Since our class has been learning about new types of energy, while conducting a lot of labs and experiments within the VI and NXT labs, it only made perfect sense to have Suffolk University’s Tom Vale come into class to conduct a presentation to further our knowledge on different types of machines.

He showed us a few different machines, starting with the Stirling Engine that is 80% effective and runs from the bottom of the machine and is powered by heat. Tom then placed his machine over a hot cup of water, 7 degrees F. Any of the heat that rose and was trapped between the machine and the cup created power for the machine.

Stirling Engine

The second thing that Tom showed us was the Peltier Junction, created by John Peltier. John Peltier was the one who discovered that you can heat and cool one side and get electricity. The Peltier Junction is made of metal and copper and generates electric currents. It uses a thermoelectric effect so it can produce colder temperatures.

Peltier Junction

Tom also showed us the Mendocino Motor. This motor is very interesting because it is able to float on it’s own magnetic field that it produces. It is able to do this because it is made up of 4 rotating solar cell magnets that generate the power for it to float. The solar cell magnets convert light into electricity and power the motor to run. Tom Vales referred to this as the DC Theory, which is the input of the motor/voltage and the output is the speed.

Mendocino Motor

I thought that Tom’s presentation was very interesting, informative, and fun to watch and learn from and helped further my knowledge on machines and why we conduct the experiments that we do in class.