Author: Isaac Gendler

Body centered cubic crystal structures

Body centered cubic crystal structures

Body centered cubic crystal structures

04/10/17

“Is there a crystal structure that can hold 2 atoms per unit cell?”
Just as there is a litany of different types of chemicals and bonding types in the universe, there is also a vast array of different types of crystal structures. One such crystal structure is the Body centered cubic crystal structure. In this type of crystal structure, atoms are located at all eight corners of a unit cube with another atom at the center. The atomic packing factor of a body-centered cubic crystal structure is 0.6802 and is commonly found in elements such as sodium

Compact fluorescent lights

Compact fluorescent lights

Compact fluorescent lights

03/09/17

“How do the lights in our households and workplaces work?”
With the advent of energy efficiency standards, most light bulbs in our homes, schools, and workplaces are now based upon fluorescent lighting technology. However, how exactly do these compact fluorescent lights? Well, let’s use our engineering mindset to find out. Let’s start by taking apart a fluorescent light bulb. If we do so, we will notice that there are three components: A screw base, an electronic ballast, and a spiral lamp. The base is the “bottom” portion used to fit the lamp into a lamp holder. Next, in the interior, the electronic ballast consists of a complex circuit. The electronic ballast will take in AC electricity from the grid at one phase and convert it into AC electricity at a much higher phase. This “stepped up” AC electricity will allow for a frequently changing current, which will be useful in exciting the surrounding gas to produce light. CFLs are up to 4 times more efficient than traditional incandescent lights and last ten times as long, while also being far more efficient (in fact, a CFL bulb can reduced carbon emissions by over a half a ton over the course of its lifetime!).

Fluorescent light bulbs

Fluorescent light bulbs

Fluorescent light bulbs

04/08/17

“How do fluorescent light bulbs work?”
All around the world, conventional filament-based light bulbs are being phased out in favor of this technology called fluorescent light bulbs. However, what exactly are these devices and how do they work? Well, let’s use our engineering mindset to find out. All electrical devices start with two components, an anode and a cathode. Now, electrical lights work by passing a current through the anode and cathode to generate current. Fluorescent light bulbs use a most ingenious way to accomplish this, instead of using a current to heat up a wire, the ends of the electrodes are separated by a mercury-containing gas. When electrons are passed through this material, they will collide with the mercury atoms which will become “excited” and release ultraviolet rays. The tube that connects both electrodes will be coated in a special coat that absorbs the dangerous UV rays and releases safe white light, therefore providing safe and efficient lighting. Fluorescent bulbs can produce between 50 and 100 lumens per watt., making them four to six times more efficient than incandescent bulbs

Supergrids

Supergrids

Supergrids

04/07/17

“Could we make a grid that could cross continents?”
Imagine this. What if at some point in the future there could be an electrical grid system so advanced that it would be able to span entire continents, such that solar energy from sun-kissed areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa or Israel would be able to power dreary countries such as the Netherlands or Poland, or wind power from Brazil traversing its way through the amazons to light up the Peruvian capital of Lima before sundown. Well, believe or not, this technology is in development as we speak. Researchers from around the world are working on creating a technology known as a supergrid. Supergrids are HVDC-based grids that can surpass the past roadblocks of more primitive DC networks by using circuit breakers to cut malfunctioning power lines from contaminating the rest of the grid.  

Wide area synchronous grids

Wide area synchronous grids

Wide area synchronous grids

05/06/17

“How do electrical grids operate at large scale?”

 

Electrical grids are one of the life beds of modern infrastructure. However, since the power demands of humanity are too large for a single system to handle, the grid must be grouped into different synchronous “zones” to ensure smooth operation. Because of this, engineers have designed a framework that uses multiple distinct areas called wide area synchronous grids (WASGs) to operate at a synchronized frequency. WASGs in North America typically operate at 60Hz, while ones in Europe work at 50Hz. Interconnections between grids can be made by using HVDC lines. WASGs allow for energy generation pooling, which allows for lower generation costs.

Virtual images

Virtual images

Virtual images

04/05/17

“What happens when light rays from a reflective or refractive material do not converge?”
When light bounces from some materials, sometimes it does not completely converge. An example can be light incident on planar mirrors or negative lenses. However, an image still forms, contradicting the theory of real images. How can this be? Well, let’s use our scientific mindset to find out. We know when non-parallel light rays do not converge in real space, they are at an angle with each other. However, if we are to think “outside of the box” and move into the virtual world, we can observe that such rays originate from a common point. And since our brains are not advanced enough to distinguish between optical illusions and reality, we will see what scientists call a virtual image at that point. Since virtual images do not exist in reality, they can not be projected onto a screen like real images.

Energy payback time

Energy payback time

Energy payback time

04/04/17

“How long does it take solar panels to recuperate the amount of energy taken to construct them?”
Solar panels produce energy in a safe and sustainable manner. However, it also takes energy to create these machines, and many individuals argue that it might take more energy than it is worth. So how can we estimate the time needed for a solar panel module to recuperate its production energy? Well, let’s solve this question by thinking like engineers. We can reason that energy payback time is fundamentally a problem with two variables, the amount of energy it took to create the specific type of module and the amount of energy the module produces over its lifetime. The former is contingent upon the processes involved during construction of the module, and the latter depends upon the geographic location of the module as well as its efficiency. Therefore if know these variables, we can estimate the energy payback time. The energy payback time for solar panels can range from 3.3 years for a monocrystalline panel in Canada and Northern Europe to nearly 8.5 months in California and Africa using thin-filmed photovoltaics! With this data, we can defeat the pseudo-fact that solar PV systems take an enormous amount of time for a return on investment.

Fracking pollution

Fracking pollution

Fracking pollution

04/03/17

“How does fracking cause pollution? ”

 

Now that the fracking process has been covered, it would only be logical to cover how fracking causes pollution as well.

 

When natural gas is suctioned up from the Earth, the coarse and toxic fracking fluid is taken in with it. Since this material is completely corrosive, it must be stored somewhere. Usually, this fluid will be kept in deep underground “pits” strewn throughSincearea. SInce these pits are dug into the earth, the stored waste can seep into the surrounding area and pollute groundwater that is used by humans. Not only this, but earthquake frequency also skyrockets as pushing fluids deep underground degenerates the earth’s internal structure.
If you have carefully read through this series of articles, you should now have the necessary knowledge to make informed voting and policy decisions regarding fracking

The fracking process

The fracking process

The fracking process

04/02/17

“How exactly does fracking happen?”

 

Turn to any energy new source and you are bound to read debates about a nascent energy process called fracking so heated that they could power a steam turbine. However, before we make any decisions regarding its benevolence or malevolence, it is our duty as scientific thinkers to learn about the fundamental process first.

 

Until recently, natural gas was thought to be a worthwhile extraction only if it was found in dense quantities. However, there is an expansive amount of such resources scattered within rock formations hundreds of feet below the Earth’s surface. Since these reserves hold voluminous potential, petroleum engineers came up with a method known as hydraulic fracking. With fracking, pipes are constructed that will delve hundreds of feet below the Earth’s crust to thrust high-pressure fluids (containing water, proppant, and chemical additive) to open up the natural-gas containing rocks. Once cracked, the fluid will then be sucked back into a container, where the waste fluid will be separated from the natural gas, therefore producing energy-containing materials.

 

Now that we know more about this fracking process, we can act as informed citizens and vote accordingly. Tune in to learn about the environmental hazards of this method