Lights, Camera, Green Screen?

Comedy Central's popular tosh.0

Anyone who has ever watched TV has more than likely seen these technological wonders known as a green screen. Only thing is, they probably don't know it. The purpose of a green screen is to change a background or wall into something it's really not. Video producers, news producers, and even TV shows such as Tosh.0 make use of the technology, bringing us their information in viewer friendly formats. But how do they do it?

In order for the screen to work, it needs to be kept under a specific set of conditions. What are these conditions? What needs to be done in order to produce those flawless images we see every day on TV? How does the screen work, what is it that allows us to see the images and videos in the background? Research green screens and try to answer these questions.

3G or 4G?

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Nowadays smartphones are becoming more and more widespread. Almost always when you go to purchase a phone and sign a contract you need to pay extra to use the internet, there are various types of internet bundles you can choose from. This is when it becomes cloudy for many people. Phone companies do a terrific job of making their products seem as if they are the best, boasting of extremely fast internet or inexpensive deals.

There is 3G internet and a new 4G. The introduction of 4G internet has brought along numerous questions. For example, what is it, what's the difference between the two, and is it really all that better? Research 4G and try to answer some of these questions.

Circuit Software

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We've been analyzing some basic series and parallel circuits in class. After doing many calculations, many students realize that this kind of work can be repetitive and tedious. Many of the processes we do in our analysis can be easily performed on a computer. For example, we often combine many resisters into a single,  "equivalent" resistance, and then use Ohm's Law to determine the current that will flow through each component of the circuit.

Consider this (easy) problem concerning circuit analysis... ... A 12-V battery is connected to a 100-ohm and a 200-ohm resistor arranged in parallel. This parallel arrangement is then connected in series to a third resistor that has a resistance of 50 ohms and then back to the battery. What current will flow through the 100-ohm resistor? Surely a computer can solve this problem automatically, right?

Do some searching online and see if you can find a program or, better yet, a web applet that allows the user to add electrical components to a blank canvas and then simulates the results. Post a link to your favorite analysis software, and post the answer to the above question.