This project uses a DC motor in a very similar fashion to the last project. However, a new component called an H-bridge is introduced for us to control the direction the motor spins. The H-bridge the project uses is a type of integrated circuit. As a software engineer, I like to think of an integrated circuit as basically just a software library that you can drop into your circuit to give you some prebuilt functionality. In this case, the H-bridge gives us the ability to control the “polarity,” or direction of flow, between two connections on the H-bridge. If we hook those pins up to the motor, we can reverse the current flowing to the motor, thereby reversing its direction.

I’m not going to go into how an H-bridge works this time, but one thing to point out is that integrated circuits often come with something called a “datasheet.” A datasheet is a detailed specification of how the integrated circuit works and how to use it.

This project also involved hooking up some paper cutouts to the motor to create a zoetrope, which creates a similar illusion to that of a flip book—but instead displays the images on the walls of a spinning cylinder that you view through tiny slits. I usually skip the “fun parts” of the projects, but for this one I went ahead and created the zoetrope from the provided cutouts. I managed to get it working and could see the little animation of the jumping LED guy. Unfortunately, I think I was running the motor a bit too fast, because after a few minutes the zoetrope completely broke apart while it was spinning!