Students in New York, Bangalore, Shanghai, and Munich are collecting data from weatherstations installed at their schools and using that data to predict weather trends for their communities. They are also learning about weather patterns, culture, and geography of partnering schools. Data including temperature, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, and lightning strikes are being recorded, graphed, and shared via this website.
The students are learning practical applications of scientific principles by:
The wind speed sensor works by counting the number of times a magnet attached to the rotor passes over a magnetic reed switch. The magnetic causes the switch to close. The DS2423 chip increments its counter for each switch closing (See schematic for more detail). Given the geometry of the rotor cups, the formula is: Wind Speed (in miles per hour) = 2.453 * count ( in revolutions per second)
The rain gauge works like a see-saw. The funnel area captures the rain and feeds it to a tipper gauge. When a calibrated amount of water (0.01") fills the tipper spoon, it flips over draining the spoon. The spoon tip causes a magnet to pass by a magnetic reed switch. The reed switch is connected to a DS2423 chip that increments its counter for each switch closing.
The temperature in the Windspeed housing is measured using a DS18S20 chip. It can measure temperatures from -55C to +125C with a +/-0.5C accuracy. Unfortunately sunlight can heat the white plastic enclosure and cause the thermometer to read high.
