This month, we are very pleased to present Dave Dobeson’s Seismograph project, starting on page 26. It is an ideal project for schools, for a number of reasons. First, it is very simple mechanically and uses a minimum of electronics to interface it to a computer (via a PICAXE) or to a data-logger.

The data-logger interface is ideal because many schools do have data-loggers, often sitting idle for want of an interesting application. Well, here is one. I can imagine this seismograph built up as a class project, set up in a glass display case and permanently linked to a PC.

Every morning, the students could come in, check for any seismic activity and then check the internet for the latest earthquakes around the world. Provided the earthquakes are magnitude 6 or bigger on the Richter scale, this simple instrument has a reasonable chance of recording them. They will then be able to analyse and discuss why the seismograph has recorded them or why not.

If the students are into programming, perhaps they could set up the monitoring computer to send an email when an interesting signal has been recorded or maybe they could have a school web page devoted to its latest recording. I am sure that students, and their teachers, will think of other interesting possibilities.

This is a wonderful opportunity for schools to interest their students in the scientific recording of day to day events. Not only will they gain some knowledge of pendulums and simple harmonic motion, they will learn about movements in the Earth’s crust and how earthquake waves propagate around the globe, so that earthquakes occurring on the other side of the world can be recorded in a classroom in Australia.

Such students may go on to build other seismographs in order to be able to sense the different types of earthquake waves and those propagating from different directions.

Importantly, learning about earthquakes will also give students an awareness of tsunamis, how they can occur and what the dangers are. If they are at some time in the future caught in area when a tsunami occurs, such knowledge could save many lives.

And having become accustomed to the concept of data-logging, students could also move on to the regular recording of all sorts of regular events, whether it be meteorology, electricity and water consumption or whatever. Ultimately, this could give a very good understanding of many scientific concepts and that can be no bad thing. The more people understand the extreme complexities of our environment and how modern technology interacts with it, the better off we will be.

Dave Dobeson is to be congratulated for his work in fostering science with his seismograph design. There are probably many more science teachers out there doing equally interesting things with their students. We would be delighted to hear from them and to promote their projects in the same way, through the pages of SILICON CHIP.

Leo Simpson