In a previous post, I talked about how plasma can be used to build high-fidelity speakers. Plasma isn’t limited to only producing sound– it can also be used to record it. Being made up of physical particles, plasma can be affected by vibrations through the air. This means it is possible to build a plasma arc microphone using the proper circuit. This application is far less common than using a plasma arc for a speaker, but research has still been done on the subject.
Did you know you can melt metal using magnetic fields? It seems pretty crazy, but it’s possible.
Have you ever wanted to shoot lightning bolts out of your hands like the Sith do in Star Wars? Have you ever wanted to be immune to lightning strikes? These things sound impossible, but they actually aren’t. Specially designed suits are capable of making you immune to high voltages by redirecting the flow of current around you.
In science fiction, plasma-based technology is often included because it is perceived as futuristic and exotic. Referring to plasma as exotic is understandable, but the technology behind its creation is less so. Since the invention of electric circuits, it has been possible to easily create and control plasma using high voltages. It is pretty common knowledge that high voltages ionize the air producing plasma arcs. What is not-so-common knowledge is the fact that these arcs of plasma can be used to play music.
Recently I released a collection of projects going over how to use LAbVIEW, the chipKIT Max32, and the PmodACL to do some neat stuff with accelerometer data. These include filtering, multidimensional vector plots, and tilt measurement.
So what exactly is LabVIEW? LabVIEW is National Instruments’ program development environment. The name is short for “laboratory virtual instrument engineering workbench”. NI created LabVIEW to enable domain experts to focus on building systems by abstracting the hardware and software. For example, their hardware and software allows a chemist to focus on chemistry and not get bogged down with analog signal conditioning for thermal couples or advanced programming techniques.
Data rates on serial and parallel transmission lines are increasing rapidly. So are the data integrity issues developers face. Eye diagrams make their life easier. Higher data rates in telecommunications …
Ever wonder why oscilloscopes require bulky BNC cables with those fancy switches, while multimeters seem content with plain wires? The key lies in how these instruments handle electronic measurements. One …
A software-defined radio (SDR) is not a radio in the traditional sense. Instead of fixed analog components with limited range and ability, an SDR is programmable and highly flexible. Referred …
The release of the Raspberry Pi 5 marks another significant milestone in the evolution of single-board computing. With the introduction of a new product, there is often notable enthusiasm surrounding …