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Unusual 3D printers: The human body organs, clothes, and even cookies are made!

LEAOX

The 3D printer is a device that makes things easy to fabricate three-dimensional objects. The typical materials to be used with the printer are synthetic resin (plastic) or metal powders. However, there are also biological cells, textile fibers, and wheat flour as the materials for 3D printers.

A printer using biological cells can make a part of the organs of a human body. The specific cells are cultured in laboratory up to about a diameter of 0.5 millimeters (0.02 inches). There is a trick to insert the wire, which assists forming the organ in accordance with the three-dimensional data. Then, it is soaked in a special liquid so it can be solidified as the part of the human body.

There is also a 3D printer to manufacture clothes. This printer uses the liquid textile as a material which is sprayed to the shape of the designed clothes. You can fully customize your own clothes and shoes by using it.

Wheat flour is the material of cookies and pizza dough. You can also create a variety of shapes of sweets and dishes by putting flour and the related ingredients into the particular 3D printer.

In the future, we may have the other materials to fabricate many of different shapes with many types of 3D printers.

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Discrete dynamics and its applications to our daily lives

Math, physics, engineering, and our lives are closely related. Physics formulates the nature’s motion with mathematics. This provides applications to creating a convenient system for our living.

Let us introduce a two dimensional discrete mapping:
x_(n+1) = 0.6x + y + 5.2/(1.0 + x^2)
y_(n+1) = -0.9999x
The plot is shown as a picture above.

The above equation is a mathematical example, but such model can be used to analyze population growth, radioactive decay, pollution control, medication dosages, robotics, etc.

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Georg Simon Ohm’s biography: How Ohm’s law was formulated

Georg Simon Ohm (1789 – 1854)

He was born in Bayern State in Germany. His father studied math, physics, and philosophy by himself and taught his children what he learned.

Because he learned enough from his father, Georg thought that he wouldn’t learn anything in school when he was eleven years old. After completing the college, he started working as a math teacher.

Although he was major in mathematics, he got a chance to teach physics in schools. He was gradually fascinated with electric phenomena discovered by Oersted. He got engaged in figuring out the mathematical aspect of electricity. Georg discovered that the magnitude of current in a metal wire is proportional to its cross-sectional area and inversely proportional to its length. In addition, he formulated that the resistance is equal to the voltage divided by the current in a circuit, which is called Ohm’s law nowadays.

His performance is based on the experiments and mathematical logic; however, he was not evaluated by German science society for a long time. Allegedly, the strong influence of idealism of philosophy might have prevented it from accepting Ohm’s way to analyze the whole.

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Manufacturing and engineering owe electricity and magnetism

Michael Faraday was a British physicist who contributed to many of important findings for electromagnetic phenomena.

His family was challenged economically, but his siblings and religious belief supported him. In his childhood, he was interested in doing experiments by reading science books.

The turning point of his life came when he audited Humphry Davy’s science lecture. Then, Michael Faraday became his assistant. After a while, Davy found that Faraday had a talent in performing experiments. Faraday was genuinely devoted to finding out electricity in his life.

Now, we are using electricity everyday in our lives, and it becomes indispensable. Without knowing the fundamental theory, we don’t even manufacture cars, airplanes, and a lot of other products.

On the other hand, if we apply such knowledge to what we make, we may be able to create innovative products.

History suggests that the combination between engineering and science changes our life styles and concepts.