Robotics and Automation

Humans are one of the most adaptable organisms on this planet, perhaps surpassed only by bacteria and other microorganisms that evolve quickly.

Our ability to use critical thinking skills allows us to create technology that allows us to survive in almost any environment.

The First Law of Thermodynamics states in summary: “Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, only changed in form.”

Energy is everywhere in the universe. There is not even one square centimeter anywhere in the Cosmos that doesn’t have some kind of energy. This can be light, electromagnetism, gravity, or radiation.

Energy can be changed from an unusable source to a source of power that can benefit our lives.

In this example, sunlight is converted into electricity that can be used to run our machines and heat or cool our buildings.

•Tools are technological devices that allow us to change energy into usable sources.

•Some types of energy include Solar, Nuclear, Chemical, Electrical, Mechanical, and Gravitational.

Can you give an example of each of these?

Many everyday things can be considered "tools," and would be used to make our lives more easy and energy efficient. From shoes that protect our feet, and gloves that keep our hands warm, to submarines and spacecraft, all these things are tools. Robots are tools as well, complex tools. Examples of simple tools could be levers, pulleys, fulcrums, wrenches, screwdrivers, or hammers. These things redistribute energy in ways that it is expended over longer time periods, as opposed to releasing it all at once. As we covered in the chapter on Energy, it takes exactly the same amount of energy to move a given mass a given distance whether it is slowly, or rapid.