GIF Animations of Simple Machines

World of Technology has several great GIF animations demonstrating some fundamental mechanics:

http://mytechnologyworld9.blogspot.com/2010/08/complicated-mechanisms-explained-in.html

Seen at right is the radial engine.  The constant velocity joint is my favorite, but it’s also great to learn how a sewing machine really works!

Some great visualizations of interesting and intricate 3D geometry and engineering.

Folding Steel

This is an amazing application of origami:  a steel grocery bag that can fold flat!

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/03/paper-plastic-or-steel.html

Although you probably wouldn’t want to carry these to the store with you, this result could have real applications in industrial packaging.  In addition, it’s another step towards the mathematical-origamist’s dream:  designing building that can rearrange and rebuild itself as needed!

A great talk by Erik Demaine on mathematical origami opened my eyes have this amazing application of mathematics, and my students and I have been having a lot of fun with folding ever since!

Cam-based Mathematics

This is an awesome old-school style video demonstrating how simple cam-based mechanical systems can be implemented to process numbers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F7m02XDfvE

Calculating reciprocals, squares, and tangents using rotating disks:  it’s amazing stuff!  I wish I had seen (and appreciated) something like this as a young student.  It might have made me appreciate engineering a little more.

Be sure to check out the barrel cam at the end that is used to compute gun elevation.  I imagine something like this is at the heart of the mechanical calculators out there.

Mathematical Documentaries

This is a nice collection of mathematics-themed documentaries:

http://www.cosmolearning.com/mathematics/documentaries/

There are 30 or so documentaries here, many from the BBC’s Topics in the History of Mathematics, such as Non-Euclidean Geometry and the Birth of the Calculus.

Other documentaries of interest include biographies of Florence Nightingale (whose contribution to statistics is often overlooked) and John Nash (Nobel prize winner and subject of the film A Beautiful Mind).

There are also a number of traditional lecture series available as well.

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