Coffee Clock

The last unit in Light, Sound, and Time was called “Time.” In this unit we learned about sundials, trigonometry, and how pendulums can tell time. We also learned about geographic coordinates and how they structure time around the globe. The last Action Project for LST asked us to design our own prototype of a time-telling device. We had to show our model, prove the principles and explain how it works. What I struggled with was coming up with a time-telling device. What I enjoyed about this project was making the video. The Coffee clock does already exist I just tweaked it a little to make it better. 

                 


My time telling device dates back to 1787. The ancestor to my clock was found in Germany in the 15th century. But the first alarm clock that kicked it off was invented by Levi Hutchins, who live in New Hampshire. He made his alarm clock that only went off at 4 am to wake him up to go to work. That one alarm clock turned into millions around the world helping people with daily tasks. I was inspired to create an device that will help people get up in the morning, since I am one who struggles to get up each morning. The people who will use my device the most is works, students and coffee drinkers, because my unique time telling device not only wakes you up but brews your coffee too!

My device is a coffee clock, it uses sound when the alarm clock is going off. My device has a set time that makes coffee and also makes a beeping noise. My time telling device goes by every hour. I choose these units because I think it will be helpful to know what hour it is. It beeps every hour to let you know what time it is. You can also set it up to where it makes coffee at any hour you want, and gives the the option to add your favorite cream and sugar while it’s brewing.

My coffee clock is medium sized, it has a glass pot that carries the coffee, and it has multiple settings so that way you can add the time you want the alarm to go off. The Coffee Clock has  buttons to add cream, and sugar. The shape is rectangle, the length of the Coffee Clock is 14 inches, and the height is 9 inches. To find the hypotenuse I used pythagorean theorem, which is 14^2+ 9^2=277,  than I square rooted that number and got 16.6inches. 16.6inches is my hypotenuse. 

From my research I found out that "many interesting alarm clocks have been made over the years."  My device falls in that category because one side carries the the coffee and the other side is a manual clock that shows you the time. The coffee will instantly start brewing once the alarm goes off. When the alarm goes off it starting beeping, and won't shut off until you manually shut it off. The coffee will continue to brew. The purpose of my clock is to wake people up on time and give them a fresh cup of coffee. 

My device is meaningful way to tell time because it wakes you up in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee, and an annoying beeping noise which you have to physically get up and turn off. Both of these factors can help you get out of bed and ready to start your day. It solves common problems like people waking up late, and running late for school, or work.


Citations: 
“Alarm Clock History.”clockhistory.com. Jeffery Wood, 2014. Web. 17 March, 2017.

Diddley Bowie

The second Action Project in Light, Sound, and Time asked us to build a guitar that we could play. My guitar is made out of wood, a tin can, one guitar string, an allen wrench as the nut and nails to hold the guitar together. We learned about sound, how it travels, how fast it is, and where it comes from. We learned about frequency, the pitch of sound, wavelength, and the Doppler effect. I am proud of how my guitar came out. It was really easy to build. If I could do it over again, I would get a thicker piece of wood so that way the screws wouldn’t go through the wood. I would make my string a little tighter, so the pitch would be higher. Overall I enjoyed creating my Diddley bow and below is a sketch of my Bowie, and a real picture of it.

Created by JV Bowie, 2016.

Created by Diddley Bow, 2016.

The wood is the neck of the guitar, the tin can is the sound hole. My tin can is medium sized so it produces a good amount of sound. I have a guitar string, and an allen wrench that acts like the nut. When I pluck the guitar string the vibration goes through the tin can, making sound waves. When I use a slide on my string, the vibrations shorten changing the pitch. The wavelength is the distance from one peak to the next peak. It can also be thought of as of one complete wave cycle. My Diddley bow creates waves every time I play it. My harmonics and wavelength calculations are down below, it also shows the frequency.

                                                                Created by JV Harmonics, 2016.

My guitar string is 13 inches long, and the thickness of the string is 0.042inches. My open note is E. The formula used for the volume of a cylinder was πRxR x H. The approximate frequency of 82.28 Hz, a wavelength of 418.65 cm, and the volume of my can is 47.12cm^3. 

I Know Where The Light Goes.

Light, Sound & Time is a STEAM course where we dive deep in our surroundings. We want to know more about the world around us, how we see the world, how we hear, and how we capture time. In this unit we focused on light. We studied how fast light travels, where light comes from, and how we capture it. We learned about light, the visual spectrum, and the speed of light. We talked about the human eye and how it relates to a camera, and how both can receive light in the same way. The purpose of this Action Project is to build a camera, use it, and capture pictures with it. What I enjoyed most about this project was building the camera and having the chance to work in a dark room.

Created by JV Photo From Pinhole Camera, 2016*

Created by JV Camera, 2016*

In pinhole cameras the light travels in straight lines which is called the rectilinear theory of light. This makes the image appear upside down in the camera. My camera is made out of a cardboard box, duct tape, and a piece of an aluminum can to create the lens. My camera does not demonstrate refraction because refraction is the bending of light waves when they travel from one medium to another. My camera just has air, it doesn’t have two mediums to make refraction. The inside of my camera is black because black absorbs light, whereas white reflects it. If the inside of my box were white the image wouldn't develop because there would be too much light bouncing around inside. To develop our images we had to place photosensitive paper inside of my camera across from the lens. I had to make sure no light was getting through. I placed my camera in front of objects that I wanted to take a picture of. Pinhole cameras have a shutter speed, which is the length of time a camera shutter is open to expose light into the camera lens. My shutter speed was 4 minutes. After the shutter speed I had to go back into the dark room, and place my image in chemicals in order to develop them. My device demonstrates wave vs particle because when the light goes through the pinhole lens, it acts like a wave being filtered. When light is being recorded onto the photosensitive paper it acts like a particle. Light is a type of energy formed by a combination of electrical and magnetic rays, this is also known as the electromagnetic spectrum which also relates to my pinhole camera. The electromagnetic spectrum is the entire range of light that exists, this spectrum chart is the reason we can see color, and are able to have pictures.

Our first Field Experience for Light, Sound, & Time was going to a dark room that we were able to use thanks to the Latin School Of Chicago. We had the chance to set up what we wanted to take photos of using our pinhole cameras. Unfortunately my pinhole camera failed. I think it’s because my camera wasn't light-proof enough. Light was coming through from the sides of my box. If my camera had an actual lid that I was able to take off and on I think my photos would have came out a lot better. I did four trials. Down below are all the measurements of my camera. My sketch is similar triangles to represent my camera, measurements to an object and the light ray connecting them. I had to calculate the sides and all angles. I learned so much in this unit and can't wait to see what the rest of the course is going to be like. Below is my photo that I took with my pinhole camera. The photo didn't develop because there was too much light.

The measurements to my camera are:

Lens to photo paper: 3.5 inches
Height to pinhole: 5.5 inches
Height to object: 7 inches

Created by JV, 2016*