Author: Isaac Gendler

Brownouts

Brownouts

Brownouts

02/15/18

“What happens when there is an unintentional drop in electric voltage in a power supply system?”

 

What roads were to Rome the electric grid is to modern civilization. Like a heart pumping blood to the rest of the body, the grid ensures that every component receives enough vital supplies. But sometimes, there is not enough voltage to go around, and as a result components will need to take a drop in voltage. This phenomenon is known as a brownout, and can lead to unexpected results like all of the lights in the city dimming down or space heaters losing their practical functionality.

Dwell Mechanisms

Dwell Mechanisms

Dwell Mechanisms

02/14/18

“How can we design a linkage to allow an element to stay in one place on command?”

 

Linkages are some of the most beautiful contraptions in the science of engineering. However, one problem is that when one part moves, all parts seem to move at the same time.

 

But does this have to happen?

 

If we think back to circles, we can see that if we place a line on the radius and revolves it, no matter what direction that link moves the center will stay put. So what if we were to simply put a link’s end on the centerpiece? Well, this is the basic idea behind something known as a Dwell Mechanism. Dwell mechanisms can also be shaped such that they change position when their connecting link moves past a certain angle, as seen in link EF the figure.

The Problem with Battery-Powered Planes

The Problem with Battery-Powered Planes

The Problem with Battery-Powered Planes

02/13/18

“What do we need to overcome before we make battery-powered planes?”

 

Although promising, battery-powered planes have a major hurdle to overcome before they make any major traction. As it stands, electrochemical batteries have only 1/60th the energy density of conventional plane fuels. This is further compounded by the fact that such batteries are heavier to equip, meaning more weight on the aircraft and a reduced ability to fly. However, if we can overcome these problems, whether it be through a new type of battery or improved electrical motors, then battery-powered planes are poised to disrupt the entire aviation industry!

X-bar Charts

X-bar Charts

X-bar Charts

02/12/18

“How can we use statistics to describe industrial quality?”

 

Even with the most perfect manufacturing processes, flaws are expected to happen during production. As such, we need a way to quantify how stable a given industrial output is. So how can we use our engineering mindset to solve this? Well, we know that if an item’s measurements become three standard levels of deviations outside of the mean, then it is probably unusable. So what if we were to create a chart that would graph the average of all measurements for each part with along with the mean and the tolerance levels so we can visually see anything out of the ordinary? Well, this is called an X-bar Chart and the control limits can be calculated by the formula UCL/LCL = (mean of all measurements) +/- 3*(standard deviation of all measurements)/sqrt(number of measurements per sample).

 

Battery-Powered Planes

Battery-Powered Planes

Battery-Powered Planes

02/11/18

“How can we make planes that do not rely on fuel?”

 

As it stands, the vast majority of the world’s air travel infrastructure rests upon hydrocarbon-based fuel. However, is there a more sustainable model to this approach? Well, if we use our engineering mindset, then we would be able to see that this jet fuel is fundamentally just energy storage, and that another option is batteries. Therefore, we can create battery-powered planes in place of their traditional alternatives. One caveat is that current battery technologies have 1/60th the energy density of plane fuels, making them a much less viable option.

How Distributed Energy Resources Help National Security

How Distributed Energy Resources Help National Security

How Distributed Energy Resources Help National Security

02/10/18

“Does implementing distributed energy resources and national security go hand in hand?”

 

It is usually thought that renewable energy sources such as solar and wind cause danger onto communities due to their lack of centralization. However, can this feature actually be a security advantage? Well, it turns out that by having energy generation be distributed instead of in a centralized location like a power plant, the grid becomes less prone to attacks and can recuperate much faster in case of such an event. Therefore, Distributed Energy Resources actually help national security!

 

Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems

Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems

Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems

02/09/18

“How can we create a central management system for distributed energy resources?”

 

Without a doubt, distributed energy resources are the way of the future. With their ability to efficiently generated clean and renewable energy in optimal locations, they can make a truly sustainable civilization possible. However, if left unregulated, they can wreak havoc on the grid, and destroy an efficiency associated with them. So how can we use our engineering mindsets to solve this problem? Well, what if we were to create a centralized control system that could monitor and actuate upon these systems? Well, this is the main idea behind Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems, and are a very hot topic for the future of energy research!

Bidirectional Electricity Flow

Bidirectional Electricity Flow

Bidirectional Electricity Flow

02/08/18

“Can electricity flow in two directions between appliances and suppliers?”

 

In the 20th century, electricity distribution was thought to be a unidirectional, constant supply given from a generator to a sink. However, with the advent of the Smart Grid, this paradigm is now shifting. Distributed energy can be generated on site from home solar and electrical vehicles and then be fed back into the grid, therefore creating Bidirectional Electricity Flow.

Oscilloscopes

Oscilloscopes

Oscilloscopes

02/07/18

“How can we analyze varying voltages?”

 

With the invention of alternating current, voltages are no longer buying too strict linear patterns. In fact, many now oscillate in a sinusoidal fashion. But how can we analyze this voltage? Well, what if we were to simply hook up our circuit to a machine that can visualize these voltage swings in real time? This is the idea behind an oscilloscope and is used in engineering laboratories all over the world.