domingo, 18 de junio de 2017

UNFORTUNATELY, LAST POST

Electrical energy is a form of energy created by the movement of electrons.

Most of the electricity is made from power plants that burn fossil fuels to create steam. The main type of fuel used is coal, because it allows large amounts of electricity to be produced in one place.

There are other ways of generating electricity by using natural resources that can be replaced or renewed without harming the environment or contributing to the greenhouse effect. Using water (Hydropower), the waves (Tidal), the Sun (Solar energy), the wind (eolic energy), the rubbish (biomass energy) and the heat of the earth (geothermal energy) we can produce energy.

Some innovations nowadays would be the electric cars. Electric cars get power from the rechargeable batteries installed inside the car. These batteries are not only used to power vehicles but also used for the functioning of wipers and lights. A famouse brand are the Tesla but they are very expensive.

Another of the innovations are robots that install solar panels. Robots are cool, and they happen to be a lot better than people at doing repetitive tasks that require a high level of precision. So if we're going to build massive solar power farms we can reduce costs and do it faster with the help of our robotic friends. We can even have robots wash the panels and mirrors!

Now I will tell you some advices that could help you reduce the amount of energy. this one maybe is the most common but it’s efficiently. This one is to change your bulbs into leds. At the beginning in my house we had bulbs that were of 220 W, which it’s a lot, and now we have ones of 5 W.

You could also install in your house a programmable thermostat. Like this it only heats the water during the hours that you need it.

Another tip would be to turn off your devices instead of leave them in standby.

My group and I have decided to make a solar oven. The solar oven is an artifact that allows cooking food using the energy of the sun. It is basically a thermally insulated space, designed to capture as much sunlight as possible to transform it into useful heat and keep it inside to prepare food.

Here in this picture we can see the Solar Oven that my group and I have made. We’ve used cardboard to make the wings and the small box inside. Then we’ve used wood to make the outer box and aluminium paper to wrap the wings and the small box. To isolate the two boxes we’ve used sand. Do to this the box is really heavy.

Well, i think I said that in one of my posts but I love to do projects in which we have to use the workshop. I don’t enjoy a lot making the planning, sketch and all this stuff, but I enjoy a lot making what I’ve created or invented so it’s worth. I also have fun and I learn a lot when we do Kahoots. I know some people get a bit sad if they don’t win but you don’t have to because you’ve learned what is wrong and what is right so the next time you’ll have a better mark. I say this because this happened to me. One day I arrived to class and we had to do a Kahoot. I didn’t get good results but I learned a lot. The next time that I did one I revised a bit before what I had wrong and in that one I was the winner in the first position. I also liked to use the Scratch I did a project with my friend about the sustainable tourism in “Sa Dragonera”, and we had the opportunity to go the the UIB exhibit it.

During this whole year, this is what if enjoyed the most and I think what I’ve liked less is maybe making the Written Project. But this year I’ve had lots of fun.

Another thing I should mention is the things the teachers and maybe the students should improve. I think that the teachers should let the students take sometimes, depending on the conditions, take the project to their houses. Also I think that the students should have to be more responsible and bring the materials. To end the things we should improve is maybe the organisation of the last term. What I Would do would be to make the Solar project at the beginnings of the third term and end the term making exercises, Kahoots, blog posts… in order to use as much the workshop.

This year we’ve used several software programs such as: Kahoot, Mindomo, Scratch, Edpuzzle, in my case Wix (in order to make the webpage about plastic)… The ones that I like the most are: Kahoot, Edpuzzle and Wix. Kahoot because as I said before I learn a lot without being in my house reading a book a hundred times. Edpuzzle because I like to learn without a book and a video is a good way to catch my attention and also the questions that it makes to you it makes me focus more in order to answer correctly. Finally, Wix. I like this program because it has good and variate templates that are easy to edit. Talking about this my teacher of Spanish told us to make a project about literature in which we could use program we wanted and I did a web page. I think she is going to like it a lot!

Now I am a bit sad because next year I will do fourth of ESO and I’ve choosed the scientific branch in British and German, because I’ve been doing it since first of ESO. I think that technology should be obligatory. I have lots of fun making projects. I will miss that…

Good bye Technology😕

Bibliography:

miércoles, 26 de abril de 2017

Discovering about engineers...

I remember that in the workshop, the students from the UIB, told us that an engineer is someone who designs and then creates something with the things that he has, no more. But specifically is someone who designs and builds things to solve specific problems.

I found a SUPERB video that explains us what is an engineer.

Engineering is the application of scientific knowledge to solving problems in the real world. While science (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) allows us to gain an understanding of the World and the Universe, Engineering enables this understanding to come to life through problem solving, designing and building things.

That's was what he had to do. For one day we turned into an engineer.

We had to create a windmill that when it spun it had to lift a tea bag. The materials we had were: two pieces of cardboard, rubber bands, cloth pegs, spoons, some strings, sellotape, wood sticks and I thing that's it.

We worked in groups and almost all of them achieved that the wind mild lifted the tea bag. My group was made up of this members: Iván Díaz, Aina Monroig, Annabella Borrell, Laura Lozano and me. I liked to work with this team. We worked all together and we find the solution to it because everyone contributed and explained how could it be better. Due to this I think that we got the best idea.

Finally we could prove that it was a nice idea because it worked perfectly. maybe the next time we could make it look better, but the structure was strong and it worked.

I think that that day I worked as an engineer. We had an specific material and we had to design and later build a windmill. I felt as I was an important person creating something that then if it work it will serve to solve a problem.

Honestly I enjoyed doing this type of workshop. I don't know why but I've always liked to build things. I like to make mockups because is fun and you have to be creative and imagine all the possible ways to make it so you made up something the best you can. Maybe I should become an engineer but I always thought of being a doctor or a teacher, when I grow up.

SOURCES:

Definition of engineer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owHF9iLyxic

Wood sticks: https://neelachandu.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/icecream-sticks.jpg

Rubber bands: free image by Xavier Lukins

sábado, 7 de enero de 2017

Clean up plastics from the oceans

PLASTICS IN THE OCEAN

Nowadays, plastics are a huge problem in our environment, especially in the sea. This problem, that affects humans, is created by humans!

This problem makes:
- - Effect of Toxic Wastes on Marine Animals: Oil spill is dangerous to marine life in several ways. The oil spilled in the ocean could get on to the gills and feathers of marine animals, which makes it difficult for them to move or fly properly or feed their children.
  - Disruption to the Cycle of Coral Reefs: Oil spill floats on the surface of water and prevents sunlight from reaching to marine plants and affects in the process of photosynthesis.
  - Depletes Oxygen Content in Water: Most of the debris in the ocean does not decompose and remain in the ocean for years. It uses oxygen as it degrades. As a result of this, oxygen levels go down.
  - Effect on Food Chain: Chemicals used in industries and agriculture get washed into the rivers and from there are carried into the oceans. These chemicals do not get dissolved and sink at the bottom of the ocean. Small animals ingest these chemicals and are later eaten by large animals, which then affects the whole food chain. This is also bad for humans as we eat fish.

It also causes more problems. Here above there are only some examples.

Down here, we have an example of a beach with lots of plastics and a turtle surrounded by plastics.

Resultado de imagen de plastic in the sea causes

Boyan Slat's story

Boyan Slat was born the 27^th of July of 1994. Since he was nineteen years old, he wanted to remove the plastics from the oceans and seas.

He is a Dutch inventor, entrepreneur and aerospace engineering student who works on methods of cleaning plastic waste from the oceans. He designed a passive system for concentrating and catching plastic debris driven by ocean currents. This project won a prize for "Best Technical Design at Delft University of Technology". He established a foundation called “The Ocean Cleanup”.

Initially, there was little interest, because it would only clean 5% of the plastics in our oceans, but, since his TED talk about how the Oceans can Clean Themselves, that went viral because of his revolutionary idea, he attracted thousands of volunteers and two millions of dollars of funding for pilot installations.

In November 2014, he won the Champions of the Earth award of the United Nations Environment Programme.

Resultado de imagen de cleanup the ocean

This is the organisation logo.

Boyan Slat's solution

Boyan prposed a very intelligent idea. He said, "WHY MOVE THROUGH THE OCEANS, IF THE OCEANS CAN MOVE THROUGH YOU? ".

He started thinking and he developed an idea. He wanted to put a fence in the sea to remove the plastics, but through this fence,fish could pass. After lots of trials, his team and him, decided to put a fence in the north sea of about 100 metter long. If that fenece could survive there, then it could in all the other parts of the sea. The idea actually was to put a fence that could retain plastics and at the same time that fish could pass trhough. Then thosse plastics would be removed by a ship.

This image show how this fence works.

MY OPINION

I think this project is a great idea. If it works correctly it will be such a nice thing for the environment and the sea.

This boy had a great idea that can save the planet. It is amazing how a man (almost a kid) has done this amazing project, that has actually been proved in the north sea.

I think that more people should be interesed in this types of projects, programmes..., because it is a problem that affects everybody and only a few are working hard to avoid it. I think is a shame that there is no more people involved.

I don't know why but I will like to follow the news of this project. I'm interesed to know how this project developes. Also I like to investigate and learn new things.

I don't know if I could be capable to do such an amazing thing. Sometimes, kids have great ideas, but are not possible to show it to the world due to their age.

If one day I make something that can stop the global warming or something that can help the environment I'll be very glad.

For the moment I'll start recycling and telling other people to care about the environment. Maybe in the future I'd like to be involved in international projects.

martes, 29 de noviembre de 2016

Learning about phthalates

Phthalates are additives used in everyday plastic products to increase their flexibility, durability and transparency.

Phthalates are found in products to which we have a high exposure, such as baby’s toys, beverage containers, cosmetics and even food wraps.

They are dangerous because they pollute not only the environment, also it pollutes our bodies, which is really easy because they can be absorbed by skin contact, ingested and inhaled.

This two scientists are trying to eliminate the phthalates with bacteria instead of biochemically. I mean, they are trying to find out the solution to plastic pollution.

I think they’ve done a nice work, very detailed and organized. First they did a research of information and presented the work in a university. Then they started taking notes and making experiments, and by accident they got the answer to what they were looking for.

An accident is something that happens unexpectedly, without being planned. It can be negative or positive. We always tend to think that they are negative but thanks to lots of accidents, lots of important things have been discovered. For example Fleming was searching for a "wonder drug" that could cure diseases. However, it wasn't until Fleming threw away his experiments that he noticed that a contaminated Petri dish he had discarded contained a mold that was dissolving all the bacteria around it. It contained a powerful antibiotic, penicillin. Also lots of things like: chocolate cookies, potato chips, microwave ovens, fireworks, post-it notes, X-rays…

PHTHALATE

domingo, 13 de noviembre de 2016

My knowledge about mechanisms and machines

In this unit I’ve learned lots of things about mechanisms and machines that before I didn’t know. First of all, now I can recognize the six basic simple machines, which are the lever, the screw, the pulley, the wheel and axle and the wedge.

· The lever: it helps us lift things with less effort. A lever can be described as a long rigid body with a fulcrum along its length. They can be classified in three groups depending where the fulcrum, load and force is applied.

o 1^st class: the fulcrum is between the load and the effort.

o 2^nd class: the load is between the fulcrum and the effort.

o 3^rd class: the effort is between the fulcrum and the load.

§ One example could be the bottle opener.

· The screw: it consists of a long and thin metal shaft with threads spiraling along its length. It also has a turning head with a groove where a screwdriver can be used to rotate the screw. It converts rotational motion into linear motion.

o A really common example could be the bottle lid that we use to close the bottle.

· Inclined plane: when we reduce the effort to take something up by increasing the distance. For example if we have to lift somebody who is on a wheelchair we will use and inclined plane to reduce the effort but we will increase the distance.

o A slope would be an example of our daily life, due that every day when we go to the school there are a lot.

· Pulley: a basic pulley comprises of a wheel on a fixed axle, with a groove along the edges to guide a rope.(Foto). It is used to lift thins easily such as heavy boxes. When you put two or more wheels together, and run a rope around them you make less effort and you have created a great lifting machine.

o A daily life example could be a water well.

· Wheel and axel: when we have to move really heavy objects, we have to use a big amount of force to push it. This is due to friction (force resisting the motion of the object on the ground) and the gravitational force (force that pulls the object to the ground). In this simple machine, a wheel is locked to a central axle and they rotate each other when a force is applied on either of them.

o A daily life example would be part of the wheelbarrow, that workers use it to lift debris.

· Wedge: the wedge is the active twin of the inclined plan. But unlike the inclined plane which is stationary, a wedge does useful work by moving. For a wedge, the effort is applied to the vertical edge of the wedge. We can use it to lift heavy loads or to hold an object in place and avoid it from moving.

o Examples of wedges that we use every day could be a knife, saw…

Types of motion

· Linear motion: moving one way in a straight line. Example: direction of a train.

· Reciprocating motion: moving forwards and backwards in a straight line. Example: the follower of a cam.

· Oscillating motion: moving forwards and backwards in an arc. Example: swing

· Rotary motion: moving in a circle. Example: wheel

A mechanism is a device which takes an input motion and force, and outputs a different motion and force. The mechanisms are used to simplify a job. The mechanisms most commonly used in mechanical systems are levers, linkages, cams, gears, and and pulleys.

· Levers: is a long rigid body with a fulcrum along its length. They can be classified in three groups depending where the fulcrum, load and force is applied.

· Linkages: Linkages are mechanisms which allow force or motion to be directed where it is needed.

o Linkages can be used to change:

§ The direction of motion

§ The type of motion

§ The size of a force

o There are four different types:

§ Reverse-motion linkage

§ Parallel-motion linkage

§ Bell-crank linkage

§ Treadle linkage

· Cams: it is a shaped piece of metal or plastic fixed to a rotating shaft. A cam mechanism has three parts: cam, slide and follower. The cam shaft rotates continually, turning the cam. The follower is a rod that rests on the edge of the turning cam. The follower is free to move up and down.

o Types:

§ Pear-shaped cam

§ Eccentric cam

§ Drop cam

· Gears: it consists of toothed wheels fixed to shafts. The teeth interlock with each other, and as the first shaft (the driver shaft) rotates, the motion is transmitted to the second or driven shaft. The motion output at the driven shaft will be different from the motion input at the driver shaft.

o Types:

§ Rack and pinion