Helen Plum Library

In a gas turbine, the linear motion of gas causes rotors to spin, ultimately creating electricity. The forward rotating blades pump air under high pressure into the combustion chamber where natural gas ignites on contact with the air. At 1,500 degrees Celsius, the stream of gas rushes past the rear turbine blades, causing the entire rotor to spin. A generator transforms that rotational energy into electricity. This program shows the extreme precision...

Engineers and architects are creating bridges that combine the best of both art and design. Bridges are no longer just a tool to get from one side of the river to the other. Some bridges have the goal of being aesthetically pleasing and efficient for pedestrians. Others rely on the cantilever design to span a distance equivalent to three and a half jumbo jets. Bridges are often classified by their structure and how the forces of tension, compression,...

The Mexican free-tailed bat is one of the most abundant mammals in North America. Outside of San Antonio, Texas there is a cave that is home to over 40 million of these bats. Roosting in large numbers in relatively few areas makes them especially vulnerable to human disturbance and habitat destruction. Documented declines at some roosts are cause for concern because there is a delicate balance in the ecosystem that depends on the bats. There is also...

The energy demands and rising cost of oil have encouraged scientists and engineers to develop renewable energy alternatives. Biofuels are renewable energy sources from organic materials such as plants or animals that are directly converted into liquid fuels. The two most common biofuels in use today are ethanol and biodiesel. Engineered biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel that are made from starches, sugars and cellulose are already in use as...

Aeronautics is the science of flight as well as the theory and practice of aircraft navigation. Any machine that flies through the air falls into the field of aeronautics. This includes helicopters, airplanes, as well as space vehicles such as the SpaceX Dragon and the retired NASA space shuttles. Aerodynamics is a branch of physical science which deals with the motion of air and the way that it interacts with objects in motion. By studying the way...

Ancient civilizations such as the Babylonians, the Chinese and the Greeks studied the stars without the benefit of telescopes and yet identified patterns of stars that we still use today. These early scientists collected the first data in the science of Astronomy. This program provides students with a summary of the history of Astronomy, highlighting many important astronomers.

Visible light, which can be seen with our eyes, comprises a small sliver of the electromagnetic spectrum. The rest of the spectrum, from short wavelength gamma rays to long-wavelength radio waves, requires special instruments to detect. ALMA uses and array of radio telescopes to detect and study radio waves from space. Radio telescopes are typically large parabolic dish antennas used singly or in an array. Radio observatories are preferentially located...

According to ABET, or the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology: "Engineering is the profession in which a knowledge of the mathematical and natural sciences, gained by study, experience, and practice, is applied with judgment to develop ways to utilize, economically, the materials and forces of nature for the benefit of humankind." There is considerable overlap between science and engineering. Research teams often consist of one or...

The Australian outback is home to a diverse group of organisms. When conditions are right, they play host to a distant, shoreline visitor – the Banded Stilt. Though common to the country's coasts and tidal shallows, this bird travels great distances inland in search of a particular food at its inland breeding grounds. Due to an environmental event, the mystery behind this behavior was only recently discovered and documented. Cyclone Bobby started...