To recap, in my previous articles, I started to explain what type of microchip is behind many electronics.
I also started to share the programming side of a simple project in hope you will grasp what these miniature computers in a chip can do and start to realise their capabilities, which drives most modern electronic devices.
The Prototype
The prototype of the vacuum battery saver is assembled and working.
As the construction of the device is beyond the scope of this article, if you are interested in more than the summary below, the finer details of the project can be viewed on my blog site, here http://mickdahl.weebly.com/
The image on the left shows the construction in a nutshell.
Top left – The circuit diagram, which is like a roadmap for electronic components.
Bottom left – Components laid out on a breadboard for testing and adjustment of the circuit. The microcontroller is attached to the netbook via a USB to Serial converter in order to 'download' the program into the microcontroller.
Bottom right – The project installed into a project box, ready to be attached to the vacuum.
Top right – The completed project, attached and working.
OK so where is God in all of this?
I thought more deeply of this recently when choosing a project to share.
How does a device which uses a micro controller—in this case a device which improves a cordless vacuum's charging—relate to and give acknowledgement to God?
I feel this depends on how you perceive it. Some might ask the same of an art piece, a building or a well written novel.
Creativity in all of its incarnations is a shared experience between human and the divine. It is an acknowledgement that something eternal and alive with truth undergirds the temporal world in which we dwell.
Imagine a world without the arts, poetry, film, maths, architecture, books, comedy, statues and sculptures, technologies in health and science including the development of computers. Such a world would be boring, bland and dull.
Art brings vibrancy and beauty to our lives, architecture brings a sense of achievement by combining art and engineering, comedy brings us laughter, and medical treatments give us an improved quality of life to better enjoy the elements of this life—the list goes on.
Technology and the nature of God
Technology and engineering are rooted in the creative nature of God, and their appropriate use is a moral obligation in our stewardship of the earth.
Technologies facilitate our actions, thereby enabling us to shape our environment and act to bring about human aspirations—both good and bad.
We can choose to worship God with sustainable and appropriate technologies, hardware and software, which are well thought out and work. Technologies that heal not harm, that are concerned for the environment and the poor, and which improve the efficiency of everyday living; and in the case of my project, technologies which contribute in just a small part by reducing landfill from toxic batteries and saving electricity.
The emphasis of these articles was to share with you this modern piece of technology which is so simple, yet so complex. The result of significant technological development bearing more than a hundred years of work by the world's leading scientists, mathematicians and engineers—the product is the modern computer processor, technology which is included in the humble microcontroller.
The silicone with which the chips are etched from is made primarily from sand, and a tiny amount of aluminium all encased in plastic. For a few cents apiece, these chips are made in bulk and, as I have shown, when run with some simple code and interfaced to a few electronic components, can be made to perform an almost infinite number of tasks, including medical devices which save lives.
So we should strive to do our best at what good we are capable off, whatever that may be, for the glory of God.
1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 31:
'So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.'
Michael Dahlenburg is an Electronics Engineer currently working in the ATM industry. He is non-denominational and has previously been involved in church plants and assisting those in ministry. His interests include: enjoying family, home DIY, gardening, and most things tech-related and driving his wife crazy with a constant stream of inventions! You can view his blog site here http://mickdahl.weebly.com
He lives with his wife Michelle and three children in God's own land of Southern Adelaide, Australia.
Michael Dahlenburg's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/michael-dahlenburg.html