Tag Archives: Science

A Trip to the Museum Of Science.

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Recently, we were given a unique opportunity to visit the Museum of Science in Boston. While in my class we have been studying the sources of energy and different approaches to get rid of the Global warming, in the Museum of Science we had a chance to see how each of the energy sources which people use nowadays work.

There were several exhibitions in the museum. Each represented the usage and the affection of the resource on ecology and the global warming itself. At first I decided to visit the Windmill section in the museum. The brief information about the windmill usage was provided as well as its efficiency. Pictures helped me to understand how they work better.

Then I decided to visit the solar energy section. This section was very interesting. There, you could even make your own experiment. You were give a small house and the amount of solar panels to manage. This exhibition also showed how much it would cost to own the needed amount of solar  panels and it also compared its affection on Global warming with the fossil fuels.

The last exhibit which I visited in the MOC was an interactive one where I was given a few power blocks of the each energy type which could be used to supply the electricity in Boston. There also was a special power panel with indicators showing the amount of energy which is used and its affection on the ecology as well.

Going to this exhibition was an amazing experience. The interactive experiments which were present really helped me to understand how badly fossil fuels affect the ecology and it also lead me to the conclusion that clean energy should be the one which must be used in future in order to reduce the Global Warming for sure.

Tom Vales Talk

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Recently, our Science and Innovation class had a unique opportunity to get acquainted with Tom Vales. An amazing professor who definitely knows how to introduce the physics to the class and make it entertaining at the same time. The main topic which Tom covered were types of engines and machines.The first experiment which the Professor introduced was the experiment with the stirling engine. The machine works with the help of heat. Professor Vales put the engine on top of a special cup filled with water. The heat which rose in the cup was trapped and under the piston created heat and as a result – a working machine. Tom added that the machine is 200 years old and is still widely used nowadays.

Next Professor Vales showed us the Peltier Junction. The machine generates an electric current and uses a thermoelectric effect to create very cold temperatures.

After that Tom introduced the Mendocino motor. It has 4 solar cell magnets which generate the power which the motor uses to levitate. This motor also uses its own magnetic field to float. The magnetic which the motor has converts light into electricity.

Professor Vales broadened our minds with the topic of electricity and how engines and motors use it. The office which the Professor has is amazing. The machines and gadgets there truly show the amazing power of Science and how electricity can be used to assist a person in daily life. I loved his method of explaining and he has a great personality as well. It was an amazing experience. Thanks Tom!

 

 

 

Experiment 2: Force and Energy, Velocity and Acceleration, and Power.

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Me and my partner Maria Sidenko were given a unique opportunity to see how Newton’s 2nd Law works in real life in our Science&Innovation class. Our task was to use the Lego Mindstorm motor to lift weights with a pulley in order to see how Newton’s 2nd Law works. Newton’s second law of motion shows the behavior of objects for which all existing forces are not balanced. The second law states that the acceleration of an object is dependent upon two variables – the net force acting upon the object and the mass of the object. We were using the VI to converse the results into the excel format which we later used to calculate Power, Acceleration as well as see how visually the results are(By creating a “Scatter” and a “Trendline”). We got the following table:

1

2 3 We have computed the potential energy by using the formula: Potential energy = m*g*h. Then we determined how the battery energy drainage changes throughout the experiment.  Since the energy of the battery was converted to the potential energy of the masses, we had greater masses and as a result got the greater battery drainage.  The experiment clearly showed us how the Newton’s 2nd Law works and how the potential energy is converted.

SCI-184 Lab experience

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Last week(01/23/13), I had my first lab experience in my Science and Innovation class. We were given a task to build a robot which would be further controlled by a PC program allowing the robot to move in the student given directions. Me(Andrei Kozlov) and my colleague Marina Sidenko had been building it for an hour or so, but we managed to do this and the robot was working successfully! This class(01/30/13) we were given the task to measure the diameter, circumference, rotation, rotation 2. The results are:

Circumference is 0.157 which is computed by using the formula “Pie” * Diameter

a) Rotation is 558 and Rotation 2 is 554, wheel rotations is 1.55. One rotation is 360 and 1.55 is 558 or 554, according to the data which was obtained during the experiment.

b) The time was set for 1 second (1 second = 1000 milliseconds).

c) The distance the car moved is 0.25. Depending on how the car needs to travel, the turns can be obtained during the process.

We have used a ruler to measure the distance and came to conclusion that the distance = 30 cm(0.3m). This identifies the discrepancy between manual and automatic results which are 0.3 m and 0.25 m.

Then we have changed the Power in VI from “75” to “80” and the distance became 35 cm (0.35m). The automatic measurement is 28 cm (0.28m)

 

Being involved in this experimental precess was an interesting and unusual experience for me, I really enjoyed it!