Month: March 2016

Before spring break we had the pleasure of having Professor. Tom Vales from the Department of Engineering give us a special lecture. He demonstrated different motors to the class and first discussed the Mendocino Motor which is a “solar-powered magnetically levitated electric motor.” This particular motor had magnets which were connected to the shaft. The magnets which are attached to the base repel magnets causing the shaft to hover, the shaft turns to 90 degrees when it comes in contact with light. 

The second demonstration was the Stirling engine which is a “machine used to provide power or refrigeration, operating on a closed cycle in which a working fluid is cyclically compressed and expanded at different temperatures.” The Stirling engine was invented by Robert Stirling as a substitute for steam engines. 

The most interesting demonstration was the Tesla coil which is “an electrical resonant transformer circuit invented by Nikola Tesla around 1891. It is used to produce high-voltage, low-current, high frequency alternating-current electricity.” Professor. Tom Vales had the coil produce electricity which he used light bulbs to show how electricity travels through a wooden stick. This caused the light bulb to light up and the wooden stick was an insulator. He also called upon other students in the class to participate in the demonstration.

Overall, it was a very interesting class. 

Below is a photo I took from the experiment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_engine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendocino_motor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_coil

Explanation 

The solar energy experiment allowed us to understand the implementation of photovoltaic cells. “Photovoltaic is the name of a method of converting solar energy into direct current electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon commonly studied in physics, photochemistry and electrochemistry.” 

Solar energy has become extremely popular according to renewableenergyworld.com, “The solar panel is becoming an increasingly popular form of alternative energy around the world, using photovoltaic and silicon solar cells to convert radiation into power. Solar power has had a long history of failed starts and limited distribution. As an alternative to the burning of fossil fuels, solar panels rank alongside wind and hydropower as essential energy options for the future of the planet, and offer the additional benefit of being easier to integrate into the home.” 

The experiment in class allowed us to see how voltage has an effect on distance and by using colored filters (red, blue and green) we were able to see how this would change the voltage. Our professor discussed about the source of light where the closer the panel is to the light then a better result of voltage would be presented. We once again used the Lego NXT robot, the colored filters as mentioned before, the Labview program, Excel, a ruler and a solar cell. 

By using the colored filters we were able to measure which one allowed the highest amount of voltage. Each color had a different result. The other stage of the experiment consisted of us holding the flashlight at different distances from the solar cell using several attempts to get a variety of results. Our results displayed that when the voltage decreased the distance between the flashlight and the solar cell was further and increased as the flashlight was closer to flashlight. 

Results

Our results had a slight issue due to the LabView reading at 1cm. Meaning our results are not as accurate as they should be. 

Our first test was voltage with no source of light. The result produced was 0.22505. We next used the flashlight and the solar sensor, we used the measurements of 1cm, 10cm and 20cm. Like mentioned before the voltage was decreasing the closer it was from the light source. Our results were 0.68954 V (1 cm), 0.65889 V (10 cm) and 0.6499 V (20 cm)

The other part of the experiment was running the LabView program for another three times. We now used the filters. They all produced a similar result with Orange (0.60499 V), Purple (0.63323 V) and Blue (0.61141 V).

Below is our graph. 

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/ugc/blogs/2012/09/the-growing-popularity-of-solar-panels.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaics

The human mission to Mars is one that has been a goal for many years. Recently, I learned about Mars One which is based in the Netherlands, which is a “not for profit foundation with the goal of establishing a permanent human settlement on Mars.” In 2020 the first unmanned mission is scheduled to take place and in 2026 crews will be departing on a one way journey to Mars. This has been labeled “the next giant leap for mankind.” This is all in order to get a better understanding of Mars and also to see if human’s are able to survive on the red planet. The average distance between Earth and Mars is 225 million km.  

Apart from Mars One, other companies such as NASA and SpaceX are attempting to go to Mars to explore the last of terrestrial planets. Mars is also the second smallest planet in the solar system and is referred to as the Red Planet because of the surface color, which is a brownish-red. 

With many attempts to send unmanned robots to Mars, the last successful landing was in August 2012, which landed in Gale Crater and the landing site was named by NASA, Bradbury Landing. With NASA attempting to land a manned spaceship by 2035 using the Orion spacecraft, this is a few years behind of what Mars One is aiming for. 

Below is an image of NASA’s journey to Mars.

SpaceX another company attempting to head to Mars says that they will be making their first trip to Mars in 2026, although they are not as advanced as NASA, they claim that they will be able to do this before them. Space X stated they will be using the Falcon 9, which is a two stage rocket. 

Below is an image of Next Gen: Falcon 9.

Overall there have been many initiatives for space travel to Mars and by these three space companies attempting to reach Mars to see if human life is sustainable, space travel to Mars is something in the very near future. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_mission_to_Mars

http://www.mars-one.com/

http://www.spacex.com/

https://www.nasa.gov/

http://theplanets.org/mars/

Some parents do not agree with vaccinations, many have questioned whether it is right or wrong to vaccinate a child. There have been the opinions of some criticizing parents who do not vaccinate their children, stating they are exposing others to diseases such as Measles, Mumps, and Rubella or others stating that vaccinations cause autism. According to the CDC, a publication released in November 2015 stated that vaccines do not cause autism, in order to reassure the parents who chose not to vaccinate their children. Despite this article being released many still did not allow this to change their beliefs regarding the dangers of vaccinations and why they argue against vaccinations. A battle lies between whether it is right to vaccinate or whether it is wrong. 

In January 2015, there was an uproar about the vaccination argument once again when a measles outbreak in California occurred, spreading to other states, all pointing the finger at Disneyland California. The disease spread to many other surrounding states where people where asked to self-quarantine themselves who displayed symptoms of Measles in order to protect children who were not able to be vaccinated due to age and other problems. 

An article published in the BBC regarding the outbreak at Disneyland California had contributors such as Clayton Graver stating “it is my choice whether or not I want to be vaccinated, it is your choice whether or not to wash your hands or take basic public health precautions, it is an individuals choice whether he or she wants to gamble with their child’s life. It is not your place to say what they have to do.” Despite this statement many felt that there are many children at risk who’s parents would like to have them vaccinated but are not able to be vaccinated due to age and health risk like mentioned before. However, the issue with vaccination continues as many remain uneducated or fall into unproven stereotypes regarding the connection between autism and vaccinations. Although Disneyland claimed that the Measles outbreak was possibly started from a foreign visitor the fact remains that there are children in America who have not been vaccinated and still pose a risk the greater public. 

Although we cannot protect ourselves from all diseases, people believe that diseases such as MMR which could be eradicated by vaccines such as Smallpox and Polio possibly next should not be up for discussion. I believe that vaccinations are important as I have seen first hand the effects of polio. In 2015, WHO announced that polio was no longer an endemic in Nigeria. We still have thousands living with the disease, however with education in the poorer areas the stereotypes of vaccinations has disappeared. Nigeria’s problem with polio vaccination being denied in many communities began with community leaders spreading rumors that charities such as the Red Cross and Doctors Without Boarders were injecting Polio into people and it was a disease that was brought by the “white man”. Now with local activist fighting the stereotype, Nigeria is almost Polio free. Therefore, I personally believe in the power of vaccinations and what can happen without them. 

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/nigeria-polio/en/

https://www.baptiststandard.com/opinion/other/17000-right-or-wrong-vaccinations

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-30942928

Last week, we conducted the generator experiment which was to learn about Faraday’s Law. Faraday’s Law is the “basic law of electromagnetism predicting how a magnetic field will interact with an electric circuit to produce an electromotive force – a phenomenon called electromagnetic induction. It is the fundamental operating principle of transformers, inductors, and many types of electrical motors, generators and solenoids” 

During the experiment we used the Lego MindStorm Robot, an adapter, a USB cord, a telephone cable, excel, the magnet that moves forward and backwards inside of the coil and the voltage probe. 

We shook the generator which had the magnet moving forward and backwards inside the coil. While shaking the generator the faster it was shaken the higher the result of the voltage and vice versa, the slower it was shaken the lower the result of the voltage. 

Our Professor. Lisa Shatz gave us several steps to follow which were to shake the generator at a slow or fast rate, we then counted each shake timing it for 30 seconds, we then recorded our data in excel and did this three more times, we then created a graph which showed our results. 

Below is a photo of the tube with the magnet inside. 

Below are some images from the experiment: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday%27s_law_of_induction

Pandora’s Promise directed by Robert Stone is a documentary film that was released in 2013 about the nuclear power debate. The film focused on whether nuclear power is a safe form of clean energy for the environment which can help attack the current growing issue of global warming. 

The film displays how a group of environmentalists believe that nuclear power is a safe form of energy which does not contribute to the current levels of global warming. The stereotypes presented with global warming are known to be unsafe however the documentary states that these stereotypes are false. Many of these stereotypes are based off nuclear disasters such as the disasters that happened in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Fukushima and Chernobyl. All these disasters which happened had severe results that many people still live with today who are based in these area, such as health complications. Unfortunately these incidents have caused nuclear energy to bee looked upon as a negative, however Pandora’s Promise states that these were due to inadequate cooling methods and the development of the atomic bomb, which nuclear energy is not meant to be used in this manner. 

Pandora’s Promise informs us that nuclear energy could save the planet from the destruction that is currently happening and could benefit third world countries to become as developed as countries in the west. Many third world countries lack basic electricity due to poor infrastructure and rely on back up energy such as generators and solar. With nuclear energy this could pose a more reliable source of energy for these countries. 

Although the film discusses the issues with nuclear energy and radiation being contaminated, many of the uninhabitable places such as Chernobyl have now been brought back to life due to the are becoming livable again. 

The problems with the mentality that nuclear energy faces is that there has not been much positive light focusing on nuclear energy. The Iraq war led by the George W. Bush administration was based on the fact that Saddam Hussein was keeping weapons of mass destruction which were built using nuclear Another example would be the Iran nuclear deal where they were accused and sanctioned for many years by the worlds largest economies due to nuclear energy not being put forward towards good use. 

According to Pandora’s Promise nuclear energy is the cleanest form of energy that is available. There have been smear campaigns used by oil companies stating the dangers of nuclear energy in newspapers to ensure that nuclear energy is not seen in a positive light and to keep the oil economy booming.

The United States has been purchasing nuclear energy and through Pandora’s Promise we are seeing that this form of energy is more common than we think. The environmentalists have acknowledge that nuclear energy is not a form that we should be afraid of due to the benefits of reducing the impact of global warming.