Last week in class we had a guest speaker, Tom Vales. Bringing in several demonstrations, Mr. Vales gave us an inside look on the type of equiptment he works with. These demonstrations included, a pelter device, a stirling engine, a mendecino motor, a tesla coil and a piezo.

The first demonstration was the mendecino motor. Though this little gadget is used primarily as only a teaching device and has no practical use, it was still very fascinating. When light hits the solar cells on this device, it makes a current. The current causes it to rotate 90 degrees and then continues the process all over again.

The next device we were shown was the peltier device. This was created in 1834. It has two pieces of metal put together. When you heat one and cool the other, it generates electricity. You can also put energy into it. However, this is a low efficiency device. The CPU in computers use it.

Then, Mr. Vales showed us the Tesla Coil. At first, I did not know what to expect. This device looks kind of scary at first, however, Mr. Vales showed us how to use it properly. This tube of coils sat up on a crate. This is called the zeon tube. When Mr. Vales turned it on, you could hear it working. Then he took what he called a “magic stick” and placed it into the generating electricity of the tesla coil. Because his arm was not an insulator the waves generated over him and he was not  harmed in the slightest. He then took a light bulb and held it near the tesla coil. Without even touching the current, the light bulb lit up. Next, he showed us what used to be the “practical use” of this tesla coil. He turned on this light  that used violet rays. People believed that by rubbing it over your scalp, throat or skin it could cure acne, cancer, and many other things. However, is does absolutelyy nothing.

Overall, I really enjoyed this class. I’m definitely a visual learner, and to see all  this demonstrated before us was a great hands-on way to learning. Also, it was interesting to see what each device was used for.