhance the life of the user
3. To know the origins of our materials, ensuring that they respect country; the communities who produced or harvested them and are from sustainable sources
4. To make objects that will last, can be easily repaired when necessary and are made using materials and processes that do not harm the makers, the community or the environment
5. To deal with our co-workers, clients, suppliers and sellers in an ethical and fair manner
6. To foster, utilise and pass on skills that enhance the making process
7. To enjoy and relish the way of slow making

Sounds good to me.

"What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare"

Brother Sewing Machine

This little machine is getting good reviews but I can’t find it in the UK. I guess that even with shipping it’s unlikely to cost over £50 per unit although you may have to pay import tax. Perhaps Amazon can arrange a delivery?

Has anyone tried it in a school environment?

Online Review

Power from Space

It may be possible to beam solar power directly from space. Work is currently underway and th Pentagon’s National Security Space Office says that it confidently expects to see "a basic proof-of-concept within 4-6 years.

This could be a major source of power within 40 years.

Guardian Article

Wind Up Power units

Some neat power units have been developed with 3^rd world homes in mind.

Using the same technology at the Trevor Bayliss ‘Wind Up Radio’ this unit will provide lighting for around 2 hours. Not only is expected to make a massive impact in life in sub Saharan Africa, it’s also environmentally friendly.

BBC Article

Amazon have these in a smaller scale if you want one now (nice Christmas present for I’d say!). Only LED power but better than a candle! (£7.50)

Amazon

No Teacher required

I was on holiday in Africa recently and amazed at the things that were made from scrap materials. There are just a couple of pictures here but interesting and thought provoking.

These children have toy cars that you can steer without bending down. As I say, interesting

Pictures

More pictures

Don’t have a clue

Google Answers was a great service I but sadly it was closed. Many of the free-lance researches from Google Answers moved to a new independently owned site, Uclue, that offers a similar service. You ask a question, announce a price you think an answer is worth, and if a top-notch researcher thinks your fee is fair, they will research your question. Questions can be quickies worth £2, or more complicated queries costing £100.

You can always ask for clarifications. As with Google Answers, the results are public. That means it pays to search the site for previous similar questions. It also means that your answer won’t be confidential.

If you want advice, go to the free and free-wheeling Yahoo Answers. If you want help on a particular question that the exact right person can answer quickly, I think Ask Metafilter is by far the best guru (and it is free for members). But if what you need is some real research and serious sleuthing, the kind of answer that is not just sitting in someone’s head, your best bet may be Uclue.

Website

What’s your idea

This may seem a bit wacky at first but ….

A cycle lawnmower!

We all want ’greener’ devices. This idea has not been ’developed’ into something that will sell yet (I suspect) but the idea isn’t bad. Just think of the wind up radio?

Can you think of a way of converting something that currently needs power into something greener?

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