DIY Rain Clouds

By Stephanie Morgan

 

 

This simple activity is the ultimate rainy day project.  It’s part art, part science, and guaranteed to get the kids excited about the dreary weather that’s keeping them from playing outside.  To get started you’ll need some clear containers, water, food coloring, a dropper, and shaving cream.  Make sure you get the old fashioned kind of shaving cream.  The fancy gel type is no good for our purposes.

 

Tackle the science portion first.  Fill your chosen vessel (we used glass measuring cups and mason jars) about two-thirds full of water.  Add a puffy layer of shaving cream on top.  Explain that the water represents air and the shaving cream represents a cloud, which is made up of lots of tiny droplets of water or ice.  Mix some of the blue food coloring with water and add it, a few drops at a time, to the top of the shaving cream. 

The result will be blue rain.  For faster rain, try non-diluted food coloring.

Now it’s time for some hypothesizing.  Ask your children to think about why clouds are able to float. (The short answer is that the water and ice droplets are very light.)  Why does your child think clouds sometimes make rain?  You can keep the answer to this one simple, too.  The bigger the cloud gets, the more the water droplets bang together and grow.  Eventually they get so heavy, they fall to the ground.
Challenge older kids to flex their critical thinking skills a bit more.  The truth is, nobody knows exactly how clouds make rain.  Scientists think it has to do with the water droplets freezing onto tiny particles of dust or bacteria inside the cloud, called cloud seeds, causing them to become heavy and fall to the ground.  If you really want to blow your kiddos’ minds, mention that people sometimes try to make it rain by sending planes to shoot dust into clouds, a process known as cloud seeding.

At this point, your children will be pretty antsy to take a crack at making rain.  Hand over the dropper and let them try it.  We used a leftover medicine dispenser instead of a traditional dropper.  Since my three-year-old son pushed quite a bit harder than I did, he was able to observe the effects of varying amounts of pressure on the shaving cream and water.

 

When the thrill starts to wear off making rain, you can add a whole new level of fun by introducing some color mixing.  Set up a few more jars of food coloring and water and let your child experiment.

 

What I like about this technique is that, for the most part, the colors stay separate on top of the shaving cream.

But below the shaving cream, they swirl and mix together to create beautiful new hues.  Seeing blue and red on top and purple underneath really reinforces the color mixing concept.

 

One last tip: Try this activity with containers of varying shapes and sizes.  Before you know it, your table will look like this and you and the kids will have happily passed an entire rainy afternoon.
Photo credits: Stephanie Morgan

Read more: DIY Rain Clouds | eHow Mom | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/ehow-mom/education-and-activities/blog/diy-rain-clouds/#ixzz1vYwliv51

Know Your Skateboard, Love Your Skateboard, Play Your Skateboard

 

Yup, sesuai judul diatas, sekarang kita bakal bahas tentang alat yg jadi jantung hobby tersayang kita, yaitu Skateboard. Ada pepatah yang bilang: 'tak kenal maka tak sayang' maka disini kita kupas semua yg berhubungan dengan skateboard.

Bagian-bagian pada skateboard:

1. Deck

 

Deck adalah sebuah benda yang berbentuk persegi empat, lonjong, dan datar dan terbuat dari lapisan-lapisan kayu yang mana dibawahnya diletakkan Truck dan atasnya menggunakan lapisan Griptape. Pada industr i papan (Deck), papan standard biasanya terdiri dari 7 atau 9 lapis kayu mapple yang direkatkan dengan lem dan dipress kedalam wadah press an untuk membentuk Concaves. Concaves adalah lekukan pada deck.

Most decks are constructed with a six to seven-ply cross-laminated maple wood. Some of them have special materials that help to keep the deck from breaking: such as fiberglass, bamboo, resin, Kevlar, carbon fiber, aluminum, and plastic. Some decks made from maple ply are dyed to create various different coloured ply.

Modern decks vary in size, but most are 7 to 10.5 inches (17.78 to 26.67 centimeters) wide. Wider decks can be used for greater stability when transition or ramp skating. Skateboard decks are usually between 28 and 33 inches (71.12 and 83.82 centimetres) long. The underside of the deck can be printed with a design by the manufacturer, blank, or decorated by any other means.

2. Concave

 

Concave adalah bagian yang menukik pada Deck, Concave terdiri dari dua bagian, yaitu Nose dan Tail. Nose berada dibagian ujung depan Deck, dan Tail berada pada ujung belakang Deck, perbedaan Nose dan Tail dapat dilihat dari bentuk dan lebar concavenya, biasanya Nose lebih lebar daripada Tail, dan sudut Concavenya lebih terjal, sementara Tail mempunyai lebar yang agak kecil, dan lebih sudut Concavenya.

The concave curve that starts at the nose and continues through the of the middle of the deck to the tail provides strength and allows you to grip the board better for many maneuvers.

3. Mounting Hole

Mounting Hole adalah 8 lubang yang terdapat di decks dan berfungsi sebagai tempat menaruh trucks.

Eight mounting holes in the board, four near each kicktail, are drilled to allow attachement of the trucks to the deck. Mounting holes for industry standard decks and trucks are a specified size so any standard truck should fit any standard deck.

4. Griptape

Griptape adalah sebuah kertas yang berbentuk seperti ampelas yang digunakkan diatas decks.biasanya griptape mempunyai ukuran yang hampir sama dengan decks.Griptape ialah grainy karena mempunyai kontrol dan daya cengkeram papan anda, anda memerlukan bahan yang akan menangkap dan merebut seluruh gerak-gerik kaki anda.

Griptape is the sandpaper like sheet that is applied to the top of the deck. It is usually 9" wide by 33" long and is self adhesive. The Griptape is grainy because in order to have control and traction of your skate board, you need a substance that will catch and grab all the movement of your feet.

5. Truck

Trucks adalah alat yang dibuat dari besi yang digunakan untuk menyangga deck dan menaruh wheel.

Attached to the deck are two metal (usually aluminum alloy) trucks, which connect to the wheels and deck. The trucks are further composed of two parts. The top part of the truck is screwed to the deck and is called the baseplate, and beneath it is the hanger. The axle runs through the hanger. Between the baseplate and the hanger are bushings, also rubbers or grommets, that provide the cushion mechanism for turning the skateboard. The bushings cushion the truck when it turns. The stiffer the bushings, the more resistant the skateboard is to turning. The softer the bushings, the easier it is to turn. A bolt called a kingpin holds these parts together and fits inside the bushings. Thus by tightening or loosening the kingpin nut, the trucks can be adjusted loosely for better turning and tighter for more stability. Standard Kingpin nut size is 5/16" - 24tpi.

6. Axle and Axle Nuts

 

Axle : adalah besi yang menonjol dikedua sisi trucks yang berfungsi untuk meletakkan wheel.

The axle is a metal rod that runs through the truck hanger, protruding a couple of inches on either side. One wheel is inserted on either end and held in place by the axle nut.

Axle nuts : adalah mur yang berfungsi untuk menahan wheel agar tidak lepas.

Axle nut is threaded onto the truck axle to hold the wheel in place.

7. Bushing

 

Bushing adalah potongan urethane yang berbentuk donat dan diletakkan dikingpin.bushing terdapat pada pada gambar disamping yang berwarna kuning.disetiap truck terdapat 2 bushing.busing diletakkan diantara hanger satu diletakkan dibawah hanger dan satunya diletakkan diatas hanger.bushing bisa dikencangkan atau dikendorkan sesuai dengan jenisnya,ada yang hard yaitu yang keras atau yang soft lebih lembut.saya sarankan untuk memilih bushing yang hard karena lebih stabil dan tidak mudah goyang,walaupun kelemahannya tidak mudah untuk berbelok.

Bushings are donut-shaped urethane pieces that are inserted onto the kingpin of a truck. There are 2 bushings per truck, 1 above and 1 below where the hanger fits onto the kingpin. Adjusting the kingpin nut to tighten or loosen the bushings will adjust the turning radius and response of the truck itself. Tighter bushings mean stiffer trucks and less chance of wheel bite, while loose bushings make for easier turning but a greater chance of wheel bite disaster.

8. Baseplate

 

Baseplate adalah bagian terbawah truck,berfungsi untuk meletakkan hanggar dan kingpin.hanger bebentuk persegi dan memiliki 8 lubang yang setiap lubang untuk setiap nuts yang berfungsi mengencangkan truck dengan decks.

Baseplate is the componant of a truck that is physically attached to the board with the mounting hardware. A baseplate consists of the plate itself (with 4 or 6 mounting holes) and it's supported kingpin and pivot cup. The truck hanger then fits snugly into the pivot cup and over the kingpin, which is held in place by the king pin nut.

9. Hanger

 

Hanger adalah bagian truck yang dikencangkan dengan kingpin yang dilettakan dilubang pivot di baseplate. Hanger berfungsi untuk alat grind ditruck.



The truck hanger is fastened to the kingpin and rests in the pivot cup of the baseplate. It contains the axle on which your wheels are mounted and provides the surface we so relentlessly grind on.


10. Pivot

Pivot adalah plastik berbentuk cangkir dan terletak dibaseplate.digunakan untuk menyangga hanger.


A pivot cup is a plastic cup-shaped piece that rests inside the baseplate and supports the trucks hanger at the pivot point, allowing it to turn smoothly in either left or right directions.


11. Kingpin

 

Kingpin adalah baut yang menyangga hanger dan bushing.truck bisa dikencangkan atau dikendorkan melalui mur kingpin. 

The kingpin is a partially threaded bolt protruding from the baseplate that supports the bushings and truck hanger. The axle nut at the end can be adjusted to loosen or tighten the turning capacity of your truck.

12. Raiser

 

Riser adalah palstik berbentuk persegi yang diletakkan diantara truck dan decks.riser berfungsi untuk meredam tekanan gravitasi.

Drilled with mounting holes to fit, a riser is a plastic platform mounted between the truck and deck. A riser increases the clearance between the top of a wheel and the bottom of the deck thus reducing the chance of wheel bite, as well as slightly raising the rider's center of gravity.

 

13. Wheel

 

Wheel : roda yang terdapat dalam part skateboard, ukuran wheel bermacam-macam.

Street : ukuran wheel untuk yang suka bermain distreet atau technical biasanya menggunakan wheel dengan ukuran 48-55 mm dengan tingkat kekerasan 97-101a.
Vert:
untuk yang suka bermain vert bisa menggunakan wheel dengan ukuran 55-65 mm dengan kekerasan 95-100a

14. Bearing

 

Bearing adalah sebuah benda yang digunakkan untuk menggerakan wheel.orang indonesia sering menyebut bearing itu klahar,bearing terdiri dari 6,7 atau 8 bola yang dilindungi oleh penahan.setiap wheel terdiri dari 2 bearing,jadi bila dijumlah untuk keseluruhan bearing ada 8 buah untuk melengkapi skateboard.istilah abec adalah penilaian bearing mengikuti angka 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 dan nilai-nilai yang tepat untuk penilaian sebagai seberapa baik perform bearing saat di bawah kecepatan tinggi di sebuah garis lurus.

Skateboard bearings allow for the rolling motion of a wheel on it's axle. They consist of 6, 7 or 8 balls enclosed in races between two shields encased in a disklike body. 2 bearings, 1 on each side, are inserted into every wheel, totalling 8 bearings necessary for a complete skateboard.

Naaah... so far udah tau kan masing-masing part, kegunaannya dan pengertiannya. Soooo...

Go Get Your Board and Go Look Some FUN!!!

- Know it, Love it, Play it -

killthefamous skateboard

sumber : http://www.skatewarehouse.com/anatomy.html

                http://www.dalimunthe.com/2010/02/mengenal-skateboard.html

Anything