Toys of summer: whether you're hiking, chilling at the beach, or hanging on a rainy day, these high-tech toys deliver on fun--and science. (Physics: radio and infrared waves/magnetism).THE VECTRON (REMOTE-CONTROLLED FLYING SAUCER flying saucer: see unidentified flying objects. ) WHAT IS IT? A flying saucer controlled not by aliens but by a hand-held remote. At your command, it lifts off, hovers, and flies--a first for any electric-powered toy. You can also program display messages like "Take me to your leader" on the saucer's rim. Note to the gung ho gung ho or gung-ho adj. Slang Extremely enthusiastic and dedicated. [Earlier Gung Ho, motto of certain U.S. : "The Vectron has a high learning curve." says project director Barry Burlison at Science Tech in Brush Prairie, Wash. "I've trimmed every plant in my house flying it. But it's designed to with stand some crashing." The toy weighs only 98 grams (3.5 ounces) and its ring is crafted from a new durable light-weight plastic called expanded polypropylene. HOW DOES IT WORK? Three whirling blades give the saucer a strong, noisy lift. Like those on a helicopter, the blades are curved on top and flat on the bottom--a shape called an airfoil: As blades rotate, air flows faster over the top and slower underneath. creating upward pressure that thrusts the saucer off the ground. To pilot the saucer, you thumb toggles on a hand-held controller that absorbs weak invisible beams of heat energy called infrared radiation emitted from the saucer--the same technology used to power your TV remote. All warm and hot objects (including you) emit the rays, but when focused into a beam they can be used to spark electric currents. "Push the toggle To alternate back and forth between two states. toggle - To change a bit from whatever state it is in to the other state; to change from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1. This comes from "toggle switches", such as standard light switches, though the word "toggle" actually refers to to the left. and the infrared rays activate a heat-sensitive electric current that speeds up the spinning blades in the left quadrant of the saucer," says Burlison. FUN FACTOR? This toy is addictive. Once you master its flight, the Vectron is hard to put down. PRICE TAG: $89 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SCIENCE TECH (METAL DETECTOR) WHAT IS IT? Can't find your keys, change, or jewelry? This hand-held device hunts for buried metal treasure. The same technology inside this metal detector scouts out metal weapons like guns and knives at airports. "It can even detect fillings in your mouth," says Barry Burlison at Science Tech. HOW DOES IT WORK? Embedded in the metal-detector head are three copper coils, When you flip the handle's "on" switch, an electric current generated by a 9-volt battery flows to the coils and produces a magnetic field, the area around a magnet (metallic object usually made of iron, nickel, copper, or cobalt) that exerts a pushing or pulling force. When the magnetic field passes through another metal object, it sparks the metal object to produce its own magnetic field--a process called electromagnetic induction electromagnetic induction: see induction. electromagnetic induction Induction of an electromotive force in a circuit by varying the magnetic flux linked with the circuit. . A receiving coil then detects the electric current and triggers the device to beep. The Science Tech metal detector senses metal objects buried up to 25,4 cm (10 in.) in the ground, FUN FACTOR? We unearthed Unearthed is the name of a Triple J project to find and "dig up" (hence the name) hidden talent in regional Australia. Unearthed has had three incarnations - they first visited each region of Australia where Triple J had a transmitter - 41 regions in all. less-glamorous finds, like bottle caps and rusty tin cans tin cans put on car of newlyweds leaving ceremony. [Am. Cult.: Misc.] See : Marriage . PRICE TAG: $29.95 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MICROTALK (TWO-WAY RADIO A voice network that provides an always-on connection enabling the user to just "push the button and talk." Also called "dispatch radio," two-way radio has traditionally been used by police, fire, taxi and other mobile fleets. ) WHAT IS IT? Keep tabs on friends and family at the beach, mall, amusement park amusement park, a commercially operated park offering various forms of entertainment, such as arcade games, carousels, roller coasters, and performers, as well as food, drink, and souvenirs. , or camp-ground. Unlike a cell phone, this hand-held two-way radio requires no dial-up--just press a button to talk, release it to listen. While the maximum range is two miles, there's no charge to gab! HOW DOES IT WORK? At the heart of all wireless communication--cell phones, radios, walkie-talkies--are radio waves Radio waves Electromagnetic energy of the frequency range corresponding to that used in radio communications, usually 10,000 cycles per second to 300 billion cycles per second. , particles of energy that pulsate pul·sate v. To expand and contract rhythmically; beat. through space and matter (see diagram, p. 10). For example, each time you press the talk button on a two-way radio, an electronic device called a transmitter emits radio waves at a specific frequency, the rate at which a wave travels from one crest to another crest in one second, as measured by the unit hertz (Hz). An antenna on the other radio receives the signal, which is then converted electronically into an audible message. The radios can broadcast messages on 14 different channels within a band of assigned frequencies called the Family Radio Service (FRS FRS abbr. Fellow of the Royal Society FRS, n “flexed rotated side-bent,” an osteopathic abbreviation used to describe vertebral position in cases of spinal dysfunction. ). FUN FACTOR? Hold the juicy gossip--anyone can tune in to your conversation! PRICE TAG: $30 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Did You Know? * Remote-controlled electronic devices work by manipulating infrared waves. When you press the TV-remote "on" button, a beam of infrared light Noun 1. infrared light - electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths longer than visible light but shorter than radio waves infrared emission, infrared radiation, infrared waves travels through the air to your TV set. The beam pulses electrical signals in binary code binary code Code used in digital computers, based on a binary number system in which there are only two possible states, off and on, usually symbolized by 0 and 1. Whereas in a decimal system, which employs 10 digits, each digit position represents a power of 10 (100, 1,000, (a computer-friendly number system that uses a combination of the digits 0 and 1.) A microchip inside the set's receiver decodes the signal and transmits specific electrical currents to complete the "on" command. Cross-Curricular Connection Social Studies: Research and report on the social impact of the world's first electronic games Electronic Games was the first video game magazine published in the United States and ran from 1981 to 1985. Co-founded by Arnie Katz, Joyce Worley and Bill Kunkel, it is unrelated to the subsequent Electronic Gaming Monthly. . CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING Directions: Complete the puzzle by answering the questions below. 1. Helicopter blade shape that's curved on top and flat on the bottom --. 2. Magnetic field: area around a magnet that exerts a pushing or pulling --. 3. Rate at which waves travels from one crest to another in one second :--. 4. The answer in number three is measured in --. 5. Particles of energy that pulsates through space and matter: -- -- 6. The scientific study of sound: -- 7. Baseball bat's sweet spot: -- 8. The sound a bat makes when ball hits the sweet spot: -- 9. The sound a bat makes when ball doesn't hit the sweet spot: -- 10. It takes an outfielder typically 1. -- (spell out) seconds to judge if a hit is a blooper or a blast. 11. Melvin Mora's team: -- 12. Home city of Barry Bond's team. -- ANSWERS 1. airfoil 2. force 3. frequency 4. hertz 6. radio waves 6. acoustics 7. node 8. crack 0. clunk 10. five 11. Orioles 12. San Francisco National Science Education Standards The National Science Education Standards (NSES) are a set of guidelines for the science education in primary and secondary schools in the United States, as established by the National Research Council in 1996. Grades 5-8: form and function * motions and forces * abilities of technological design Grades 9-12: form and function * motions and forces * interactions of energy and matter * abilities of technological design Resources For more information on how metal detectors and radio waves work, visit Marshall Brain's How Stuff Works Web site: www.howstuffworks.com/metal.detector.htm; www.howstuffworks.com/radio.htm |
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