Kids Code & Computer Science

A collection of interesting stories about technology and STEM for December 2022

Wait, What??

If you put an apple on a table then walk into another room, does the apple still exist? And is the apple affected by light or other things if you’re not around to see it? Most people would say yes and yes to these questions. However, three physicists won a 2022 Nobel prize showing that quantum physics proves these two things cannot both be true: the apple doesn’t exist when you’re in another room and it can’t be affected by its environment if you don’t see it.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-universe-is-not-locallyreal-and-the-physics-nobel-prizewinners-proved-it/

“This Land is…Who’s Land…This Land Isn’t My Land…”

Today we think of the world in terms of cities, counties, states, and countries. However, these ways of thinking about ourselves evolved from earlier ways to organize people into communities. These early communities were very diverse and often migrated based on seasons. Native Land Digital has created a simple map of these early communities from around the world. While not 100% accurate as to borders, the communities did exist in these locations and continue to exist today, too, often in different places from their ancestors.
https://native-land.ca/
https://www.npr.org/2022/10/10/1127837659/native-land-map-ancestral-tribal-landsworldwide

Water From Air

Technology called SOURCE® Hydropanels use solar energy to pull water from the air around the panels; about 10 liters a day. Humans need 3-4 liters of water daily to survive. And while
this technology is useful in parts of the world with water problems, all countries can benefit because the water is purer than a lot of well water.
https://www.source.co/how-hydropanelswork/
https://www.source.co/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256#:~:text=So%20how%20much%20fluid%20does,fluids%20a%20day%20for%20women

“Well, OK, But Why Didn’t MY Upscaling Project Win an Award?”

Solar panels work great in sunlight but not so much when the clouds roll in. Carvey Ehren Maigue, an electrical engineering student at Mapua University in the Philippines, won a James Dyson Sustainability Award for creating solar panels that use farming waste products to capture ultraviolet light from the sun then re-emit the energy as light for the panels. Crops easily spoil and cause losses to farmers. With this tech, wastes can now be upcycled. His invention would allow windows and building walls to be used as solar panels to provide renewable energy. His 3×2 foot test panel generates enough electricity to power up two phones.
https://www.jamesdysonaward.org/2020/project/aureus-aurora-renewable-energy-uvsequestration
https://youtu.be/9HQnIQ6YRGo

Space Junk

There are at least 26,000 objects bigger than a softball that orbit the earth at 17,000 miles per hour. If you count smaller objects, scientists estimate 100 million bits of space debris orbit the earth. This space junk is a hazard for satellites and other space projects. Privateer has created a model called Wayfinder that visualizes the problem. Click on any dot in their map to see details about that bit of space junk.
http://www.privateer.com/
https://mission.privateer.com/

Weed It and Reap!

A person can weed one acre of land a day. The Autonomous Weeder from Carbon Robotics uses carbon dioxide lasers to weed 15-20 acres in a day, without harming soil or water with toxic chemicals. Shaped like a box on wheels, the robot rolls down rows of farmland as it scans, identifies, and then shoots lasers to the ground to kill weeds. It navigates with 12 cameras and uses artificial intelligence to identify weeds and figure out what to zap next.
https://carbonrobotics.com/autonomous-weeder
https://youtu.be/vSPhhw-2ShI
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005415/en/Carbon-Robotics-Disrupts-Farming-Industry-with-Autonomous-Weeders
https://sciencing.com/co-lasers-work-4899566.html