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Archives for April 2014

Space Weather Balloons Bring Families Together

April 30, 2014 by

Looking for something fun to do with the entire family? Finding a family-friendly activity that everyone will enjoy is easier said than done. But it’s not impossible. Simply ask anyone in your household, young or old, if they would like to send a weather balloon into near deep space and you’re sure to get a resounding yes. And you don’t have to pay a fortune to do it either.

Sky Probe, a company that offers near space platforms, is making it possible for families to spend quality time together as they work on the launch of a professional weather balloon into near space. How is this possible? The company offers affordable weather balloon launch kits designed for the average consumer. The kit includes the balloon, a GPS datalogger, and two extra support arms.

The whole idea behind this project is that anyone can do it. Families can work together to build the kit, plan the launch, and track the payload during the entire adventure. The company even offers technical support along with full instructions on how to build and use the balloon, which means you can participate even if you’ve never done this before.

If you’ve always wanted to make science and engineering fun for your children, a high altitude balloon launch kit is the answer. So how much does something like this cost? The Ultimate High Altitude Launch Kit is around $800. Considering that you can use it several times and that it will bring together your entire family, it’s worth the cost.

Filed Under: Gadgets, Goods and Services, Technology

Household Products Manufactured with Sputtering

April 15, 2014 by

Several household products would not exist today without the usage of sputtering. Sputtering is used heavily in the medical industry, creating products plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The process is also responsible for many kinds of household products that you probably use every day.

Sputtering Defined

Sputtering is the process of depositing thin layers of film onto an object. You can think of sputtering like tinting the windows on a car, but the process occurs at a microscopic level. In medical technology, for instance, sputtering uses vacuum deposition systems to apply a viscous coating to something that will enter the bloodstream. This keeps the device from gaining too much mass. Household products aren’t as concerned with mass, but there are a variety of reasons why a microscopic layer of film could be useful.

Mirrors

A microscopic layer of film applied to a pane of glass creates a mirror. The early days of mirror manufacturing involved a layer of mercury applied to a sheet of plate glass, usually to the back of the surface. The result is a kind of looking glass, where the mirror seems behind the glass pane.

Safety glass mirrors use a special film that helps the glass break a certain way to avoid injuries. Silkscreen glass windows apply their colors to a specially treated film that allows the dyes to adhere. Silvery glass mirrors are ordinary panes of glass with a thin film of silver to provide reflectivity.

Computers

Silicon can act like a conductor in certain situations, a fact that helped create the “Silicon Valley.” Engineers discovered that by purifying and melting silicon, they could reshape the substance and create circuit boards. Still, anyone with a laptop can appreciate the process of sputtering.

Once the board is made from the silicon, sputtering is used to lay down chemicals that form the basis of the circuits. The actual characteristics of the board are based on the types of chemicals used, and the formation of those chemicals. Without sputtering, laptops and desktops wouldn’t exist along with hundreds of other household appliances.

Cameras

Cameras themselves don’t use sputtering outside of the formation of their circuit boards, but the lenses might. Thin film coatings help protect lenses from UV light and scratches. Special coatings can also add colored filters, which are useful in film. This process occurs in a vacuum, where the lens (called a substrate) is allowed to absorb the chemicals as they are heated and allowed to flow freely within a sealed chamber.
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Denton Vacuum, LLC makes sputtering systems that can help manufacture Diamond like carbon. For more information on sputtering systems, contact Denton Vacuum, LLC.

Filed Under: Technology

Direct Marketing vs. Branding

April 11, 2014 by

This article was written by Ted Dhanik

Direct marketers have a need to sell, and a need to do so quickly. Brands concerned with awareness tend to pull value from engaging users on multiple platforms. Which of these goals fits your display advertising campaign?

Conversions

Direct marketing campaigns are decidedly concerned with conversions. In direct marketing, money is constantly spent on display advertising, necessitating a return on investment. Direct ads tend to lead directly to a landing page where the customer can buy or fill out a form to receive something. Good direct marketers focus on listing their benefits in the sales copy, and trying to close the deal as soon as possible.

Engagement

Marketers who are concerned with branding tend to view banner advertising as a means to an end. These types of campaigns may take a customer to a special interest style website set up to promote a service, or a blog post that details something new and exciting that is forthcoming. Because engagement doesn’t necessarily mean conversion, brand awareness is viewed as a long-term objective. The idea is to get the brand on as many pages as possible for the smallest cost.

Clicks versus Views

While the two goals, clicks and views, are similar,  the end results are very different. A page view can help brand awareness if what is on that page can go viral, or if the user stays engaged with the content. Retargeting can be useful to get multiple page views at a lower cost. Both direct and brand marketers are very interested in clicks, which lead to action. Clicks tend to be more valuable, and a lot more expensive. Thus, the ratio of clicks to page views must be tighter for a campaign to be considered successful.

Bio: Ted Dhanik is a sales and direct marketing professional. Ted Dhanik has worked extensively on digital marketing with big brands like MySpace.com. Find out how to increase your conversions when you visit Ted Dhanik.

Filed Under: Business Services