Atlas of Cyberspace

A set of links to maps showing how the Internet is connected. Includes some nice examples right on the page. Unfortunately, this site is old so most of the links do not work.

http://www.cybergeography.org/atlas/topology.html

How Computers Work Links

Here are some links that go with the sixth edition of Ron White’s book, How Computers Work. Has lots of computer history links. Warning: This site was last updated in 2002.

http://www.howcomputerswork.net/Links.htm

Math in the Real World

A great site with videos and activities showing how math can be used in many, many areas of work.

http://www.thefutureschannel.com/index.php

An Engineer and Her Robot

I nice video about a female engineer who is designing a robot with the form of a human,

http://www.thefutureschannel.com/dockets/algebra/an_engineer_and_her_robot/index.php

Physics Based Games

A list of games that make use of physics.

http://soldatmovies.blogspot.com/2006/10/physics-centered-games.html

CFD Used for Free Video Game

If we talk about the applications of computers to modeling physical systems, here is an example they can relate to!

http://www.plasmapong.com/

PLASMA PONG is a variation of PONG that utilizes real-time fluid dynamics to drive the game environment.

Players have several new abilities that add fun twists to the classic game. In the game you can inject plasma fluid into the environment, create a vacuum from your paddle, and blast shockwaves into the playing area. All these abilities have fluid-based kinetic effects on the ball, making Plasma Pong a fast-paced and exciting game.

It’s free!

Here is an article about it:

http://www.cfdreview.com/application/06/10/20/0233209.shtml

and an interview too:

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=11080

History of Numbers – Number Bases

http://motivate.maths.org/conferences/conf67/c67_Number_bases.shtml

Some basic info on number bases from motivate.maths.org

Fractals and Fractal Dimensions by Alan Beardon, University of Cambridge

http://motivate.maths.org/conferences/conference.php?conf_id=1

* An introduction to fractals, including what they are and some of their applications.
* The dimension of fractals.. Exploration of the idea of dimension and calculations for the dimension of some self-similar fractals.
* Five fractals to explore.. Explore the properties and appearance of fractals.

Includes some problems.

Example: Swarm Bots

A video showing an example of swarm robots.

http://www.swarm-bots.org/dllink.php?id=587&type=movies

Edison Lecture Series from UT Austin – Microprocessors

http://www.edisonlectureseries.com/video/edison021506E.rm

A one hour lecture to some young people on microprocessors.

It has a nice video clip showing a fab lab for microprocessors.

Also, a nice clip on circuit design and how it fits in the whole process.

They also discuss the Internet. They do some activities with the kids to simulate the Internet that are interesting.