November 2015 – omarqus

Keystone xl blog

The Keystone Pipeline is a oil pipeline system that runs from Alberta, Canada to Cushing Oklahoma. The Keystone XL Pipeline proposal to expand the keystone pipeline in two parts:

1. The first part would be to connect the end in Oklahoma to the Gulf of Texas, and

2. The second part would consist of a new portion of the pipeline that runs from Alberta to Kansas.

The portion that connects Oklahoma and Texas has been completed. The Canadian company that runs, and expands the pipeline is focused on gaining the necessary permits from federal and local governments. The expansion of the pipeline has been marred in controversy. Finding information on what the pipeline is was a challenge. Most sources only spoke about pros and cons of the pipeline without providing tangible information. The pipeline’s official website says that the keystone pipeline will support the crude oil production in the USA.
Homeowners and environmentalists are vehemently opposed to the expansion. They have blocked TransCanada from acquiring the many permits they need to expand the pipeline.

Pros:

1. The project is estimated to create 20,000 jobs in the USA, other reports have estimated 500,000 jobs being created around it.

2. Since Canada and the USA have always been on friendly terms, it would boost oil production in the gulf coast of texas and give its energy sector security.

3. Another potential benefit would be the tax revenue, which is estimated to be a total of 100 million dollars for the regions surrounding the project. This would only apply if general tax evasion was not practiced.

4. It is one of the safest methods to transport oil.

Cons:

1. Leaks and past leaks have wreaked havoc on the environment and the people surrounding the pipeline. Oil leaks create ridiculous amounts damage to ecosystems, they poison water supplies and destroy human and animal populations alike.

2. The pipeline would cause environmental damage equal to adding more than 5.6 million new cars to our roads. Instead of investing into an environmentally unfriendly fossil fuel, we should be investing in clean renewable energy that would pay off in the long term.

3. The jobs created would be short term and would cause economic distress in the surrounding areas. A major employer no longer bringing in money after a project is destructive to economic environments

https://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/tag/keystone-xl-pipeline/

http://keystone-xl.com/about/the-keystone-xl-oil-pipeline-project/

http://keystone-xl.com/five-reasons-why-keystone-xl-benefits-the-u-s/

http://heavy.com/news/2014/11/keystone-xl-pipeline-facts-map-news-senate-house/

Brain storming

Our group had 3 initial ideas.

1. Create energy using a potato or fruit battery

2. Create energy using a wind turbine

3. Create energy using rubber bands.

We researched the various potential experiments by reading about projects, and watching videos surrounding each project. After watching videos and reading the method behind each experiment, we decided that creating energy using rubber bands a potato would have been very simple.

The videos we watched showed the methods and materials required for each experiment. As stated earlier, the potato battery and rubber band experiment would have been far too easy.

The turbine experiment allowed us to try different types of blades. We chose to make 3 different blades, one of them being a standard blade that is used. We wanted to see what kind of blade would create the most energy when a fan is blown on it. The only variable will be the different blades, since we will be using the fan at the same setting every time.

We split the work like so, one of us would be in charge of building the actual turbine and blades. A second member will be writing the blog. The third will be creating the handout and powerpoint for the class. Creating a fairly even split.

Reactor in Cambridge

Touring the lab was pretty cool, being given a way to measure the radation we were exposed to was also cool. Going through all the safety checks and seeing how much work goes into keeping people safe was very comforting. I was surprised to find that the reactor existed for non-violent purposes and research instead of electricity generation. The multiple safety nets in place, both electrical and manual was also a comfort, really setting in the importance of safety was awesome.

The core is made up of 27 positions. There are six blades surrounding the core and will drop in less than half a second if an alarm is ever sounded. The awesome part about the blades and magnet is that if there is ever an alarm or malfunction, all it takes is one blade to drop. If the magnet stops working, then the blade simply shuts down the reactor instead of causing a potential disaster.

The reactor is shielded through concrete walls. The coolant system that uses water then releases it as vapor was interesting to see, since it showed nuclear power plants work and how nonharmful they are to the environment. With multiple computer safety checks and a person monitoring the reactor at all times of the night to make sure none of the dials would read a potentially dangerous level. The tube system was also cool to see since it was a throwback to the 50s and some cartoons I watched as a child. Seeing all of the safety procedures and efforts in the lab was very important to me.

Also, our guide telling us how MGH uses radiation to kill tumors in non-invasive ways was really interesting and informative.

Solar Cell Experiemnt

We wanted to understand the relationship between light intensity and voltage output and the relationship between the wavelength and the voltage output of the cell. We used legmindstorm to measure the energy levels for 30 seconds.

We measured the energy output of a flashlight based on distance, we would put the light one CM away each interval and the further the light was, the less output we had. We measured the light for 30 seconds

In the second part of the experiment, we added different color filters over the cell to see what colors would inhibit and amplify the energy output. Purple had the largest ouput. We placed the flashlight directly over the filter.