October 26, 2014
Making A Phone Call:
Have you ever wondered how a phone call works? Well, today we will find out. First, you start by dialing the phone number of your friend (if that's who you're calling). When you talk, a thing in your phone called a microprocessor, converts your voice into electrical voice signals. These are then converted into digital data so your phone can send your voice. Then your phone sends these signals by radio waves to a local base station. Then, to verify it it is sent to a Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO). This place keeps track of the phone's location. Then, your call is passed from cell tower to cell tower. After that, the call goes to the nearest cell tower to your friend. Your friend's phone converts the radio waves into an electrical signal and your voice comes out of a speaker on their phone so they can hear you. Then, when they talk the same process occurs over and over again as long as you are on the call with your friend. Now you now the science behind making a phone call!
Making A Phone Call:
Have you ever wondered how a phone call works? Well, today we will find out. First, you start by dialing the phone number of your friend (if that's who you're calling). When you talk, a thing in your phone called a microprocessor, converts your voice into electrical voice signals. These are then converted into digital data so your phone can send your voice. Then your phone sends these signals by radio waves to a local base station. Then, to verify it it is sent to a Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO). This place keeps track of the phone's location. Then, your call is passed from cell tower to cell tower. After that, the call goes to the nearest cell tower to your friend. Your friend's phone converts the radio waves into an electrical signal and your voice comes out of a speaker on their phone so they can hear you. Then, when they talk the same process occurs over and over again as long as you are on the call with your friend. Now you now the science behind making a phone call!
October 19, 2014
Computers:
Computers are machines that allow you to surf the web, program, play games, write documents, and so much more! Computers have grown a lot since their beginnings. The first computers took up an entire room and needed special air-conditioning to operate! Now, calculators are smarter than the computers that were used to land the first people on the Moon! A computer consists of a few parts. The CPU (or Central Processing Unit) is like the leader of the computer. It carries out instructions on what to do in the computer. Computers read instructions in a series of 1s and 0s called binary. Computers have 2 types of memory, ROM and RAM. ROM (stands for Read-Only Memory). This is the permanent memory for a computer. The information stored in this remains on your computer until you delete it. Then there is RAM (Random Access Memory) which stores information for a short time. Most computers have between 2-8 GB (Gigabytes) of RAM. Computers also have a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). This makes what you see on your computers screen. Lastly, there's the monitor. This is the screen on your laptop or the screen on your desktop (the monitor is not part of the computer). It projects the image of what you are viewing. Now you now how a computer works!
Computers:
Computers are machines that allow you to surf the web, program, play games, write documents, and so much more! Computers have grown a lot since their beginnings. The first computers took up an entire room and needed special air-conditioning to operate! Now, calculators are smarter than the computers that were used to land the first people on the Moon! A computer consists of a few parts. The CPU (or Central Processing Unit) is like the leader of the computer. It carries out instructions on what to do in the computer. Computers read instructions in a series of 1s and 0s called binary. Computers have 2 types of memory, ROM and RAM. ROM (stands for Read-Only Memory). This is the permanent memory for a computer. The information stored in this remains on your computer until you delete it. Then there is RAM (Random Access Memory) which stores information for a short time. Most computers have between 2-8 GB (Gigabytes) of RAM. Computers also have a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). This makes what you see on your computers screen. Lastly, there's the monitor. This is the screen on your laptop or the screen on your desktop (the monitor is not part of the computer). It projects the image of what you are viewing. Now you now how a computer works!
October 11, 2014
The Internet:
The Internet is what you are using to view Science All Around right now! The Internet has come a long way since its origins in the 1980s. The Internet is a collection, or network, of many computers connected to each other. The Internet allows you to read articles, play games, and much more! However, most of us don't know how the internet works, so today we are going to be diving in to explore how the internet works. First, you type the address for the website, or the URL (stands for Uniform Resource Locator). This URL tells your ISP (Internet service Provider) where to go. A URL is like a street address that tells you exactly where a place is. It is the same thing with URLs. Then, your request to visit a website is transmitted back and forth between servers. to get to where the server of a website is. Then, the request is sent back to your computer, where you view the website. And all in less than a second! A server recognizes where your computer is with an IP address (IP for Internet Protocol). This is like a URL for your computer. Now you know how the internet works!
The Internet:
The Internet is what you are using to view Science All Around right now! The Internet has come a long way since its origins in the 1980s. The Internet is a collection, or network, of many computers connected to each other. The Internet allows you to read articles, play games, and much more! However, most of us don't know how the internet works, so today we are going to be diving in to explore how the internet works. First, you type the address for the website, or the URL (stands for Uniform Resource Locator). This URL tells your ISP (Internet service Provider) where to go. A URL is like a street address that tells you exactly where a place is. It is the same thing with URLs. Then, your request to visit a website is transmitted back and forth between servers. to get to where the server of a website is. Then, the request is sent back to your computer, where you view the website. And all in less than a second! A server recognizes where your computer is with an IP address (IP for Internet Protocol). This is like a URL for your computer. Now you know how the internet works!
October 4, 2014
Video Game History and Wrap-Up:
To wrap-up this 3-part article, I will go over the history of video games and how the technology has changed.
1951: The British Company Ferranti made the math game Nim for its Nimrod computer.
1962: Spacewar!, the first action game is created in the USA.
1967: The joystick is invented for games.
1972: The widely popular game Pong is released.
1977: The Atari 2600 is released and used cartridges to play games.
1980: The first 3D game is made called Battlezone.
1989: The first high-quality sound is introduced to games.
1998: Dance Dance Revolution sensed foot stomps to make a dancing game.
2002: The first controller not connected to its video game console, the WaveBird for the Nintendo Gamecube, is released.
2004: Nintendo DS is released with the first touch-screen and microphone in consoles.
2006: The Wii is the first to make good use of motion sensing controllers.
2010: The Kinect sensor for Xbox 360 is released, allowing people to play games without a controller.
Video Game History and Wrap-Up:
To wrap-up this 3-part article, I will go over the history of video games and how the technology has changed.
1951: The British Company Ferranti made the math game Nim for its Nimrod computer.
1962: Spacewar!, the first action game is created in the USA.
1967: The joystick is invented for games.
1972: The widely popular game Pong is released.
1977: The Atari 2600 is released and used cartridges to play games.
1980: The first 3D game is made called Battlezone.
1989: The first high-quality sound is introduced to games.
1998: Dance Dance Revolution sensed foot stomps to make a dancing game.
2002: The first controller not connected to its video game console, the WaveBird for the Nintendo Gamecube, is released.
2004: Nintendo DS is released with the first touch-screen and microphone in consoles.
2006: The Wii is the first to make good use of motion sensing controllers.
2010: The Kinect sensor for Xbox 360 is released, allowing people to play games without a controller.
October 4, 2014:
Video Game Controllers:
Video games that are played on a video game console use a device to control the game called a controller. Let's take a look at some important changes in controllers. The first controller and its new technology we are going to look at is the joystick used in the Atari 2600 joystick in 1977. When you push the joystick a certain way, it closes a switch on the base of the joystick. This then sends a signal to which direction the object should move in the game. Next, we have the rumble pack in the Nintendo 64 controller from 1996. This pack was inside the controller. It had a motor that spun an off-center weight and caused the controller to vibrate when the game got exciting. Then, we have motion sensing, which was first used well in the Wii Remote for the Wii. The movement of your control bends a bar made of an element called silicon, changing the electric charge between two plates. A sensor on the end of the remote would calculate the controller's movement and send that data to the video game console. Now, we come to motion sensing without a controller. This was first put to use by the Kinect sensor for the Xbox 360. The sensor uses a wave called Infrared or IR and recognizes a player in front of the sensor. The sensor would then track body movements up to 30 times every second. The sensor would then convert the motions into in-game movements.
Video Game Controllers:
Video games that are played on a video game console use a device to control the game called a controller. Let's take a look at some important changes in controllers. The first controller and its new technology we are going to look at is the joystick used in the Atari 2600 joystick in 1977. When you push the joystick a certain way, it closes a switch on the base of the joystick. This then sends a signal to which direction the object should move in the game. Next, we have the rumble pack in the Nintendo 64 controller from 1996. This pack was inside the controller. It had a motor that spun an off-center weight and caused the controller to vibrate when the game got exciting. Then, we have motion sensing, which was first used well in the Wii Remote for the Wii. The movement of your control bends a bar made of an element called silicon, changing the electric charge between two plates. A sensor on the end of the remote would calculate the controller's movement and send that data to the video game console. Now, we come to motion sensing without a controller. This was first put to use by the Kinect sensor for the Xbox 360. The sensor uses a wave called Infrared or IR and recognizes a player in front of the sensor. The sensor would then track body movements up to 30 times every second. The sensor would then convert the motions into in-game movements.
October 4, 2014
Edited: August 28, 2016
Video Games:
Video games are interactive media, meaning that you participate in what happens, unlike with TV shows. Video Games were originally created back in the late 1950s and early 1960s. These video games were nothing like you see today. These games used blocks and circles that moved around the screen and played very basic games like Nim, which was an early math game. Video Games are played on 3 categories of devices. They are played on computers, video game consoles, and mobile devices. First, computers. Computers have had games longer than the other 2 categories. The first computer game was made back in 1951 by the British company Ferranti. The game was called Nim, and was a math game for the Nimrod computer. Games on computers have grown much better over the years. Now, online stores like Valve's steam contain thousands of games for gamers to purchase. The second category is video game consoles. Video game consoles are devices made exactly for the purpose of playing games. The first video game console was the Magnavox Odyssey made by the company Magnavox. It wasn't widely popular because of the incorrect belief that you had to have a Magnavox TV to play it. Then, the company Atari released the Atari 2600 video game console, which made video games very popular and accessible to almost everyone. This video game console started what is now known as the video game industry. Video game consoles are released in periods of time called generations. Very 6-8 years, companies will release video game consoles at around the same time. Every generation, the games and video game consoles got better and better. Currently, we are in the 8th generation with the release of the Wii U in late 2012 and the release of the Xbox One and Playstation 4 in late 2013. The third and final device that games run on are mobile devices. App stores such as Apple's App Store and Google's Google Play store have widely popularizd mobile games. Mobile games keep getting better and better graphics, some games with graphics almost as good as those on video game consoles. some examples of this are the Infinity Blade Trilogy, the Epoch series, Implosion: Never Lose Hope, Halo: Spartan Strike, and Radiation Island, all of which are available on the Apple App Store.
Edited: August 28, 2016
Video Games:
Video games are interactive media, meaning that you participate in what happens, unlike with TV shows. Video Games were originally created back in the late 1950s and early 1960s. These video games were nothing like you see today. These games used blocks and circles that moved around the screen and played very basic games like Nim, which was an early math game. Video Games are played on 3 categories of devices. They are played on computers, video game consoles, and mobile devices. First, computers. Computers have had games longer than the other 2 categories. The first computer game was made back in 1951 by the British company Ferranti. The game was called Nim, and was a math game for the Nimrod computer. Games on computers have grown much better over the years. Now, online stores like Valve's steam contain thousands of games for gamers to purchase. The second category is video game consoles. Video game consoles are devices made exactly for the purpose of playing games. The first video game console was the Magnavox Odyssey made by the company Magnavox. It wasn't widely popular because of the incorrect belief that you had to have a Magnavox TV to play it. Then, the company Atari released the Atari 2600 video game console, which made video games very popular and accessible to almost everyone. This video game console started what is now known as the video game industry. Video game consoles are released in periods of time called generations. Very 6-8 years, companies will release video game consoles at around the same time. Every generation, the games and video game consoles got better and better. Currently, we are in the 8th generation with the release of the Wii U in late 2012 and the release of the Xbox One and Playstation 4 in late 2013. The third and final device that games run on are mobile devices. App stores such as Apple's App Store and Google's Google Play store have widely popularizd mobile games. Mobile games keep getting better and better graphics, some games with graphics almost as good as those on video game consoles. some examples of this are the Infinity Blade Trilogy, the Epoch series, Implosion: Never Lose Hope, Halo: Spartan Strike, and Radiation Island, all of which are available on the Apple App Store.