Month: October 2014

The MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory has served the university for 52 years. No electricity is produced. The reactor is mainly used for educational and experimental purposes. The MITR-II is the second largest university research reactor in the United States. It is a light water cooled and moderated nuclear reactor that utilizes flat plate-type finned aluminum clad fuel elements. It currently operates at 6 MW located in the center of a gas-tight cylindrical steel building that is equipped with a controlled pressure relief system. The reactor core is located at the center of the light water tank, which is surrounded by a heavy water tank, a graphite reflector, a thermal shield, and a biological shield for additional safety.

The MITR-II supports a broad research program that supports most aspects of neutron science and engineering including materials testing and evaluations, fission engineering, nuclear medicine, neutron scattering, neutron activation analysis, and teaching.

Current research and service areas supported by the MITR-II include:

• Advanced Materials and fuel research.
• Trace element analysis, isotope production, and irradiation services.
• Neutron transmutation doping of silicon
• Neutron scattering
• Infrastructure to support the US initiative for designing and building the next generation of nuclear reactors as a means of reducing the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.

 

 

In the film “Pandora’s Promise” environmentalists and experts tell their own personal stories why they went from being fiercely anti to strong pro nuclear energy. In the film, the environmentalists explore the aftermath of atomic bombs and disasters like the Fukushima disaster in Japan and the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl. People have made nuclear power out to be a global disaster, and whether or not you believe nuclear power should be shut down, is your own personal opinion. But what Pandora’s promise is trying to tell us, is that Nuclear power is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

A study was done and the film shows that coal and oil are the most harmful out of all the conductors of electricity, and nuclear power is the least harmful. “Pandora’s Promise asks whether the one technology we fear most could save our planet from a climate catastrophe, while providing the energy needed to lift billions of people in the developing world out of poverty.” (PandorasPromise.com) The film is trying to tell us that yes, a large amount of radiation is bad, but we are exposed to various amounts of natural radiation every single day and we don’t even know it. After the disaster in Chernobyl, an entire city nearby was evacuated. When people visit the city today, they see the ruins and think that the disaster has caused this, but it was just the decaying of time and things being broken. People of Chernobyl decided to ignore the restrictions and move back into their old houses. None of these people who have been living there 25 years after the disaster have died of cancer or of any illness. They had tremendous consequences but none of which people expect. People are led to believe that what they hear about nuclear disasters and nuclear plants are a lot worse than what they are told. Hundreds of thousands of people were involved in the clearing of the operation and got some significant doses of radiation and their health had been studied ever since. Even in the large amount of people who were heavily rated, 40 to 50 people have died so far and a few thousand have shortened life spans due to cancer in future. People have been fed an urban myth about what the impacts of chernobyl actually were.

Pandora’s Promise was very eye opening but I am still not sure whether nuclear power is the best alternative. Every conductor of electricity has its pros and cons which makes it hard to really say what is the best alternative for the developing world today.

Tom Vales’ guest Demo, in my opinion, was very eye opening.  It is very scary to think that not too long ago, people were using everyday items in our houses that were made with Uranium, a very harmful element with toxic side effects. Uranium was being used in everything back then and was causing radiation poisoning. There are two different forms of Uranium which are U-235 and U-238.  What I learned about radioactive elements is that they are constantly decaying and changing chemical elements, and that they are unstable. All radioactive elements will eventually decay into led over time, some decaying faster than others. It takes 4.5 billion years for one pound of U-238 to turn into a half of a pound  of U-238 and give off radiation. There are 3 types of radioactivity. There is the Alpha particle, with a helium nucleus, 2 protons and 2 neutrons. Then there’s the Beta particle which has 1 electron. And then there is the Gamma Ray which has no mass and no charge.

Tom brought in some Geiger counters. Geiger counters are used for measuring ionizing radiation. He brought in some examples of everyday items that people used back in the day such as pocket watches, candle holders, flower vases and fiesta bowls. All of the items were surprisingly very reactive. Just by touching these items can be harmful to the body over time.

Items are not being used with Uranium anymore (I would hope), but still today many things can give off radiation. Radiation is around us all the time. Earth has always been radioactive. The natural radioactivity in the environment is just about the same today as it was at the beginning of the Neolithic Age more than 10,000 years ago. The water we drink, the food we eat and the air we breathe all contain radioactive elements that occur naturally. People in higher elevations of the world get more cosmic radiation from the sun than people in lower elevations. There are many different kinds of radiation. Some forms can be beneficial and some can be harmful.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster occurred in Japan on March 11, 2011. It all started with one of the largest earthquakes in the recorded history of the world. It was a rare double quake with a duration of 3 minutes. The earthquake caused a 15 metro major tsunami, causing nearly 20,000 deaths and over a million buildings destroyed. Electricity, gas and water supplies, telecommunications and railway services were all affected and completely shut down. These disruptions severely affected the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant causing a loss of all power and also a release of radioactive materials from three reactors. Fukushima Daiichi reactors 1,2, and 3 were shut down. Units 4, 5, and 6 were not operating at the time, but were still affected. The units lost the ability to maintain proper reactor cooling and water circulation functions. The accident was rated a 7 out of 7 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale due to high radioactive releases over a span of 4-6 days. After two weeks the three reactors were stable with water addition. Many weeks were spent focusing on restoring heat removal from the reactors and coping with overheated spent fuel ponds. Fortunately, there were no deaths or cases of radiation sickness from the nuclear accident, but over 100,000 people were evacuated from their homes.

Fukushima Daiichi reactors

The Fukushima Daiichi reactors were GE boiling water reactors of an early 1960’s design by GE, Toshiba and Hitachi. The six reactors that were affected in the accident had different powers. Unit 1 reactor power was 460 MWe, 748 MWe for units 2-5, and 1100 MWe for unit 6.

Inside a Fukushima reactor:

After Japan’s nuclear plants were shut down after the accident, The Nations greenhouse gas emissions spiked, as utilities relied more on  fossil fuels for energy, like coal and natural gas. The Japanese government is working to restart their reactors despite public opposition.

The New National Energy Strategy is expected to reduce their oil dependency rate to 40% or less by 2030 from the current 50% and secure energy resources abroad through the fostering of more powerful energy companies.

 

 

Sources:

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Fukushima-Accident/

http://fukushima.ans.org/

http://mashable.com/2014/03/11/three-years-after-fukushima/

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/HA13Dh01.html

Geothermal energy is heat that is generated from the earth. Geothermal power generates 25% of Iceland’s total electricity production. Geothermal energy has been used for thousands of years for cooking and heating. To produce geothermal- generated electricity, wells, sometimes a mile deep, are drilled into the ground to tap steam and very hot water that drive turbines linked to electricity generators. There are three types of geothermal power plants: dry steam, flash, and binary. 87% of Iceland’s heat and water needs are met with geothermal energy. Iceland itself is 100% powered by renewable energy because the 75% of the electricity that is not provided by geothermal energy, is provided by hydropower. Due to the high availability of geothermal and hydro energy, energy costs for the average person in Iceland are extremely low. The people of Iceland are debating whether or not they should begin exporting their resources to other countries, but many are worried that it will lead to increased pricing for the people of Iceland. That being said, geothermal energy has proven to be an extremely efficient and cost-effective type of energy.

 

Sources:

http://www.nea.is/geothermal/

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/geothermal-profile/

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/03/geothermal-energy-in-iceland-too-much-of-a-good-thing

Stirling Engine:

There are two types of engines. There are external combustion engines, which burn the fuel in one place and produce the power in another part of the same machine. And then there are the internal combustion engines, which burn the fuel and make the power in exactly the same place, like a car for example. Both types of engines rely on the heat energy from making gas expand and then cool down.  The stirling engine does not use any steam. Instead, it heats, cools, and recycles the same air or gas to produce power that can drive a machine. It reuses air sealed into a closed system, using heat from fire to power the cylinder. In modern days, stirling engines are attached to solar panels in the desert and the heat of the sun is used to generate electricity without fuel.

 

The Peltier Device:

The Peltier device is a device that uses two dissimilar pieces of bismuth-telluride and runs a direct current though them. This causes either a cooling or heating a effect. It was discovered that running a direct current through two dissimilar metals will cause a heating or cooling effect at the junction point of the two metals. This is caused because the electrons in one metal are forced to change their energy levels when transferring to the other metal, which either causes the emission or absorption of thermal energy. This is what allows the device to be used for either heating or cooling.

The Peltier device is used to generate small amounts of electricity as well as used as a small scale cooling device for things such as drinks and food or electronic devices.

 

 

Sources:

http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-stirling-engines-work.html

http://www.santarosa.edu/~yataiiya/E45/PROJECTS/peltier.ppt

http://www.survival-manual.com/electricity/peltier-elements.php

http://www.robertstirlingengine.com/applications1_uk.php

The purpose of this lab was to measure the relationship between light intensity and the voltage output of the solar cell, as well as the relationship between the wavelength of light and the voltage output of the solar cell.

For this experiment, we used an NXT adaptor with a light sensor and a flashlight. To find our data, we held a flashlight up to the NXT adapter at a certain distance, and the Labview application on our computers took the data for light intensity,or voltage, for 10 seconds.

For the first test, we tested the light intensity(voltage) for the adaptor when the light sensor was all black/ no light hitting it. We came up with a rating of 0.096931 joules.

For test two, with light straight up against the sensor, we produced the outcome of 0.602433 joules.

For the next four tests, we measured the distance between the light and the NXT adaptor at 5 cm, 8 cm, 11 cm, and 14 cm. The next four tests after that, we placed different colored filters over the flashlight, to see if there was any change in voltage output. These were our results:

Distance(cm): 5, 8, 11, 14

Voltage(j): 0.386889, 0.315041, 0.249608, 0.230363

This graph shows that as the light gets further and further away from the sensor, the voltage gets lower and lower.

Next test:

Color: Red, Pink, Blue, Orange

Voltage(j):0.48568, 0.566509, 0.467718,  0.52417

 

The different colored filters changed the voltage output because the filter determined how much light passed through to the NXT adaptor. If the filter was darker, like the dark blue for example, the voltage output would be much lower than the yellow or pink because less light passed through, making the light sensor hard to read.

Renewable energy is defined to be energy that comes from a natural resource such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and heat. Solar energy is a renewable resource because it uses sunlight to generate power. Using solar energy has many advantages, and that is why so many countries choose to use more renewable energy today. Solar energy is not only cheaper, but it is less harmful to the environment.

The top seven countries who use solar energy are Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, china, Unites States and Czech Republic.

Germany is the leading country for using solar energy and the leading buyer of solar energy panels. They have installed thousands of solar panels, but they have planned to be using nothing but renewable energy by the year 2050. During 2009, Germany installed eight times more megawatts of photovoltaics of solar energy capacity than America did that year!

Spain is making an effort to use renewable energy more and more throughout the years. Around ten percent of Spain’s energy comes from solar power, which is five times more than the average of two percent in the rest of the world.

Italy’s power consists of nine percent solar power. Every two months, there are more solar energy panels installed in Italy than there are in California during a whole year.

Japan invested $9 billion in an attempt to encourage solar energy within the country, but unfortunately it wasn’t as successful as hoped. Though, in the same year, the prime minister announced that 32,000 public schools within Japan would use solar power.

In 2009, China has grown it’s solar capacity by six thousand percent- from less than one third of a gigawatt of capacity, to 18.3 GW.

In the United States, Americans are showing more interest in solar energy because electricity costs are getting higher. California is the state with the most solar energy with sixty percent of all solar installations in America.

The Czech Republic has been installing solar power since before the year 2007. The Czech Republic doesn’t have as much solar power as the other countries listed, however, those other countries see a lot more sun each year and they have much larger populations. Land is cheaper in the Czech Republic so that increases the growth of solar power significantly. The low cost of buying land has compromised the lack of sunshine each year.

There are also some new solar innovations that could potentially change different countries. These innovations include Bringing light to developing countries, infrared solar energy, building integrated photovoltaics, solar leaf, solar powered mobile gadgets, solar powered transportations, and new solar manufacturing processes. “Green” companies such as Greenlight planet, D.Light, and Angaza Design have developed small, durable solar charging lamps and appliances. These lamps can replace kerosene lamps, which have caused health hazards and frequent accidents. Other companies are developing “microgrids” which are solar panels that provide electricity for up to 100 households.

Only about 60% percent of the light that hits the surface is visible light, the rest lies in the infrared and ultraviolet spectrums. A group of MIT researchers developed a new carbon- based solar panel that can harness the infrared light and visible light. They need very little material so they do not cost much.

Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPVs) are thin solar panels that fit into your roof shingles, curtain walls, facades, and windows. BIPVs are a great alternative because they cut out many installation costs on new buildings. These are especially appealing to consumers who do not want a large solar powered rack mounted on their roof.

The “Solar Leaf” is made from a thin silicon solar cell, and when dropped into water, it separates into hydrogen and oxygen molecules connect to fuel cells that produce electricity. They do not create as much energy as traditional solar photovoltaics, but they are cheap to make.

Solar Powered Mobile Gadgets: There are over 1 billion cell phones, and although they take up a short amount of power individually, collectively they take up to 10 trillion pounds of CO2 every year. There are new innovations that with just one hour of sunlight, the SolarKindle gathers enough charge to run your device for three days.

Solar powered transportationis also in effect. Solar powered flights are being worked on as well as electric cars.

 

 

 

Sources:

http://planetsave.com/2012/03/06/top-6-countries-using-solar-energy/

https://joinmosaic.com/blog/7-new-solar-innovations-could-change-world/

http://energyinformative.org/where-is-solar-power-used-the-most/

http://pureenergies.com/us/blog/top-10-countries-using-solar-power/

 

The purpose of this lab was power generation. Faraday’s Law states that changing magnetic fluxes through coiled wires generate electricity (currents and voltage). The greater the change in magnetic flux, the greater will be in the generated voltage. In this lab, we had to shake a flash light, which had a magnet, that traveled back and forth through a coil of wires. The faster the flashlight was shaken, the greater the generated voltage. Our task was to find the number of shakes of the generator, in a thirty second time interval, and the voltages that the generator created. We shook the flashlight six times to collect the data. These were the results:

 

 

 

The results prove that the greater you shake the device, the greater the voltage that the coils generated.

Tesla Electric Vehicle:

Unlike most cars that use fuel power, the Tesla vehicle uses electricity power. These cars play a significant role in reducing gas emissions. The car is powered by either a 6o or 85 kWh battery. Unlike the internal combustion engine with hundreds of moving pieces, the Tesla motor has only one moving piece: the rotor. As a result to this, the acceleration is instantaneous. The Tesla car offers all-wheel drive, comparable to many all-wheel drive cars, which allows it to adjust instantaneously to any road conditions. It’s electronic power steering also automatically reacts to driving conditions to ensure a safe and comfortable drive. The Tesla car comes standard with everything you need to plug into the most common 240-volt outlets and standard 120-volt wall outlets and public stations. Depending on the type of model you get, determines the rate of which the car can be recharged. Model S can be recharged at a rate of 29 miles of range per hour. You can receive a 50% charge in as little as 20 minutes with the Tesla Supercharger.  Most Tesla owners plug their car in at night, like they would do with a cell phone. The Tesla does not have a tailpipe to spew harmful emissions. Gasoline-powered vehicles and hybrids burn refined petroleum. Tesla vehicles can use electricity however it is produced, such as coal, solar, hydro, geothermal, or wind power.

 

Fisker electric vehicles:

Fisker automotive was established in 2007 by Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koeler. Their goal was to produce the worlds first premium hybrid electric vehicle. The brand is now under new management and owned by a Chinese company called Wanxiang. The Fisker car pairs a large battery pack and a small gasoline engine to get the most from each element. The batteries can be charged from traditional in home outlets or through a generator turned on by the car’s engine. The car includes an option for roof- mounting solar cells to help recharge the car and an optional solar array for mounting on top of a house or a garage. The makers of the car consider it to be environmentally friendly due to the accents carved out of reclaimed wood and leather seats crafted using 85% of cow’s hide.

 

Sources:

http://www.teslamotors.com/

http://thenewfisker.com/

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/hybrid-technology/fisker-karma.htm