Module 2-5: Can Batteries be Turned Into Bombs? And Mapping Wireless Signals

  • Due No Due Date
  • Points 10
  • Submitting a text entry box

Module 2-5

 Mapping Wireless Signals

Today we will be hands on measuring cell and or wifi signals day using the tiny SA’s, online maps, and the debug mode on our phones.

Also, earlier this week, there were attacks on Hezbollah that made pagers explode.  Also explosive was the amount of speculation and misinformation out there saying that the batteries themselves had been turned into bombs.  take the opportunity to learn some science and engineering about lithium ion batteries, how they work, and sort out truth from fiction about the claim that the batteries themselves were used as bombs.  

Learning Objectives

  • Map wifi signals in our classroom
  • what is latency vs signal strength, how are these related?  
  • What's inside a Li ion battery?  How does it work?  How do they fail, why do they burn sometimes?  Could they be used as explosives?  Could someone make my cell phone explode?  Sort fact from fiction using science and knowledge about technology!  

Pre-Class Assignment

  • None

In Class Activities

    • internet search news stories about the attacks on Hezbollah carried out by Isreal this week.  What are facts?  What is the best information on how it was done?  What is bogus?  Did batteries in the pagers and walkie talkies actually explode?    
    • What causes an explosion?  What causes burning/combustion?  
    • How do lithium ion batteries actually work?  What's inside them?  How can they fail and cause fire?  Can they actually explode?   
    • Final few minutes of class - we tried out the AR wifi app that uses augmented reality (AR) to map out the latency time (in miliseconds) for the wifi in a room.  The latency is what really determines how fast you can get data from the wifi.  It is a combination of signal strength, bandwidth, and the transfer capacity of the hardware, including the wired network behind the wifi router.  If any of these are too low, then you will experience slower data transfer.  

Extra Resources

Homework

Submit a reply to this assignment item: One thing you learned today.  

Have a Question?

  • Heard a word you didn't understand? Have  a question in general? Post it here ... if you know the answer (or can find it online) for someone else, reply to their question: Vocabulary Discussion (Alphabet Soup)

 

0