During class on January 24th were given an assignment to assemble a robot in which the required materials were to be given to us. The robots were to be made out of legos. Assembling the robot was fairly easy if you properly followed the directions and matched it to the picture of the fully assembled one.  However my partner did assemble his before I did. But after assembly is when things became a little bit more complicated for the both of us.

A look at the robot once fully assembled.

 

After the robot was assembled we were instructed to make it make it move in different directions. This was possible by hooking it up to the computer and programming it properly. The program that we used for the robot was called LabView. LabView is where I first started to have some difficulties.  I am unfamiliar with programming so this was an interesting task for me.

An example of how confusing LabView can be

We were instructed to hook up the robot to our computers, then type in various numbers and codes that would make the robot function properly, e.g turn left, turn right, or go in circles. At first I could not get the robot to budge, but after finagling,  and with a little help from the instructor and my classmates I got my bot to move straight ahead and into circles. Although I experienced some minor difficulties with programming I am sure it will come much easier to me and the class next time.

Overall if was an interesting activity. I would love to take part in similar ones since building things can be fun. I look forward to seeing what comes next in our class experiments.

 

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy was a devastating hurricane that killed 285 people and lasted from October 22 to October 31st 2012. Sandy developed as a tropical wave in the western Caribbean on October 22nd. Sandy gradually intensified and by October 24th it reached landfall in Jamaica and became a hurricane. After being pushed back out into sea it became a category 2 hurricane. On October 25th Sandy hit Cuba and became a category 3 hurricane. It later weakened back to a category 1 hurricane. On October 27, Sandy briefly weakened to a tropical storm and then restrengthened to a Category 1 hurricane. Early on October 29, Sandy curved north-northwest and then moved ashore to the East coast of the United states where it became a cyclone with tropical force winds.

Hurricane Sandy was the worst hurricane in 2012 and was also the second most costliest hurricane that the United States has ever seen. Why was Hurricane Sandy so bad? Many scientist around the world believe that global warming played a major role in this storm.

Global warming and Hurricane Sandy.

Speculation began as to whether or not hurricane Sandy was caused by global warming. This is a very controversial topic but scientific research shows that climate change does have an effect on the severity and increased frequency in these kinds of storms. According to the University of Copenhagen’s Centre for Ice and Climate  “hurricanes in the southeast Atlantic have become more frequent over the past 90 years, with more storms in years where water temperature is higher.

Ocean Temperature

The ocean water in which hurricane Sandy developed is warmer than the historically norm. Warm water is what makes hurricanes more powerful.  The water during hurricane Sandy was several degrees warmer than the norm. This is a direct cause for the power of the storm because when it moved north it became stronger rather than weaker. Those warm waters are, by definition global warming: they’re one of the things we measure when we’re measuring global temperature trends.

Hurricane Sandy also turned left as it came north which is an unusual direction for a storm, and is why the storm was moved into the east coast. According to Why did it do that? Because of an unusual weather pattern in the Northeast Atlantic, called a negative North Atlantic oscillation. According to the Climate Prediction Center  ”Strong positive phases of the NAO tend to be associated with above-average temperatures in the eastern United States and across northern Europe and below-average temperatures in Greenland”.

North Atlantic Oscillation

In conclusion, hurricane Sandy was a devastating storm that ruined the lives of many people. Whether or not global warming was what caused the storm is up for you to decide.

The nations energy grid  includes everything that we use to keep our nation powered, and how we use the materials and convert them into energy. We have power plants scattered all across the nation that provide power to various areas. There are about 19,023 individual generators at about 6,997 operational power plants in the United States. Without the use of these resources there would be no electricity or power.

  Aerial view of our nations energy grid.

Video below shows how a power plant works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=GI7AhajfhWE

 Energy Infrastructure: Sun, Electricity, Fossil fuels, Nuclear, Renewable Resources.

Sunlight 

Sun light is a major source of energy used to supply power to the nation. Sunlight is natural and will never run out. Sunlight warms the planet and transfers heat and pressure in weather patterns. However, most of us use the sun in its secondary form of energy which is  fossil fuels. For example, when we burn wood the heat comes from the breaking of bonds which releases energy and light.

Fossil Fuels 

According to http://needtoknow.nas.edu/energy/energy-sources/fossil-fuels/ “The United States gets 84% of its total energy from oil, coal, and natural gas, all of which are fossil fuels”. Oil is an efficient way to obtain energy, however it can have a devastating effect on the environment when we constantly burn it in automobiles, factories, etc.

Electricity 

Electricity is a secondary source of energy. It cannot be mined from the ground so it is derived from other sources. Electricity generating plants now consume two-fifths of U.S. energy from all sources, including about 90% of America’s coal and nearly 30% of its natural gas according to  http://needtoknow.nas.edu/energy/energy-sources/electricity/

Nuclear

Nuclear energy is the energy released during nuclear fission or fusion, especially when used to generate electricity. About 20% of our nations electricty comes from nuclear energy and about 9% of the total power. According to government experts nuclear power plants is expected to increase by 105 by the year 2030.

Renewable Resources.

Renewable resources such as wind can be used as a power source. Renewable energy is an alternative to fossil fuels. Renewable energy such as wind is clean and produces no greenhouse gas emission. Also, renewable resources in the grid usually require less space.

Over the past decade or so the nations energy crisis has been covered in the media and becoming more of a concern. What will happen when we run out of these fossil fuels that we use to power everyday life? Global warming and other atmospheric conditions are also a concern. What can we do to limit these resources and use them more responsibly.

There are pros and cons to our nations energy grid.

Pros.

The nations energy grid gives power to our entire nation.

The energy grid stimulates the economy and provides thousands of people work in different types of power plants.

Cons

excess energy use is one of the causes of global warming

Pollution, such as air and water

Dangers such as radiation poisoning.