Wind Power Experiment | Final Project

Wind Power Experiment

Sarah Mattero, Mike Christina, Mike McGrath, Sara Meyers, Brittny Pompilio

For our experiment, we decided that we wanted to educate the class on the benefits of wind energy. Since we had been using the Lego Mindstorms throughout the semester, we thought it would be a good idea to implement that into our experiment. After finding a Lego kit that included a windmill, we learned how to use the generator to create and store energy, which became the focus for the experiment.

Our experiment doesn’t have a full theory behind it, since we wanted to discuss different forms of clean energy and sustainability. The Lego kit was an addition to the information we gathered so that the presentation would be both educational while also showcasing the Mindstorm technology.

The experiment itself is quite simple, although it did take a while before we learned how to use the generator and windmill properly. Since the kit didn’t come with instructions, it was difficult at first to figure out how to use the generator, but once we learned that it had to be charged, we had figured out the rest. There are two plugs on the generator, one in the back that when wind was put on the windmill, (we used a fan since we were indoors) it charged and you could see the power rise in joules. When you plugged it into the front, the windmill turned on its own since it worked on the stored energy.

Our original idea was to use the stored energy to have the windmill lift a weight on a pulley, but since we didn’t have enough time to figure out how to get the second part to work, we focused on showing off the windmill in the presentation. Our experiment doesn’t have any conclusive results, but we did learn that the maximum power that can be stored in the generator is 100 joules and we watched how the energy changed with the speed of the wind.

Overall, the presentation went well. Sara and I presented our PowerPoint to the class, distributed handouts, and then showed them the windmill. The class was difficult to present to, since they seemed quite disinterested and you could tell they were probably there against their will, but it didn’t deter Sara and I from presenting. I think we managed pretty well without the rest of the group, but it would’ve been nice if there was a time that we were all present. If we had been given more time, I think we could’ve worked out the second part of the experiment and really showed how useful wind power could be, but I think we were able to explain that in the slideshow.

Class Presentation | Tesla Coils

Mr. Vale returned to our classroom to show us another experiment from the past, this time he focused on Nikola Tesla and brought in what I would assume is a small or medium sized Tesla coil.

Nikola Tesla is the Austrian Thomas Edison, and ironically enough, these two men were rivals throughout their scientific careers. Both men competed for the usages of direct currents (DC) and alternating currents (AC). It was Tesla’s ideas who eventually overcame the limitations of DC power, and even Mr. Vale mentioned that Edison probably stuck by his belief of DC power though he secretly knew that Tesla was correct in supporting AC power.

Around 1891 Tesla created the Tesla coil, which is used to produce high voltages of electricity. It was his hope that every household would have one of these coils in the basement in order to conduct alternating electric currents throughout the home in order to make light bulbs and other electric devices work without having to use wires. Mr. Vale used his Tesla coil to illuminate several different bulbs and rods, and even had a long wooden stick with a metal end and a light bulb in the middle that he held over the voltage without getting shocked.

The device is quite loud, and I couldn’t imagine having one in my home, considering it would have to be quite large to keep all of our electronic devices charged. Although, it is humorous to see that he created a way to create wireless electricity over 100 years ago. It seems that Tesla was just far beyond his time for inventing such a machine and I feel that his ability to grasp complex electric concepts could be better used today.  We are always finding ways to create wireless devices, and it would be nice to lose the complex electric wiring arrangements in houses and buildings and create an entirely wireless environment like Tesla originally envisioned.  

Mr. Vale’s Presentation

I found Mr. Vale’s presentation to be valuable to the concepts that we have been talking of as of recently, but at the same time quite interesting since a few of the trinkets he brought in, such as the Stirling engine and Peltier device, have been in use since the 19^th century. The Stirling engine, 1816, is used as a substitute for steam engines, and is 40% efficient. The Peltier device, 1834, uses 2 dissimilar metals to generate thermoelectricity. Today, some companies manufacture USB drink coolers and heating blankets/pads using this kind of device.

Another useful fact was that of piezoelectricity, small quartz crystals which gives off a significant amount of voltage or electrical charge. This was also discovered in the late 1800s, and is used almost daily in the form of lighters and in push-start grills. Lastly, the other thing that caught my eye was the solar panels that hovered and spun over the magnets. Mr. Vale explained to us that you can make these as big as you want, but there hasn’t been a real use for them in today’s world. This is a bit disheartening, since I feel like many scientists and researchers have come up with great ideas, such as this, but they haven’t been integrated into our society just yet. It is evident that we need to change our living habits to help save the earth. It seems like we should be looking in the past to see what great inventions have already been made, and build upon those in order to shape the future.

Stirling Engine - CleanMPG.com