This week, our whole class had the distinction of meeting Tom Vales, Lab coordinator for Suffolk University or in my own description; A zealous man for science.Typical to most presentations, I expected him to bring a powerpoint or the habitual slides which he would use to supply us with incessant information. He indeed informed us on many creations, their origins, creators and how they have evolved over the years but in contrast to other speakers his demonstration was in majority practical. Overall his presentation surrounded the concepts of: Voltage, power and energy.
As an object that is widely used in machines, he later went on to cover the Stirling engine. Invented by Robert Stirling in 1816, the Stirling engine has the potential to be much more efficient than a gasoline or diesel engine. Many factors might have contributed to the absence of this highly efficient motor in mass markets but it’s most contentiously known fault is that it was very unstable and delicate. The problem with steam engines is that they were very susceptible to explosion due to the high rising pressure of water built up within the engine. Also in the epoch it was created, steel materials were less strong as they are contemporarily.
He also introduced us to a fairly new type of object in the Mendocino motor which he brought to class to demonstrate it’s particularities. Unlike it’s peers the Mendocino did not use heat as a mean to operate. It possessed it’s own magnetic field and converted light into electricity and magnetism, which were then converted into the motion of the motor. An amazing bit of technology which in it’s creation were inserted the concepts electromagnetism, electric motors, solar power generation; various topics which we have covered in class.
He later discussed Nikola Tesla; a man whom Tom Vales was evidently fond of. Nikola Tesla was a brilliant serbian american inventor, most notably known for his contributions such as energy and electricity to the field of science. The AC system which was developed by Tesla is still the standard today— but after patents were filed in his name, other scientists came forward to take credit for the invention, claiming that they had laid the groundwork for him. His name was lost in the shuffle, and the public came to associate the invention with Westinghouse himself. Tesla may actually have been more brilliant than Thomas Edison but his name was far less known.
We later arrived to the most fascinatinating part of his presentation. (picture) This cylinder-shaped object was what he called a “wireless transmitter coil“. One of Nicolas Tesla’s many contribution to the field of science was the wireless transmission of energy. It allowed the transmission of electrical power from a power source to a consuming device without using solid wires or conductors. Conventionally this form of technology is not yet widely adopted but here we were in class using it. Tom vales demonstrated Tesla’s work by approaching a glass tube which contains some amount of Xenon Gas to the electricity generator. He later used multiple gadgets in repeatedly performed trials with the coil.
By and large, this was a very informative and original presentation. As a result, I know understand many concepts which were formerly unclear and perplexing, now interesting.