Vernier News
We’ve revamped the training video library to make it easier to find, view, and share videos. Download any video to play on your computer offline or your iPod. Check back regularly for more tutorials, tips, and training with e-mail notification or the RSS feed.
Physics with Video Analysis contains 32 new video analysis activities for introductory physics at either the high school or college level. Topics include kinematics, dynamics, circuits, sound, thermodynamics, electrostatics, and more. The activities are centered on a collection of ready-to-go videos created for this book. Collecting good videos for analysis can be challenging, and the provided videos are a delight to work with.
Measure real-time electricity usage with the Watts Up Pro with Logger Pro or LabQuest. Collect data such as real power, potential, current, and apparent power. The Watts Up Pro also calculates a wide variety of data, including maximum watts, frequency, and cumulative costs.
Coming Soon! Go!Tweet is free software for Vernier Go! sensors to a Twitter account, making it easy to share sensor data to the internet from anywhere!
STEM 2 with Vernier® and LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT has activities using a Force Sensor, Magnetic Field Sensor, Voltage Probe, and Gas Pressure Sensor. It covers topics in physical science and engineering, including mechanics, pressure, electricity, and magnetism. Students are challenged to build and program robots for testing batteries, finding land mines, and controlling a Cartesian diver. Twelve classic labs done with these same sensors and the NXT are also included.
The White Digital Bioimaging System allows you to view non-fluorescent, visible stain gels, capture the image digitally on a computer and analyze the data using Logger Pro software, making gel analysis less tedious and produce better results.
As part of the Irish Leaving Certificate Senior Physics syllabus, students from the Christian Brothers Boys’ Secondary School, in Dungarvan, Ireland, study the contributions of Ireland’s two greatest scientists: Robert Boyle and Ernest T. S. Walton. It just so happens that these two giants in science have a local connection – they were both born in the southeastern coastal county of Waterford, not too far from the school.
Continue reading Investigating Ireland’s Greatest Scientists with Vernier…
We decided to do some home testing of a standard basement freezer with the Watts Up Pro power meter. How much energy is used, and how cold does the freezer get when the compressor is running? To find out, we used a LabQuest and a Watts Up Pro to log the data over a 48-hour period.
If you have ever wanted to introduce your students to the study of human biomechanics, we have found a great product for you. While attending the Annual Meeting of the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS), we came across two excellent interactive models that use Vernier sensors and our LabQuest to study human biomechanics.
Enzymes are molecules that regulate the chemical reactions that occur in all living organisms. Almost all enzymes are globular proteins that act as catalysts, substances that speed up chemical reactions. Enzymes catalyze reactions by reducing the activation energy for a specific reaction to occur and yet are neither destroyed nor altered during this process. Understanding how enzymes work in biological systems is a critical and difficult concept for students to comprehend.
Our newest environmental project at Vernier is composting with a worm bin. Our worm bin is a large, locally made, unfinished cedar chest with about 60 cubic feet of capacity. The bin is located in a shady spot on the side of our building, and contains a colony of red wiggler worms. We collect food scraps and coffee grounds, along with coffee filters, in a compost pail in our kitchen. Volunteers, called the “worm wranglers,” empty the pail into the worm bin several times a day. We also add paper towels and grass clippings to our composting worm bin. The worms turn this portion of our garbage into nutrient-rich compost that we can use on plants around our building.
Casio recently developed a set of high-speed cameras. These cameras are actually still digital cameras, but they have the ability to capture high-speed video. The capture rates vary from 210 frames per second (fps) to 1200 fps. The price range is from $300 to $1000 per camera.
hese cameras open exciting opportunities to explore science that is difficult to see at normal speed, such as golf swings and baseball pitcher throws.
We’re pleased to release the latest update for LabQuest. The version 1.3 update is free and recommended for all LabQuest users.
Top New Features
- Vernier Mini GC support
- Watts Up Pro support
- Power Amplifier improvements
- Peak Integration analysis feature
- GPS (Global Positioning System) strength display
- 14 languages
Logger Pro 3.8 is now available for download. Version 3.8 new features include support for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Windows 7 (32 and 64-bit), Vernier Mini GC Gas Chromatograph, Watts Up Pro, and more.
Logger Pro 3.8 is a free update to all Logger Pro 3 users.
David Vernier’s co-workers and friends would like to congratulate him for being named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young for the Pacific Northwest Region.
David’s creativity, vision, and dedication to science education won him this honor in the software category. Congratulations, Dave!
The Vernier LabQuest was used on Spike TV’s “Jesse James is a Dead Man” to test the effects of sub-zero temperature on the human body.
You’ll spot the LabQuest about nine minutes into the episode. Don’t try this at home or at school!
The Vernier Gas Chromatograph, or “Mini GC,” is an instrument for separating, analyzing, and identifying substances contained in a volatile liquid or gaseous sample.
It has all of the key components of a traditional gas chromatograph, including an injection port, temperature and pressure controls, a thin capillary column through which different substances pass at different rates depending on various chemical and physical properties, and a sensor for detecting the arrival of compounds.
The Mini GC also has the added benefit of a new patented MEMS chip sensor which allows for room air to be used as a carrier gas. Its compact size makes it an ideal solution for students to learn the principles of gas chromatography.
We have just kicked off our annual summer fitness challenge at Vernier! The goal of the eight-week challenge is to inspire everyone at Vernier to exercise at least 30 minutes for five days of the week.
This year’s theme is “Challenge for Causes.” Vernier has dedicated the challenge to three local charities: Oregon Food Bank, Start Making a Reader Today (SMART), and Sisters of the Road. For every hour an employee exercises, Vernier will donate sixty cents to the cause the employee has chosen.
Vernier employees are excited to exercise this summer for the benefit of their own health and to also contribute to our local community’s needs.
Chart of our contributions from 6/8/2009 to 7/31/2009:
Vernier Software & Technology was awarded the #9 position on the “100 Best Green Companies to Work for in Oregon” list at a ceremony held on June 1.
This award was given to Vernier for its 128 solar panels, recycling practices, providing transit passes to all employees, LEED-EB Gold building, and other sustainability practices.
David and Christine Vernier were presented with an Innovative Business Leadership Award from Oregon State University at an awards banquet on May 7, 2009.
As stated by Sherm Bloomer, OSU’s dean of the College of Science, “The company is known for its employee development, family-friendly policies, commitment to sustainability and community philanthropy.”
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Beaverton, OR 97005-2886