Green winners

Five teams of talented Thai students took out gold awards at the International Exhibition for Young Inventors (IEYI) 2012, an annual international event that was this year held in Bangkok.

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The hula hoop battery charger.

Green innovations win gold

Sasiwimon Boonruang
 
Five teams of talented Thai students took out gold awards at the International Exhibition for Young Inventors (IEYI) 2012, an annual international event that was this year held in Bangkok.

The winning teams created inventions that tackle contemporary lifestyle issues including energy, disturbing insects and agriculture.

One of the most interesting employed a hula hoop to charge mobile phone batteries. The brainchild of Apisit Wannarancsri and Jukkit Buppha from Samutsakhon Wittayalai School, the hula hoop battery charger was inspired by two familiar scenes they see every day – people playing with hula hoops and people using mobile phones.

Electricity is generated when 12 magnets in the hula hoop react with copper wire which has been wrapped in fabric and sewn into in a belt. The circuit is created by the belt and the electric current is transformed from alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC), which can be used to power a mobile phone.

"Besides exercising, this can also help reduce global warming. The telephone charger can be used in daily life, but further development will make the device more interesting, such as having a lighter weight," Jukkit said.

The flytrap using shrimp as bait

Another example of environmentally conscious invention is "Green Products" from Hat Yai Wittayalai 2 School. Created by Varunyou Dropphupha and Kannika Chaisiri, Green Products is a flytrap that uses a three-day-old shrimp as bait. The shrimp at three days old has a distinctive smell that lures the insects.

Designed with a conical shape, the top of which contains water, the flies that flock into the device will automatically fall into the liquid. A CD is also used to prevent flies from escaping.

The team pointed out that the CD accelerates the flies' death rate. The life cycle of flies is normally four to five days, but the device will ensure all will die within 12 hours.

"When you leave the device for three hours, a thousand flies will be trapped," the inventors claim.

You can read about three other student inventions here: http://bit.ly/LKoPYv
 
innovation – the introduction of new things, ideas or ways of doing something; a new idea, way of doing something, etc. that has been introduced or discovered นวัตกรรม, การคิดขึ้นใหม่, สิ่งที่นำเข้ามาใหม่
talented – very good at something ความสามารถพิเศษ
award – a prize or a sum of money that is given to someone following an official decision รางวัล
exhibition – a public show where art or other interesting things are put so that people can go and look at them นิทรรศการ งานแสดง
inventor – someone who has designed or created something such as a machine or process that did not exist before นักประดิษฐ์
annual – happening once a year ประจำปี
tackle – to make an organised and determined attempt to deal with something จัดการ, รับมือ
contemporary – belonging to the present time ที่อยู่ในปัจจุบัน, ทันสมัย
issue
disturbing – making you feel extremely worried, annoyed or upset ที่ขุ่นเคืองใจ, น่ารำคาญ
insect – any small creature with six legs and a body divided into three parts. Insects usually also have wings. Ants, bees and flies are all insects แมลง, แมง
agriculture – the science or practice of farming เกษตรกรรม, การเกษตร
employ – to use ใช้
brainchild – an idea or invention of one person or a small group of people ความคิดหรือสิ่งประดิษฐ์
inspire – to give someone the idea for a piece of work ทำให้เกิด บันดาลใจให้
familiar – well known to you, or easily recognised by you คุ้นเคย
scene – a view that you can see in a picture or from the place where you are  วิว,,ภาพ, ทิวทัศน์,ทัศนียภาพ
generate – to produce ผลิต, ก่อให้เกิด
magnet – an object that is able both to attract iron and steel objects and also push them away แม่เหล็ก
react – to respond as a result of something that happens มีปฏิกิริยาตอบโต้
copper – a soft reddish-brown metal used for making electric wires, pipes and coins ทองแดง
wrap – to cover something completely in paper or other material ห่อ, คลุม
fabric – cloth, especially when it is used for making things such as clothes or curtains
sew – to use a needle and thread to make stitches in cloth เย็บ
belt – a long narrow piece of leather, cloth, etc. that you wear around the waist  เข็มขัด
circuit – the complete path of wires and equipment along which an electric current flows วงจรไฟฟ้า
create – to make something new สร้าง, แต่งขึ้น
current – the flow of electricity through a wire, etc กระแสไฟฟ้า
transform – to change from one form into another  เปลี่ยนไปสู่อีกสิ่งหนึ่ง
alternating current (AC) – an electric current that changes its direction at regular intervals many times a second  กระแสไฟฟ้าสลับ
direct current (DC) – an electric current that flows in one direction only  ไฟกระแสตรง
reduce – to make something smaller or less in amount, size, importance etc ลดลง
global – world เกี่ยวกับโลก
device – a machine or piece of equipment that does a particular job อุปกรณ์ เครื่องมือ เครื่องจักร
fly – a small flying insect with two wings แมลงวั
trap – a piece of equipment for catching animals, insects, etc.  กับดัก
bait – food used for attracting and catching fish, birds, or animals เหยื่อ
environmental – involving the place in which people live and work, including all the physical conditions that affect them เกี่ยวกับสภาพแวดล้อม, สิ่งแวดล้อม
conscious – aware; noticing that something exists or is happening and realising that it is important ความสำนึก ความตระหนักถึง
distinctive – easy to recognize because it is different from other things พิเศษ, มีลักษณะเฉพาะ
lure – to attract something ล่อใจ, หลอกล่อ, ยั่วยวน
conical – shaped like a cone (a solid or hollow object with a round flat base and sides that slope up to a point)  ที่เป็นรูปทรงกรวย
flock – to go somewhere in large numbers; to gather together in large numbers แห่กันไป
prevent – to stop somebody from doing something; to stop something from happening  ขัดขวาง, กัน, กีดขวาง
escape – to get away from a place where you are in danger หนี
accelerate – to cause to happen more quickly เร่ง
rate – the level or speed at which something happens or changes, or the amount or number of times it happens or changes in a particular period อัตรา
ensure – to make certain that something happens or is done  ให้การยืนยัน, รับรอง, ให้ความมั่นใจ
claim – to say that something is true although it has not been proved อ้าง