5 Robotic Ideas

CHAPTER FIVE Robotic Ideas Hydrogen peroxide (noun). It's a molecule that looks like a clear, bubbly liquid and has the molecular formula H2O2. It kills lots of germs and that's why it's found in some mouthwash. But it's more famous for whitening teeth than getting rid of stinky smells. IN THE FAMILY ROOM, I watched a Dr. Caroline video. Mom had a school board meeting and Dad was working in his office. My little brother Liam was fiddling with his remote-control robot on the floor next to me. "Do you think I could get my robot to jump up a ladder and get stuff?" asked Liam. "Like cookies?" I glanced up from the iPad on my lap. "Not unless you can program him." "His name is Norbert." "Sorry—Norbert. Plus, he'd have to be engineered with different legs in order to climb." "Aw, man. Why couldn't they have done that?" With a sigh, Liam waggled the robot's legs. "Sometimes you can't always figure stuff out." But that couldn't be the case with my science project. Today was Sunday and it had been almost a

过氧化氢（名词）。 它是一种看起来像透明气泡液体的分子，分子式为H2O2。 它能杀死很多细菌，这就是为什么在一些漱口水中发现它的原因。 但它更出名的是美白牙齿，而不是去除臭味。 在家庭活动室里，我看了一位医生。 卡洛琳的视频。妈妈在开学校董事会会议，爸爸在办公室工作。 我弟弟利亚姆在我旁边的地板上摆弄着他的遥控机器人。 “你觉得我能让我的机器人跳上梯子拿东西吗？”利亚姆问。 “就像饼干?”我从膝上的iPad上抬起头来。 “除非你能给他编程。” “他叫诺伯。”“Sorry-Norbert。 另外，为了爬，他必须被设计成不同的腿。” “啊,人。他们为什么不这样做呢？”利亚姆叹了口气，摇了摇机器人的腿。 “有时候你并不是总能把事情弄明白。” 但我的科学项目却不是这样。 今天是星期天，天快亮了

week since the assembly announcing STEM Night. And I still didn't know what to do. That's why I was binge watching. Dr. Caroline was making something called Elephant's Toothpaste. I guess because it was big and bubbly enough to clean an elephant's mouth. It was the first of her videos I had ever seen and it's still one of my favorites. She takes 35% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), potassium iodide, dish soap, and food coloring to make the most awesome, explosive, mushy reaction ever. On-screen, Dr. Caroline stared at the orange fluffy stuff coming out of the Erlenmeyer flask. "Isn't that cool?" she yelled. "Yes!" I yelled back. Behind her, a poster read: I'M POSITIVE I'VE LOST MY ELECTRON. I was positive that I loved Dr. Caroline. Suddenly I felt a pinch on my arm. "Ow!" I whipped around to see Norbert's robot hand on my elbow. Liam was beaming. "You said you wanted to pinch yourself. So I got Norbert to do it."

从大会宣布STEM之夜开始。 我还是不知道该怎么做。 所以我才会疯狂地看。 卡洛琳医生在做一种叫大象牙膏的东西。 我猜是因为它又大又多，足够清洗大象的嘴巴。 这是我看过的第一个她的视频，也是我最喜欢的视频之一。 她用35%的过氧化氢（H2O2）、碘化钾、洗洁精和食用色素，做出了有史以来最可怕的、爆炸性的糊状反应。 在屏幕上，卡洛琳博士盯着从厄伦迈尔烧瓶里冒出来的橙色蓬松的东西。 “那不是很酷吗？”她喊道。 “是的!”我喊道。在她身后，一张海报上写着：我确信我已经失去了我的电子。 我很肯定我爱布朗博士。 卡洛琳。突然，我感到胳膊上有人掐了一下。 “噢!”我猛地转过身来，看到诺伯特的机械手在我的手肘上。 利亚姆喜气洋洋。“你说你要掐自己一下。 所以我让诺伯来做。”

"What do you mean?" "I heard you talking with Birdie the other day. You said you wanted to pinch yourself 'cause you're going to meet Dr. Caroline." I started giggling. Sometimes I forget that Liam is just a kindergartner. After explaining what I meant, we both cracked up. Then he got interested in Norbert knocking down blocks. I went back to watching more videos. In one of them, Dr. Caroline made a pink solution turn completely clear by blowing carbon dioxide into it with a giant straw. In another one, Dr. Caroline used limes to power a digital clock. In still another one, she made a Rube Goldberg machine, which is a series of chain reactions that do a simple thing in a ridiculously complex way. It all started with a phone buzzing that knocked into a row of dominoes, setting off a chain reaction involving pulleys, levers, bells, and ending in a test tube filled with vinegar being dumped into a papier-maché volcano that exploded. Something just had to spark an idea. My project needed to be fun and exciting, but with really interesting science if it was going to win. And I wanted it to feel like mine. Something original that came from me.

“你是什么意思？”“前几天我听到你和小鸟说话。 你说你要掐一下自己，因为你要去见医生。 卡洛琳。”我开始咯咯地笑。 有时候我都忘了利亚姆只是个幼儿园的孩子。 在解释完我的意思后，我们都笑了。 然后他对诺伯特撞倒街区感兴趣。 我又开始看更多的视频。 在其中一个实验中，卡洛琳博士用一根巨大的吸管将二氧化碳吹入一种粉色溶液，使其完全透明。 在另一个实验中，卡洛琳博士用酸橙给一个数字时钟供电。 在另一个实验中，她做了一个Rube Goldberg机器，这是一系列连锁反应，以一种荒谬复杂的方式做一件简单的事情。 这一切都始于手机的嗡嗡声撞到了一排多米诺骨牌，引发了一系列涉及滑轮、杠杆、铃铛的连锁反应，最后一个装满醋的试管被扔进了一个纸机器火山，火山爆发了。 总有什么东西激发了我的灵感。 我的项目需要有趣和令人兴奋，但如果它想要获胜，就需要真正有趣的科学。 我想让它有我的感觉。 是我原创的东西。

By my feet, a bunch of blocks knocked to the floor with a soft thud. Norbert and Liam were definitely up to their usual tricks. Looking down, I noticed tiny screws in Norbert's battery compartment gleaming under the light. Wait a minute! His toy used a battery that was easy to take out. This gave me an idea. A lime battery, but better! "For my project, I could power your robot with fruit, Liam. Maybe I could figure out how to make him do something cool like write a word. Or do something else awesome." "Yeah, just do something cool and show me how to do it, too." I slapped his hand. "A high five," I said, "for a five-year-old." He put his chubby arms around me for a hug. I hugged him back. This could totally work. It would impress Ms. Daly and Dr. Caroline. It would be the best science project at STEM Night. Now I just had to figure out what to do with the prize money. Because I knew I was going to win!

在我的脚边，一堆积木轻轻地落在地上。 诺伯特和利亚姆肯定又是老把戏了。 低头一看，我注意到诺伯特电池舱里的小螺丝在灯光下闪闪发光。 等一下！他的玩具使用的电池很容易取出。 这给了我一个主意。一个石灰电池，但更好！“在我的项目中，我可以用水果给你的机器人供电，利亚姆。 也许我能想办法让他做点很酷的事比如写个字。 或者做一些其他很棒的事情。” “是啊，做点很酷的事，也教我怎么做。” 我打了他的手。“击掌，”我说，“给一个五岁的孩子。” 他用胖乎乎的双臂抱住了我。 我也拥抱了他。这绝对可行。 这将给戴利和奥巴马留下深刻印象。 卡洛琳。这将是STEM之夜最棒的科学项目。 现在我得想办法怎么处理这笔奖金了。 因为我知道我会赢！