Category: Uncategorized

Geothermal Energy in Iceland

Geothermal energy is the heat that is generated and stored in the earth. It can be found in the hot ground, water or rocks in the earth.

Iceland went from being one of the EU’s poorest countries to one where almost all of the energy comes from renewable sources. Geothermal sources account for 66% of Iceland’s primary energy use. Iceland is in an area with multiple volcanoes, tectonic plates bring the heat to the surface. It’s location and focus on the research of harnessing renewable geothermic energy has allowed iceland to become a world leader in the field.

Lacking a national grid, Iceland harnesses energy by digging into the ground. By drilling a few metres underground, power plants can harness geothermal energy. The heat is constant due to their location. The large amount of heat sources in the country allow the vast majority of the country to be powered by geothermal energy.

Georthermal energy is low cost and creates no pollution, it is more effecient and cleaner than all of the non renewable methods used in the world.

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/how-geothermal-energy-works.html#.VmDduNKrTcc

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/geothermal-energy/tech.html

Shaker experiment

Shaker experiment

In Class Activity:

We used a hand powered generator, (a tube with a magnet in it) to create energy. The generator. We counted the shakes and the voltage was calculated via a computer program. We then calculated the sum of the squares of the voltages and plotted them in a graph to see the correlation which resulted in a linear curve.

Number of SHakes & sum of Sqs

22 16.00569
41 133.4468
71 61.2941
90 96.83239
154 239.8341
Screen Shot 2015-11-20 at 1.36.59 PM

Faraday’s law is supported, the greater the magnetic influx the greater the voltage produced. As there were more shakes, more voltage was created and the square of the voltages increased.

Electric car

With environmental concerns and innovation for clean energy at the forefront of technology, electric cars were created(although an old invention). They are powered by electric engines and emit less pollution. An example of an electric car is the Tesla.

Tesla is an American car company founded in 2003 (named after the awesome scientist Tesla).The roadster, their first car, launched in 2008. Unfortunately Tesla only sold just over 2400 cars. The roadster could run 245 miles with a fully charged battery. Three other models have produced with just over 50k units sold. The company is based in California.

Function

Tesla cars are powered  via battery. Their cars are fully electric so the battery must be recharged constantly. Pollution is not produced via the tail pipe like regular vehicles BUT, the creation of electricity may be a pollutant, these cars are exponentially cleaner than their counterparts. Access to a charging unit or grid electricity is needed. Tesla cars can be charged at home for convenience.

Electric Charging Stations:

Tesla has it’s own car charging system. The plugs for Tesla cars are designed to be supported by any outlet. Each car comes with an outlet that allows the cars to adapt to home outlets and level 2 charging stations. There is teslas supercharging station, which can fill up a battery in an hour(which is awesome)

Typical home outlets will charge a car for 75 miles over 15 hours(120 volts) enough for 75 miles. Most public charging stations have an output of 240 volts, which would give a car a full charge in 8 hours. High tech specialized stations exist that can charge a car from 0 to 80% called level three chargers. They have an output of 480 volts. The car and charger have data pins and computers installed within them to allow the two to communicate, this allows for the owner to be notified of when charging is done, and for the charger to stop output once the car is fully charged.

(We have charging stations by northstation, on friends st, across the street from the garden)

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/electric-vehicles/how-do-battery-electric-cars-work#.ViUVCtY-DR0

http://www.teslamotors.com/about

http://www.cnet.com/news/slow-fast-and-faster-where-to-charge-electric-cars/

Electricity Generation

5. Electricity Generation

Electricity is what keeps the digital and information age running. There are three major ways electricity is produced. Natural gas,coal firedplants, and nuclear power.Coal Fired Plants-

1. Heat is created
Before the coal is burned, it is crushed to the consistency of talcum powder. Then it is mixed with hot air and blown into the boiler. The coal and air mixture creates the most complete burn possible.

2. Water turns to steam
The cleansed water is pumped through pipes inside the boiler and turned into steam by the heat. The steam can reach temperatures of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit and pressure up to 3,500 pounds per square inch.

3. Steam turns the turbine
The pressure of the steam rises into the turbines and forces them to spin. Creating electricity via kinetic energy.

4. Steam turns back into water
After powering the turbine, the steam is condensed in a condenser. Cool water is pumped through a network of tubes running through the condenser. The cool water in the tubes converts the steam back into water that can be used over and over again in the plant.

Natural Gas- The gas is burned, then heat and gas created rises up to a turbine forcing it to spin, as it spins, mechanical energy is created which is then converted to electricity. Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel.

Nuclear Power Plants- Fission(the splitting of a uranium atom) creates energy, which in turn, is used to create steam that rises up into a turbine, causing to spin. The spinning of the turbine creates mechanical and kinetic energy which is then turned into electricity. Nuclear power is a low pollutant and the waste can be disposed of in a clean manner.

All of these forms of power generation require kinetic and mechanical energy, the principle of creating force is converting one type of energy to another, turbines are a common theme because they are also used for hydro energy.

 

https://www.duke-energy.com/about-energy/generating-electricity/coal-fired-how.asp

https://www.cpsenergy.com/en/about-us/programs-services/energy-generation/natural-gas.html

http://www.triplepundit.com/special/energy-options-pros-and-cons/natural-gas-pros-cons/

Legomindstorm Experiment

3. Lego Mindstorm wheel

Robot Speed Experiment:

After learning the basics of lego Mindstorm, we used our acquired skills to learn how to calculate the distance a wheel moves. First we measured the circumference of the wheel. We then put a ruler next to the robot to measure the distance it traveled vs what the program said. We did three different trials for each power and time values. After completing the 9 trials(3 different power settings, each with three trials) we calculated the margin of error. We used the obvserved distance & the distance calcuated by the MindStorm program

Fracking

Fracking: 
Fracking is when we drill into the ground and spraying a high-pressure mix of water, sand, and chemicals at rock. The mix  cracks the rock to release gas in the rock. More fracking has happened in the USA recently.

How is fracking done? 

  1. A well is drilled and covered in steel to prevent leakage into ground water.
  2. Once natural gas or oil is found the well is curved and drilling is done across the rock’s surface.
  3. The high pressure mix of water, sand, and chemicals are sprayed through the cracking the rocks allowing oil & gas to flow through.
  4. Oil & gas are trapped. The waste created is stored at the site of fracking and then disposed of in an off-site waste management facility.

 

 

Potential environmental impacts of fracking: 

If an accident were to occur, countless underground water reservoirs would be contaminated, harming the environment around it. Duke university showed that water drank near a fracking site had dangerous levels of methane. Large amounts of water are used and transported to the site, the trucks used leave a powerful carbon footprint. Fracking could cause small earthquakes.

Pros:

  • Allows us to access oil & gas that were unable to recently
  • Increased oil production & decreased prices

Cons:

  • Can be extremely destructive to water supplies & air
  • Produces an immense amount of greenhouse gases
  • Drives us away from sustainable energy
  • Prevents investment in renewable/sustainable energy

 

Sources:

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-14432401

http://www.livescience.com/34464-what-is-fracking.html

http://www.what-is-fracking.com

1. The U.S Energy Grid:

The U.S Energy Grid is a network of transmission lines that allow energy suppliers to power homes, offices etc. There are three interconnected systems in the USA that provide electricity to the country. High voltage distribution lines deliverelectricity from power stations to the populace.

The Energy Grid Infrastructure: 

The Grid has four major components: electricity generators, transmission lines, distribution networks, and consumer use. The individual generators in the Grids is where the energy is created. Energy can be created using different types of generators/power stations, They can be powered by coal, natural gas, or be hydroelectric. Transmission lines carry the energy produced to the populace. Homes, businesses etc are at the end of the grid.

1

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-energy/how-electricity-grid-works#.Vft2dLQ-DVo

Smart Grid: 

The Smart Grid is an electric grid that  relies on technology to supply electricity. The electric grid would be upgraded to not operate at one capacity. It would increase effeciency becaue energy would be provided as needed. There are enough sensors, lines of communication and data points between the grid & populace to allow the grid to provide power on demand.

Below are a list of pors and cons of building a smart grid.

Pros:

  • Efficient & environmentally friendly grid.
  • Quicker recovery from a blackout.

Cons:

  • Extremely high cost.
  • Potential for cyber terrorism.

http://www.eia.gov/energy_in_brief/article/power_grid.cfm
http://www.ibtimes.com/aging-us-power-grid-blacks-out-more-any-other-developed-nation-1631086
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-energy/how-electricity-grid-works#.Vft2dLQ-DVo
http://energy.gov/oe/services/technology-development/smart-grid