Hello. I’m Michael Fraser, and I will be your link to mechanical engineering through the tentatively named Insite Bloggers Project. I hope to spark your interest in engineering and MIT. Stay tuned for future videos with me and other Insite bloggers learning about and having fun with engineering.

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So there are 6 simple machines that are used in most things that we use today that make our lives easier. A common trait that they all share is that they are simple in that they have few components and that they need some sort of energy to put into them so the work is easier. This may sound complicated (or I explained it poorly), but the six are:

Lever
Incline
Wheel and Axle
Wedge
Screw
Pulley

Lever
A lever uses the principles of torque to lift something or remove something with less force. A clear example of this is when a nail is removed from wood. The back side of a hammer is placed under the nail and then pushed on the handle until it is moved. It takes a lot less force to use the hammer than to just try to pull out the nail with your own fingers.

Incline
An incline used gravity to help move an object downwards without breaking or damaging it in the process. In a parking garage, a car goes down the sloped levels instead of going off the edge because not only is the smarted choice (duh!) the car won’t be damaged by the fall. In a more realistic example of an incline, when on a bike, one usually does not pedal when going down a steep hill because gravity is pushing them down to go faster anyway; the incline uses the same principles of modern science.

Wheel and Axle
Well I am sure you all know what a wheel is but in general, it’s a round structure (wheel) that rotates around a fixed one (axle). A Wheelbarrow is one of the simplest versions of this. It is much easier to roll things in a wheelbarrow than to carry them.

Wedge
A wedge is used to push things apart. Your basic knife is considered a wedge, and so is an ax that is used to chop wood.

Screw
Screws are a little more complex, but no less common. It is actually an inclined plane wound around a pole that is used to either hold things together or raise/lower them. Some basic examples are soda caps, lids,… uhhh.. screws…

Pulley
A pulley is a simple machine that is used to redirect the force and can be used to move a load up or down. Examples of pulleys in everyday life are in window blinds, flag poles.

When combined, all of these simple machines can be used to form useful devices, or not so useful devices that are just cool to watch called Rube Goldberg machines.

A Honda commercial that came out a while ago was just a Rube Goldberg Machine (link below)

Rube Goldberg Commercial

Michael Fraser

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I’m sure many of you have heard of solar energy and solar cars. In this day and age, energy consumption has sky rocketed and people are trying to find an alternative source.

The American Solar Challenge tries to promote solar technology while giving students across the nation a chance to experience it first hand. Many colleges compete in the competition where a team builds and races a car 2400 miles across the country. The race is scheduled for June and July of this year.

American Solar Challenge Link

Every school that is competing is linked in the site. MIT’s car can be found at this address.

If any of you are at all interested, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory holds junior solar competitions. Their website has links showing how to build a car (a small one; not one big enough to get in and drive), but check it out.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory

The link showing you how to build a car is near the bottom of the page in a powerpoint download on the link right above.

The materials they use are listed below, so if interested, I would try check a hardware store, hobby shop or anywhere else you think they sell solar panels, gears and what not….
1 Pitsco Ray Catcher Solar Panel (2.76V, 1, 100 mA)
1 White Sheet of Plastic Coated Paper
2 Balsa Sheets (10-1/2”x4”x3/16”)
2 Alligator Clips
2 Pitsco GTF Wheels
2 Pitsco GTR Wheels
1 Straw
1 No. 280 Motor
4 Nylon Spacers
2 Plastic Delrin Axles
1 Plastic Gear Font
4 Rubberbands (2 No. 14 Rubber Bands and 2 Wide Rubber Bands)

Good Luck!

-Michael Fraser

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Everyone has preconceptions about what school is like and what tests and finals are supposed to be, but in some classes (not just here, but at other schools too), the tests can be more interesting than you;d expect.

At Northern Illinois University, one class’s final was to design a car in a program and race it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYGwaI-haOM

The video starts off slow.. so after like the first minute, they talk about the car and the program instead of random equations.

-Michael Fraser

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Ok there are six simple machines that are used in most of modern life t

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