Introduction

Mr. Tom Vales arrived into our Contemporary and Innovation Science Class with a plethora of equipment that looked like it belonged to a mad scientist. Don’t get me wrong, his overall presence paired with his metal equipment captivated me right from the get go. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew the class was in for a treat. Before I begin elaborating on what he showed us, let me focus on the categories in which he delved into. These consisted of Tesla Coils, a Sterling Engine, Mendicino Motor, Peltier Cooler, and Quack Medical Devices. Now the vast majority of these devices are not foreign to this course, and if they are there are concepts within them that we have discussed previously which made Vales demonstration that much more meaningful.

Tesla Coils

As Vales said it, Tesla Coils are essentially old school wifi. This amazing invention created by Nikola Tesla is a transformer that generates high voltages which is absolutely magnificent considering it transmits energy with no use of wires, and it’s controlled. With such an amazing invention Vales showed us how it could light lights whilst having no physical (seeable) contact with the light whatsoever. We heard about Tesla Coils in the past; however, seeing the physical manifestation of it reassured that the class could actually understand the concept fully, and what it meant for the future of our society as we know it.

Sterling Engine

A Stirling Engine was displayed in front of Professor Thomas Vales was a tiny model underneath a hot cup of water. What is it? It is essentially a heat engine. What makes this unique, is that overtime it has not changed, except the materials in which it was presented. Where is this used? Now, although this has a lot of potential to be used considering its efficiency, it is used in submarines. The silent noise that is created through this engine makes this efficient to be used underwater due to the reality that scientists don’t want any sea creatures hearing the submarine. Think about it. Sea creatures have a strong sense of hearing, and a regular engine would scare some sea creatures, attract others, some dangerous, some not dangerous. A submarine crew would not want to attract sea creatures towards them, or simultaneously disturb the habitat underwater thus why the Stirling Engine is such an essential component. The Stirling Engine’s significance resides in its ability to be efficient and cater to such specific needs.

Mendocino Motor

Professor Vales started off by saying how this holds no significance except for educating purposes. That means that it holds tremendous purpose. This is a solar powered motor that is levitated through magnetics, and as a result the closed circuit generates currents through the coil. What this taught me personally is how scientific concepts can intermingle to create innovative inventions that can better society in unexpected ways.

Peltier Cooler

Peltier Cooler obviously utilizes the Peltier effect. Lets recall what we learned about thermoelectric energy, and how it intermingles with the concept of peltier. Remember the Peltier effect simply regards an either heating or cooling through a current being passed through two materials. Think of it as an input and an output. This is essentially extremely important in regards to how heat energy can be recycled in multiple aspects of our lives. This also relates to the concept of cooling, and heating and with a slight shift both of them can be accomplished.

Quack Medical Devices

 

Arrays of fluorescent-lighted tools were presented to us. These were the radium cures that were meant to cure any illness by placing it on the region of pain within an individual’s body. During that time period anyone could profess to be a doctor, and fallibly apply this expensive treatment to a patient, exposing them to radiation. A carcinogenic treatment that caused cancer for some. This unfortunate reality spurs us individuals living presently to be thankful for science, medical, and health advancements that have happened in order for us to not to be concerned about these entities that plagued the individual’s of previous generations.

Conclusion

Having a physical representation of what we have discussed earlier makes absorbing the information that much more easier. Why? Because the students are both engaged and interacting with the material at hand, thus allowing a perfect environment to retain the information that we previously discussed. Professor Vales coming into class was an essential aspect to fully grasp the concepts that we have talked about throughout class.