Month: March 2012

During last week’s class, the students were divided into teams to determine the groups for the course’s final project. I chose to join Phil Sommer’s group, as I have worked with him throughout the semester, and was similarly followed by our usual third member, Angela Bray.

Going into the first team meeting, none of us had any solidified ideas for our final project; interested to see what we could find on the Internet, we skimmed through the provided websites on the project description and also searched for our own. We came across one PDF file from the North Carolina Solar Center and, upon review of the document, decidedly found our experiment for the final project.

A solar cooker, or solar oven, requires few supplies for its building process, yet yields surprisingly efficient cooking results once solar energy is added to its construction. For the option we found from the North Carolina Solar Center, the experiment requires eight common materials: a cardboard box, foam for insulation, aluminum foil, plastic food wrap, sticks, tape, black paint, and string. Upon finishing its quick construction, the solar cooker will appear as demonstrated in Fig. 1. Concerned with the hour-long time for cooking alone, we sought a faster option for our experiment. What we found was an article written by Don Shepard for a fast-heating solar oven.

For this solar oven experiment, there are fewer necessary supplies, assumedly resulting in a simpler construction design. Shepard’s experiment calls for a pizza box, black paint, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, string, and a thumbtack. Notice the lack of foam insulation for heat entrapment. Shepard writes that for maximum heating speed for this experiment, the top of the pizza box (known as the flap in this case) can be adjusted to allow more solar energy to collect in the apparatus.

Our final decision for our team project is to compare and contrast the efficiency of the two solar oven options; while the first one requires a bit more time, it has a broader range of food options than Shepard’s experiment, who warns that heavier food items should not be used in his version of the solar cooker. However, Shepard’s experiment offers a faster cooking time than the hour-long procedure of the first, and requires fewer supplies and construction time. Our plan, as of now, is to experiment with Option A (North Carolina Solar Center) and Option B (Don Shepard) using pre-cooked bacon, and test the two versions in a given time period for how well they heat the bacon with the energy from the Sun. It should be noted that this was only our first team meeting, and specific details of our final project will be worked out in future meetings.

 

Sources:

North Carolina Solar Center. “Solar Activities for Students.” Solar Center Information. Sept. 2001. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

Shepard, Don. “How to Make a Fast Heating Solar Oven.” eHow Food. 2009. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

 

The nuclear power plant located in Indian Point, NY, was closed for public and environmental safety reasons on Thursday, March 1, when toxic gases began to collect in the plant’s electricity transformer. This incident adds further controversy to the argument against the continuance of the power plant; the Indian Point location was shut down less than two months before for a total of eight days due to a leaking pump that was dispelling small amounts of radioactive water. Located merely 35 miles from Manhattan, the power plant generates over 2,000 megawatts of electricity to supply the majority of power to all of New York City and its nearby county of Westchester (The Huffington Post); however, with recent shutdowns and accidents (namely the 17-day power outage thanks to a malfunction within the plant), skeptics of the Indian Point power plant are concerned that the nuclear activity will result in public and environmental harm. Although it is a major supplier of efficient electricity for the nation’s largest and brightest city, its string of shutdowns have revealed that the federal government has allowed the plant’s owners, Entergy, to operate the location despite its failure to comply with “safety risks in the areas of fire, earthquake, and possible terrorist attacks” (Lydon). Attorney Paul Gallay has made the connection between the plant’s recent operation flaws and the consequences of a possible major accident at Indian Point; if the state of New York experiences a situation similar to the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in the event of an Indian Point malfunction, “the damages range from evacuating 5.6 million people, to 1.3 million possible cancer cases and evacuating everyone out to and including Manhattan” (Lydon). At this point in time, the biggest concern for the plant’s opposition (including New York governor Andrew Cuomo) is the possibility of an earthquake at the location of the Indian Point power plant; the estimated number on the Richter scale for the two fault lines near the nuclear plant has increased to 7.0, leaving a dim future for the plant that can only withstand a 5.0 magnitude in the event of such seismic activity (Lydon). Despite these negative predictions, the decision of whether or not to shut down the Indian Point power plant altogether is not easily reachable due to the extremely high energy outsource needed to power New York City, especially in the upcoming hot summer. If Entergy and the supporters of the Indian Point power plant, such as Mayor Bloomberg, expect to simmer down the opposition and keep the location operating, they must begin by adhering to strict safety standards in order to prevent shutdowns and eliminate any possibility of an accident or a meltdown. For an informative report from NBC News on the conflict associated with the Indian Point power plant, please visit this link.

 

 

Sources:

Associated Press. “Indian Point 2 Nuclear Reactor Back In Service.” The Huffington Post. 19 Jan. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

Lydon, Patrick. “Is the Indian Point Nuclear Plant Unsafe?” The Energy Collective. 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

New York, CBS. “Indian Point Nuke Plant Back In Service After Day Offline.” CBS.com. 1 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

Segar, Mike. “The Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, New York, is seen from across the Hudson River, April 6, 2010.” Photo. Reuters. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.

 

Last week’s classroom time was replaced by an opportunity to visit the Plasma Science and Fusion Center located on MIT’s campus. Upon arrival, we were ushered into a conference room to receive a preview to the fusion center’s tour, as well as new facts concerning nuclear fusion and the MIT center itself. Our presentation leader began by reiterating the now-familiar yet unfortunate truth that the Earth’s reserves of fossil fuels will not last much longer, considering its high demand. In recent years, alternative fuel sources have been discovered and used for experimentation with differentiating results. As promising as these alternatives may seem, the perfect option is nuclear fusion as it “cuts out the middle man” in its energy production process. However, the completion of this process is far from simple; doing so involves harnessing the same energy as the Sun, requiring the use of the fourth state of matter, better known as plasma.

When energy is added to matter, the particles move rapidly and, depending on how much is applied, the matter can change forms – from solid to liquid, gas, and finally plasma. A new term learned from this presentation is the definition of an electron-volt (eV) and its definition as the electron’s kinetic energy during acceleration through an electric potential difference; according to the informative slide, an electron’s energy level at 1 eV is equivalent to 11,330 °C, or 20,400 °F (used for measurement only in Belize, Burma, Liberia, Palau, and the United States). In a plasma atom, the negative energies of the two electrons cause them to repel each other constantly, yet attract them to the nucleus. Examples of plasma can be spotted nearly anywhere in the universe as most visible matter in space, such as the Sun, is comprised of plasma. Here on Earth, plasma is used in televisions, lightbulbs, and even cell phones; most importantly, in terms of our presentation, plasma is used at MIT to conduct magnetic fusion.

As we had learned in a previous class, the act of fusion is caused when two isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium, come together to produce 17.6 MeV of energy. Magnetic fusion employs this process while confining the nuclei and electrons within a magnetic forcefield thanks to the Lorentz force. The donut-shape of the tokamak, or the vessel that contains this activity, closes the magnetic field lines with its shape of consistency, ensuring that the scorching plasma will not touch the sides of the machine.

Of all the locations using magnetic fusion, the Alcator C-Mod, of which we were given a tour following the conclusion of our presentation, contains the highest magnetic field and could produce the energy source needed to eliminate the dependency on fossil fuels; however, the dismal fact remains that the act of harnessing energy from nuclear fusion has yet to be done. This is mainly due to the lack of usable earthly material that will not melt under the extreme temperatures needed for nuclear fusion. Scientists around the world, including those employed in the development of the MIT Alcator C-Mod tokamak, are working towards the day when nuclear fusion will become a safe and reliable source of global energy. However, the future of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, as well as the Alcator C-Mod, is in danger of being shut down by opposition within the federal government. To ensure that the scientists at MIT can continue their progress towards successful nuclear fusion, please visit this link to sign the supportive petition.

 

One of the primary issues involved in the upcoming presidential election is the controversy over the actual existence of global warming, never mind human involvement in climate change. Americans have come to identify a trend in the beliefs and disbeliefs within candidates concerning global warming as Republicans inherently deny its existence in our world today, while Democrats take the side of scientific research and advocate not only for its existence, but its severity as a reason for environmental and economic change.

The on-going Republican primaries have evidenced to Americans that one of the factors in determining the true conservatism of a candidate is their support of global warming denial. Front-runner Rick Santorum, whose overall views on global warming are evidenced in this video, took the time to scrutinize competitors Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney for their one-time support of cap-and-trade policies, which would limit carbon emissions, therefore buying in to the belief of climate change as well man’s involvement. Santorum argues that his Christian faith reasons for him to disbelieve the issue of global warming, stating that it is “an absolute travesty of scientific research that was motivated by those who, in my opinion, saw this as an opportunity to create a panic and a crisis for

government to be able to step in and even more greatly control your life” (quoted in Villarreal). So the belief of global warming is equivalent to Democratic fascism, Mr. Santorum? As Fig. 1 demonstrates, the rapid spike in CO2 levels and average arctic temperature are affected directly by humankind’s excessive use of emitting fuels such as gas, coal, and oil. The evidence proving the existence of global warming, much less man’s involvement in speeding the process, is difficult to deny, yet Republicans continue to voice their opposition.

During the 2010 mid-term elections within the United States Senate, 47 of the 48 Republicans voiced their denial of the climate change and their refusal to provide any action for the issue (Goldenberg). Senator John McCain, who marginally lost the presidential election to Barack

Obama in 2008, deemed the idea of cap-and-trade policies a “monstrosity” despite the fact that he had once fought for the issue of climate change to be recognized within the Senate legislation (Goldenberg). California Republican Carly Fiorina, who was once considered for the Vice President position in McCain’s 2008 campaign, “has said on repeated occasions that she is ‘not sure’ climate change is real” (Goldenberg). Unfortunately for Republicans and other sources of opposition, every claim against the existence of global warming can be proven as untrue or understated with the evidence of climate change rapidly taking place on earth. For a visual, side-by-side comparison of fact to fiction, it is worth taking the time to visit Dave McCandless’s skeptics versus science chart at this link. If a Republican candidate is elected to the presidency at the end of this year, the people of the United States can expect to see a drop in the overall funding to prevent climate change; as one of the top global emitters of greenhouse gases, a future without efforts for carbon reduction would be dim at best.

 

Sources:

Goldenberg, Suzanne. “Republican hopefuls deny global warming.” The Guardian. 14 Sept. 2010. Web. 29 Feb 2012.

McCandless, Dave. “Climate Change Deniers vs. The Consensus.” Information is Beautiful. 2009. Web. 29 Feb. 2012.

Mooney, Chris. “Climate Info Graphic.” Climate Progress. Photo. 27 Feb. 2012. Web. 3 Mar. 2012.

Villarreal, Ryan. “Rick Santorum Global Warming Denial: ‘I Never Bought the Hoax’.” International Business News. 15 Feb. 2012. Web. 29 Feb. 2012.

 

For the experiment portion of our last class, we were lucky enough to be visited by Suffolk University employee and electrical enthusiast, Tom Vales, along with his awe-inspiring creations designed as alternatives to fossil fuels. As Mr. Vales provided us with a preface to his presentation, he noted that we as a society are “addicted” to the usage of coal and oil, despite the number of ingenious inventions we have at our disposal. The first energy alternative Mr. Vales showed us was called Peltier junction, which he had fastened together from a few metals, copper, water, and two coffee cups. The Peltier junction, as Mr. Vales explained, used heat in one cup and cold water in the other to produce electricity through the running motor; although the energy produced from this invention is not an efficient amount, it is ideal for smaller purposes such as beverage coolers in automobiles.

Traveling down the line of his displayed contraptions, Mr. Vales next presented to us what he identified as the Stirling engine, which was invented in 1816 as a substitution for steam engines due to their notorious habit of exploding from overheating. This creation runs off a cup of hot water – as the displacer moves up and down, the invention’s piston circulates hot air, which is what gave the contraption its alternate name, the hot air engine. According to Mr. Vales, this form of energy production is quite efficient, as submarines tend to use it in their generator to reduce the expelled noise level.

The next contraption Mr. Vales explained is commonly seen in household kitchens, and its internal function goes beyond the simplistic nature of its purpose: the barbecue lighter sparks its useful flame thanks to the Piezo effect taking place within its small, plastic body, as friction against the embedded piece of quartz crystal creates voltage. This same method of energy production was used for portable radios in the past.

The final creation displayed on the front table was described as the Mendocino motor from its birthplace fifteen years ago in California. This small contraption is equipped with a rotor that

floats within a magnetic field against gravity. Once a light source is applied to the motor’s four solar cells, the light energy causes the motor to spin rapidly. Mr. Vales lightheartedly revealed that he frequently makes these Mendocino motors and sells them over the Internet to be used as decorative pieces, although, as he joked, no one with a curious cat should own one of these spinning inventions.

Throughout the presentation thus far, the entire class had been peeking at the object placed behind Mr. Vales that resembled a spool of coppery twine placed atop a white gallon container. At this time, Mr. Vales began to introduce this contraption by giving us a brief history of the famous electrical engineer, Nicola Tesla, who emigrated from Serbia in 1880 to become one of the greatest contributors to the advancement of electricity. Through his work with financer George Westinghouse, Tesla was able to invent the power grid and therefore provide electrification for Niagra Falls through the transmission of power without wires – it is this invention that stood before us in the classroom, as recreated by Mr. Vales. Once he flipped the power switch, the parts of the contraption known as the Tesla coils began to produce a mesmerizing purple static spark at the top.

Keeping the contraption on, Mr. Vales demonstrated how different objects react once they get close enough to the powerful Tesla coils; at one point, he held up two different tubes to the sparking contraption, and the class watched in awe as the tube filled with xenon suddenly

illuminated to a bluish color, and the tube with two different diameters lit up pink in one half and blue in the other. Mr. Vales also demonstrated placing a Z-shaped wire on top of the contraption – once the power had been turned back on, the wire stayed atop the coil and began to spin clockwise at a rapid speed. This presentation was a treat for our class, and we were very appreciative as well as entertained by Mr. Vales visit. To view Mr. Vales’s experience with electricity and electrical devices, look for his electrical show in the springtime at Suffolk University.