Continuing Research...

Helloo!

Ok so over the past few weeks I have been continuing my research on electricity and circuits. I found out that I most probably need to use some other materials other than just saltwater, because there needs to be some sort of minor reaction to produce the energy needed to push the electrons through the circuit. This makes things a little more complicated than I expected, but it should be fine... hopefully!

One more thing I have done is order some electrical supplies (such as insulated wires, etc.) so I can get started on making the circuit over the next few weeks. This is going to be the most difficult part of my project, which is all the more reason why I am excited for it! After I finalize the circuit, all I have to work on is the engineering to incorporate it into a flashlight.

I have learnt that it takes a lot of focus and organization to work on these 20 Time projects because the structure of the project gives us so much independence and freedom. But despite how difficult it is to stay on schedule, I think it's a very good skill to gain, so I'm really happy we are doing this project. [You should all try to recommend it to your teachers!]

Check back in after 2 weeks. Thanks guys! =)

Starting Off

Heyyo! Thanks for tuning in to my second blog post. Recently, I have been trying to learn more about electricity and properties of electrodes. A few weeks back, I made a lemon battery just to experiment creating a voltage difference without using an actual battery that we are all used to seeing. Turned out the lemon battery (with 4 lemons) was actually able to power an LED bulb- it was so exciting! Check out the picture below:

Conceptually, to create an electric circuit, the most basic thing you need is the flow of ions, or charged particles, and a path for this current to go through, the wires. This is why lemons can work as batteries. This is also hopefully why saltwater (sodium and chlorine ions) will work as a battery for my project.

So far I haven't had too many setbacks (phew!).. probably because I haven't done much yet other than research. Over the next couple of weeks, I want to get active and actually try making the saltwater circuit. I will update you in future posts as to how that goes. 

Off late, I have also been wondering how I can apply this concept of making electricity out of unusual sources to our everyday lives and anatomy&physiology. I haven't quite come up with an answer to this yet, but as you probably know, the human body is made out of all kinds of ionic solutions and it stores a LOT of energy, so this is surely something worth exploring. Perhaps in the future I could work on powering objects by using our own body itself- maybe even as a means of burning excess fat! This is something I am definitely very interested in working on beyond the scope of this class.

Check back in after 2 weeks for more! =)

Something Different

I was introduced to Genius Hour on the first day of 2nd semester junior year by my teacher Mr. Orre. Genius Hour, also known as the 20 Time Project, allows for 20% of total work time to be used to explore and do something active with our passions. The concept, in fact, has been used by amazing tech companies like Google, which has witnessed Genius Hour produce wondrous inventions and ideas such as Gmail. 

I was really excited and confused at the same time when I came to know what 20 Time was. It was something so different and creative from what we usually do in school but yet I wondered what exactly a small teenager like me could do to impact the community and world around me. I love Science so I knew I would do something STEM-related, but I didn't know what. After thinking about it a bit more, I realized that a big problem in underdeveloped parts of the world is that they have no electricity and therefore no way of lighting up their lives when it gets dark outside. So I thought, "Why not create an easy and affordable product that would allow people to generate light?" And so I came up with the idea of the saltwater flashlight.

Salt water makes up 99% of all usable water on our planet. It is the most abundant resource there is, but isn't being used since we cannot drink it. A saltwater flashlight would greatly help people without lighting in their homes because they can easily recharge the torch anytime with just a bit of water. My aim with this project is to either propose the exact steps involved with building this flashlight, or even better, to actually create a prototype! I want to continue with this even after the class is over, and it would be great to one day distribute this to people in underprivileged parts of the world. 

I really enjoy Physics, but I am still very new to building circuits and such. I'm hoping this project will give me the opportunity to overcome this barrier and learn a lot about engineering and electricity! I will measure my progress by making a schedule of what I need to get done and by when. This will allow me to stay on task. I first need to figure out how to make a saltwater battery, which will be the hardest part, then I need to engineer the outer cover and inner workings of a functioning flashlight, and finally, if there is time, make a switch that will prevent waste of energy. I still have a lot of research and learning to do, but I am looking forward to it!