Robotics is an exciting and ever-evolving field that combines engineering, technology, and creativity to build intelligent machines. Whether you're a student, a hobbyist, or a parent guiding your child into robotics, understanding the basics is essential for a rewarding learning experience. Here are key things to know before diving into the fascinating world of robotics. 1. What Robotics Is At its core, robotics involves designing, building, and programming machines that can perform tasks autonomously or with minimal human intervention. Robotics integrates multiple disciplines, including: Mechanical Engineering: For designing the physical structure of robots. Electronics: For creating circuits and connections that enable movement and sensing. Programming: For writing the code that controls robot behavior. Having a basic understanding of these fields will give you a strong foundation as you start your robotics journey. 2. The Importance of Problem-Solving Skills Robotics is all a...
Alum Crystals
It is very interesting to create gem-like crystals. You can also grow a large crystal using a seed crystal. Let's see how to do it:
Materials Required
• Alum (It is usually found in the spice section of the grocery store)
• Clean jar
• Saucer or shallow dish
• Pencil
• Fishing line (or something similar)
Method To Grow Crystal:
1. Add Alum to a 1/4 cup of hot water in a jar. Stir it completely until it dissolves completely.
2. Keep adding Alum until no more of it dissolves to prepare a saturated solution.
3. Take a small amount of saturated solution into a shallow dish. Make sure that only a clear solution is taken or the undissolved salt is filtered.
4. After a day you could see the small crystals growing in the dish. Once crystals are of good size, pour the off excess solution.
5. Take one crystal of good size and good looking as a seed crystal.
6. Prepare another saturated solution with 1/2 cup of hot water and filter it into a clear solution.
6. Pick the seed crystal with the help of tweezers. Now carefully tie the crystal with the fishing line. You can carefully score a groove in the crystal to hold the fishing line.
7. Tie the other end of the fishing line to a pen or pencil and place the pencil across the jar. So that the seed crystal is suspended in the saturated solution without touching the sides and bottom of the solution.
Note: If you find the crystal starts dissolving in the solution then remove the seed crystal immediately.
This means that the solution is need to be more saturated so it is necessary to add more Alum to that solution and filter the undissolved particles from the solution to make it a clear solution.
7. It is important to keep the jar covered with a paper towel. The place jar kept should be free from dust and any disturbances.
8. When the desired shape of the crystal is attained, you can take it out of the solution and place it on the plastic wrap to dry.
Science Behind:
The seed crystals formed in the shallow dish are because of nucleation. As nucleation is very sensitive to impurities, it is suggested to prepare the saturated solution with distilled water and a dust-free environment for better results. The tendency of alum molecules joins together in the solution to form a crystal pattern. These molecules continue to join until enough molecules are gathered to form a visible solid crystalline.
If you leave the crystal for a long duration it continues to grow bigger but would not grow very big because they would all be competing for the remaining alum molecules in the solution. You make this as nucleation and use it in other saturated solutions to get larger crystals.
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