Uncategorized – Lichtenberger Engineering Library

Sep 29 2017

New Exhibit Explores the Paranormal!

Posted on September 29, 2017September 29, 2017 by Carol Johnk

Guest Blogger: James M. Cox

Things that go bump in the night, things that cannot be explained, creatures that seem to only exist in popular culture, and other unusual occurrences are all examples of the paranormal. Paranormal events are phenomena described in popular culture, folklore, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described to lie beyond normal experience or scientific explanation.

We have a new exhibit, “The Paranormal,” where we explore the events and creatures which are inexplicable and unproven by science.

The most notable paranormal beliefs include those that pertain to ghosts, extraterrestrial life, unidentified flying objects, psychic abilities or extrasensory perception, and cryptids. Cryptid are any animal whose existence is not confirmed by science. The study of them is known as cryptozoology! Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabra, dragons, unicorns, and werewolves are among the most popular cryptids.

Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, PA. Correctional Ministries and Chaplains Assn.

Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA is “the world’s first true penitentiary, a prison designed to inspire penitence, or true regret, in the hearts of prisoners.”¹ In 1829, the prison received “Charles Williams, Prisoner Number One. Burglar.”² The prison’s history is “full of suicide, madness, disease, murder, and torture” which makes it one of the most haunted places in America.³The prison is now open for tours and even has “Terror Behind the Walls” – a haunted house attraction.

Detail from patent #9517421. Device for fanciful detection of ghosts.

Patent # 9,517,421 is a “device for fanciful detection of ghosts” which is “A novelty toy, apparel, or jewelry, device for fanciful detection of ghosts, or other paranormal phenomena, through exploitation of Hall Effect, or of thermochromic material.”⁴ That might be useful on the next trip to Eastern State Penitentiary when Ghost Hunting!

Chart from ASHRAE Handbook. Refrigeration.

Believing in the paranormal goes back to Early Christianity. The Church sought “to suppress belief in the old gods and goddesses” so when misfortunes happened it became the work of the devil and demons. By the 15^th Century, this belief extended to “individuals in [the community] who were collaborating with Satan to induce misfortune: “witches”⁵When inexplicable events occurred, it became common to hunt “witches,” which, between 1450-1750, lead to the deaths of 40,000 to 60,000 “witches,” who were burned at the stake. ⁶ One popular image of a witch is cackling over a bubbling cauldron. If the Witch’s Brew produces CO₂ that she wants to collect, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ 2014 Handbook on Refrigeration explains the typical way to collect CO₂. ⁷

Arguably the most famous cryptid is Bigfoot. One of the earliest discoveries of Bigfoot was in 1811 when David Thompson was crossing the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. In his journal he wrote:

I saw the track of a large Animal – has 4 large Toes abt 3 or 4 In long & a small nail at the end of each. The Bal of his foot sank abt 3 In deeper than his Toes – the hinder part of his foot did not mark well. The whole is about 14 In long by 8 In wide & very much resembles a large Bear’s Track. It was in the Rivulet in about 6 In snow.⁸

Since then there have been thousands of sightings but no real non-blurry pictures of Bigfoot. Mostly from “camera-shake” as people ran away in fear. Thankfully the book, Motion Deblurring: Algorithms and Systems edited by A.N. Rajagopalan and Rama Chellappa is “A comprehensive guide to restoring images degraded by motion blur. A wide range of methods drawn from basic theory and cutting-edge research.”⁹ But, it always helps to have a good camera to start with and the Hero5 GoPro records 4k Video for your next Cryptozoology Expedition. The Engineering Library has 3 in the Tool Library.

The paranormal can be found all around – from ghosts of trapped souls in a prison to witches working with the devil to people finding cryptids in their backyards.

While you’re in the Library checking out the exhibit, be sure to stop by the Creative Space and see our Pepper’s Ghost! Get ready for Halloween – come explore the world of the paranormal with us!

Resources:

Eastern State Penitentiary. Eastern State Penitentiary. Date Accessed: Sept. 22, 2017
Eastern State Penitentiary. Eastern State Penitentiary: Timeline. Date Accessed: Sept. 22, 2017
Dalrymple, Laurel. 2013. Is Eastern State Penitentiary Really Haunted. NPR: Iowa Public Radio .
Device for fanciful detection of ghosts. Patent Scope Patent #: 9517421.
Elsom, Derek M. 2015. Lightning. Nature and Culture. London, UK : Reaktion Books, Ltd. Engineering Library QC966 .E47 2015. (pp 58-59)
Elsom, Derek M. 2015. Lightning. Nature and Culture. London, UK : Reaktion Books, Ltd. Engineering Library QC966 .E47 2015. (pg 61)
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. AHSRAE handbook. Refrigeration (I-P ed.) Engineering Library FOLIO TP490 .A75. (Chapter 39, Beverages [SI])
Thompson, David. May 10, 1811. Sasquatch Chronicles Blog. Sasquatch Chronicles. Date Accessed: Sept. 22, 2017
Rajagopalan, A.N., editor. 2014. Motion blurring : algorithms and systems. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. Engineering Library TA1637.5 .M68 2014.

Feb 10 2017

DIY Your Valentine’s Day!

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Carol Johnk

Valentine’s Day is already upon us! Have you planned ahead? Do you know what you are going to do? How about creating something that is uniquely yours?

Your Valentine doesn’t have to be a significant other – could be a roommate, parent, child, project partner…. No matter who you choose to be your Valentine – we’ve got the perfect DIY project you can tailor specifically to your special Valentine!

Want to create a romantic setting? How about making your own flickering LED candles? Using a warm white LED for the “flame,” you can create a flameless electronic candle! Nick Dossis, author of Brilliant LED Projects : 20 Electronic designs for Artists, Hobbyists, and Experimenters, provides a parts list, step-by-step instructions, and photos to help you create that mood lighting!

To add to the mood lighting – how about making light dance to music? It is possible! Electronics Projects for Dummies will walk you through making it happen! With complete schematics, parts list, photos, and step-by-step instructions, you’ll be able to create a personalized light board which will have the lights dancing to whatever type of music the mood requires! Brilliant LED Projects has complete instructions for a color-changing disco light, too!

Backpack Illuminator. Brilliant LED Projects. Eng Lib TK9965 .D67 2012

Is your Valentine the outdoorsy type? A backpack illuminator or a bike flasher might be exactly what they want! Brilliant LED Projects explains how. The project specifications for the backpack illuminator indicate the display comprises 16 tricolor LEDs configured in a 4×4 matrix. Each LED can be controlled independently, colorful flashing images and simple animations can be created, and the supply voltage is 4.5 volts. Parts list, schematics, clear photos, and step-by-step instructions will help light up your Valentine’s backpack – and maybe their heart!

Brilliant LED Projects will also walk you through creating your own LED bike flasher. It explains how to create a “Front LED Flasher,” and a “Rear Red Flasher.” A Valentine’s gift of a bike flasher tells your special someone you want to help keep them safe!

Is your special someone an animal lover?

If you have an aquarium, how about a Raspberry Pi-powered thermometer which will text your cell phone if the aquarium water overheats or becomes too cool! Make: Raspberry Pi and AVR Projects takes you all the way through the project – color photos, parts lists, step-by-step instructions! Want to experiment with a Raspberry Pi before you tackle your project? We have one in our Tool Library! Come in, check it out, and discover all the amazing things you can do!

Love dolphins, but don’t have room in that aquarium? Electronics for Dummies will teach you how to create a wall display of five dolphins, outlined in LEDs, which light up – one after another – making them appear to dance across the wall!.

Lilypad Design Kit. Available in our Tool Library.

Does your Valentine like bling? Make: Wearable Electronics will show you, in detail, how to create wearable tech! Haven’t played with material and circuits before? Don’t worry – we have a Lilypad in our Tool Library! The Lilypad has everything you need to explore adding bling to clothing! It includes the LED lights, conductive fabrics, battery, needles….check it out and get creative! (You can even make the LED flash like a heart beat!)

Flowers? Hearts? We have 3D scanners in our Creative Space! Scan a flower or a special momento! Once it is scanned, it can be printed at either the Engineering Electronics Shop or the Engineering Machine Shop! Need a little more inspiration for the perfect 3D-printable gift? Check out thingiverse for plenty of ideas!

No matter who you have chosen for your Valentine (or Valentines!), they are sure to be ‘in love’ with a DIY gift you crafted just for them!

Resources:

Dossis, Nick. 2012. Brilliant LED projects : 20 electronic designs for artists, hobbyists, and experimenters. New York : McGraw-Hill. Engineering Library TK9965 .D67 2012

Boysen, Earl; Nancy Muir. 2006. Electronics projects for dummies. Hoboken, NJ : Wiley. Engineering Library TK7819 .M38 2006

Hoile, Cefn. 2015. Make : Raspberry Pi and AVR projects. Sebastopol, CA : Maker Media. Engineering Library QA76.8.R15 H65 2015

Hartman, Kate. 2014. Make: wearable electronics. Sebastopol, CA : Maker Media. Engineering Library QA76.592 .H37 2014

Valentine’s Day. thinginverse.com Date accessed: Feb. 10, 2017

Other Resources:

For Star Wars Fans:

An LED light sword: Dossis, Nick. 2012. Brilliant LED projects : 20 electronic designs for artists, hobbyists, and experimenters. New York : McGraw-Hill. Engineering Library TK9965 .D67 2012

Every Star Wars Project Featured on Make: So Far (Over 100). 2017. makezine.com.

May 03 2016

May The 4th Be With You!!

Posted on May 3, 2016December 2, 2016 by Carol Johnk

Happy Star Wars^© Day!

May the 4th Be With You!

While you are having your Star Wars^© movie marathon you might want to create your own Star Wars^©Universe. After all, who doesn’t need their own Han Solo in soaponite? An Ewok flower vase, or a Space Slug draft blocker?

The Star Wars Craft Book will help you create these, and oh, so many more!

There is a complete list of supplies needed to create any of the crafts in the book. Most of them are easily accessible or found around the house. Supplies include (but are not limited to) a needle-nose plier, sandpaper, tape measure, ruler, tape and binder clips. Each of the crafts has step-by-step instructions and are illustrated in full-color.

The book is divided into 5 sections:

Playtime includes finger puppets, a washcloth Wampa, and, for you cat lovers, a mouse Droid cat toy. Home Decor: Every Star Wars^© home (universe) should have a Chewbacca tissue cover, Jabba the Hutt body pillow. And, of course there is Han Solo soaponite!

For the holidays you can have a Wookiee pumpkin for Halloween, a Mistle-TIE Fighter, or a Hanukkah Droidel. Nature & Science includes a Dagobah carnivorous plant habitat, a Wookiee bird house and an AT-AT herb garden.

And for those of you who want that Star Wars^© style, there is a chapter that includes character rings, 5 things to do with your Star Wars^© t-shirts, and my favorite – a crocheted R2-D2 beanie!

Perhaps, you’d like to create your own Daisy Ridley (Rey) blaster that she used in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.^© This youtube video will help you do just that!

If you are more into the gaming side of Star Wars©, check out Game On, Hollywood! Essays on the Intersection of Video Games and Cinema. The essays in this book look at how games and films intersect. The book looks at adaption, both video game to film and film to video game, but is mostly about narrative, bringing attention to the ways and possibilities of telling a story in the present moment. Felan Parker, author of the essay titled Millions of Voices: Star Wars©, Digital Games, Fictional Worlds and Franchise Canon, discusses how “the Star Wars© franchise has come to be defined by its emphasis on a singular, cohesive canon and larger fictional universe.” (pg. 156). This is the perfect resource for you to explore consequences of time, place and ideology, and examine approaches to the narrative in the age of multimedia storytelling.

Whether you choose to celebrate by making your own Daisy Ridley’s blaster (or a lightsaber!), or looking at the intersection of games and film, enjoy and May the 4^th be with you!!

Resources:

Papazian, Gretchen, Sommers, Joseph Michael, editors of compilation. 2013. Game on, Hollywood : essays on the intersection of video games and cinema. Jefferson, North Carolina. Engineering Library, PN1995.9 .V46 G37 2013

Burton, Bonnie. 2011. The Star Wars craft book. 2011. New York, Del Rey/Ballantine Books. Engineering Library TT157 .B87 2011

Wookieepedia : the Star Wars Wiki. Date accessed April 29, 2016

Butler, Nathan P., creator and compiler. Star Wars: Timeline Gold. Date accessed April 29, 2016

Bongiomo, Joe, chronicled by. The Star Wars Expanded Universe Timeline. Date accessed April 29, 2016

Star Wars Jedi Academy. July 31, 2007

Jakespeare, William. How to Make a Lightsaber (DIY). Jan. 3, 2012. youtube.com

May 08 2015

I Hear the Train a Comin’

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Darlene Kaskie

For more than two centuries, trains have traversed the American landscape altering how and where people live and work. This is why, in 2008, Amtrak created National Train Day to be celebrated on the Saturday closet to May 10th, the anniversary of the pounding of the Golden Spike in Promontory, Utah which marked the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad.

The first locomotive was built in 1804 by a Cornish inventor named Richard Trevithick. It was powered by steam. A steam locomotive burns fuel, usually coal. The heat then passes though tubes inside a large water-filled boiler creating steam. The steam then passes through high-pressure tubes to cylinders which engage piston rods connected to the locomotive’s wheels, thus driving the train.¹

The steam engine remained popular until the early 1900s when diesel and electric began replacing it. A German mechanical engineer, Rudolf Diesel, invented the diesel-powered locomotive. A diesel engine operates when a cylinder piston squeezes and heats air trapped inside; at the top of the stroke, the system injects oil; the air and oil mixture burns and drives the piston down which turns a crankshaft connected to a generator making eletricity for storage in large batteries. The wheels are powered by motors that draw from the batteries. ²

On January 17, 1871, Andrew Smith Hallidie, an American engineer and inventor, was granted a patent for an “improvement in endless wire ropeways” which became the basis for the first cable car system.³ Soon, however, electricity changed city transportation. In 1897, Boston opened an electric subway system. New York City soon followed in 1904. The all-electric locomotive requires either an overhead pickup or a third-rail carrying a high-voltage of electricity to power the engine. Electric trains are easier and cheaper to maintain and last longer than diesels.⁴

Now coming down the track are hybrid trains which use a battery to store energy temporarily for when the train is idling or stationary; “bullet trains” which run on steel rails at accelerated speeds; magnetic levitation trains which hover above rails suspended by powerful magnets; and the futuristic Hyperloop, Elon Musk’s vision for transporting people in high speed capsules through a series of tubes.

The world’s fastest passenger train, the Maglev, owned by the Central Japan Railway Company, made history last month by hitting a top speed of 366 mph surpassing its previous record of 361 mph set in 2003.

The Federal Railroad Administration was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The U.S. agency regulates the manufacturing and safety of the train transportation industry. A few of the more widely known train manufacturers are National Railway Equipment Company (NREX) headquarted in Mt. Vernon, IL. This company is known for its N-ViroMotive engine which is used for light duty road switching in yards and urban areas where noise and exhaust emissions are to be reduced. GE Transportation Systems (GETS), a division of General Electric, is headquartered in Chicago while its main manufacturing plant is located in Erie, Pennsylvania. This company is the largest producer of diesel-electric locomotives. Its Dash9 series has an electronic fuel injector and a 4-stroke diesel engine.

Gomaco Trolley Company, located in Ida Grove, Iowa, manufactures trolley cars which look vintage but have state-of-the-art technology. Streetcars or cable cars are used in cities such as Portland, San Diego, San Francisco. Rapid transit commuter trains, known as the metro or subway, are a primary means of transportation in Atlanta, Washington D.C., and New York. U.S. Manufacture of Rail Vehicles for Intercity Passenger Rail and Urban Transit documents several companies which manufacture parts for high-speed, rapid transportation.

LEARN MORE

Train: riding the rails that created the modern world by Tom Zoellner.

Sinclair, Angus. Locomotive Engine Running and Management, 21st edition. New York: J. Wiley & Sons, 1899, Engineering Library TJ607 .S6 1899

Wolmar, Christian. Blood, Iron & Gold: how the railroads transformed the world. New York: PublicAffairs, 2010. Engineering Library HE1021 .W78 2009

Zoellner, Tom. Train: riding the rails that created the modern world. New York: Viking, 2014. Engineering Library HE1021 .Z64 2014

Federal Railroad Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation

Railindustry.com

Facebook: National Train Day 2015

Brasor, Philip and Tsubuku, Masako. How the Shinkansen bullet train made Tokyo into the monster it is today. The Guardian, September 30, 2014

Vartabedian, Ralph. “Work starting on the bullet train; Construction begins Tuesday in Fresno on the first 29-mile segment of the $68-billion fast train..” Los Angeles Times. (January 5, 2015 Monday ): 1252 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date Accessed: 2015/05/07.

Upbin, Bruce. Hyperloop is real: meet the startups selling supersonic travel. Forbes, March 2, 2015

REFERENCES

1. Langone, John. The New How Things Work. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2004, p.84. Engineering Library FOLIO T47 .L2923 2004

2. Langone, John. The New How Things Work. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2004, pp.86-87. Engineering Library FOLIO T47 .L2923 2004

3. Hallidie, A.S. U.S. Patent 110,971. Improvement in Endless Wire Ropeways. Assigned January 17, 1871.

4. Langone, John. The New How Thinks Work. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Soceity, 2004, pp.88-91. Engineering Library FOLIO T47 .L2923 2004

May 07 2015

Finals Week – Extended Hours and Free Coffee!!

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Carol Johnk

According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, summer officially begins at 12:38 p.m. EDT on June 21, 2015. But, even though it isn’t officially summer, the UI Summer Sessions begin the week of May 18. Which mean that FINALS for the spring semester are May 11^th through 15^th.

In order to help you find that extra study time, we have scheduled extended hours during finals week.

Extended Hours:

Sunday, May 10^th: 2 p.m. to midnight

Monday, May 11^th through Thursday, May 14: 8:30 a.m. to midnight

Friday, May 15^th: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday, May 16^th and 17^th: CLOSED (congratulations – you made it through the semester!)

We have not only scheduled extended hours during finals week, we will also be providing free coffee and lemonade! Cups are provided – but be “green” and bring your own!

Mar 30 2015

Get the Lead Out

Posted on March 30, 2015April 2, 2015 by Darlene Kaskie

“Eeyore was saying to himself, “This writing business. Pencils and what-not. Over-rated, if you ask me. Silly stuff. Nothing in it.” — Winnie the Pooh.

A long time ago, in a far away place, before apps and texts and even typewriters, pencils were used to convey the written word. As you purchase a new box of Ticonderogas to mark your bubble answer sheet, consider the invention of the pencil.

History

Pencils are made with graphite. Therefore, graphite mining had to exist before the pencil was created. The first graphite was mined at Seathwaite Fell in Cumbria, England in 1564. Since graphite has similar properties to lead, it was first called, “plumbago,” derived from the Latin word for lead ore. The first pencils were produced by sawing the graphite into sheets, shaping the graphite sheets into square rods, and inserting the graphite rods into a wood casement. However, the first pencils were fragile because the graphite broke easily.

Patent

To prevent the graphite from breaking, French chemist, Nicolas-Jacques Conté, discovered the process of mixing the graphite with clay. The soft material was pressed into sticks and kiln-fired. At which point, the dry graphite & clay rod was inserted into a wooden case. By varying the ratio of graphite to clay, Conté discovered that he could manufacture a pencil for a specific hardness to differentiate the marks on paper. For example, No.2 pencils are popular because of its midrange hardness which leaves dark marks without smudging. No.1 is the softest graphite and leaves a darker, smudgier mark , and No.3 pencils leave a fainter mark. Conté’s 1795 patent is the basic process for manufacturing pencils today.

To learn more about the manufacturing of pencils, watch this video from the Science Channel, How It’s Made : Pencils.

Trivia

Try answering these questions:

A. What chemical is graphite composed of?

B. What television personality regularly played with specially made pencils with erasers at both ends?

C. Which inventor had his pencils specially designed to be three inches long with abnormally soft graphite?

D. Who received the first patent for attaching an eraser to the end of a pencil?

E. The majority of pencils manufactured in the United States are what color?

F. How long is the Guinness Book of Work Records largest pencil?

References & Resources

New Carbons book — Inagaki, Michio. New Carbons: Control of Structure and Functions. New York : Elsevier Science, 2000. Engineering Library TA455.C3 I53 2000

Graphite Graphene and Their Polymer Nanocomposites book cover — Mukhopadhyay, Prithu and Gupta, Rakesh K., editors. Graphite, graphene, and their polymer nanocomposites. Boca Raton, FL : CRC Press, 2013. Engineering Library TA455 .G7 G73 2013

National Day Calendar: National Pencil Day, March 30. 2015.

Wikipedia: Pencil. March 26, 2015.

Cumberland Pencil Museum.2011. Southey Works. Date accessed March 2015

Trivia Answers:

^{A. It is made almost entirely of carbon atoms.

B. Johnny Carson

C. Thomas Edison

D. Hymen Lipman, U.S. Patent 19,783, March 30, 1858

E. Yellow

F. 65 feet tall}

Mar 12 2015

Waste to Water

Posted on March 12, 2015April 16, 2015 by Darlene Kaskie

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, and the world’s richest man, is known for changing how the world operates and functions. The mission of his non-profit, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is to give all people the chance to live a healthy and productive life. To this end, during the mid-1990s, Bill Gates gave computers to libraries and schools, which made sense for the world’s largest software owner. But how did Bill Gates becomes interested in poop? Yes…human excrement. His philanthropic organization granted money to Janicki Bioenergy to build the OmniProcessor, a machine which transforms fecal sludge and solid waste into water and electricity. In places without treatment plants or clean water, the technology could be a low-cost solution to quench the world’s thirst.

Bill Gates explains the process in this video.

References

American Chemical Society. “Converting Sewage Into Drinking Water: Wave Of The Future?” ScienceDaily, 30 January 2008. Source: TechStreet

American Water Works Association. Security Practices for Operation and Management. AWWA G430-14 November 1, 2014

Bill Gates’ latest passion: a machine that turns poop into water by Todd Wasserman. Mashable, January 6, 2015

Bill Gates 2.0 by 60 Minutes. CBS News, May 14, 2013

Career Opportunities at Janicki Bioenergy

U.S. Enviornmental Protection Agency. Current Drinking Water Regulations

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Drinking Water Contaminants

Mar 12 2015

Happy Pi Day (Eve) 3.13, 10:30!

Posted on March 12, 2015March 12, 2015 by Qianjin Zhang

We gather and celebrate Pi Day (Eve) on Friday, March 13 at 10:30 AM-12:30 PM in front of the Lichtenberger Engineering Library in the Student Commons. There will be free apple pie bites, lemonade, and coffee as well as trivia competitions!

Pi, Greek letter, is defined as a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter – which is approximately 3.141592653. The first Pi Day was “invented” in 1988 by Larry Shaw, who worked in the electronics group at San Francisco Exploratorium. In 2009, the House of Representatives designated March 14 as National Pi Day. This year, we are excited to observe the special Pi Day on 3/14/15 at 9:26:53 AM and PM, with the sequential time representing the first ten digits of pi!

To celebrate this special Pi Day, check out the Pi Day exhibit and join us on March 13!

References:

How American celebrate Pi Day. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/14/tech/innovation/pi-day-math-celebrations/

Feb 12 2015

Love and Ferris Wheels Just Go Together

Posted on February 12, 2015February 12, 2018 by Carol Johnk

Love and Ferris Wheels just go together!

“…Look at our small town spinning around
We got our feet dangling high off the ground
Can you believe, baby, how good it feels
Falling in love on a Ferris wheel? Falling in love…”

February 14 is not only Valentine’s Day, but also National Ferris Wheel Day! It is the birth date of George W. G. Ferris, Jr. and he is credited for creating the first large, steel amusement ride – the Ferris Wheel.

chicagoFerriswheelImage — The 1893 Ferris Wheel

That first Ferris Wheel was unveiled in the summer of 1893 at Chicago’s World Columbian Exposition. It was the first international exposition held in the United States and the committee wanted an engineering marvel that would overshadow France’s Eiffel Tower. Having recently ridden a fifty-foot wooden “observation roundabout,” which had been built and soon would be patented by William Somers, Ferris was inspired to enter the competition with his paper-napkin drawing of an enormous park ride. The constructed 45-foot axle-wheel powered by two 1,000 horsepower steam engines was supported by two 140-foot steel towers and it carried thirty-six wooden cars 264 feet high into the air – taller than any existing buildings!

Since the original Ferris Wheel, the world has continually been trying to out-do it. In 1897, a copy of the original was erected in Prater Park, Vienna , Austria and became the longest running Ferris wheel in history. In 1904 the Ferris wheel was again the centerpiece of the World’s Fair, this time in St. Louis. The Texas Star was built in Italy and shipped to Dallas, Texas in 1985. It was, at that time, the tallest operating Ferris wheel at 213 feet (that is 52 feet shorter than the original 1893 wheel).

The London Eye, at 443 feet, opened to the public in 2000. The Singapore Flyer, at 541 feet, became the tallest Ferris wheel in in the world in 2008. The 682 foot tall Beijing Great Wheel was supposed to be built in 2009-2010, but the parent company went into receivership and it was never completed.

The original Ferris Wheel had 36 cabins and each one was able to carry 60 people for a total of 2,160 people per ride. There were fancy wire chairs for 38 passengers and five large plate glass windows. The cabins were 24 feet long, 10 feet high and weighed 26,000 pounds. A conductor rode in each cabin to allay fears and answer questions.

Currently, the world’s largest Ferris wheel – or Observation Wheel – is the High Roller in Las Vegas across from Ceasars Palace. It is 550 feet tall, 107 feet taller then the London Eye. In contrast to the original Ferris Wheel each of the 28 cabins is 225 square-feet and weighs approximately 44,000 pounds. Each cabin has a diameter of 22 feet and includes 300 square feet of glass. It also has 8 flat-screen televisions and an iPod dock. The High Roller is lit by 2,000 LED lights which have multiple lighting options. Looking for that special Valentine’s Day destination wedding? You can book a VIP cabin on the High Roller and have the wedding of your dreams!

Find the nearest Ferris Wheel and maybe, just maybe, fall in love?

References:

Circles in the Sky: The Life and Times of George Ferris. ENGN TA 140 .F455 W45 2009

Circles in the Sky

LINQ Hotel and Casino, High Roller FAQ ; http://www.caesars.com/linq/high-roller/faq/

Wikipedia, High Roller (Ferris Wheel) ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Roller_%28Ferris_wheel%29

Hyde Park Historical Society Newsletter, “The Big Wheel,” Spring 2000 ;

Standards

In 1978, the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) formed the F24 committee to create standards for the design, testing, manufacturing, and operation of amusement park rides. http://purl.lib.uiowa.edu/ASEDL

Standard Practice for Ownership, Operation, Maintenance, and Inspection of Amusement Rides and Devices, ASTM F770, Sept. 1, 2013 (4 pages)
Standard Practice for Measuring the Dynamic Characteristics of Amusement Rides and Devices, ASTM F2137, Aug. 1, 2013 (7 pages)
Standard Practice for Design of Amusement Rides and Devices, ASTM F2291, Aug. 1, 2013 (52 pages)

Feb 05 2015

Celebrating Weatherpeople!

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Darlene Kaskie

Because the weather has a significant impact on our daily lives, National Weatherperson’s Day recognizes the scientists who track our major storms and atmospheric climate changes. The day commemorates the birth of John Jeffries who was born in Boston in 1745. He was a Harvard graduate and surgeon who became fascinated with observing the weather. Beginning in 1774, he daily measured and recorded the weather in Boston. Then, in 1784, he made a historical balloon flight across the English Channel to observe atmospheric conditions up close.

Weather balloons, anemometer cups and rain gauges have since been replaced with earth-orbiting satellites and computer-aided atmospheric modeling used for gathering data to predict long- and short-term meteorological events which will significantly impact our global atmosphere in terms of ozone levels and and movement of storms. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the United States governmental body responsible for monitoring and forecasting the weather and conducting meteorological research. NASA, too, is instrumental in researching and mapping atmosopheric changes using telescopes and space stations.

Take a moment and think of your favorite and trusted meteorologist…big hint…she is your very own engineering librarian.