Programmable Droplets from MIT

Description:  Researchers from MIT have developed a technique for moving droplets of fluid around using electric fields. This could allow biological tests and research (which normally use pumps) to move micro amounts of fluid around more economically. This design solution could be used as an anchoring or supporting phenomenon around electric charge, electromagnetic fields, and Coulomb's Law.

Web Resource:  Programmable droplets - MIT News

Biologists in a lab spend, on average, 30-50% of their time manually moving fluids using disposable pipettes. Programmable Droplets are a low-cost lab-on-a-chip designed to make testing cheaper, faster, and more portable for biological sampling. Using electric fields to move, merge, stir, and analyze drops of biological samples, Programmable Droplets can eliminate contamination, human error, and huge magnitudes of hazardous waste.

Candle-Powered Car

Description:  The candle-powered car is an application of the Seebeck Effect. This effect is the result of thermal energy conversion directly into electricity. This phenomenon can be used in elementary school to show energy conversion from heat to electricity to the kinetic energy of the car. A more detailed explanation will be required in high school related to electron response to temperature differences in different materials. The Seeback circuit used in this candle-powered car can also be connected to a voltmeter and used as a temperature sensing thermocouple.

Web Resource:  Seebeck Effect, Candle Car Kit - Amazon

This little vehicle is candle powered! The candle heats one side of a Seebeck cell, and this produces electricity via the thermoelectric effect. The current runs the little electric motor, and off the car goes!

Programmable Magnets

Description:  Programmable magnets are engineered to have multiple magnetic regions. This allows engineers to build magnets that concentrate force, align spatially, or both attract and repel. Students can design simple solutions to human problems that use this cutting-edge technology.

Web Resource:  Programmable Magnets - Wikipedia

While at Capital Factory in Austin, we got a demo from Correlated Magnetics Research VP Stephen Straus. Currently operating under various grants and military contracts, they are looking to reach out to third parties to license their technology for use across the globe.

Want to support on Patreon? ▶ http://bit.ly/25dKnXt Click here if you're interested in subscribing▶ http://bit.ly/Subscribe2SED Get a free audio book! http://www.audible.com/Smarter ▼ Click below for more links! ▼ This technology is a fundamental breakthrough in manufacturing. This is a big deal. Ambiance and musicy things by: Gordon McGladdery who also did the outro music.

Magnetic Slime

Description:  Students can create magnetic slime using iron filings. A powerful magnet can move and be consumed by the slime.

Web Resource: How to Make Magnetic Slime

Here's how to make it: Magnetic Goo Materials: 4 ounces glue ⅓ cup water 2 tablespoons iron oxide ½ cup liquid starch Neodymium magnets Instructions: 1. In a large bowl, pour out 4 ounces of glue. 2. Carefully pour ⅓ cup of water into your glue container.

Magnetic Cannon

Description:  The magnetic cannon contains four spaced neodymium magnets in a channel.  Two balls bearings are placed between each ball bearing.  When a new ball bearing is introduced a transfer of energy occurs and the final ball bearing leaves with a higher initial velocity than the first.  This is a great phenomenon for studying transfer of momentum and the energy of an object based on its position within a magnetic field.

Web Resource:  Magnetic Challenge with Bozeman Science

Magnetic Cannon Challenge. Paul Andersen from Bozeman science has challenged me when we met about the magnetic cannon, he wants me to figure out the physics behind a toy called the magnetic cannon. I'll post my answer to this challenge next week.