Hats off to the single-board microcontrollers that created a wind of inspiration among the youngsters in Bangladesh. It was not so long ago when the tech-enthusiasts had to wander a lot to enhance their skills regarding robotics and related stuff. Arduino, the most basic & simple MCU gave them a chance to create, innovate & critical thinking!

Students ranging from school to university have wide usage in Arduino in daily projects, assignments, or contests. There's no room for thinking that, these MCUs are limited to "Fun Projects" only. Security systems, installations, safety devices, and many more applications, for example, CNC machine, 3D printer, Writing machines, Drones, Quadcopters have Arduino based construction. Projects related to the social or environmental crisis (i.e. Automatic hand washing machine during COVID-19, Gas emission measurement devices, etc.) add much more importance to it.

 

The inventors of these MCUs could be mean by confining their efforts to Arduino only but they didn't choose to and as a result, we were gifted with Raspberry Pi, the giant of robotics & system coding! What's not possible to do with Raspberry Pi! Where Arduino puts a limitation for the great thinkers to implement their imagination practically, Raspberry Pi offers the window to imagine beyond the boundary. A silly example may be given in this context, to create an interactive display system Arduino demands complex blocks of coding and a heavy list of components where Raspberry Pi has an inbuilt display port and necessary settings!

Arduino, Raspberry Pi are merely two examples of single-board microcontrollers. The tech world is giving more and more advanced versions. Many manufacturers have different products like NodeMCU, Orage Pi, and many more. But the question stands here, "How much of it we're getting?" 

In Bangladesh, we have a mere chance or access to these tech-giants. In many engineering universities, students are offered some courses that give the introduction and the rest are upon personal interest of students. This rarely helps to build a strong network of innovators to serve the country or to pass the inspiration to the youngers. It goes without saying that, these embedded systems require comprehensive knowledge of coding & designing sense. But there's always a starting point and unfortunately, we have delayed the point too far.

Students, from their early ages, should be given space to go for these things. We lack the opportunities to learn from the experts! Yes, there are some entrepreneurs or organizations that try to convey the goal and motivation but they are not too many. 

The chain of motivation could be hard to realize if it was a couple of years ago but in today's era, every student has access to the internet with their own smart devices. Ironically this accessibility is used for scrolling Facebook pages or for online gaming.

≢ Why don't we inspire our nearby students to build their own game rather than getting stuck to meaningless games? Have you ever said to your child that it is possible to build a game using Arduino?

≢  Have you ever thought of building a website using Python/Django?

≢  Have you ever thought of making an android app? 

≢  Or have you ever said to your younger brother that he can build his own operating system or pocket laptop using Raspberry Pi?

If not, then how can we expect to grow our own community of skilled people or to develop an embedded system in our country? Think about it!

Image Source:

* Medium

* Project Showcasing; Esonance, IUT

* Meccanismo Complesso

* VectorStock

In the late 19th century, something weird happened! A duel was held to establish a commercial dominance. The most surprising fact is that, though this war took place due to business rivalry, it fixed a standard for the whole world and the present world is witnessing this. Yes, it was the War of Currents that set the standard of AC current all over the world! The war didn't take place all of a sudden. A series of incidents developed the war.

A Little History:

Many of us think that the inventor of DC and AC are Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla respectively. But it goes without saying that it's not true. Imagine an era when there was no TV, AC, industrial motors, engine, or any advanced technology. At that time the main concern was to enlighten the areas. Previously there were arc lights for large areas or streets and gas lights for the household & business to serve the purpose. But gaslights are not so efficient and arc lamps need high voltage (above 3000V). Some lamps worked well under AC. Several hazards were;

✦ Maintenance is highly complex

✦ Possibilities of fire hazards

✦ Suitable for outdoor lighting

✦ Extremely high voltage was risky to work with

✦ Flickering problem

Carbon Arc Lamp

Edison Illuminating Company:

The famous inventor Edison had a great idea to replace the gas lights with incandescent light invented by him. This brought him great fame as he was able to provide illumination directly into the customer's home with a much lower voltage (nearly 110V). It gained much attention over the US and Edison held several patents and controlled all the key technical developments. By 1882 Edison Illuminating Company (EIC) was established in NY city. The key factors that made DC preferable are, 

✦ DC worked well with incandescent lamp

✦ Incandescent lamp could be powered up using batteries/ storage

✦ Backup power supply was possible

✦ DC worked well with the contemporary motors

✦ Edison specially designed a meter to prepare customer's electric bills that would run only with DC

✦ DC generators can easily be paralleled
✦ DC reduces the high voltage death risks of arc lamps.

Edison with his incandescent lamp

An intelligent entrepreneur!

George Westinghouse, a North American inventor also wanted a share in the electric lighting system. Firstly he went for DC but at that time, AC transformers were growing well in Europe and intelligent Westinghouse understood that instead of becoming a competitor to the well established Edison, it would be better to go for AC. He thought that he can easily operate the AC arc lamps in the streets with high voltage and can support the household incandescent lamp using a step-down transformer. The plus points of AC systems were,

✦ AC can be easily stepped up or stepped down while it is very hard for DC

✦ AC can be transmitted to a large distance but DC can work within a small range around the generator

✦ DC is centralized but AC is not.

✦ DC installations are very costly while AC is quite cheap.

Edison's Yellow Journalism:

Due to different fascinating features of AC,  many other companies like Thomson Houston Electric, United State Illuminating Company, Waterhouse Electric Light Company went for AC development and the generation plants for AC kept increasing. Due to the increasing copper price & popularity of AC became the reason for his loss in low voltage DC supplied by Edison Illuminating Company. From the beginning, Edison opposed AC as he held most of the patents regarding DC. Edison started to spread his negative opinions regarding AC as he had thought that it would be a better option to defame the AC system. Edison, wrote to Edward Johnson, the president of (EIC),

❝ Just as certain as death Westinghouse will kill a customer within six months after he puts in a system of any size. He has got a new thing and it will require a great deal of experimenting to get it working practically ❞

Even an 84-page pamphlet titled "A warning from the Edison Electric Light Company" was distributed to different newspapers, Edison owned companies & Edison's competitor companies that used AC utilities. The pamphlets mainly focused on the safety of DC and the risks of AC that accidentally caused someone's death.

Reference Articles:

* War of the currents-Wikipedia

Image Source:

* Honest History

* pixels

* Sutori

Learning new things is always interesting. The inborn thirst for learning new and new concepts differentiates human beings from other creatures. The Almighty has blessed us with this virtue. But the eagerness for knowledge can also derail us from our actual motives. ''Is this guy out of his mind!''- you might be thinking this about me. But yes, it's true. I'm talking about the Learning Loop.

What Is Learning Loop?

According to DIY (Development Impact & You), 

❝The learning loop is a tool that helps you to define how the work you do now informs     what you do next. It provides a high level perspective on how implementing social change   can be broken down into a gradual process of iterative cycles❞

In simple language, a learning loop helps you to build a sequential structure that helps you to learn in a better & quicker way. You can have a single, double, or multiple loop for your purpose.

Examples of some learning loops 

How Easy Is Learning?

Learning loop can be extremely helpful for a strategic process if and only if you can stick to your purpose. Now, what does it mean? Being an engineer you have lots of interesting topics to learn. You can go for programming languages like C/C++, Python, Java or you can learn HTML, CSS, JS. Even if you are a tech-enthusiast, you may become passionate to learn Robotics, Machine Learning, Image Processing & MATLAB. Again you can be a beginner who wants to learn Arduino or Raspberry Pi. There are numerous fascinating things out there. You just have to type and learn. 

Actually, you are lucky enough to have institutions like Coursera, Udemy, Youtube where you can learn the things from the finest teachers and instructors from all over the world. A few years earlier it was a fantasy and people need to struggle hard for learning.

Is It Wrong to Learn?

Have you ever read a research paper? You don't need to be a researcher to read a paper. Just go to Google Scholar and search for any topic you find interesting. When you go through the paper, you will find several new terms. For example, if you try to read a paper on an Arduino project, you might find terms like TTL, Ram, Sram, Flash Memory, ATmega, etc. Now let us try to relate the things,

► Action: Reading a paper

► Reader's Status: Beginner

► Objective: To know the structure of a paper

► Field of Interest: Arduino

► Growing Interest: TTL, PCB, ATmega, IDE, Open Source, etc.

► Result: Arduino projects

As you can see, in this hypothetical case, a beginner who is interested to know about the structure of a research paper ends in Arduino projects. While you keep searching the ins and outs of Arduino and the relative terms to "understand" the paper, you have deviated from your prime motive which was the structure of the paper. So we can say you are stuck in a learning loop.

Therefore there is no harm in learning but one should keep stick to his motive. Otherwise while searching for one term, you will get several more unknown terms and this loop will go on.

How to Get Rid of the Loop?

A curious mind is always eager to learn. But being a part of a loop will neither satisfy your objective nor help you in learning. Basically, beginners are the prey to this. One should adopt the following steps to avoid the loop;

✔ Fix the specific topic

✔ Set the objectives

✔ Make a sequence tree to achieve the goals

✔ Note down the new terms

✔ Divide them into different categories according to their applications

✔ Filter the relevant terms to your specific topics

✔ Get to learn!

Get to know more about the learning loop from the video here; How to learn way faster using learning loops

Image Source:

* SlideShare

* Medium

* Learn Forward AB

* Dr. Helen Barett

* 123RF.com

Previously we're talking about Nikola Tesla's early life. But except for his inventions, it's not possible for us to know his diligence and dedication. Here we'll try to highlight some of his phenomenal inventions.

01-Alternating System

If you think that the alternating current (AC) was invented by Tesla, you need to recheck it. AC was invented long ago Tesla started his works. So what did Tesla do??? Tesla, through his phenomenal inventions, set the standard of AC in the whole world and he also designed the transmission and generation of AC. But what triggered him to go for AC while the contemporary world was fascinated with Thomas Edison's DC? Have you heard of the famous incident, "War of Currents"?

02-Induction Motor

Induction Coil of Tesla

While studying electrical engineering at the Polytechnic Institute at Graz in Austria, he could perceive the design flaws in the DC motors being demonstrated there. Later he spent 6 years of his life thinking of electromagnetic fields and a hypothetical motor that would run on AC. After his vision about this motor and upon getting investors, he could finally build the AC motor namely Induction motor. And it worked exactly as Tesla had thought. Believe it or not, he had drawn the design of the motor in the sand as he got the vision in a park!

03-Tesla Coil

The Magnifying Transmitter

Tesla was inspired by Heinrich Hertz's experiment, which proved the existence of electromagnetic radiation including radio waves. But operation above 20KHz (Radio Wave) was unknown. Tesla dived deeper into it and he made an electrical resonant transformer circuit that could produce very high voltage with high frequency and low current. He also applied his idea of  tesla coil in the wireless power transmission project.

04-Polyphase System

Tesla used the theme of the polyphase system in his Induction motor. Later on, his generation and powerplant system also applied the polyphase scheme as it is more economical. Tesla holds patents on the polyphase system.

05-X-Ray Experiment

X-ray of Roentgent's wife hand

As we all know Wilhelm Roentgen as the inventor of X-rays. And the Roentgen's X-ray film of his wife is evident with her wedding ring on her finger. But it is assumed that Tesla had captured X-ray images accidentally while working with tubes in his previous experiments before the declaration came from Roentgen. After hearing Roentgen's invention, Tesla proceeded with his own experimentations of X-rays. His discovered instrument had his own designed vacuum tube with a single terminal. That means, unlike Roentgent, it contained no target electrode and it could produce high energy. A tesla coil's output was used in this experiment. 

 X-ray of Tesla's hand

06-Remote Control

    Radio Controlled Boat

It became an unbelievable incident to people when Tesla experimented with his "Teleautomaton" during an electrical exhibition at Madison Square Garden. He built a boat and controlled its motion & direction using radio wave remote control. It was hard for people to believe this technology and started calling it magic, telepathy, and being piloted by a trained monkey hidden inside the boat. But in reality, the boat was powered by dc batteries in it and Tesla was just controlling it by remote. 

07-Wireless Power

Design of Magnifying Transmitter

Tesla was obsessed with wireless power transmission. Though inductive and capacitive coupling work for near field transmission but they are not convenient for long-distance. Being obsessed with long-distance wireless power transmission, he published his visions regarding this. Tesla had claimed that his model can transmit power worldwide. The atmosphere and the Earth would work as a conductor as he believed that the entire Earth could work as an electric resonator and that by driving current pulses into the Earth at its resonant frequency from a grounded Tesla coin with an elevated capacitance, the potential of the Earth could be made to oscillate, creating global standing waves, and this alternating current could be received with a capacitive antenna tuned to resonance with it at any point on Earth. But there is no evidence that this project was successful.

08-Bladeless Turbine

Tesla Turbine

Conventional compression turbines offer less efficiency. Tesla built a turbine that consists of multiple disks. It had no blades in it. The specialty of this turbine is that the fluid here moves in neutral paths or streamline of least resistance. During that time, Tesla demonstrated a 200 HP (1500 KW) 16,000 rpm bladeless turbine. But this turbine was refused to put in the application grounds giving the excuse of its complexity.  

09-Hydroelectric Power Plant

Tesla Hydroelectric Power Plant at Niagra

Tesla was one of the pioneers in the renewable energy sector. he didn't believe that fossil fuels can be a better solution to the energy crisis. The Niagra Falls Commission made a project to generate power from the falls. First, they considered Edison's DC current but after Tesla's success on AC, the gave the contract to Westinghouse Electric Company. The design was taken from Tesla and finally, it worked out. 

Adam's Power Plant Transformers

Wait for the next article to know about the War of currents.

Get to know more about Tesla's invention from this video.

Image Sources:

* Polite BastArt

* SchoolWorkHelper

* Pinterest

* Energy News Network

* Nicola Tesla

* View Images

* Science Stamps and Musings

* Engadget

* ResearchGate

* Wikipedia

* Tesla Science Center

* David J. Kent

Reference Articles:

* Nikola Tesla

* The Nikola Tesla Invention CNN

* Inventions & Experiments of Nikola Tesla

* Nikola Tesla Wikipedia

* Nikola Tesla History

* History of Tesla Coil

* The Rise and Fall of Nikola Tesla and his Tower

* Tesla Turbine

Do you remember the scene in the famous movie 'The Prestige' directed by Christopher Nolan, where Tesla has been projected as the picture above? Nikola Tesla is one of the most brilliant inventors in the world. Alternating Current, Induction Motor, Tesla Coil, 3 Phase System, Remote Control, Neon Lamp, and what not! Frankly speaking, the credit of the modern & sophisticated electrical system goes to him. He was a prodigy ahead of his time but the world couldn't give him the proper feat.

A Little History:

Tesla (1856-1943) was a Serbian-American engineer & physicist. He studied Maths & Physics at the Technical University of Graz and philosophy at the University of Prague. He started his career with the job of repairing Direct Current (DC) power plants with the Continental Edison Company. Throughout his life, he proved his excellency but unlike others, he didn't possess the trait of "Business Mind ". Consequently, he could never gain the fame and the chance to be a billionaire. He couldn't even patent many of his works!

After witnessing the continuous betrayal and selfishness of cruel people, this genius, at the end of his life, became obsessed with pigeons especially with a white female one! He believed to have communication with the pigeons. He breathed his last in a hotel in New York working on his last inventions even with his energy and mental health faded. 

Tesla Vs Tesla:

Nikola Tesla himself was his own competitor. He believed his mind to be without equal! And he had proved that through his inventions. While the whole world was fascinated with DC, Tesla thought of AC and till now it has been the worldwide accepted electrical system. Can you believe that he got the idea of brushless AC motor while walking and had made the sketches of rotating electromagnets in the sand of the road!!!

Tesla's contribution to modern electric development can not be denied. Many futuristic works have been carried out based on Tesla's researches. Follow the link to know about the background of some of the most used machines in our day to day life; Tesla's Vision: Inventions Ahead of Time 

Image Source:

* Pinterest

* Interesting Engineering

Imagine a day without electricity! Irritating! disgusting!! and you feel so much helpless. Picking up your phone and gadgets and suddenly you remember "Oh! there is no electricity" It's disheartening right? We shout, blame the provider but don't try to understand why our loads are being shaded. To grab an idea, let's try to understand how the generated electricity is at our door; the concept of Grid System.

What is Grid?

You must have seen generators in shops, complexes, offices, markets, etc. When the electricity is out, they are used to provide a backup. But where is the generator that provides electricity to the whole country? Is there only one generator or several? The answer is, there are numerous generators connected together to serve the country. And the way they are connected to each other and to the users' end is known as grid. Therefore, grid is an interconnected network with different components working together.

How does grid works?

As we all know there are 3 blocks of operation generating station to users' end i.e. Generation, Transmission, Distribution. Let's discuss one by one.

☛ Generation: Electrical energies are generated, actually not generated but transformed from other sources (water, coal, gas, nuclear, etc.) by mechanical means.

Hydro-electric Power Plant

There are numerous power plants all over the country like this. The output from these stations are connected to different nodes create a common energy bus. The transmission system starts from here.

☛ Transmission: The generated electricity is stepped up to a higher potential of about 33 KV through transformers for transmitting to a long-distance without a severe drop in the transmission line.

Transmission

☛ Distribution: These high voltage transmission wires end in substations outside the towns. There, with the help of step down transformers, the potential is stepped down to 11 KV Again they are stretched to the substations inside the town and stepped down to 220 V (3 phase 4 wire), and then single-phase supply is provided to the houses. The three-phase supply (11 KV) is given to the industries on demand. 

Power system 

This diagram shows the entire system from producer to consumer. And the entire network with all these components is called Grid. All the generating stations contribute to the grid and also work as a backup for other stations. Many interesting topics are related to this grid. Or do you think it's so simple as stated above! 

When I studied Grid System, a number of questions came in my mind that why it is necessary to interconnect so many generators together? Can't a single generator serve the purpose? And why different countries have separate grids? Why not a single grid is created all over the world that connects all the countries?

Do you also have these questions in your mind? If so,  stay with us and find your answers. 

Image Source:

* Circuit Globe

* Giphy