An unbroken loop of conductive material which allows electricity to travel through it
A circuit cannot contain any material that are not conductors, meaning they cannot conduct electricity (Glass, Rubber, Stone)
Things that contain circuits: Phones, TVs, Computers
Difference in Series and Parallel Circuits
There are two types of circuits, Series and Parallel circuits
Series:
Components in a series circuit are connected by the same loop of electricity
If one component breaks and is no longer able to pass the current onto the next appliance, the whole circuit will not be able to function
A switch that controls only one light bulb is apart of a series circuit
Parallel:
Parallel circuits have more than one path for electricity to travel
If one component in a Parallel circuit breaks, the circuit will not fail
Switches that control a large grid of light bulbs are Parallel circuits
Components in a Circuit
There is a variety of components that can go into circuit with a variety of purposes
Switch:
A switch is a component which controls the flow of electricity from one component to the other
It either "breaks" or "makes" the current in a circuit
When you flip off a switch you are breaking the flow of electricity between the ground (the source of electrical current) and a component
When you flip on a switch on, you complete the circuit allowing the current to travel through the components in the circuit
Potentiometer:
A knob that controls the amount of electricity that goes into another component
An adjustable resistor
Spin the knob to adjust the flow
Ex: Dimmer-Knob on light
Voltage Difference and Short Circuiting
All circuits have a specific voltage at which they work at
Not all circuits can work at the same voltage
Having too low of a voltage will make the components not work
Having too high of a voltage will make the components not work
Short Circuit:
A short circuit occurs when there is a direct path of electricity from the positive end of the power source to the negative end
If there are no components between the connectors then a short circuit will occur
Short circuits are both dangerous to humans and harmful to the components in the circuit
Short circuits release energy and heat which can cause fires
Essential Questions
What are the key differences between a Series circuit and Parallel circuit?
What are the two components I mentioned earlier? What do they do?
Can short circuits be harmful to humans?
Circuit Exploration Documentation:
We had to make three different kinds of simple circuits. One series; one parallel; one series with switch. We used three 3V batteries as the power source, stick on LED lights, copper tape which acted as the conductor, and clips to hold the battery down.
The images above depict my series circuit which contained one light, one battery, and one clamp.
This circuit is my parallel circuits which used one battery, three lights, and one clamp.
This circuit is different than the other two because it contains a switch which controlled the flow of electricity between the components. It contained one battery, one light, and two clamps, one of which held down a box with copper tape in which acted like the bridge for the current.
Pop-Up Reflection
This project was, for me, the most challenging so far because I really had to brainstorm and lay out a blueprint for my design. A lot of my projects that I do/ have done in my 2D design class are ideas that came spontaneous to me in the middle of my project. For my pop-up card, however, I needed to be meticulous and take my time while not letting time fly by. The first idea I had was to draw a picture and have it pop out in my card. The picture depicted my Mom and her friend, Gale, atop the Grand Canyon ridge after they had completed her journey from rim to rim of the Canyon. The first problem was that the Picture I had drawn was very big. So I decided to make my card twice the size of a normal card and fold it down the opposite way. This seemed to work well for me until I had to make the picture pop up. The picture was too heavy and too big for the popped-up arch to gain leverage on it. So I then decided to incorporate origami, an aspect I tried to incorporate from my brainstorming process. The box that I made would become the stand for the Pop-Up picture and make it seem to portray a tablet standing up. Other than these challenges my process went quite smoothly. My lights worked, my batteries stayed where I put them, and I felt confident in my design. The one piece of my card which I am especially proud of is that I made it specific to my Mom's experience. The lights on the card illuminated the sun and the stars since my Mom started when the sun was up in the morning and ended when the stars were out. I enjoyed making this card and I enjoyed making my Mom smile even more when she got home.
Notes on Electricity/ Reaction to Shih Cheih Huang Artworks
Electricity Notes: Electricity is a natural phenomenon that occurs throughout nature and is extremely hard to escape. Electricity flows through the atmosphere and through our bodies at all times on planet earth. To understand electricity, you must first understand what an atom is made up of. Atoms contain positively, negatively, and neutral particles within its makeup. Protons (positive) and Electrons (negative) allow the circuits we make in the lab, to transmit energy through components which then do a given task. Electricity is defined as the flow of electrical charge. If a circuit is completed correctly than the electrical charge will be transmitted, thus allowing the components to do their given task.
Shih Cheih Huan Artwork Reaction: After watching Shih Cheih Huan's TED talk, I started to think about how I could use the same properties in Huan's experiments, in my own. His idea of recycling basic trash materials really caught with me due to its beauty. His contraptions not only created a glimmer of pink, blue, and purple while they churned to life, they reused parts of civilization that would either find its way into the ground for the next 50 years or into the ocean where it would be mistakenly eaten by sea creatures which would either die or be killed by humans for food; threatening human life as well. I am a firm believer in Huan's way of Art, for it encourages generations to come to make a difference in the world.
Metal Tin Etching Reflection
The Tin Etching project was both strenuous and challenging; causing me to plan out my work before diving right into the project, but also incredibly enjoyable and satisfying. I decided to etch my design onto copper and then widget it on instead of straight on the Metal Tin itself. I liked the way the copper looked when it is oxidized, which gives it a greenish glow. My design was based on a website's logo called "Fat Ergos" - this of course having a link to rowing. The website takes a different look at the sport of rowing and turns it into a meathead type sport where all you want to do is pull "fat ergos." At this point in my reflection, both of you have no clue as to what that means. As Ms. Dixon knows, the "Erg" is the name for the rowing machine which is very unenjoyable to workout on due to how hard it is on your body physically. "Fat" is used as a slang term that would replace pulling hard in the fat ergos quotation. So basically what "fat ergos" translates to is "pull really hard on the rowing machine." Fat Ergos is a phrase that is echoed around the boathouse everyday, even though the majority of the people there are not going on the ergs that day, in order to get everyone hyped up for the days row. Where was I before I started on this tangent that probably lost me 10 pts? Ah yes, I remember! When I finished etching my design into the copper, I had a hard time taking off the vinyl sticker because I had pressed to hard when applying the contact paper. I unfortunately made some minor scratches on my copper plate because I needed to use a tool to get the sticker off. So so far this is the only source of error I ran into and I am looking forward to finishing this project tomorrow.
Teardown Investigation - The Computer Charger
For my Teardown Investigation, I decided to take apart an old charger for an early Apple MacBook. The charger had not been used in about 10 years and it had been taking up space in my basement. The end port, the part which would be put into the computer, is too large for any modern MacBooks due to Apple being a bunch of slimy devils that want customers to buy a new charger for each new computer. That being said, the charger serves no use to me currently. The five components that I chose to examine where: an A70-A transformer, a Fixed Valve Inductor, a couple Capacitors, a Forward Biased Diode, and
A70-A Transformer: This component completes the main purpose of the MacBook Charger. It is an A70-A Transformer. The purpose of it is to change the the input energy from the power source to a usable voltage, which would become the output energy that would power the device, or in this case charge the device. In this circuit, it converts the high voltage from the power source (a standard plug unit) to a lower voltage needed to charge the computer. It processes the high voltage and then spits it back out at a lower voltage into the circuit in which other components will usher the currents way to the charging port.
Fixed Value Inductor: This component is known as an Inductor. There are varying types of Inductors but ultimately serve the same purpose. An Inductor consists of conductible material which is then wrapped around or next to a "core" object. This creates a magnetic field which is used to store energy in the circuit. This is called a "Fixed Value" Inductor, meaning its inductance does not change due to change in the electrical current. Most inductors are used in Alternating Current Circuits - the electrical current can flow both ways.
Forward Biased Diode: This component acts like a one way street but instead of cars, it's electrical current. It is a component which is used when a circuit has a predominantly one way flow of electricity but the electrical current is broken and at risk to short circuiting often. Although it might sound as if a Diode will protect a circuit from short circuiting, it actually does the opposite. This Diode is Forward Biased meaning it prefers and is meant to pass electricity in the correct direction the current is meant to go. However, since this circuit and many like it are very prone to short circuiting, a Forward Biased Diode allows electricity to pass the opposite way acting like a short circuit which results in the loss of power immediately or, depending on the Diode, it can use up all the energy stored in the circuit really quickly resulting in loss of power but not so immediate. This is one of the reasons the Fixed Value Inductor is used in this circuit - it can process alternating currents.
Low Power Capacitors: A Capacitor is a way for a circuit to store excess current for later usage. There are three different types of Capacitors: Fixed, Polarized, and Variable Capacitors. In my circuit I had 4 fixed Capacitors and 3 polarized Capacitors (one not shown). The top left picture shows 3 of the fixed Capacitors and the top right picture shows the remaining 1 fixed Capacitor. The difference with the top right Capacitor, however, is that it is a Metallized Polypropylene Film over the entire capacitor. Film capacitors generally have a piece of plastic over them, like mine, but they can have paper wrapped around it as well. This is in an attempt of not losing any power through the atmosphere. The 3 other Capacitors, two of which are in the bottom right, are radial aluminum electrolytic Capacitors. They also fall under the category of a polarized capacitor. This means the energy stored inside is stored in the form of a magnetic field - hence two poles on a magnet. These are generally bigger Capacitors and can store more energy compared to fixed Capacitors.
Supercapacitor: I had one Supercapacitor in my circuit, which I only realized was one after I had been holding it mindlessly thinking it was a neutral charged component in the circuit. A Supercapacitor is a high-capacity capacitor with capacitance values much larger than other capacitors. These capacitors, while have a smaller voltage limit, bridge the gap between electrolytic capacitors and rechargeable batteries. This Supercapacitor is connected to all of the polarized Capacitors which then is processed in the super capacitor and then sent off through the smaller white charging cord to the charging port. Without this Supercapacitor, the energy stored in the other Capacitors would be useless because it can not charge a computer properly on polarized current.