Daily Journal
Day 1 (7/10):In biophysics, I used Linux for the first time today, and I found the experience to be very fascinating. I learned how to access different files and different components in each of the files. In robotics, I learned about Graphical User Interfaces, where users interact with their devices using graphics on the screen. I also learned about Command Line Interfaces, which users interact with their devices through text input. Both of these are important in making electronic devices interactive.
Having been at COSMOS for a day, I have mostly great things to say. I enjoy the food, dorm, and the basketball court. The most challenging part of this experience up to this point was using the showers.
Day 2 (7/11):I was talking with my roommate, who is taking astrophysics. The most interesting thing he learned is that when matter is converted into energy, by way of nuclear fusion or fission, energy is lost. In fact, in nuclear fission, only 1% of energy is actually transferred. However, there is one way we have discovered so far to get 100% energy conversion, by ways of combining anti-matter and matter in a process called annihilation.
A concept that was new to him was the idea that every single material that has mass in the observable universe is releasing some wavelength of light, such as inferred light and ultraviolet light.
Day 3 (7/12):If you follow active listening strategies, such as restating what the speaker said in your mind, you increase your chances to recall information from lectures. Additionally, you should jot down the main idea and important facts. To truly realize if you have understood a lecture, you can write down 15 facts that you remember from the presentation after its completion. If you need to refer to notes during the presentation, you need to work on improving your active listening.
Day 4 (7/13):I was impressed by the different features employed by the Academy of Science. For example, it had a simulator which could replicate the 1905 and 1983 San Francisco earthquakes. A program and a robot was necessary to simulate this experience. Another fascinating experience that required for a complex program and robots was the Planetarium. It animated the cosmos and displayed it throughout the building. Something I found fascinating was human evolution and their It was migration throughout the planet. I am very interested in learning more about the biology of humans.
Day 5 (7/14):Already having experience with programming and robotics, I felt comfortable working with the robot commands and learning new Python concepts. Some concepts that I need more clarification on are lists and arrays.
Cognitive illusions has challenged my learning because it had caused me to overgeneralize important ideas when I learn new topics in school. I try to make sure to understand each individual concept.
Day 6 (7/17):I learned about numerous different Python concepts such as containers, controls, functions, and libraries in class. I was introduced to three different types of containers: lists, arrays, tuples, and dictionaries. Both lists and arrays are mutable, but the number of elements in an array is predetermined, while the number of elements in a list can be changed. However, tuples are immutable and elements can't be added or removed. Dictionaries are a set of keys and values. They are mutable.
My project idea is to design a bottle opener/closer that could work for different types of bottles. I could design a dictionary that assigns a value to each type of bottle to be opened.
My main takeaway from Dr. Dad-Del's lecture today was that it is important to take advantage of the educational opportunities that I am being presented with. I hope to continue taking advantage of opportunities to learn or refine skills beyond COSMOS. I am interested in becoming a more proficient programmer and engineer.
Day 7 (7/18):I learned how to implement and code a color sensor. I am working on a line follow challenge in our robotics lab, where we code the robot to follow a green line. I found it to be very challenging because the line is curved. The robot is set by default to go straight, and I am hoping to program the robot to be able to turn in both directions when it does not detect the green line. Eventually, the robot will detect the green line and resume going straight.
It was definitely frustrating working on the line follow robot. I take on frustrating situations like these as a new challenge. I enjoy the process of solving a difficult challenge.
Day 8 (7/19):In the binary system, positive numbers start with 0 and negative numbers start with 1. You can find the negative number by simply switching the first 0 in the positive number with 1. For complex numbers, you can convert the coefficient of the imaginary number to a binary number, along with the real number. For decimal number, you can simply convert each digit into the binary.
A tip from the presentation on preparing for tests that I want to implement is making a calendar and planning out the times you will be studying for the upcoming test.
Day 9 (7/20):
Day 12 (7/25):I was very interested by a dry ice machine at the Exploratorium. It had a conveyer belt that received chunks of dry ice and slowly transferred them into a bowl of water. While dissolving, the dry ice energetically glided throughout the water, bumping into the sides of the bowl and other chunks of dry ice, My project idea is a bottle opener and closer. I was inspired by the design to use a conveyer belt which would gather an unopened bottle of water and transfer it to the other side of the robot once the bottle had been opened. One of the reasons why the conveyor belt was effective in the Exploratorium's design was how slow it moved, so I also plan to make the conveyor belt in my robot slow.
Having been at COSMOS for a day, I have mostly great things to say. I enjoy the food, dorm, and the basketball court. The most challenging part of this experience up to this point was using the showers.
Day 2 (7/11):I was talking with my roommate, who is taking astrophysics. The most interesting thing he learned is that when matter is converted into energy, by way of nuclear fusion or fission, energy is lost. In fact, in nuclear fission, only 1% of energy is actually transferred. However, there is one way we have discovered so far to get 100% energy conversion, by ways of combining anti-matter and matter in a process called annihilation.
A concept that was new to him was the idea that every single material that has mass in the observable universe is releasing some wavelength of light, such as inferred light and ultraviolet light.
Day 3 (7/12):If you follow active listening strategies, such as restating what the speaker said in your mind, you increase your chances to recall information from lectures. Additionally, you should jot down the main idea and important facts. To truly realize if you have understood a lecture, you can write down 15 facts that you remember from the presentation after its completion. If you need to refer to notes during the presentation, you need to work on improving your active listening.
Day 4 (7/13):I was impressed by the different features employed by the Academy of Science. For example, it had a simulator which could replicate the 1905 and 1983 San Francisco earthquakes. A program and a robot was necessary to simulate this experience. Another fascinating experience that required for a complex program and robots was the Planetarium. It animated the cosmos and displayed it throughout the building. Something I found fascinating was human evolution and their It was migration throughout the planet. I am very interested in learning more about the biology of humans.
Day 5 (7/14):Already having experience with programming and robotics, I felt comfortable working with the robot commands and learning new Python concepts. Some concepts that I need more clarification on are lists and arrays.
Cognitive illusions has challenged my learning because it had caused me to overgeneralize important ideas when I learn new topics in school. I try to make sure to understand each individual concept.
Day 6 (7/17):I learned about numerous different Python concepts such as containers, controls, functions, and libraries in class. I was introduced to three different types of containers: lists, arrays, tuples, and dictionaries. Both lists and arrays are mutable, but the number of elements in an array is predetermined, while the number of elements in a list can be changed. However, tuples are immutable and elements can't be added or removed. Dictionaries are a set of keys and values. They are mutable.
My project idea is to design a bottle opener/closer that could work for different types of bottles. I could design a dictionary that assigns a value to each type of bottle to be opened.
My main takeaway from Dr. Dad-Del's lecture today was that it is important to take advantage of the educational opportunities that I am being presented with. I hope to continue taking advantage of opportunities to learn or refine skills beyond COSMOS. I am interested in becoming a more proficient programmer and engineer.
Day 7 (7/18):I learned how to implement and code a color sensor. I am working on a line follow challenge in our robotics lab, where we code the robot to follow a green line. I found it to be very challenging because the line is curved. The robot is set by default to go straight, and I am hoping to program the robot to be able to turn in both directions when it does not detect the green line. Eventually, the robot will detect the green line and resume going straight.
It was definitely frustrating working on the line follow robot. I take on frustrating situations like these as a new challenge. I enjoy the process of solving a difficult challenge.
Day 8 (7/19):In the binary system, positive numbers start with 0 and negative numbers start with 1. You can find the negative number by simply switching the first 0 in the positive number with 1. For complex numbers, you can convert the coefficient of the imaginary number to a binary number, along with the real number. For decimal number, you can simply convert each digit into the binary.
A tip from the presentation on preparing for tests that I want to implement is making a calendar and planning out the times you will be studying for the upcoming test.
Day 9 (7/20):
Day 12 (7/25):I was very interested by a dry ice machine at the Exploratorium. It had a conveyer belt that received chunks of dry ice and slowly transferred them into a bowl of water. While dissolving, the dry ice energetically glided throughout the water, bumping into the sides of the bowl and other chunks of dry ice, My project idea is a bottle opener and closer. I was inspired by the design to use a conveyer belt which would gather an unopened bottle of water and transfer it to the other side of the robot once the bottle had been opened. One of the reasons why the conveyor belt was effective in the Exploratorium's design was how slow it moved, so I also plan to make the conveyor belt in my robot slow.