Kally & Ashleigh’s

Generating electricity for a refugee aid station!

Before we discuss how we built our station, here is some

BACKGROUND ON ELECTRICITY

Where Does the Word 'Electricity' Come From?

Greek word "elektor," meaning "beaming sun."

What is Electricity and How Does it Work?

--All matter is made up of atoms

--Electrons spin around the nucleus (made of protons and neutrons)

--Electrons contain a negative charge, protons a positive charge; neutrons are neutral

--Electrons can be made to move from one atom to another; current of electricity is created.

The Who’sBenjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

His kite experiment demonstrated that lightning is electricity. He was the first to use the terms positive and negative charge.

Benjamin Franklin to be the father of electricity. In 1752, famous experiment of flying a kite during a thunderstorm, discovery that lightning

and electricity were somehow related.

The Who’sAlessandro Volta

constructed the voltaic pile, later known as the electric battery, the first device to produce a steady electric current.

It was Volta, not Franklin, who discovered that certain chemical reactions could produce electricity.

The Who’s

He used his money to buy up patents in the electric field.

George Westinghouse (1846-1914) was awarded the contract to build the first generators at Niagara Falls.

The Who’sMichael Faraday(1791-1867)

His pioneering work dealt with how electric currents work.

One of the most significant discoveries in the history of electricity: Electromagnetic induction.

The + and - represent the positive and

negative ends of the battery. As you can see, there are two

batteries in this model.

The R represents

resistance. As you can see,

this model contains three

points of resistance.

Symbols

In-Class ProjectsJohn TravoltageIn class, we

conducted an online experiment that showed us an example of static electricity. As we

moved John Travolta’s foot back and forth across the

carpet, static electricity was

transferred. As he touched the door

handle, the current was transferred,

creating electricity.

In-Class ProjectsAC and DC

We conducted another online experiment in class that involved putting together AC

and DC circuits.

alternating current (AC) -instead of a constant voltage supplied by a battery, the voltage oscillates in a sine wave pattern

direct current (DC) - circuits involve current flowing in one direction

All About Light BulbsLight is a form of energy that can be released by an atom made

up of light photons, which are the most basic units of light.

Atoms release light photons when their electrons become excited.

The wavelength of the emitted light depends on how much energy is released, which depends on the particular position of the electron.

LEDs don't have a filament that will burn out, don't get especially hot, but last just as long as a standard transistor.

If half of all traditional Christmas bulbs were replaced with LED bulbs, it could yield a savings of $17 billion dollars a year in energy bills

CircuitsElectrons with a negative charge, can't "jump" through the air to a positively charged

atom. wait until there is a bridge. Bridge called a "circuit."limit the number of electrons that can cross over circuit, giving it "resistance."

Series Circuit Simple CircuitParallel Circuit

Ohm’s Law

OHM’S LAW

EX:If you have12 volts and 6 Ohms, you would have 2

Amps.12/6 = 2

In-Class Learning

Kally showed Mr. Shircliff how to light a bulb with TWO wires and a battery     1. First wire-attach one end to positive of battery, other end to threads on bulb     2. Second wire-attach one end to negative of battery, other to "nipple" on bulb

LIGHT!

In-Class Learning

We showed Mr. Shircliff how to light a bulb with ONE wire and a battery     Touch one end of wire to negative end of battery, nipple of battery to positive

end of battery, and touch other end of wire to the thread of bulb     LIGHT!

In-Class Learning

We built a series and a parallel circuit     - We know it’s a parallel circuit because when you remove a bulb, the others stay lit

     - For series, when one light bulb is removed, the others go out

In-Class Learning

We built and analyzed using Ohm's Law a parallel and series circuit in class     We drew them and used a voltammeter to get numbers

In-Class LearningToday we built a DC motor in class using a battery,

copper sheets, copper wire wound into a circle with ends sticking out, a magnet, and a plastic base provided.

How it worked:          The magnet created a magnetic field.

The copper wire became magnetic because of the battery. Then, the copper wire ends sticking out were shaved off on one side- this caused the magnetic current to switch on and off, causing the wire to rotate (rotational magnetic

field)

In-Class Learning

Series circuit's bulbs are dim and all go off when one is taken away

In parallel, all bulbs get the same voltage

Today in class we used the genecon to light 3 bulbs in series. It was difficult and

not very bright

Then we did in parallel: slightly easier, and quite a bit brighter

Parallel is best! because it has branches that each have their own path for flow of

electrons

Trial and Error (making batteries)

We chose to try and build a coke and

penny batterySo far, we have not

been able to successfully light any

light bulbs with the batteries that we built,

but each battery is putting out about 1V

materials;coke

penniesaluminum foilpaper towelscup with salt

Another Attempt Due to failure with the aluminum batteries, we decided to repeat the experiment with

nickels.

Putting It All Together

In class, we used Paint to plan and sketch our shelter. This is what we came up with.

Putting It All Together

This is the actual model that we built.

The End

Our final idea that worked was using a DC motor to light our LED light bulb. We attached a handle, making it possible for us to generate electricity. It didn’t work very well, due to the fact

that our motor may have had loose parts on the inside.