Month: February 2016

Data Table: Color

Data Table: Distance

In week 4’s lab, we had two separate experiments. The first Experiment was to Calculate the average amount of light exposure to the solar panel using a flashlight at a given distance. This was done by hooking up a small solar panel to the Mindstorms unit and running it into a computer program. Once the data was collected, we would then export the data used in the program to Excel. On Excel, we calculated the average exposure of light to the panel.

The results were satisfying, the further away the light source, the less average exposure the panel received. For our control of 0cm away, the panel put out an average of 0.389 units. For the 2cm, the panel put out an average of 0.37, units of light. This trend continued for 4cm away and 6cm away and finally stayed consistent for our final measurement of 20cm away, 0.196. This showed that the further we moved the light source away, the output of the solar panel decreased by a steady amount, around .10 to .20.

The second half of the experiment measured output based on wavelengths rather than distance. We placed the light source at 10cm, and for each trial, we swapped out a small colored strip of plastic on top of the solar panel for a different color. The rest of the experiment is identical, we used the same procedure and Mindstorms equipment from before. When we plugged in the data, it corresponded along with the Red, Orange Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet color spectrum. The lower frequency strips, yellow and red yielded an output of 0.214 and 0.188 respectively. The higher frequency strips, green and blue yielded outputs of 0.165 and 0.134. This showed that the higher wavelengths that were being absorbed, the less energy was able to get to the solar cell.

Overall, the data in this experiment was consistent and had little to no error. The only thing that I wish that we could have tested is the full color spectrum rather than just 4 colors.

Image source:
http://www.chm.davidson.edu/vce/coordchem/spectrum.jpg

Solar energy is taking off around the world. In Taiwan, solar energy is part of a push to make renewable resources 12.6 percent of the nation’s energy output by 2030. This does not have to mean solar energy, but it will play a large role in achieving this goal. According to Eco-Business.com, Taiwan will demand 100,000 jobs and have a production value of $29.7 billion USD by 2020. As an International Economics major, I support this push by the government to achieve this goal. It will create high tech jobs and bring in revenue for Taiwan as well as reducing oil imports. From an environmental standpoint, I think that this is a realistic goal for Taiwan and it could provide a standard for other countries to work towards.

The next country is the United States, which is taking a more passive approach to solar energy in most cases. According to the Tampa Tribune, Tampa Airport is installing solar panels on one of its parking garage which will produce 2 MW and provide power to around 250 local homes. This canopy is the future of energy production, instead of massive solar farms, small scale projects such as this will provide power locally. Solar farms are more space inefficient compared to rooftop installations. The benefits from this project are obvious, from simply putting down solar panels, people on the top floor of the garage will have nice shade from the Tampa sun as well as generating a respectable 2 MW of power while being unobtrusive to the scenery.

The final country is South Africa, which is building the continent’s first solar powered airport. This is a larger project which will take up 200 square meters and produce a massive 750 MW. This is more than enough power to power the airport and the surplus will be sold off to local energy companies. According to the South Africa’s Minister of Transport, Diupo Peters, the plant will provide an extra 3725 MW to local energy production. South African President Zuma has stated that the growing drive for renewable resources has created over 109,000 jobs as well as provided over $12 billion USD to its economy.

All three of these projects will provide clean energy for their countries as well as demonstrating the three sizes of projects, small scale, large scale and nationwide efforts. I agree with and support more of these projects around the world as they generate energy and revenue for their people as well as cutting down on air pollution. A place where I would like to see more development with solar technology is China, where their air pollution from burning fossil fuels is so bad people have to wear gas masks in some regions of the country. As a final thought, these projects should continue to serve as examples for other countries to follow, rather than isolated projects in order for more progress to be made in this field.

Sources:
http://www.eco-business.com/news/taiwan-ramps-up-green-energy-development/
http://www.tbo.com/news/business/tampa-airport-tampa-electric-unveil-solar-energy-project-20160211/

http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/sa-gets-first-solar-airport-1990497

Shake lab Data
The goal of this experiment was to graph the data from a shake generator to find a correlation between the number of shakes and power generated. After we shook the generator for 30 seconds, we plugged the data into a program which gave us a series of numbers. We then averaged out the numbers and added them together. This gave us a total which represented the points on our graph.
An outlier (the thrid point from the right) skewed our data which showed an inconstancy in that the ratio of power generated is negative compared to the number of shakes. The opposite is true. The trend line was supposed to be pointing upward instead of downward. This could have been caused by a miscount of the number of shakes on point 5 (the third point from the right) and point 6 (the sixth point from the right). The differential between the two is only by 1, 100 compared to 101. Overall, this experiment could have gone better but serves as an example of the need for accurate data.

Nikola Tesla was a scientist who lived from 1856 to 1947. He worked with AC power, rather than the DC power which Edison used at the time. The two would become bitter rivals, Edison had the edge in business; however, Tesla would eventually win out due to the almost perfectly superior AC power. AC power is safer and can travel over long distances without the need for substations.

Tesla’s work could best be described in his wireless energy emitting Tesla Coil. The Tesla Coil was the first method of wireless energy transmission. When activated, electricity moves around the coil and builds up. When the electricity is built up in the secondary coil to the point where it can no longer store any more, it is released in an lighting bolt-like electrical burst, pictured below.

The Tesla Coil is amazing to look at, even though it doesn’t have a practical application anymore. It is a great demonstration of electrical projection and is easy to understand.

A WPT (wireless power transfer) system is the modern day version of Tesla’s work with wireless energy. In most WPTs, two copper coils (akin to a Tesla Coil) send electricity between each other. This wireless transmission of electricity is known as resonant inductive coupling. At IMTO University, researchers are developing a high efficiency WPT which uses two spherical dielectric resonators.

A problem that most WPT’s have is power loss during the electricity transfer. The new system aims to remedy this problem using a a frequency known as magnetic quadrupole mode. This is more efficient than the standard dipole mode that most WPT’s use.

Despite being over 100 years old, Tesla’s work is still being refined and implemented to this day. In the future, these WPT technologies could replace wires or even electrical lines. It will be interesting to see in 100 more years (2116 as of the time this is published) if wires are used less or completely eliminated from everyday use, which could very well happen if developments in this field continue.

Sources:
http://www.biography.com/people/nikola-tesla-9504443
http://www.livescience.com/46745-how-tesla-coil-works.html
Tesla Coil picture: fir0002 | flagstaffotos.com.au [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/iu-rph020316.php

Pulley Trial 1 Graph

Pulley Trial 2 graph

This experiment involved measuring the amount of kinetic energy needed to move a weight using a pulley and a motor. For each trial, we used 5 attempts. For every attempt, we changed the weight that was used but kept the force constant. We would then measure the time needed for the weight to reach the apex of the pulley.

The data (namely the trend line) clearly shows a positive correlation between increasing mass and the time it took for the weight to travel up the rope under the same force. We could make a general rule stating that as the weight increased, the resistance increased against the pulley, barring human error in stopping the pulley prematurely or late, which definitely affected the results. Also, there is a negative correlation between power and time: when power is decreased, the time it takes for the weight to reach the top increases. If one factor could be eliminated in this experiment to reduce error, it would be an automated stop when the weight reaches the apex of the pulley. When the operator stops the motor, it is always in a different spot, which skewed the numbers. Nevertheless, the line trends stayed true to the experiment even with the outliers taken into consideration. in this experiment. Overall, this experiment is a great display of kinetic energy and the relationship between effort and resistance.

SpaceX is a corporation founded by business tycoon Elon Musk. SpaceX’s goals are to make space travel a reality for citizens as well as eventually begin the colonization of Mars. SpaceX is unique because it is a privately funded company, meaning that ultimately citizens and not governments control its future.

Spacex uses a liquid fuel rocket series known as “Falcon”. The most recent Falcon to be launched is Falcon 9.

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/spacex-launches-falcon-9-with-a-customer-01193/
In order to break Earth’s gravity, the rocket must have enough potential energy stored in its fuel to travel at 7 miles a second. This causes lots of extra mass to be added to the rocket so instead of using a bulkier solid fuel. A liquid fuel such as liquid hydrogen burns hotter and cleaner than a solid fuel, making it more powerful and efficient, albeit more expensive and mechanically complex.

When the rocket burns fuel, it turns the potential energy into kinetic energy. This kinetic energy is then funneled out of a small opening on the back of the rocket, called a nozzle. The force is concentrated into a small area which directly sends all the energy to the back of the rocket, causing it to move forwards. This process continues until the fuel is expended.

SpaceX is a glimpse into the future of space travel. Prior to SpaceX, NASA and the Soviet Space Program were the only entities with enough money and technology to develop spaceflight technology. Eventually, more companies will arise to compete with SpaceX, such as Virgin Galactic, although SpaceX is seeing far more success in their endeavors. It will be interesting to see where their projects lead them in five, ten, twenty or even fifty years from now and we should look on with amazement and anticipation.

---

Additional sources used:
http://homepages.sover.net/~sbjohn/chemistry/chemx/solidvsliquid.html
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/falcon/004/index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/k-4/features/F_Escape_Velocity_prt.htm
http://www.esa.int/Education/Solid_and_liquid_fuel_rockets4

Lab Report 1