Hacking the Wii remote for physics class

User rating: 4.3 / 5 after 77 vote(s)

Wii accelerometer as a pendulum. Image credit: Vannoni and Straulino.
Wii accelerometer as a pendulum. Image credit: Vannoni and Straulino.

You might be surprised to know that your Nintendo Wii remote control has a small accelerometer that, until recently, research physicists paid good money to purchase. But the increasing widespread use of accelerometers in everything from video games to Segways to the iPhone is pushing the cost down and enabling some cheap experimental fun—and education.


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All News summaries for July 24, 2007

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