Breaking Free from Chemical Rockets

Welcome back to my blog! This post is for the second Action Project of the STEAM class, Frontiers. This class has been about the frontiers of science and discovery in space and the oceans. We studied marine ecology, biology, geology, and physiology in the first unit. We also looked at technological frontiers in the maritime sector, such as ways to clean up ocean pollution, capture carbon dioxide, and rebuild coral reefs. In this unit, we have looked at the stars, planets, and galaxies around us. We have learned about how the universe came to exist and how humans began to study it. For this Action Project, we have been tasked with writing a research paper about a frontier of our choosing in the field of space exploration. For my paper, I decided to look into propulsion systems or the types of rockets that can bring humans or crewless spacecraft from the Earth's surface into orbit. Propulsion systems have been researched and built for many years, so in a general sense, they aren't precisely a frontier. However, propulsion systems that do not achieve thrust via a chemical or fueled rocket are a newer area of study that I have focused on. I hope you enjoy reading.

I hope you enjoyed reading my research paper and perhaps learned a thing or two. When I started out on this AP, I spent a lot of time gathering information and in some cases gathered too much or not enough. I chose propulsion systems because I thought they would be very engineering focused and they were. Some of the information I collected was difficult to understand and it took some time to fully grasp what I wanted to write about. After having finished the paper, I am satisfied with what I have written and learned about. There is a lot of progress ahead for alternative propulsion systems which will bring humans further into space than we could have thought possible in the very beginning of our exploration. This also happens to be the final Action Project of my time at GCE. I am both happy and sad for high school to be over but I am excited for what is coming after I graduate. Thank you for reading.

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Diddley Bows: One-stringed guitars

Welcome back to my blog. This post is for the second Action Project of the STEAM class: Light, Sound, and Time. This unit, sound, was all about how sound is made and what happens for humans or animals to perceive it. Sound travels as a longitudinal wave and is explained as vibrations coming from a source that we perceive to be sound. To start, we examined how the human ear worked and our range of audible frequencies compared to infrasound and ultrasound which humans can’t hear. We then looked at the speed of sound and how it changes based on the medium it travels through. Following the understanding of how sound travels, we investigated traveling faster than the speed of sound or breaking the sound barrier and also the Doppler Effect. Lastly, we looked at stringed instruments like guitars and found how they make sounds. We also had one Field Experience at Guitar Center to look at the guitars and other instruments there. For this Action Project, the task is to create a diddley bow which...

Building GCE's New Laser Cutter

Welcome back to my blog. This post is for my elective class Digital Fabrication. In this class, we have been looking at all things digital. More specifically 3D printers, silhouette cutters, CNC routers, and laser cutters. 3D printers are machines that can create three-dimensional objects from CAD models by layering filament to create shapes. Silhouette cutters are small electronic cutting machines that can take a file on a computer and cut it out on vinyl, acrylic, paper, and more. I have used the cutter to create stickers on vinyl. The CNC router we used in this class was a machine called the Carvey. The Carvey uses a drill bit mounted on an operating system like a 3D printer to drill into wood, foam, and other materials to create designs or molds. For each of these machines, we learned how to use their programs and later work with the machines to create things we made on the programs. Last but definitely not least, laser cutters. A laser cutter is a machine similar to the Carve...

Redesigning Chicago, One Neighborhood At A Time

Welcome back to my blog. This post is for the third Action Project of the STEAM class Urban Planning. In this third and final unit, Flow, we focused on how cities and urban areas have developed over the years. We first learned about how cities have always been centered around trade which has always relied on transportation and studied different modes of travel over the years that all contribute to urban planning. We took some time to learn about eminent domain which is something the state can use to claim private land from a private citizen for its own use if it has a strong case such as public use. We then looked at INVEST South/West, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's community development initiative to reverse disinvestment on Chicago's South and West Sides. This initiative is trying to bring together multiple city departments, community organizations, and corporate partners and so far the city has aligned more than $1.4 billion in public and private investment. We then moved on...

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