Yesterday, we worked on the computer on a paper lab and other work. Today, we had a quiz.
Today I Observed:
Mr. Fong dipped a $20 bill into a solution of salt, alcohol, and water. Then he lit the bill on fire. The bill did not come out as burned. Why? It is the solution that let it burn, and made sure the bill was not burned.
salt: used to make sure the flame is bright and orange.
alcohol: the fuel for the flame
water: used to absorb the thermal energy from the flame, and prevent it from getting to the bill. The water evaporates, leaving the bill untouched.
After the solution is burned/evaporated, the flame stops.
The air pressure around us has a lot to do with the boiling point of the water. When the air pressure is high, there is more pressure that is holding the water molecules down. But the lower the pressure, the easier it is for the water particles to escape. That means that the it is easier for water to boil.
Today’s experiment:
Fill flask with water.
Boil water until bubbles, water vapour appear.
Quickly cap on lid, to prevent water vapour from escaping.
Turn flask upside down.
Place icecubes on top of flask.
Observe boiling water.
Water in all three states side by side
The ice on top of the flask takes heat away from the warm water vapour at the top of the flask. As the water vapour cools, it condensates and becomes water. That means that there is less water vapour, and a lower pressure. As explained above, lower pressure means lower boiling point. The water is already quite warm (almost boiling), so it boils at the new lower boiling point.
Boiling a pot of water works best when heat comes from the bottom. This is because of convection. When water is heated, it tends to go upwards as it is lighter than cool water. This circulates the water, so the cool water now is at the bottom to be heated. If the heat source was at the top, the top water would be warmed, but it would stay and the top, so it would only get warmer.
Today I wondered:
Does gravity affect the boiling point of water? If particles are so susceptible to forces that hold it down, maybe gravity does too.
How does the drinking bird work? It seems very efficient in its energy conversion.
Today I had an intriguing idea:
If the drinking bird is so efficient at going up and down, perhaps it’s energy can harnessed for electricity. I’m not sure if it would work on a large scale to turn a turbine, but it could potentially provide lots of energy.
Today, we used the clickers to learn about thermal energy. We also got time to work on some practice thermal energy questions.
Today I learned
In terms of calculating the heat of an ice cube in its transformation to water, there are three steps that are required. First, using q = mct we can calculate the energy gained from the ice state to the temperature of 0 degrees Celsius, the freezing point. Second, using q = ml the energy needed for the state change can be calculated. Lastly, using q = mct , the ice, now water, the energy needed to reach the final temperature can be calculated.
Most of what we did today was review from yesterday, please check yesterday’s post for that. We also did worksheets which involved changes of state, using the q=ml and q=mct equations.
I also watched videos on nuclear energy today, and learned that there are many types of nuclear energy. Fission is what we have right now, but fusion could be the future. Fission energy involves blasting atoms at another atom, and it splits an atom: in that process, lots of energy is created for very little material. However, there are many drawbacks, like the dangerous radioactive waste it creates. Fusion energy is almost like a star, and it will produce near infinite energy. However, it is quite difficult to produce and will require a lot of research.
Something intriguing
Mist on your skin will cool you down, and I realized that is the same effect as sweating. When you sweat, it will evaporate and bring away some of the heat that you had.
After Unit Reflection
This post connects to requirement #5f for nuclear energy. It summarizes the processes for fission, the potential for fusion, and drawbacks for both. The videos were quite interesting, they showed the many extreme positives and extreme negatives for nuclear energy.
This post also connects to requirement #4 for solving energy transformation problems. It solves some problems involving state changes, which involve energy transfers from another object.
Today we did an experiment with ice cubes and plates, and in turn we learned about latent heat
Today I learned:
Metal is better at transferring heat than plastic, as it is a conductor and plastic is an insulator. This brings the heat to the ice cube faster, and that is why the ice melted faster on the metal plate than on the plastic plate. It is quite interesting, as metal was the one that felt colder on first touch of skin but can melt ice faster. It’s better at heat transfer, so it heats and cools faster.
The ice in the metal cap is melting faster than the ice in the plastic cap
Latent heat is energy that is absorbed or released. Specific latent heat is latent heat of 1 kg of material, represented by an L. Latent heat absorbed or released can cause a change in temperature.
The equation for all of this is Q = m L. Where Q is the thermal energy, m is the mass, and L is the latent energy. This means that the same amount of latent heat is absorbed/released by the ice and the metal compared to the ice and the plastic. What differs is the time that this takes, where the metal does it much faster.
Today I wondered
What would the energy be like for getting an solid to a gas? For example, how much energy would it take to get an icecube directly to steam? I have a feeling that it would be the same, but I also feel like it would take more energy to skip the water.
Why is the f in Lf stand for fusion? When ice becomes water, the particles become more spread out, so they shouldn’t really be called ‘fusing’ together.
Today I had an intriguing idea
If the metal cap was colder than the plastic cap, at a certain temperature the two caps would melt the ice cube and finish at the same time. Because the metal cap transfers heat to the icecube faster, it would melt it faster. But since it is colder, it would take longer. At a certain point, they would be the same.
Specific heat capacity is the energy needed to heat one kg of substance by one kelvin. Heat capacity is the energy needed to heat a mass up by one kelvin. The specific heat capacity of water is 4.184 J/kgK.
More heat capacity means more resistance to change in temperature. When in contact with another object, the equilibrium will be closer to the object with higher heat capacity.
A calorimeter is a device that can be used to measure the heat capcity of an object.
Today I wondered:
In which state of matter would it have the most heat capacity? Or does it not matter?
How can we relate heat energy to kinetic and mechanical energy? It’s not as easily converted.
Today I had an intriguing idea:
Objects at or close to absolute zero can have a temperature of very little. But, they could potentially have a very large heat capacity.
Today we had an exciting trip to the University of Waterloo where we participated in various labs and workshops. I did one at the Institue of Quantum Computing and one for physics.
Today I learned:
IQC (Morning)
In the Institute for Quantum Computing, we were first given a brief overview of how quantum particles defy other laws. After wards, we used laser light to simulate the quantum particles and use them to create quantum encryptions from which we could send secret messages.
Things I learned:
Quantum particles can be either (vertical or horizontal) or (diagonal or anti-diagonal). When passed through a filter, if a particle type is passed through a an opposite type filter, it will will have it’s own state, but it will tell the filter is is of a random type. e.g. Vertical particles pass through a diagonal filter. It will tell the filter either vertical or horizontal, but it’s state is vertical.
Quantum particles and their decisions allow for true randomness.
Quantum computers could have massive computing power. Imagine a today’s computer the size of the observable universe and its processing power, fitting into the size of today’s laptop.
Using this randomness, we can create truly random keys of large length, and pass them through filters at the sending and receiving end. Using the keys, we can encrypt messages. This is quantum cryptography, and it could be what the future holds.
This is the receiving part of the quantum encryptor, plus a computer to record the pulses of 1s and 0s
Waterloo Science Lab (Physics) (Afternoon)
There were six stations where we were exposed to the tip of the iceberg on many physics concepts.
**Liquid Nitrogen and Superconductors: **
This involved a magnet racing around a magnetic track. The magnet, orginally was not levitating. But when liquid nitrogen was added to the superconductor magnet at -200 degrees C, it levitated and with a simple push, kept going around the track (almost frictionless in the air). There was also a superconductor where we suspended a magnet above it. With a simple push, the magnet kept spinning. This was the coolest station of them all. It also has many applications, from an energy-less motor spinning, to a magnetic levitation train.
The superconductor magnet goes around the track with almost no friction
**Holograms: **
Using a laser and a glass plate, an 3d model was projected onto a 2d surface. This was more interesting than just a general 2d image. When viewed through a small peephole, one could move around the peephole and see the entire image. But more fascinating was that one could move one’s head around a fixed peephole anywhere on the glass plate, and the entire image would be visible too. This means that on every area of every possible section of the plate there is data about the entire image.
Every part of the image contains data about every part of the image
**Centrifugal Gravity: **
Gravity is a downwards force… or is it? When we hold a bendy object in the middle, the two sides fall downwards. But when we put it in very fast spinner, the sides bend towards the outside. This means, we can create artificial gravity with a centrifugal force. Perhaps useful for outer space.
**Concentration Games: **
This game involved sensors which were attatched to our head and measured our concentration level. There was a ball, and whoever could get the ball to the other side based on their concentration could win. The sensor measured brain activity to move the ball, and this is a step towards mind reading.
**Continuous and Discrete Spectrums: **
This explained the light spectrums when viewing from a quadrilateral shaped device. Looking at white light, there is a full continuous spectrum. But looking at the light emitted from various gasses, there are only a few spots of color and it is a discrete spectrum.
We looked for the spectrum of light emitted from these gases
**Electric Field and LEDs: **
We turned on an LED with only an electric field. If you stand with the legs of the LED facing the electric field, the electrons emitted will power up the LED. All you have to do is hold it.
At the end, there was a fascinating discussion where we (and the professor) discussed the potential applications for each of the concepts at each station. We also learned about gravity, and how the theory we have been learning all along is wrong. The example demonstrated to us was an accelerometer that measured instantaneous accleration. When getting faster to the right, the lights would show up on the right. When getting faster to the left, the lights would turn on on the left. But the most exciting thing was when he turned the accelerometer on its side - the lights were now pointing up and down. When he held the accelerometer still, the lights were on in the upwards direction, signifying accleration was in the upwards direction. This blew my mind away, and raised a lot of questions about how we perceive the world today. Apparently it was Einstein that first came up with this theory, and today it is the most accepted theory of how gravity works.
Today I wondered:
We are creating quantum computers with extraodinary power to encrypt and send our messages completely safely. But what about all the computers and sensitive data that we have today? What will happen to all the important messages today? With a quantum computer, all of the current security is rendered useless. As well, the super powered computer used to encrypt messages can be used to crack the messages, so this is another problem. How can we advance the safeguarding technology while not advancing the counteracting technology?
If gravity is actually an upwards acceleration force, then are we drawing all our FBD diagrams wrong? It would mean that when an object is at rest, it actually only has one force: the upwards gravitational force. When an object is in free fall, there are actually no forces acting on it. This would totally change how we interpret this force of gravity and representing it in diagrams.
Today I had an intriguing idea:
Today was an ye-opening day, and I learned a lot. Yet, I did not learn a lot. It was only the ‘tip of the iceberg’. Physics is a very wide subject, and has applications everywhere. Perhaps in the future, we will find something that is currently thought to be impossible to be true: for example, maybe we’re not dealing with friction. We’re dealing with something else.
Aside
1
This morning, I took the school bus from home to school. Then, I took another bus from the school to the university, which passed very close to my home. Then on the way home, the bus also passed close to home. Lastly, I carpooled with friends to get home. This was slightly inefficient.
2
This is a nanotechnolgy lab. It is built on a separate foundation designed to resist earthquakes and any miniscule movement. It has orange glass to stop harmful light from going out.
After Unit Reflection
This post connects to requirement #2. This whole day was quite interesting, and there were a lot of applications for the technologies and concepts that we learned about today. The most interesting ones to me were probably the ones for quantum computing, which uses the energies of quantum particles. These can be used to encrypt messages, and could also provide an enormous amount of computing power for the world. The other one is the liquid nitrogen car, which takes away thermal energy from the magnet in order for it to work. The electromagnetivity of the magnet could possibly be used to power maglev trains cheaply, and this would reduce transportation costs.
We did two experiments today, and recorded our predictions, explanations, and observations.
Today I learned:
Which one is colder? The plastic dish or the metal lid?
Our hands cannot feel the temperature of an object. It can only feel the heat transfer of an object. For example, let’s say that a plastic object and a metal object are sitting on a table. When we touch it with our hands, the plastic object will feel warmer and the metal object will feel colder, even though if we check it with a infrared gun, the temperatures are the same. This is because the metal is better at heat transfer - it draws the heat away from our hand faster than the plastic, which is an insulator.
Objects also have different heat capacities. This is the amount of heat that an object can store. This was demonstrated today through the use of two balloons and two bunsen burners. One thing to note: water has a much higher heat capacity than air. The balloon without water popped first, as the air exanded much faster. The balloon with water remained unpopped for much longer. The water holds more heat, and expands less.
In the first picture, both balloons are being lowered to the fire. In the second picture, the balloon filled with air is popped, while the balloon filled with part water is still intact.
Some definitions:
Specific Heat Capacity: amount of thermal energy added to raise temperature of one kg by one K Symbol: c
Heat Capacity: Thermal energy needed to change temperature of body by one K. Symbol: C
There are equations to use for thermal energy transfer. First, Q = mct can be used to calculate for any of the values given 3 values. Q is thermal energy, m is mass, c is Specific heat capacity, and t is change in temperature. As well, Q = Ct, where Q is thermal energy, C is heat capacity, and t is change in temperature. The Csystem = m1c1 + m2c2 + m3c3 + … mncn,
Today I wondered:
How has the knowledge that metal in a room is the same temperature as plastic? In the past, we must have thought they were different, but how has this knowledge improved science/life?
What object will have a heat capacity greater than water? Does a vacuum have heat capacity at all?
Today I had an intriguing idea:
Something that I found intriguing was that ice would melt faster on cold aluminum than on warm plastic. This was shown in the veritasium video, and I found this quite interesting. Of course, now I know why - it’s because metal is a better heat conductor than plastic - but it’s fascinating. Again, physics is not common sense.
I had a wild idea too. If global warming is such a huge problem, there must be a way to capture and store large amounts of heat in materials with high heat capacities. Then, such materials could be sent off into outer space which could resolve the problem of global warming. Of course, this is very wild and does not consider any other problems (societal, economic, environmental), just that it could take heat away from earth.
After Unit Reflection
This post best connects to requirement #5h for heat transfer. In the previous post, transfer was discussed but in this post there is a great example. It shows that heat transfer is different from temperature. If something feels colder to our hands, it doesn’t necessarily mean the temperatuere is colder. It just means that it is transferring away heat from our hands faster. This is a common misconception, and it is one of the interesting things that I have learned in this class.
