Imagine if instead of looking at photographs, you could walk through them. How amazing would that be? That's what a new computer programme may enable people to be able to do, and it could be ready in 2006.

The software firm Microsoft has come up with a way of matching up different images of a particular subject and then collecting them together in one virtual 3D model. A computer user could then walk or fly through the scene to look at any of the pics from any angle.  Wow!

The technology is expected to be available online.  People could upload their photos to a website, and then combined with other images, could produce a 3D model. The technology, called Photosynth, could also be used in tourism, with visitors able to take a virtual tour of some kind to see if they like the look of a place before they go. Right let’s have a look at the latest rides at Alton Towers. 

It sounds a bit like the Magic Eye pictures that were so popular in the 1990’s.  These were also known as 3D stereograms. People used to stare blankly at an image of coloured dots and swirly things, crossing and uncrossing their eyes, saying “I think I can see it – is it a goat on a skateboard?”  Actually no, it’s supposed to be someone’s corporate logo.  So you see the problem, not everyone can do it.  Also you need vision in both eyes to do it.  So no chance for Nelson then or poor old King Harold.

The grandfather of 3D art and stereographical headache is Charles Wheatstone. In 1833 he accidentally discovered that because human eyes are set a short distance apart, images viewed through one eye differ slightly from the other. This creates an illusion of depth. Five years later, he invented the stereoscope. This is a binocular device through which a pair of monocular images are projected to both eyes.  The optic axes converge at the same angle, thus giving the impression of a solid 3D image. Say that again in English. No on second thoughts don’t bother. Basically the brain can be fooled into thinking it’s seeing something it’s not. Optical illusions eh? Better uncross your eyes now and read the rest of the newsletter.

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Robot fever hits Yorkshire! Ay oop Mathilda – tha’s got a reet good set of armour theear (apologies for the pathetic attempt at a Yorkshire accent). The hi-tech thrills of robot combat are coming to Yorkshire as a new Robot Wars-style summer attraction opens at the Eureka! children's museum in Halifax. And we’ve got a family pass to give away!

Robogeddon will give visitors the chance to take control of powerful Cyber-Raptor robots and battle against their opponents inside a themed combat arena. Chop it, hack it, flip it! No, no not the pit! And it’s not just robots, there’s plenty more, including an open air Maze of Illusions for children of all ages, hands-on activities especially for under 5s and regular appearances from CBeebies character Gordon the Garden Gnome.

So if you want to win a family pass then send us an email with your name, age and address to: wired-up.news@nesta.org.uk with ‘CYBER WARS’ as the subject. The winner will be picked at random at 5pm, on Thursday 10 August.

For more information about Eureka! events, opening times and prices please call 01422 330069 or visit www.eureka.org.uk.

Good luck!

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Picture the scene.  You’re on the beach; you reach in your bag for a yummy sandwich and take a mighty bite.  Just at that moment a gust of wind blows sand straight into your sarnie. Eeeeuuuch!  If only you had known which way the wind was blowing…

Build a weather vane

A change in wind direction often indicates an imminent change in the weather. Be prepared for sudden change by making this weather vane. Then sit smugly under your umbrella as everyone else races off the beach in the downpour.

You will need:

• a long pin e.g. a map pin
• scissors
• ruler
• glue stick
• thin, coloured card
• drinking straw
• 2 pencils with eraser
• compass

What to do:

1. Make a sandcastle. Alternatively if you’re not on the beach you will need to anchor an upturned yoghurt pot firmly.
2. Make a hole in the centre by inserting the pencil, sharp end first. Make sure that it is firmly in place.
3. With another pencil and a ruler, draw two large triangles and four small ones on the coloured card. Then cut out the shapes.
4. Place the small triangles on the base (of the sandcastle or yoghurt pot) as if they were the points of a compass. You may need to weigh them down (pebbles are very handy if you’re at the beach) or stick them to the bottom of the yoghurt pot.
5. Cut short slits in each end of the straw and insert one large triangle in each end to make an arrow-shaped "vane." Both points of the triangles should be pointing in the same direction. Like this:
   
   
   
   
6. Push the pin through the centre of the straw and into the eraser on the pencil sticking out of the sandcastle or pot. Make sure the vane swings round easily.
7. Watch the vane swing in the wind.
8. Finally, use your compass to determine East, West, North and South, and then label the small triangles accordingly. Now you can tell which direction the weather vane is pointing.
9. Sit with your back to the wind before eating your picnic!

What's going on?

Weather vanes are one of the oldest of all weather instruments; working by swinging around in the wind to show which direction it is blowing from. Traditionally, weather vanes had a religious importance and appeared in the form of weathercocks on church roofs as early as the 9th Century AD. The head of the cockerel would point into the wind, indicating the direction the wind was blowing from.

The direction in which the vane points indicates the direction from which the wind is blowing. For instance, in a westerly wind, the vane points "West."

The air is nearly always in motion, and this is felt as wind. Two factors are necessary to specify wind, its speed and direction. The direction of wind is expressed as the point of the compass from where the wind is blowing. Air moving from the north-east to the south-west is called a north-east wind. It may also be expressed in degrees from true north. A north-east wind would be 45°. A south-west wind would be 235°.

For more interesting facts about the wind
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/wind1.htm and
http://www.rcn27.dial.pipex.com/cloudsrus/wind.html

For more details of how to measure the wind
http://www.rcn27.dial.pipex.com/cloudsrus/measurewind.html

And if that has whetted your appetite for the weather then checkout
http://www.weather-climate.org.uk/05.php

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Remember issue no. 51?  We were giving away a family pass to Techniquest in Cardiff. The lucky winner is Bryony Lines from Coventry. Well done! Hope you enjoy your visit, don’t forget to let us know how you get on.

So keep entering – you never know! Next time - it could be YOU…

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