And we’re back with our twentieth installment of Your Comments. Here are our favorites from the past week, from Make: Online, our Facebook page, and Twitter.
After reading the embossed metal box from beverage can how-to, nathan.f77 made this awesome box:
Heres my attempt at one.
I really enjoyed making it, thanks for the great instructions!
Kerowhack requested a moment of silence for the non-geek significant others who put up with projects like the game racing cockpit in an ottoman:
Maybe we should all take a few minutes to think about the Maker widows who put up with the long hours spent in the garage, the side trips to odd places like junkyards or electronic supply houses on vacation, the clutter of a work space in progress, the “only a little one” fires and other accidents, the sometimes trying experiments that interfere with daily life, the “5 more minutes” an hour agos, and the amount of money spent on what some would consider to be useless junk. Anyone who can put up with us, let alone support or even collaborate in our efforts, is a very special person indeed, and the sort of consideration shown here would be the perfect way to say “thank you” to our SOs.
Volkemon is excited (and so are we) about the prospect of a new commenting system:
WOW! Nice to hear it. I LOVE (LOVE) the comments, and will read many posts just because there are comments there. Even if the subject matter would not ordinarily attract me. I would be nicer having an (hold breath momentarily, then in a sotto voice:) Edit function……. *sigh* ;) Thanks!
Dbcooper answered our question about the balancing boat:
“I wonder what it would look like if it actually sunk?” Wet.
KurtRoedeger is thrilled about the Lehigh Valley makers meeting:
This is like an awesome-burger topped with awesome-cheese and awesome-sauce! I do hope I can find some time for attending.
kongorilla was a bit discouraged by the shadow machine project:
I made something like this last year (but using a simple, cheap 10 LED chaser circuit, easily found online) and have been meaning to write it up for a possible Make article. I snooze, I lose. Again. My headline was “a film projector with no moving parts”. Just because my thunder has been stolen doesn’t mean I can’t still write it up, but…y’know. The novelty is gone.
however, we would like to point out that it would be totally awesome if they go through with their build:
No, no, write it up, document it, take photos, put it on Make Projects, and I’ll make one! They aren’t the first to come up with this idea, either…
The post about traveling downwind faster than the wind has generated a lot of debate and discussion. Jennifer Elaan presented a good explanation:
I have to admit that I was skeptical at first. Then I ran the vector analysis. Surprisingly simple math, and when I ran it, it clearly said that this should work. There are a few key things to remember. First, motion itself doesn’t require energy – an object in motion will remain in motion, neglecting friction. Acceleration requires energy, but if you can extract any energy, you can accelerate. The second, and in my opinion, most important is that this isn’t an aircraft. The relative difference in speed between the ground and the wind is the same no matter how fast the craft is traveling. And this difference – not the windspeed itself, but the speed relative to the ground – provides energy that can be extracted, no matter how fast the craft is moving. At t0, the propeller is stopped and acts as a sail, moving the vehicle forward. If the propeller was fixed in place (acting as a sail), the vehicle would reach the same velocity as the wind (neglecting losses). At this point, the wheels are rolling under the vehicle, and power can be extracted from them. Doing so will add drag to the craft, of course, making it travel somewhat slower than the wind speed, and causing wind to be slowed by the fixed propeller. Now when the propeller is spun by power extracted from the wheels, it provides thrust which further accelerates the craft. This thrust isn’t free, and it doesn’t contribute to the power being extracted from the wheels: the ground speed is increased, but the effective wind speed is also increased, which means that the difference in speed between the ground and the wind remains the same. And again, it is this difference – not the absolute wind speed, or the absolute ground speed – that the craft extracts energy from.
and Morten Nisker was understanding about the word from our Director of Technology:
Making is all about failing :)
Like these comments? Be sure to sound off in the comments! You could be in next week’s column.
Above photo by Flickr user xxxx.
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