FIELD TRIP!!

As a class we went on a field trip to the Museum Science. I drove their and waited for the class to arrive. When the class arrived I was surprised that the substitute just left us. Some of us went and visited other exhibits as well other than the energized exhibit on the first floor. I was sad that they did not have many things to see. However, we had a bit of fun with what we saw. They had a neat tool in which you aim light at this target and it energized this man on a bike. They had three mirrors that we could aim at the target. The more mirrors we aimed at the target the faster the guy on the bike went.

I was also a bit upset that most of the stuff there was for young children so there wasn’t much that I really learned that I we did not learn in the classroom. In all it was fun to read about facts that had posted.

Group Project

In my group there is Dana, Hanna and Emily and me(Fouad)! Cool thing is we get along really well. I worked with Dana and Hanna on labs all semester and Emily was in my class Freshman year in English 101 with Professor Tarpy. We were quick to zing out many different ideas. However knowing that we do not have all the time in the world to create a fusion center we chose to go with using a Peltier device in order to create electricity. We figured that we would have to test the difference in temperature and knowingly we also figured that the greater the change is in temperature the more energy we would have.

Watch this video to see kind of what we are going to do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mFyiYh94YE&feature=related

So as I was researching to know more about what we were doing I kept getting pictures of this weird looking thing. I was getting really upset because this is not what was presented in the video. I starting to get really upset until I started to read more. The peltier device is the mechanism that was coming and all the other components were just add-ons. So after my dumb moment I was like “uhh huh”  now I get.

 

 

 

Sources:

http://www.teamwavelength.com/images/info/tecinside.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling

http://www.peltier-info.com/

 

 

Don’t Be Indenial

Most of you reading this, I am guessing do think that global warming is true.  Most of you reading this also know one person who thinks its a myth and that is where this fun argumentative debate starts. Already you think this person must be an “idiot” of some sort just because he/she thinks that global warming is a myth but the real question is how do you reason with a person about a topic as touchy as global warming. I wish I had the answer for you but I do not because some of these people are not the idiots we think they are. They may hold a high office in government, private sector or public sectors.

How ever I will tell you about f of the top 10 most respected skeptics about global warming. Yes I did say “respected” because the offices they hold in society are to be respected undoubtedly.  Will HapperThe first one I will mention is Will Harper who is a highly-respected physicist out of Princeton, he believes that green-house effect is nearly the cause of water vapor and clouds and just a bit effected by CO2. He also states that the atmosphere already has soo much CO2 in it that adding any more will not do anything because the ones in the atmosphere are already blocking most infrared radiation from getting into the earth. What I found funny is when he says that we need global warming in order for the earth to be warm and not cold all the time. The Second one I will mention is Ivar Giaever, He is a Noble Prize winner in physics. He is not a leader within the skeptics but believes that there isn’t enough information compelling global warming worth spending so much time on. Let me just repeat this guy was a Noble prize winner in physics. My third person is Physicist Freeman Dyson who has been recognized for being a giant in his field for decades. However the British-born Princeton professor is also a skeptic to global warming. Like Giaever he also thinks that adequate data is just not there yet. The fourth man is now a celeb because of his views, Alan Carlin is an EPA economist who wrote a paper saying that global warming is all just a “hoax.” He was censored by the EPA for being too heretic.  He welcomed on the Glenn Beck show because of it. Patrick MichaelsLastly, my favorite Patrick Micheals. If you want to call anyone an idiot then this “respectable” man might be your guy. As a CATO scholar and a GMU professor, he believes that we are ina long-term warming trend and that carbon dixiode has nothing to do with it. My next words are not a typo but true words from Mr. Micheals; he believes that each additional greenhouse gas molecule has less and less of an effect.

The question is, are these smart and well repected people “idiots” or are we just fooled by the news and inadequate data to believe in global warming?

Sources:

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-ten-most-important-climate-change-skeptics-2009-7#patrick-michaels-10

http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/11/talk-global-warming-deniers/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scientists_opposing_the_mainstream_scientific_assessment_of_global_warming

Natural Gas/fracking

Hydraulic fracturing first started in the 1947 but the first frac job with today’s technique was done in the 1990’s in Barnett Shale in Texas.  Since then hydraulic fracturing has acquired new nick name hydrofracking. Many energy companies attempt this process in order to release petroleum, natural gas, coal seam gas or other substances. The process requires the propagation of fractures in a rock layer caused by the presence of a pressurized fluid.The energy from the injection of highly pressurized fluids creates many channels in the rock which increase the extraction rates and ultimately recovery of the fossil fuels.

This method of obtaining energy might seem convincing until we have to realize how much we really get out of it. It has been known to have many environmental problems. It damages forestland, destroys well sites along with groundwater and surface water contamination.  It also disturbs many access roads to the well sites. This process involves the use of 6-8 million gallons of freshwater per fracking. Along with this abundant amount of water, their is a mixture of chemicals such as diesel, biocides and benzene. The companies never state how much of each chemical they are using, they just say its in “small amounts.” Whats small for me and whats small for you is not the same measurement. Hydrofracking, just is not the answer to the ultimate problem we are trying to solve. In New York many anti-activists protested to have this process stopped because it was seen as a threat to their water supplies.  This is not how I want to help my planet and neither should you.

 

Sources:

https://nccnews.expressions.syr.edu/?p=32868

http://www.peacecouncil.net/NOON/hydrofrac/HdryoFrac2.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing

How many MPG does your vehicle get?

The automobile industry since the 1970’s has been reluctant to increasing the gas mileage in their vehicles because of the money they will have to spend in order for engineers to create powerful engines that can give high gas mileage. Since we were very lucky in the 1990’s and were buying gas at an average $0.60 a gallon we did not care about how many miles to the gallon we got on our cars. Ever since 2001 and leading up to 2012 we see that we have paid on average 3.15 per gallon. For many people who owned SUV’s and vehicles with high horsepower vehicles; this changed the way they shopped for vehicles.

The government controls what the regulations are for vehicle gas mileage. What was the 27 mpg, President Obama has raised that regulation to 55.4 mpg. In an effort to help conserve the little oil we have left in the world and also help people who need to use their vehicles. He has given car companies till 2025 to create cars that can get at least 55.4 mpg.

We starting to to see Hybrids cars become very popular in today’s world. An interesting fact is that the first hybrid was created in 1899 by Henri Pieper.  Today, hybrid cars are all run differently. Some hybrid (dual mode) use alternative fuel in order to run. They do this by mixing diesel or petroleum with another fuel for example, ethanol, butane or biobutanol. Other Hybrids run on 100% electricity for the first 25-35 miles per hour than the it will on petroleum after that. In most of these vehicles as well engineers have created technology where heat created from friction when braking gets created into electricity and then stored until needed. Hybrid cars are a great alternative in increasing mpg and reducing green house emissions.

The body of a vehicle is very important to its gas mileage. The more box-shaped a vehicleis, the less mpg it gets because of the wind resistance it face. The aerodynamics of a vehicle can make the difference of 5-10 miles per gallon. This is one reason why we see that SUV’s get less mpg than sedans. Sedans today are being created carefully in order to get great gas mileage. Look at the picture I put forth of the Volkswagen Jetta.  The Top one is the 2012 version and the bottom one is the 2002 version. We can see that the 2012 version is much more Aerodynamic than the 2002 version.

Their are many 100% electrically run cars today than ever. In downtown Boston at government center we see that while you park your vehicle you can have it recharged. More people are buying electric cars today because the engineers of car companies have found the right technology to do so.

Sources:

Friedman, Thomas. “This Is a Big Deal.” NY TIMES. 11 Dec. 2011. Web. 02 Feb. 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/opinion/sunday/friedman-this-is-a-big-deal.html.
“How Hybrids Work.” Fuel Economy. 10 Feb. 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybridtech.shtml.
“Federal Actions: Federal Programs Directory.” DOT Transportation and Climate Change Clearinghouse. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <http://climate.dot.gov/policies-legislation-programs/fed-programs/auto_economy.html>.

Demand Response

Almost everything in our households requires the use of electricity from charging our cell phones to using hot water. Most people forget that our boilers are started up by electricity that warm up the water and turn it into hot water. In the summer we keep our air conditioners running all day and night in order to stay cool from the hot weather. What we do not think of is how this stuff works.

First we have the power grid which is an interconnected network that runs electricity from the suppliers to the consumers. The grid consists of three main components. First ofFile:Electricity Grid Schematic English.svg three is the electricity generation which are located near water and tend to be away from heavily populated places. The electric power that is generated is put in a higher voltage which is connected to the transmission network. Second of three is the electric power transmission which is the network or wheel that will move the power along distances and finally we see the distribution.  This is a very simple explanation of a very complicated process of how energy is created, converted, stored and then distributed.

Research has shown that their is a demand load during the early evening. The government has launched programs where if you promise to use demand response, you can save money. Although in many states the price you pay per usage is based on the usage of all  the households and not just your self. Therefore your neighbors directly impact you more than you think.  This program can help you if you promise to curtail your usage during peak hours in order to prevent future blackouts.

When blackouts happen it is a pain for many people and cause major interruptions in people’s lives. Therefore Demand Response have been put into effect in order to help keep a steady flow of electricity to people without any interruptions. Another way we can satisfy everyone’s electricity usage is by building more power plants. That idea will not be good because it will destroy the environment faster than we are doing it today.

I many stores today we can buy electricity products that save on energy. Energy Star an energy efficient consumer products first originated by the United States 1990’s and has been adopted by six other countries since as well as the European Union.  These energy star products generally use 20%-30% less energy than required by federal standards. This program was intended to be part of a series of voluntary programs such as Green Lights and Methane programs in order to reduce green house emissions. Excitingly in 2006 12% of new housing in the United States were labeled energy star. In 2006 alone it was estimated that it saved $14 Billion in energy costs. Today if we walk into a store we will see many products are labeled with Energy Star. As a consumer we can receive tax deductions through the federal government.

 

Sources:

ENERGY STAR. Web. 06 Feb. 2012. <http://www.energystar.gov/>.

Area, Research. “Automated Demand Response Technology Demonstration Project for Small and Medium Commercial Buildings | Demand Response Research Center (DRRC) | Drrc.lbl.gov.” Demand Response Research Center (DRRC) | Demand Response Research Center (DRRC) | Drrc.lbl.gov. Web. 06 Feb. 2012. <http://drrc.lbl.gov/publications/automated-demand-response-technology-demonstration-project-small-and-medium-commercial->.

“PJM – Demand Response.” PJM – Home. Web. 06 Feb. 2012. <http://pjm.com/markets-and-operations/demand-response.aspx>.

Robotic Activity

KeepOn's range of motionI would like everyone to enjoy the video KeepOn. The “KeepOn” robot was created in 2007 and is a great example of how far technology has come. The Scientist shows complexity while using simple two yellow balls.

Robotics have always been said to be the next generation. Every generation we get more and more advanced on how we can navigate and control robots to do humanistic tasks. Most of robotic technology comes from area 51, which is a top secret confidential no fly zone in the United States. Top scientists and of course top technology comes from there. The world today has shaped itself around technology and re-developing the technology that has already been in place.

The United States Military has used many robots in war and from research it is relying on more and more robots to do special operation missions. For one example we have the Predator drone which was created in 1996. The Predator flies all over the world while being controlled from South California and is able to go and launch missiles where needed. It is also equipped with state of the art optics in order to provide clear cut footage for the operator. In 1996 the United States had only 200 drones and as of 2009 that number is now 7000 drones. The Predator has over a million flying hours and is heavily relied on to save our soldiers lives. Another great example would be the PackBot which has many uses. Also equipped with state of the art optics, it has been used to look for bodies at ground zero and for mines in Iraq and Afghanistan. The PackBot has done many spying work as well, often going into caves and hiding spots of insurgents.

Creators and buyers of Robots want the robot they buy to be as human as possible and react to touch, feeling, sound, and commands. Many of the top ten robots of the past ten 15 years have succeeded in becoming what their buyers want them to be.  One favorite of mine was developed here in Boston, called the BigDog.  This robot is the most advanced rough terrain robot on the earth today. Originally created in 2005 it has put viewers in shock.

While getting to program a lego robot of my own, I was quickly able to see how important they are to us in the world. While seeing how we can control the robot and the many things we can make it do within minutes, it was impressive. We started to calculate in order to find the percentage of human error while measuring. We used the formula

(measurement w/ruler – program measurement)/(measurement + measurement program/2)

We found that we were off by 1.13% due to human error while measuring. A percentage of 1.13 is acceptable and certainly great but not as accurate as what the robot had computed. Their are many issues we can face that the computer will most likely not face while computing measurements and or coordinates. For one, the measuring the device a person can use may be off, we had used a ruler. Perhaps we were not consistent with our markings. Another factor is that the robot had many loose wiring  on it, and as humans it is hard to account for that. Their is always human error or perhaps marginal error and therefore an error of 0% would be impossible to have.

A lesson learned through Fukushima Daiichi

Earth quakes can be very deadly as seen over the last 5 years with many hitting all over the world. Tsunami is mother nature showing us how powerful she can be and how quickly she can make everything disappear.  Japan in 2011 suffered a combined earth quake and tsunami disaster leaving many homeless and giving scientists more information to learn from. In the mix up of all of this Japan is known for its Nuclear Power Plants, now hear this, Japan suffered an earth quake and Tsunami while having many Nuclear Power Plants. Now that is scary.

In Fukushima on March 11,2011 the largest nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl of 1986 had happened. Fukushima had six reactors and luckily that day reactors 5 and 6 were in planned cool shutdown for maintenance and the other four were just de-fueled. As the tsunami hit, it damaged the connection between the reactors and the power grid. With flooding and havoc raised by the earth quake and tsunami combination there was massive flooding; so as the reactors began to overheat, the workers could not get any external help in effort to keep the reactors cool.  As days went on the workers struggled to cool and shut down the reactors but reactors 1,2 and 3 experienced a full meltdown. During these long stressful scary days their were several hydrogen explosions. In an effort to save nearby citizens the government commanded that seawater be used to cool the reactors. Seawater was dangerous because it could ruin the reactors.

Fears of radioactivity releases led to a 12 mile radius evacuation around the plant. The workers remained working on the reactors to keep them cool. Many were exposed to radiation and were temporarily evacuated. After long days of work and fear of dying due to radiation exposure or hydrogen explosions, the workers sought relief when electrical power was restored. This allowed for automated cooling of the reactors.

While the workers successfully kept control and limited a large tragedy from happening the government had  some explaining to do.  Japanese administrators rated this accident as a level 4 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) although other agencies think it was much higher like a 5 or even 7 which is the maximum scale value. On March 20 Yukio Edano who was the chief cabinet secretary at the time ordered the plant be decommissioned once the disaster was over.

Research shows that radiation levels high enough to cause concern 30-50 km away. The governement has banned the sale of food grown in these areas and has recommended that no one should use tap water from these areas as well. No worker at the plant died due to radiation exposure but future cancer from exposure is likely.

 

Sources:

“Fukushima Accident 2011.” World Nuclear Association | Nuclear Power – a Sustainable Energy Resource. World Nuclear Association, 01 Jan. 2012. Web. 30 Jan. 2012. <http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/fukushima_accident_inf129.html>.

“Japan’s Nuclear Disaster: Radiation at Fukushima Daiichi.” Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews – TIME.com. Time Magazine, 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 30 Jan. 2012. <http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2061803,00.html>.

“UN Report of Fukushima.” Nukes of Hazard Blog – Blog. 14 Sept. 2011. Web. 30 Jan. 2012. <http://nukesofhazardblog.com/story/2011/9/14/22712/3872>.