Tag Archives: Power

MIT’s Nuclear Reactor

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On November 4, 2015 we got the opportunity to visit MIT’s nuclear reactor. MIT’s nuclear reactor is one of few reactors in the world that allows visitors to tour inside the nuclear reactor, so this was truly a chance of a lifetime. When we first entered we signed in at the front desk and then we were given a personal dosimeter. The personal dosimeter measured the amount of radiation that we were exposed to. By pointing the personal dosimeter towards a light source and then peaking through it, you would see a simple bar line that would tell you how much radiation your being expose to. Once we all signed in, we went to a room to receive a lecture on the history and the technology in the nuclear reactor.

 

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MIT’s nuclear reactor has been operating since 1958 and has received two major upgrades in 1975 and 2010. These upgrades enhanced the power output of the nuclear reactor. As of now, the reactor produces approximately 6 MW of thermo electric power. When the 6 MW of thermo electric power is converted into usable electric power the nuclear reactor is only able to power on a 100-Watt light bulb. MIT plans on upgrading the nuclear reactor to a maximum of 10 MW over the years. By increasing the power output of the reactor, it would allow experiments to be done faster. It is important to remember that MIT’s nuclear reactor was not created to generate electricity but to be used for research. The water used for cooling the reactor comes from the city’s water source but then it is highly filtered to the point it is clearly clear. You can see the bottom of the reactor through 10ft of water. Over time the water becomes heavy water (D2O) and must be replaced. The D2O is sent to the government and more is received. The health of the nuclear reactor is highly important which results in approximately 500 maintenance items being changed per year. The actual size of the nuclear reactor is small, measuring at about 15 inches by 22 inches. If you were able to look through the top of the reactor you would notice that there is a blue glow coming from the reactor and this due to electrons traveling at the speed of light in water, which gives off the glow effect. After the long lecture, we moved on to the best part of the trip, touring inside the actual reactor.

 

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From the outside, the reactor looks like a mid size white dome, but once your actually inside you are immediately overwhelmed by the size of it. Before entering the actual dome, we had to go through a pressurization hallway. There were two thick doors that were most likely over a ton. Our tour guide opened the first door and we squished ourselves in a small hallway. Once we were all in, the tour guide closed the first door and then proceeded to opening the second door that was the actual entrance to the reactor. When you walk in, the difference in pressure becomes extremely obvious. Inside the reactor there are many mechanical and electrical systems working in sync to operate the nuclear plant. There are many sensors throughout the systems, which make sure the reactor is working under appropriate numbers. We then walked up a set of stairs, which took us to the same level as the top of the reactor itself. On top of us there was a crane that can rotate 360 degrees around the dome. The crane is used to move heavy items from inside the dome and to also place used uranium into a basement holding tank until it can be shipped to another facility to be taken care of. The tour guide also explained how the dome is made up of 3 feet concrete walls to guarantee that it is a safe containment building.

 

After observing the nuclear reactor and its many systems, we went to the basement to check out the operation room. The operation room looks like something pulled out of a movie. There are hundred of buttons on the walls and multiple screens each displaying vital data information. The brains of this room are the operators themselves. They go through an extensive training process in which they must learn about 3 feet of information. The operators know how to deal with most problems that might arise during their shift. I highly respect those individuals who work as operators in the nuclear reactor because it must definitely be a stressful job due to the amount of responsibility on their shoulders. Before we left, we went through a station that measured our radiation level to make sure no one had abnormal values. Overall, this trip was an amazing experience. It was very informational and enjoyable.

Pandora’s Promise

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Pandora’s Promise is a very interesting documentary that explores the view of various environmental activists on nuclear reactors. The documentary investigates and dismantles various myths about nuclear reactors that have led the majority of society to have a negative view of nuclear reactors. The film began with environmental activities stating why they used to think that nuclear energy was unsafe but over time they came into realization that nuclear energy was actually advantageous regardless of all the bad myths said about this renewable energy. The documentary explores 3 events that instilled a bad image of nuclear power plants, which are Chernobyl, The Three Mile Island, and the most recent the Fukushima disaster. Before discussing these 3 disasters, the film listed some very interesting and eye opening facts of nuclear energy. Nuclear Energy has been discovered to be the 2nd most safest energy source. As stated by one of the Environmentalists, anyone who is against Nuclear Energy is a supporter of coal and oil fossil fuels, which are just as dangerous. It was also discussed how apiece of uranium the size of a thumb has enough energy to output the same energy as 5000 barrels of oil. Such an astonishing fact makes it very evident that nuclear energy has the ability of saving tons of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere.

 

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The documentary begins breaking down each event starting with Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine. In 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded which resulted in a lot of radioactive particles being released into the atmosphere. The local community was forced to evacuate the area because it was contaminated with radioactive material. From the Chernobyl disaster less than 50 people died from radiation poisoning. Anti-Nuclear Energy activist have stated that millions of people have died as a result of the disaster, which in reality is a false accusation. It also important to understand that the current image of the local town around the Nuclear power plant is not a result of the radiation but of natural breakdown of the house materials. Some occupants of the local community decided to come back after the evacuation and start their lives again within the contaminated area. A priest of the community stated that he has been living there for the past 25 years and no one has died as a result of radiation contamination.

 

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In The Three Mile Island Nuclear Reactor a meltdown resulted in the power plant shutting down. But unlike Chernobyl, the event was able to be contained within the building and not allow spreading of radiation. No one died nor got injured in this disaster. The cause of both the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl was an inadequate cooling system, which resulted in a meltdown and an explosion at Chernobyl. In the Fukushima disaster, the power plant’s cooling system was damaged as a result of an earthquake and tsunami in Japan. This resulted in radioactive materials being released into the atmosphere.

 

Most of disasters of Nuclear Power Plants have been a result of bad design to contain any disasters that could happen. After the documentary finalized its breakdown of each of the three disaster it switched gears to France to demonstrate how Nuclear Energy can be used to produce the majority of the electricity being consumed in a country. 80% of France’s electricity comes from Nuclear Energy, and they are doing so good that they even sell their electricity to other European countries. Although a Nuclear Power Plant has a big upfront cost we must thing about the long term investment and realize that these power plant has the ability to produce electricity for 60, 80, or even 100 years! What makes nuclear energy more renewable than every other source is due to the fact that you can use the waste of nuclear power plants to be put into a 4th generation reactor (which still isn’t fully developed) and keep reusing the waste.

 

This documentary is full of fascinating facts that without a doubt dispel a lot of the negative images of nuclear plants. I highly recommend this documentary to any reader who is interested in having a more complete image of nuclear energy. The information and 1st person testimonies of environmental activists provided in this documentary allowed the watchers experience to be quiet immersive and enjoyable.

Mass-Pulley Experiment

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Newton’s Three Laws of Motion have revolutionized the way we describe the relationship between force and motion. His Three Laws of Motion can be applied to everything in our world and they will all confirm his theories. During our past lectures we decided to test the accuracy of Newton’s Second Law of Motion. His second Law states that , The Force (measured in Newtons) is equal to an objects mass times its acceleration (measured in Kg and m/s2 respectfully). We used a Lego robot motor to lift a small weight that was attached to a string that was placed on a pulley. Once again we used the Labview programming software with prewritten code. Down below you can see the physical setup of the experiment and a copy of the code that we executed.

 

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For the first experiment, we kept the power level fixed at 75 and we changed the mass on each trial in order to conclude how acceleration is affected by these two variables.

 

Mass_VS_Acceleration

 

By analyzing the data and the graph we can come to the conclusion that if force is fixed and the mass is increased it will result in the acceleration being decreased. This is because mass and acceleration are inversely proportional. As one is increased the other one has to decrease under the assumption that the force is fixed.

 

For the second experiment we took a similar approach to the first experiment except were keeping the mass fixed at one value for all trials. For all three trials we kept the mass at 0.17 Kg and we changed the power level, which we were considering as our force variable.

 

Force_VS_Acceleration

 

As demonstrated in the graph and in the data points, if we keep the mass fixed, the power level increases as the force is increased. Force and acceleration are directly proportional, so as one increases the other must increase as well. This can also be seen in the graph by the linear trend line that goes very close to each data point.

 

For the next two experiments we decided to focus around the Laws of Conservation of Energy. We measured the height that the motor would have to lift the mass to and estimated the potential energy of all our trials throughout the whole experiment.

 

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After measuring the height, and calculating the Potential Energy we decided to investigate the relationship between mass and battery discharge while keeping the power level fixed. While keeping the power level fixed at 75 we observed that as the mass is increased the battery discharge increases as well. Both variables are directly proportional.

 

For the last experiment we analyzed the relationship between Power level (Force) and Power (Watts). We calculated Power (Watts) by using the equation: Powerused = Potential Energy / Time.

 

Power_Level_VS_Power

 

Looking at this graph we can conclude that Power Level (Force) and Power (Watts) are directly proportional. The greater the Power Level, the greater the Power used by Motor is. This relationship is so evident that our R2 value is 0.99966. The closer R2 is to 1, the better the best fit line accurately represents the data and their relationship.

 

In Conclusion, the Mass-Pulley Experiment was a greater way to see Newton’s Second Law of Motion and the Law of Conservation of Energy in action! This experiment is so closely related to Energy and Efficiency because Energy revolves very closely around Newton’s three Laws of Motion and Conservation of Energy. We all know that Energy cannot be destroyed or created, it just converts itself into heat or sound or other forms. One of the biggest problems is how to become more efficient by taking lost energy (that is another form) and capturing it and inputting it back into the system. As we saw by the experiments, an object needs a force in order to be put in motion and a heavier object needs just as much force. More force needs more watts (in mechanical systems) in order to operate. We must think of ways to use less power to output the same amount of force.