Acid rain sucks, particularly if you run a fancy university with lots of lovely statues outside. If you’d like to try and predict when it’s going to occur, you might like this project from [Mohammad Nihal].
When rain is particularly acidic, it’s usually because of the combination of sulfur dioxide or nitrogen dioxide and moisture in the atmosphere. This combination ends up making sulfuric acid or nitric acid that then falls to the ground as precipitation. The low-pH rain that results can harm ecosystems, melt statues, and just generally give everyone a hard time.
[Mohammed] decided to try and predict acid rain by building a simple device based on an Arduino Nano. It records SO2 levels with an MQ-136 gas sensor, and NO2 levels with an unspecified MEMS-based sensor. There’s also a DHT11 temperature & humidity sensor in the mix, which is important since moisture content plays a role. The Arduino reads these sensors and uses a simple predictive algorithm to create an “Acid Rain Risk Score” that is displayed on a 16×2 character LCD. It’s all wrapped up in a fun 3D printed enclosure that looks like a cloud.
There are some limitations to the device. Namely, it doesn’t necessarily have a great read on atmospheric SO2 and NO2 levels in the atmosphere, particularly at altitudes where rain is formed, because the sensor sits inside the device indoors. However, the basic concept is there, and improvements could certainly be made with some upgrades and further research.
We absolutely adore inspired labor-of-love tales such as this one. [Alastair] wanted to build a synth for his daughter’s third birthday in spite of having no prior hardware knowledge. It became the perfect excuse to learn about CAD, microcontrollers, PCB design, and of course, 3D printing.
So, why a synth for a toddler? Aside from plain old ‘why not?’, the story goes that she received a Montessori busy-type board which she seemed to enjoy, and it reminded [Alastair] of the control surface of a synth. He wondered how hard it could be to build something similar that made sound and didn’t require constant button presses.
[Alastair] began his journey by dusting off a 15-year-old Arduino Inventors Kit. The initial goal was to get potentiometer readings and map them to 12 discrete values, and then emit MIDI messages. This was easy enough, and it was time to move to a synth module and an Elegoo Nano.
The full adventure is definitely worth the read. Be sure to check out the pink version in action after the break. You really don’t wanna miss the lil’ panda bear. Trust us.
Ledger, the most popular cryptocurrency hardware wallet company and one of the oldest in the industry, just announced its latest, most advanced security device, the Ledger Nano Gen5. Taking the capabilities of previous Ledger devices to the next level, the Gen5 also reaches a surprisingly low price compared to its predecessors.
Ledger has sold over “8 million devices in 165 countries, across over 10 languages, more than 100 financial institutions and commercial brands,” according to a press release shared with Bitcoin Magazine. The company claims “over 20% of the world’s crypto assets are secured by Ledger. “
The Ledger Nano Gen5 is 79.40 mm tall, 53.35 mm wide, and 8.64 mm thick with a Ledger EAL 6+ certified secure element (ST33K1M5). Its E Ink®, black and white capacitive touch screen has a resolution of 2.76 inches, at 400 px by 300 px and 181 ppi. It weighs 46g and has USB-C, Bluetooth® 5.2, and NFC connectivity.
The device comes with a “Ledger Recovery Key” included in the box, a high-security smart card designed to back up the 12-24 word pass phrase that users create on device setup. The Ledger Recovery Key connects to devices like the Gen5 via encrypted NFC, unlocking a new, easy-to-use seed backup device, which is pin-protected at rest. While the name of the Ledger Recovery Key is at first glance a bit confusing, the smart card should arrive empty on initial purchase and get loaded by the users during the hardware wallet setup, when they generate their pass phrase at home.
Signers Rather Than Hardware Wallets
Ledger has also decided to rebrand their devices as signers rather than hardware wallets, a move that breaks over a decade of tradition within the crypto industry. The daring move reflects an industry shift towards securing more than cryptocurrency wealth — secure digital identity from “a world accelerated by artificial intelligence.” The rebrand also applies to their flagship software wallet, previously known as “Ledger Live”, now called Ledger Wallet.
The subtle change in wording could address confusion new users may experience when entering the crypto industry, and perhaps aligns more closely with the functionality of these security devices and interfaces. However, how users respond remains to be seen. Ledger was clear that the Gen5 simply expands its security offering to the world of identity, while it “will continue to operate as millions now know them” to operate, when it comes to securing their crypto transactions.
Protecting Your Digital Identity
When it comes to identity, the world is going through a transformation. No longer are physical ID cards good enough; multiple image generation models have shown sufficient quality to fool identity systems, while stolen identities from major data hacks are used regularly to commit identity fraud. The only viable solution to the problem of digital identity is strong cryptography, and Ledger clearly recognizes this growing trend.
In order to support secure identity and logging capabilities, the Gen5 and its Ledger Security Key cards support the FIDO2 Passkeys standard that is spreading throughout the web. NFC, which stands for near field communication, is a fairly secure short range antenna, used in credit cards for decades, this standard is also quickly being adopted by crypto hardware wallets for the same reasons, it is easy to use for things such as approving a log ing, while also providing a high degree of security, given its short range and simplicity.
Bluetooth is also integrated into the Gen5, giving the device a wider range of functionality. Bluetooth has also become a popular feature among hardware wallets and key signers, though it is a feature often criticized, given the vast complexity of its code and the long range at which it can be interacted with. Some hardware wallet devices even choose to skip Bluetooth altogether. While the press release did not explicitly address how the Gen5 secures users against the risks introduced by Bluetooth, the industry standard is to distrust the chip, separating it from other capabilities, and using it only for encrypted communications across devices.
On the interface front, the Gen5 supports advanced security features like “Clear Signing” and “Transaction Check,” which its beautiful E Ink® touchscreen likely delivers with a natural and intuitive feel. The press release further explains the new identity capabilities of the Gen5, noting that “users can now connect their Ledger signer directly to popular dapps, such as 1inch, for seamless and secure experiences,” adding that “Ledger is integrating Noah, known as Cash-To-Stablecoin, enabling users to top up their wallet with fiat (USD or EUR) quickly without additional fees, and instantly convert to stablecoins (USDC)” Noah enables the “effortless” use of stablecoins for on-chain transactions, another quickly growing trend.
High End Tech at an Affordable Price
When it comes to price, the Ledger Nano Gen5 is far more affordable than its predecessors, while keeping the large touch screen that has defined the newer generations of Ledger devices. Coming at more than half the price of the Ledger Stax, the Gen5 costs $179, a very competitive and accessible price among modern crypto hardware wallets.
Pascal Gauthier, Chairman and CEO of Ledger, proudly noted in the press release that “the all-new Ledger Nano is built for the challenges and opportunities of today, and ready for those coming in the future. It is the new signer for everyone, available at an accessible price, with the best security and user interface on the market. The next generation of Ledger begins today.”
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Gen5. Taking the capabilities of previous Ledger devices to the next level, the Gen5 also reaches a surprisingly low price compared to its predecessors. 
