This activity helps students understand how a motor in a LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robot uses electricity produced by the battery to move a robot to do useful work in the form of throwing a ball. Students relate the concepts of electricity and battery to the movement of the LEGO NXT motor and connected links.
Using new knowledge acquired in the associated lesson, students program LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots to go through a maze using movement blocks. The maze is created on the classroom floor with cardboard boxes as its walls. Student pairs follow the steps of the engineering design process to brainstorm, design and test programs to success. Through this activity, students understand how to create and test a basic program. A PowerPoint® presentation, pre/post quizzes and worksheet are provided.
Students examine how the orientation of a photovoltaic (PV) panel relative to the sun affects the efficiency of the panel. Using sunshine (or a lamp) and a small PV panel connected to a digital multimeter, students vary the angle of the solar panel, record the resulting current output on a worksheet, and plot their experimental results.
Students learn that charge movement through a circuit depends on the resistance and arrangement of the circuit components. In a hands-on activity, students build and investigate the characteristics of series circuits. In another activity, students design and build a flashlight.
The course examines optical and electronic processes in organic molecules and polymers that govern the behavior of practical organic optoelectronic devices. Electronic structure of a single organic molecule is used as a guide to the electronic behavior of organic aggregate structures. Emphasis is placed on the use of organic thin films in active organic devices including organic LEDs, solar cells, photodetectors, transistors, chemical sensors, memory cells, electrochromic devices, as well as xerography and organic non-linear optics. How to reach the ultimate miniaturization limit of molecular electronics and related nanoscale patterning techniques of organic materials will also be discussed. The class encompasses three laboratory sessions during which the students will practice the use of select vacuum and non-vacuum organic deposition techniques by making their own active organic devices.
Students learn about how a device made with dye from a plant, specifically cherries, blackberries, raspberries and/or black currents, can be used to convert light energy into electrical energy. They do this by building their own organic solar cells and measuring the photovoltaic devices' performance based on power output.
Students engage in an interactive "hot potato" demonstration to gain an appreciation for the flow of electrons through a circuit. Students role play the different parts of a simple circuit and send small items representing electrons (paper or candy pieces) through the circuit.
Through a series of four lessons, students are introduced to many factors that affect the power output of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. Factors such as the angle of the sun, panel temperature, specific circuit characteristics, and reflected radiation determine the efficiency of solar panels. These four lessons are paired with hands-on activities in which students design, build and test small photovoltaic systems. Students collect their own data, and examine different variables to determine their effects on the efficiency of PV panels to generate electrical power.
This class will study the behavior of photovoltaic solar energy systems, focusing on the behavior of "stand-alone" systems. The design of stand-alone photovoltaic systems will be covered. This will include estimation of costs and benefits, taking into account any available government subsidies. Introduction to the hardware elements and their behavior will be included.
Students learn about a fascinating electromechanical coupling called piezoelectricity that is being employed and researched around the world for varied purposes, often for creative energy harvesting methods. A PowerPoint(TM) presentation provides an explanation of piezoelectric materials at the atomic scale, and how this phenomenon converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A range of applications, both tested and conceptual, are presented to engage students in the topic. Gaining this background understanding prepares students to conduct the associated hands-on activity in which they create their own small piezoelectric "generators."
Student teams measure voltage and current in order to determine the power output of a photovoltaic (PV) panel. They vary the resistance in a simple circuit connected to the panel to demonstrate the effects on voltage, current, and power output. After collecting data, they calculate power for each resistance setting, creating a graph of current vs. voltage, and indentifying the maximum power point.
Students use potatoes to light an LED clock (or light bulb) as they learn how a battery works in a simple circuit and how chemical energy changes to electrical energy. As they learn more about electrical energy, they better understand the concepts of voltage, current and resistance.
Students imagine they are stranded on an island and must create the brightest light possible with the meager supplies they have on hand in order to gain the attention of a rescue airplane. In small groups, students create circuits using items in their "survival kits" to create maximum voltage, measured with a multimeter and two LED lights. To complete the activity, students act as engineers by using the given materials to create circuits that produces the highest voltage and light up the most LED lights. They apply their knowledge of how voltage differs in a series circuit and a parallel circuit to design their solutions.
You can build a wide range of practical electronic devices if you understand a few basic electronics concepts and follow some simple rules. These devices include light-activated and sound-activated toys and appliances, remote controls, timers and clocks, and motorized devices. The subject begins with an overview of the fundamental concepts, followed by a series of laboratory exercises that demonstrate the basic rules, and a final project.
Uncountable times every day with the merest flick of a finger each one of us calls on electricity to do our bidding. What would your life be like without electricity? Students begin learning about electricity with an introduction to the most basic unit in ordinary matter, the atom. Once the components of an atom are addressed and understood, students move into the world of electricity. First, they explore static electricity, followed by basic current electricity concepts such as voltage, resistance and open/closed circuits. Next, they learn about that wonderful can full of chemicals the battery. Students may get a "charge" as they discover the difference between a conductor and an insulator. The unit concludes with lessons investigating simple circuits arranged "in series" and "in parallel," including the benefits and unique features associated with each. Through numerous hands-on activities, students move cereal and foam using charged combs, use balloons to explore electricity and charge polarization, build and use electroscopes to evaluate objects' charge intensities, construct simple switches using various materials in circuits that light bulbs, build and use simple conductivity testers to evaluate materials and solutions, build and experiment with simple series and parallel circuits, design and build their own series circuit flashlight, and draw circuits using symbols.
Building on what they learned about wired and wireless electrical connections in the associated lesson, students use Android phones to take advantage of Bluetooth wireless connections to remotely guide LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots through a maze. They compare this wireless remote control navigation to their previous experiences navigating LEGO robots via programming. A PowerPoint® presentation and pre/post quizzes are provided.
Students learn how water is used to generate electricity. They investigate water's potential-to-kinetic energy transformation in hands-on activities about falling water and waterwheels. During the activities, they take measurements, calculate averages and graph results. Students also learn the history of the waterwheel and how engineers use water turbines in hydroelectric power plants today. They discover the advantages and disadvantages of hydroelectric power. In a literacy activity, students learn and write about an innovative new hydro-electrical power generation technology.
Students solidify their understanding of the terms "circumference" and "rotation" through the use of LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robotics components. They measure the circumference of robot wheels to determine how far the robot can travel during one rotation of an NXT motor. They sharpen their metric system measurement skills by precisely recording the length of a wheel's circumference in centimeters, as well as fractions of centimeters. Through this activity, students practice brainstorming ways to solve a problem when presented with a given scenario, improve their ability to measure and record lengths to different degrees of precision, and become familiar with common geometric terms (such as perimeter and rotation).
Students develop an understanding of the concepts of "push" and "pull" as they "save" stuffed animals from danger using LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots. After learning more about the concepts through a robot demonstration, students explore the concepts themselves in the context of saving stuffed animala from the table edges. They choose to either push or pull the animal to safety, depending on the orientation of the robot and toy. They see the consequences of their choices, learning the importance of understanding these force concepts and the differences between them.
6.977 focuses on the physics of the interaction of photons with semiconductor materials. The band theory of solids is used to calculate the absorption and gain of semiconductor media. The rate equation formalism is used to develop the concepts of laser threshold, population inversion and modulation response. Matrix methods and coupled mode theory are applied to resonator structures such as distributed feedback lasers, tunable lasers and microring devices. The course is also intended to introduce students to noise models for semiconductor devices and to applications of optoelectronic devices to fiber optic communications.