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Tom Vales introduced us to three different engines and machines that demonstrated concepts related to electricity. Peltier device, Sterling engine, Mendocino motor and other devices were what he used to show us some interesting experiments. The Peltier device was basically two metal one in a hot water and the other in a cold water. The experiment showed that the device will generate current, therefore; an electricity would be created. Two famous applications use this device are power fan and microprocessor.

 

The Stirling engine, which was invented by Robert Stirling, is considered as an air compressor that moves hot and cold air inside it causing it to work. Low fraction is needed for this machine to create energy. The Mendocino motor has four sides and a rotor block in the middle of a shaft that has a magnet. Solar energy is also used to run this machine and convert light to electricity. The last thing he presents to us was the Telsa coil and the violet-ray devices. The Telse power generate and produce voltage to the air, where you can light up lamps without connecting them to the power.

The Pandora’s Promise is a documentary that mainly discusses the nuclear power and its effects on the people and the environment. The film started by presenting several scientists and environmentalists talking about how they were anti-nuclear and what made them to change their point of view. They stated that the idea of opposing nuclear energy was related to the risks the radiations do to the human beings and nature. However, analyzing the issue with other scientists and physicists who are experts allowed them to look at nuclear energy from a different angle. The problem of opposing the nuclear is that people do not realize the difference between the nuclear power and the nuclear weapons.

The film gave an example of a nuclear power accident happened in Japan where an environmentalist visited the area to measure the radiations of the explosion. The result came shocking to some because the radiation measurement was very low comparing with other places. The media always shows the negative side and how the radiations bring illnesses and damages to the world. Since the first usage of nuclear was nuclear weapons, people became scared of this energy source. There has been rallies and protests by ignorant people against the use of nuclear power as a source of energy. People are afraid because they have been always exposed the cons of nuclear not the pros. A significant thing those people do not notice is that we have radiations around us all the time. These natural radiations have been measured in certain cities around the world; surprisingly, it is higher than what the nuclear power would cause. The documentary illustrates that by giving an example of a Brazilian beach. Scientists have a big and crucial role in educating the people of the nuclear benefits.

The nuclear energy is safe, clean and has no harm on the earth. It’s an unlimited source of energy that can be use to generate electricity and heat. In order to get energy from any other source, we need to at least burn another source to generate power. The most widely source of energy used is the coil, thus, it kills thousands of people every year.  On the other hand, nuclear is the second safest after wind and it’s even safer than solar energy. Considering these facts, coil is more dangerous than nuclear power. The waste from the nuclear energy does not cause any problems and it also can be recycled to fuel. Using nuclear power might put an end to the climate change and global warming issues that cause a distraction like Sandy storm in 2012.

In this activity we looked at Newton second law of motion, which state “The rate of change of momentum is proportional to the imposed force and goes in the direction of the force.”, the law of conservation of energy, velocity vs acceleration and power. We used a robot, pulley, Lego Mindstorm motor and a ruler to determine the acceleration at different mass and power level. We used the motor and the pulley to lift weights at the same power level but different mass. The acceleration decreased every time we added more mass; however, when the mass was the same and the power level was different, the acceleration was higher every time we raised the power. Graph were used on an Excel sheet to illustrate each event. This part of the experiment explored Newton 2nd low(Force = Mass*Acceleration); therefore, we can say that the higher the power the higher the acceleration will be and the more the mass the lower the acceleration will be. Considering the gravity, if we drooped tow objects at the same time they will arrive to the ground at the same moment no matter what the mass is because they have the same acceleration, based on Newton second low.

 

The second part of the experiment was to explore the conservation of energy by calculating the potential energy using the Excel sheet. The formula for that is as follows Ep = mgh. After that we examine the relationship between the battery discharge and the mass and that was illustrated by the next graph. The result showed that the higher the mass the grater that battery discharge will be.

 

 

The last part was to calculate the power used (Power used = mgh/t) for all the runs. The result of this experiment can be taken from the next graph. It showed that the higher the power level the higher the power used will be.

 

The fuel efficiency is mostly depends on the design which focus on the shape and weight of the vehicle. Governments set a policy to make cars more efficient and has higher gas mileage. Some carmakers argued against this fuel rule. According to New York Times, “While the American carmakers, as well as their Asian rivals, once argued against even minimal increases in government fuel rules, they are acquiescing without protest to an increase to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, from the current 27 miles per gallon.” Companies can increase gas mileage by electrical or hybrid cars. This of course will need developing technology that will cost auto industry a lot; therefore, the automobile price will rise. Car makers were concerned that the people will not pay for better technology; however the result came on a surprise. The number of people buying small cars has increased. These fuel regulations will save car users money and help to reduce gas emission.

 

Hybrid vehicle uses a combination of gasoline engines and electrical motors. This allows the vehicle to be more efficient, use less gas and achieves more mileage. These vehicle prices are expected to be higher because of the technology used to build it. Using 2013 Fusion Hybrid “Tinskey talks about specialized technology such as EV+, which uses GPS to learn your most frequent routes in order to maximize your electric-only driving.” Some carmakers suggested that hybrid cars are not the only way to increase gas mileage. To make the mile per gallon rise, the car should have a compressed air to generate power with. The article stated that “Internal combustion engines produce power by sucking an air-gas mixture into a cylinder, compressing it with a piston and igniting it with a spark. The resulting explosion forces the piston down, which generates power.” Other technologies such as cylinder deactivation, direct fuel injection and homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) can also be used in the future.

 

References

 

 

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/01/31/how-technology-is-boosting-hybrids-gas-mileage.aspx

 

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/phevtech.shtml

 

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/auto/hybrids-not-the-only-answer-2.aspx

The Sawyer library has three floors, each one is different from the other in certain ways. The library is located on the second floor at 73 Tremont Street. This floor has important sections that all students need to know. First, the circulation desk where students can borrow books from the library. They offer two copies of each textbook that students can use to study in the library for a certain period of time. They also have laptops which students can work on at their break time. On the same floor there are several computer stations and printers for students to write, research and do assignments. The reference desk, which is located on the same floor, is a guide for students who need help. The librarians who work there can help and direct the students to find reliable sources for their papers. Students are encouraged to ask for assistance for their benefit. The 3ed floor has academic help center such as the math support center and the writing center. The 4th floor is quite study area and it’s the only floor students can borrow books to take them home.

 

The library online page has can be accessed from home, which makes it more convenient for students use. The most important is the database by subject, library catalog and help research guide. These are basic pages to direct you to the sources you need. How to search? Search terms like the author, title and subject are crucial to get the best result you need. Using quotations will allow the computer to search for the term entered together. There are also the advance search windows which allow you to narrow down your research and be more focused. You can narrow your research to a period of time, by this way you can get hundreds of articles instead of thousands. One interesting thing to mention is that students can email themselves journals and article they found. In some database the citation will be available in several forms like MLA, APA and Chicago style. Thus, everything will be organized for the students to work faster and save a lot time.

The robot was built in a previous class and it was connected to a program that allows it to run and control its speed. In the robotic activity, we looked at the program measurement for the robot distance at a particular speed. At different power levels and time, the numbers of turns, distance and rotation was changing. We tried to measure the distance of the car with a ruler and see the difference between both methods. Our calculations showed that there was a small difference in between the robot and the ruler measurement. The table below presents the date we got.

 

Power     Time         Rotation      Turns       Distance      Distance        Percent error

                                                                (Robot)         (Ruler)

60         1 sec         419-425       1.163          .20 m            .23 m              13%

50         2 sec         685-690        1.902         .33 m            .35 m              15%

40         2 sec         478-480        1.327         .23 m            .29 m              23%

35         3 sec         608-610        1.688         .29 m            .30 m               3%

30         5 sec         827-829         2.29          .40 m            .40 m              0%

 

These  are formulas we used to calculate the percent error:

1) Average = (Robot distance + Measured distance) / 2

2) Percent error = (Robot distance – Measured distance/ average) x 100

 

This activity introduced us to what does a robot consist of and how does it work. We looked at how far the car can travel at a specific power level and time. The error in measuring the distance is probably due human mistakes beside other factors.

 

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused a destructive damage along the east cost of the United State. It was the biggest storm that hit the US after hurricane Katrina. The storm basically was a combination of winds, rain and snow, which made it worse. Unexpected changes in the storm size and speed caused a massive damage. The wind speed kept increasing until it reached 145 kilometers per hour, which made the storm devastating. The storm shut down the power in almost 17 states leaving 8.2 million people without electricity. Billions of dollars were estimated as economic losses caused by hurricane sandy. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, said “The level of devastation at the Jersey Shore is unthinkable, It is beyond anything I thought I’d ever see…. it is a devastating sight right now.”

 

Was global warming the cause for such a disaster?

Scientists point out that global warming was not the only cause, but climate change and other factors were behind this extreme event. A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that these natural events caused by climate change were related to human activity and might increase in the future. The rise in sea level due to global warming had a crucial role for hurricane sandy to happen. A study done by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge and Princeton University in New Jersey  illustrated that the higher the sea level is, the more likely these extreme weather events to happen. Both rise in sea level and high ocean temperature allowed the hurricane to expand and cause damages. Apparently, global warming was one of the major factors that lead to this climate crisis. Scientists found that natural disasters are partly caused by global warming. The concern of the global warming issue is getting larger, thus it needs to be looked after by politicians, scientists and environmentalists to find fast and appropriate solution.

 

 

References

 

http://globalwarmingisreal.com/2012/11/01/hurricane-sandy-climate-change-and-the-upcoming-election/

http://0-www.nature.com.library.law.suffolk.edu/news/hurricane-sandy-spins-up-climate-discussion-1.11706

http://www.weatherwise.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/2013/March-April%202013/hurricane-sandy-full.html

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