Solar panels are used to create and supply electricity as a component of a larger photovoltaic system in commercial and residential applications. The past week we had the opportunity to discover further how solar panels work. During this lab experiment we had small panels and flash light. We had to flash light to the sun panel to see how much energy this would generate. By doing different runs each at a different distance between the flash light and the sun panel we concluded that when the light was shinning closer to the sun panel higher was the voltage created. This conclusion was as we anticipated.

Later we did the same procedure using different color filters which the conclusions amazed us a little. My partner and I discovered that by using no filter at the same distance the voltage was higher, which we expected. But what shocked us was that if the filter was darker lower was the voltage. In the graph below we can see how the pink and orange had almost the same voltage and with the green it had a lower voltage, all four, including the non filter run, were done at a distance of 10m.

In class we have been learning about energy. We have learned that energy is not produced or created it can only be transformed. In a few classes we were able to experiment with how to generate electricity by shaking a different kind of flashlight. My partner and I did several tests. First, by not shaking at all, then shake it slow and then  slightly faster and so on, we did this five times. We noticed that by slower shakes, smaller will be the electric energy produced. We also noticed that by more shakes the higher the voltage produced.

These were the results we had during the experiment. During the first run we didn’t shake it at all and we opened the voltages in excel and then sumsq it. The second run was a slow and we did 17 shakes sumsq it and the results were as expected and the voltage was higher. In the third run we did 29 and as expected the voltage was even higher than the last two shakes. This happened in the other two runs 62 shakes and 110 shakes in in both they had bigger voltages. In the one of 62 shakes the voltage was 40V and in 110 shakes it was 242V.

It was not only a fun experiment it was a learning experience that helped me understand how electricity work. Here we proved Newton’s different Laws of motion and energy. Also all of our expectations were met.

Having the opportunity to visit the MIT Plasma Reactor is a unique experience that I’m never going to forget. The Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a research laboratory for the study of plasma physics and nuclear fusion. “It’s mission is to provide research and educational opportunities for expanding the scientific understanding of the physics of plasmas, the “fourth state of matter,” and to use that knowledge to develop useful applications. The central focus of PSFC activities has been to create a scientific and engineering base for the development of fusion power. Nevertheless, non-fusion applications involving plasmas at the PSFC are numerous and diverse. A recent example is the significant growth of programs in plasma-based technologies, including environmental remediation and hydrogen production. ” (http://www.psfc.mit.edu/about/index.html)

In this trip to MIT I learned that there is plasma everywhere and everywhere we see. Examples of plasma’s are planets, stars…

Why should we care about this fusion vs nuclear fusion?   Because there is a tremendous potential, there is no danger in it turning into a deadly weapon and fusion has no danger melt down. Why fusion vs most renewable? efficient land use and base load electricity production. Why fusion vs fossil fuels? Because it doesn’t emit green house gases. Disadvantages: Structural Materials become radioactive, It costs a lot of money and it doesn’t work YET.

Here are some images I took while in the Plasma Reactor at MIT.

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It was in 1969 that the first human walked on the moon. That was just 46 years ago, and now scientists are expecting to make the first commercial flight around the year 2026. This is “The next giant leap for mankind” as the Mars-One describes it in its web page. As we can se in NASA’s webpage “ Mars is a rich destination for scientific discovery and robotic and human exploration as we expand our presence into the solar system”. It has many earth-like similarities that could help in many ways learn more about the past.

But there are many things that still have to be worked on, needless to say the human body. We are not prepared to live in a different planet; our bodies could endure a few years or so but still not be prepared for life there. Just to start we have gravity, which holds us down to earth, in mars the gravity is much less than in earth which will make our bodies change intensely and not in a good way. As I found in one of my sources there are many long-term and short-term effects associated with traveling to space. To state a few we have blood circulation that comes back to gravity, since there is no gravity moving the blood efficiently in the body, there is possibilities that blood clots will occur. Also there are backaches, since there is basically nothing pulling them down humans will start to grow and muscles will stop working efficiently and this cause backaches. Fatigue is another issue, a day on mars is slightly longer than a day in earth, but that slight difference has huge effects on the humans, they stress out and fatigue due to the few hours of sleep and the bad quality of sleep. Taking it a step further now lets talk about long-term effects, the ones that will haunt you down the rest of your life. Bone loss, cellular organization, and radiation are a few. Just measuring the time it takes for an astronaut to part from earth and get to mars, the human bodies bones have lost the same density as it would loose in earth in a lifetime. Also the astronauts are exposed to some kind of radiation, due to galactic cosmic rays. These rays and solar flares may incentive different kind of diseases in the humans such as cancer, cataracts, heart disease, etc.

http://www.mars-one.com
http://www.racetomars.ca/mars/article_effects.jsp
http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasas-journey-to-mars/#.VQ3ITEIp-c9

Having the opportunity to do actual experiments and understand how to convert and how force work is a unique opportunity and I feel very fortunate to have experienced it. In the activity involving Force we learned about Newton’s law  that states that F=m*a ; a=v/t; v=d/t. What this means is that F= power level is greater it increases the acceleration. It also means that when greater the mass slower acceleration, well depending on the power level, and if mass is changes, faster will be the acceleration. We did this by taking little weights, a bar and the lego brain which made us get the results obtained.

With my partner, Angelica and I tried to do the 35 power level the weight was to much for the power level we had to increase it to 40. We did different experiments and below you could see the outcome. There is on that doesn’t make sense and we believe is because of an incorrect measurement.

Here we can see that when greater is the mass greater will be the energy or the power that is used. The power level sets the force implied – power is the amount of work done divided by time. With this project we also learned that energy can never be created or destroyed, just converted

After watching Pandora’s Promise it gives me more of a clarity about the use of nuclear energy. I used to think that it was a terrible energy resource and that it was really dangerous do to the radioactivity it produces, but  what I can say now, I am torn by choosing between is it good or is it bad? What I do know is that it is bad in the wrong hands. As seen on the video, Nuclear energy, is a great environmental and an unlimited source of energy. It is seen as a clean form of energy that from a 1 pound of uranium is equivalent to 5,000 barrels of oil which is amazing, but all this produces waste. Waste that is dangerous for human beings, so they have to be buried underneath human reach, but in my opinion it will later on or eventually travel towards the surface of the earth. Other negatives aspects of this source of energy is that is radioactive and this radioactivity can travel miles, bringing cancer and death to civilians. This source of energy can also be used to create bombs, nuclear bombs which are the strongest ones and can bring a lot of devastation as seen in Japan and in Hawaii.

My perspective is that nuclear energy still has a long way to go and if its not done efficiently it can bring consequences not only to the present but to the future generations. In my opinion they should keep working on building the perfect nuclear plant which will not bring or have no waste or radiation. This technology has a long way to go and I know there are environmentalists that are still against this source of energy, but as many of the scientist and environmentalists that were against nuclear energy and changed their mind after they understood how helpful it will be, many others will do the same. I am hopeful that this source of energy will be very beneficial, and if its not this one another one that doesn’t consume so much natural resources to produce a little amount of energy.