Volume XX Issue I
Note From The Editors
The past several months have been, for lack of a better term, a whirlwind: full of unexpected twists, spiking coronavirus cases, wildfires in our home state of California, and a presidential election on top of it all. One might call this time a disaster. We were collectively thrown into unpredictability, many of us having to completely alter our normal routines and behaviours…
Previous Issue
The Piano: Scales of Engineering with a Note of Artistry
(Traumerei – Schumann playing in the background: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHlfNYY1YIY) Sixty thousand pounds is the weight of five fully-grown elephants and the amount of force contained within a concert grand piano. [1] Although it's been around for [...]
Setting the Curve: The Magnus Effect and its Applications
Introduction Throughout our daily lives, there are elements of design and engineering all around us, most of which go completely unnoticed. Whether it’s the chair you’re sitting on, your favorite pen, or the individual bricks [...]
Expanding (an Elevator’s) Horizons
Introduction: In the 2005 movie rendition of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” five golden ticket guests were given a special tour of the factory. During the second half of the tour, they enter an elevator [...]
From The Archives
Ion Propulsion: Exploring Space in the 21st Century
Electric or ion propulsion is the newest propulsion system that NASA has put into successful operation. The Deep Space 1 mission used the ion engine as its primary propulsion system and tested its capabilities for [...]
Curves of Steel: CATIA and the Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Walt Disney Concert Hall, designed by architect Frank Gehry, makes extensive use of computer technology. Without the use of CATIA (Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application), construction of the concert hall would have been impossible. After [...]
The Changing Face of Paintball
At its essence, paintball is about marking other players with gelatin capsules filled with colored dye shot from a gun powered by compressed gas. While the fundamentals of the game have not changed since its [...]
Editors’ Picks
Encrypt the Future – Quantum Cryptography
The inherent weakness of traditional cryptography has exposed its unreliability to modern computing technology. To overcome this issue, scientists used the laws of quantum mechanics to create quantum cryptography, which [...]
3D Printed Organs
The field of tissue engineering has allowed developments in 3D printing organic parts and materials. 3D printing has become a widely popular means of manufacturing over the past decade, combining [...]
Asteroid Deflection
The threat of an Earth-asteroid collision is very real. Historically, asteroids and comets have proven to be sources of incredible destruction, and they are thought to have caused at least [...]
Cotton Candy: Carnival Snack to Medical Wonder
Many people know that cotton candy is made from sugar. They may not know, however, this fun carnival treat's colorful history. Cotton candy has been used in many different ways [...]