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2 Silicon Chip
Publisher’s Letter
Do-it-yourself seismograph
a great project for schools
This month, we are very pleased to present
Dave Dobeson’s Seismograph project, starting
on page 26. It is an ideal project for schools,
for a number of reasons. First, it is very simple
mechanically and uses a minimum of electronics to interface it to a computer (via a PICAXE)
or to a data-logger.
The data-logger interface is ideal because
many schools do have data-loggers, often sitting
idle for want of an interesting application. Well,
here is one. I can imagine this seismograph built up as a class project, set
up in a glass display case and permanently linked to a PC.
Every morning, the students could come in, check for any seismic activity and then check the internet for the latest earthquakes around the world.
Provided the earthquakes are magnitude 6 or bigger on the Richter scale,
this simple instrument has a reasonable chance of recording them. They
will then be able to analyse and discuss why the seismograph has recorded
them or why not.
If the students are into programming, perhaps they could set up the
monitoring computer to send an email when an interesting signal has been
recorded or maybe they could have a school web page devoted to its latest
recording. I am sure that students, and their teachers, will think of other
interesting possibilities.
This is a wonderful opportunity for schools to interest their students in
the scientific recording of day to day events. Not only will they gain some
knowledge of pendulums and simple harmonic motion, they will learn about
movements in the Earth’s crust and how earthquake waves propagate around
the globe, so that earthquakes occurring on the other side of the world can
be recorded in a classroom in Australia.
Such students may go on to build other seismographs in order to be able
to sense the different types of earthquake waves and those propagating from
different directions.
Importantly, learning about earthquakes will also give students an awareness of tsunamis, how they can occur and what the dangers are. If they
are at some time in the future caught in area when a tsunami occurs, such
knowledge could save many lives.
And having become accustomed to the concept of data-logging, students
could also move on to the regular recording of all sorts of regular events,
whether it be meteorology, electricity and water consumption or whatever.
Ultimately, this could give a very good understanding of many scientific
concepts and that can be no bad thing. The more people understand the
extreme complexities of our environment and how modern technology
interacts with it, the better off we will be.
Dave Dobeson is to be congratulated for his work in fostering science with
his seismograph design. There are probably many more science teachers
out there doing equally interesting things with their students. We would be
delighted to hear from them and to promote their projects in the same way,
through the pages of SILICON CHIP.
Leo Simpson
siliconchip.com.au
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