General Solar Unit
Project
Our goal in this project was to create a micro grid for the entirety of San Marin high school. Our design would consist of hundreds of solar panels mainly planted on the top of the maker space building. The maker space provides a perfectly tilted roof that points to North, West, East and South. We also planned for there to be a turbine near the band building which leads to the next point in this project.
Wind Turbines
We had a "mini-project" in which we were to design our own wind turbine out of materials such as paper, cardboard, etc. We made our turbine out of construction paper and little wooden bits. We decided that if we gave it an angle the wind would push it harder so we turned each blade slightly. This increased the speed, but if turned too much the turbine would be slowed down because the wind would be using to much force to move it.
Electric Fields
Using a simulation (www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Static-Electricity/Put-the-Charge-in-the-Goal/Put-the-Charge-in-the-Goal-Interactive) we studied magnetic force and electric fields. We saw that the higher the magnitude was, the more force there was.
Motor Dissection
In class we took apart a motor to see how it functions. I learned that the copper wire inside of the motor creates a magnetic force that pushes this little "spinny thingy" around.
Robot Art Show
Project
In this project we learned the different function of electronics and circuits. For the first few weeks we used a program called Arduino to learn the basic concepts of electronics and circuits. This lead to the big, final project where we were to use circuits to make something. We decided to program our circuit to play Africa by Toto, a timeless classic.
Important Concepts
Breadboard- Unit for making temporary circuits and prototyping, require absolutely no soldering.
Potentiometer- A potentiometer is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding or rotating contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider.
Capacitor- A device used to store an electric charge, consisting of one or more pairs of conductors separated by an insulator.
IC Timer- The IC timer is an integrated (chip) used in a variety of timer, pulse generation, and oscillator applications.
V- Voltage- Potential energy difference from one side of a component to the other.
i- Current- Flow of charge through a circuit.
r- Resistance- Amount the current is slowed or resisted through an obstacle.
Ohms Law- V=ir, can be used to calculate the voltage, current, or resistance.
Potentiometer- A potentiometer is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding or rotating contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider.
Capacitor- A device used to store an electric charge, consisting of one or more pairs of conductors separated by an insulator.
IC Timer- The IC timer is an integrated (chip) used in a variety of timer, pulse generation, and oscillator applications.
V- Voltage- Potential energy difference from one side of a component to the other.
i- Current- Flow of charge through a circuit.
r- Resistance- Amount the current is slowed or resisted through an obstacle.
Ohms Law- V=ir, can be used to calculate the voltage, current, or resistance.