Build your own Sputnik
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And possibly your Sputnik will get a chance to be launched to space. Isn’t this cool?
BBC Magazine describes here ‘How to build your own Sputnik‘ and promises that they’ll investigate how to get your Sputniks launched.
It seems incredible that the technology that went into building the first successful satellite 50 years ago can now be found lying around the average house. You could even build one yourself [...] In simple terms, the Sputnik satellite was a metal sphere almost 2ft (61cm) in diameter, containing a radio transmitter. It also had a battery; equipment to measure temperature; barometric and temperature activated switches; and a fan to stop it getting too hot [...] You could probably find most of these components lying around your home. There are transmitters in mobile or cordless phones, wireless internet routers and baby monitors, and you may well have a thermometer in the medicine cabinet.
A party balloon can act as a simple pressure switch of sorts - a partially inflated one would certainly expand and burst if the pressure outside dropped to zero. And temperature switches can be found all over the house, including in the thermostat for the central heating system, or in the electric oven or washing machine.
Electronic gadgets contain batteries, and fans can be found in home computers or the kitchen extractor. The only thing you may have trouble laying your hands on is a large metal sphere with whiplash aerials poking out.
While finding all the components may be easy in 2007, actually getting them to work together would require a little expertise. There’s also the small matter of all those wrecked domestic gadgets and appliances left in your wake.
2. Wireless router - backup transmitter and aerial
3. Mercury thermometer - temperature sensor
4. x4 large batteries - power supply
5. Balloon - pressure sensor (expands and pops if case punctured)
6. Power-pack - backup power supply
7. Domestic thermostat - activates fan and changes radio signal
8. Battery powered fan - moves heat to casing (once tin lid is on)
9. Biscuit tin with foil - houses components and reflects solar radiation
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