| Section |
Links |
3.1
The Life Cycle of a Product |
Design
and Technology Online. This site uses text, pictures and
animations to provide useful information on various topics such
as packaging, electronics, food, pneumatics and mechanisms.
Properties
of Materials Database. Data on over 30,000 plastics,
metals, composites, ceramics, rubbers and adhesives from over
300 manufacturers product catalogs.
Product
testing to destruction. A must read news story.
Free
Life Cycle Assessment on the Internet.
Centre
for Alternative Technology. The Centre is concerned
with globally sustainable, ecologically sound technologies. The
site demonstrates and explains a wide range of alternatives. |
3.2
Product Testing |
IIHS
Vehicle Ratings. About vehicle testing at the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety. Crashworthiness refers to how well
a vehicle protects people in a crash. The Institute has evaluated
aspects of the crashworthiness of more than 100 vehicle makes
and models. Check out your car for safety.
|
3.3
Planning to Fly |
Zenith
Aircraft. Provides detailed information and resources
on sport (experimental) aviation and their line of homebuilt kit
planes.
Aerocomp
Inc. Manufacturer of kit planes and seaplane floats.
Kitplanes.
For Homebuilt Aircraft Enthusiasts.
Some airplane companies:
Cessna
Boeing
- Corporate Homepage |
3.4
The Life Cycle of a Product |
Exceeding
Center of Gravity: Tower of Lire. Try this!
tsn.ca:
Centre of Gravity in Football. A really good lesson
plan about centre of gravity and sports. Questions at the end.
How
to balance a long thin object. This is a fun activity
and easy, too!
Balance
Of Forces Acting on an Airplane. A good explanation
of equilibrium, but quite advanced. Has a self-test at the end.
Center
of Gravity of an Airplane. Another good but technical
explanation of forces acting on an airplane. Good diagram.
|
3.5
Stabilizing the Tower of Piza |
Urban
Icons - Leaning Tower of Pisa. Extensive site on famous
Italian landmark, with news, information, history, links, image
gallery, and proposals for remedial engineering.
Science
Italian Style: Fixing the Leaning Tower of Pisa. A PBS
site. The tower is the site of what may have been the first true
scientific experiment, conducted by Galileo Galilei in the 16th
century and repeated here by Frontiers host Alan Alda. Curriculum
links and an activity.
Galileo's
Free Fall. Try Galileo's Experiment yourself. |
3.6
Building Sets for Television |
The
Society of Operating Cameramen: Props, Set Decoration and Construction
Book. Lots of book descriptions about all the aspects
of moviemaking and film production.
Set
Construction, Scenery and Design for Television & Entertainment
Industry. This company fabricates scenery, effects,
signage,and graphics for movies, stage, television commercials
and exhibits.
Innovation
Arts. In Lenox, MA, a full service physical effects
production facility, whose site has plenty of illustrated info
on the team and their work.
Overkill
Productions. Company specializing in set construction
and design for film and television, with details and pictures
of their work.
|
3.7
Planned Obsolescence |
an
exercise in planned obsolescence. Poetry!
Planned
Obsolescence: Halo Benders. Read the lyrics to this
song.
Planned
Obsolescence. Do you know if it's true that CDs, music
CDs in particular, have a planned obsolecence of twenty-five years
or so? |
3.8
Forces and Structures |
Ground
Reaction Force. The ground reaction force is equal in
magnitude and opposite in direction to the force that the body
exerts on the supporting surface through the foot. Nike uses this
concept for designing shoes.
|
3.9
Applying Force |
The
Heritage Canada Foundation - News - Media Review. A Canadian
site that lists buildings that might come under the wrecking ball.
500
Castle Links. Investigate castles all over the world.
Armouries.com
- Castle Attack & Defense. Absolutely everything you want
to know about attacking a castle. Good pictures. |
3.10
Loads |
Tacoma
Narrows Bridge Disaster. Learn about the failure of the
Bridge of Tacoma Narrows in May of 1940. Check out photographs,
and download mpeg video clips. |
3.11
Determining Factor of Safety |
Bad
Human Factors Designs. A scrapbook of illustrated examples
of things that are hard to use because they do not follow human
factors (also known as ergonomics) principles. The site examines
why objects are poorly designed and suggests solutions.
Physics
of Stopping. Safety on our roads has been an important
issue in our society. Engineers have been altering car designs
to give us maximum safety in car accidents. An essay on car design
and safety.
Factors
of Safety - Composite Materials. A very informative
article written by an engineer working with space vehicles.
|
3.12
Tension, Compression, Torsion, and Shear |
3M
Company's Command Adhesive. Check out this new kind of
adhesive for wall hooks. Shear forces are very important to this
product's usefulness. |
3.14
Finding Stability in Symmetry |
Petronas
Twin Towers. Part of a $1.2 billion Kuala Lumpur City
Centre redevelopment project that is transforming the skyline of
the once quiet capital city of Malaysia, are the world's tallest
office buildings. |
3.15
A Stronger Beam |
Paper
Beam. The challenge: build a weight-bearing structure
out of two pieces of paper board and four ounces of glue. The
most it can weigh is 464 grams, just a little over a pound. How
much weight can it hold?
|
3.17
Strengthening Structures |
Bridge
Truss Designs. A page full of diagrams showing all of
the types of trusses you can use to build a bridge.
Domed
Stadium. Explores the physics and engineering necessary
to keep a domed stadium from collapsing. |
3.18
Getting
Under Foot |
Action
Floor Systems. Company specializes in floors for athletic
and home use. Order a catalog, download specifications, scan the
floor usage chart, or see past work.
Trus
Joist Products. Amazing floor design site discusses
Adhesives, Duration of Load, Floor Performance, Lateral Design,
Moisture Effects, Web Stiffeners and much more.
|
3.19
Fasteners and Function |
Zippers
& Velcro. Provides an informative history of the zipper
and includes photographs of zipper innovators. Link to other zipper
and fastener pages. |
3.20
Designing a Childproof Container |
Child-Resistant
Closures. This is a document that gives lots of information
on the present state of child-resistant containers. A bit technical
but a good background before beginning the Investigation.
YES
Technologies. A child-resistant package design with
an opening mechanism which relies on cognitive skills rather than
strength. Commercial site.
|
3.21
Making Bridges |
Bridge
Types. This site explores five different types of bridges
and their common uses. This provides a basic introduction to bridge
engineering and the considerations that come into play when drawing
up models.
NOVA
Online: Super Bridge. Designed to accompany a NOVA television
episode, this site explores the design and building of bridges.
Learn about four types of bridges and then test your knowledge
by playing a game.
Bridge-watching
for Beginners. This site provides an in-depth investigation
of bridges. If you want to learn about bridge terminology and
the engineering and mathematics involved in bridge building, this
hypertext document is the place.
Bridges
Project. Visit this database of significant bridges,
searchable by year, location and type. View images, facts, length
and construction details. |
