Thames & Kosmos Solar Mechanics Experiment Manual Download Page 1

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E XPERIMENT MANUAL

Summary of Contents for Solar Mechanics

Page 2: ...eating a variety of models 3 Discuss the safety warnings and possible risks involved with the children before allowing them to build these models 4 In order to prevent a short circuit and damage to th...

Page 3: ...ng electricity from light tangible and fun for young scientists This experiment kit is designed to help bring the fascinating world of mechan ics and solar power a little bit closer to your child With...

Page 4: ...ar wheel 2 19 Large gear wheel 1 20 Long axle 2 21 Medium axle 1 22 Short axle 2 23 Motor axle 1 24 Wheel 44 mm 4 25 1 0 Volt Solar Motor Unit 1 Total 61 If you are missing any parts please contact Th...

Page 5: ...l find supplemental information on pages 9 16 to 17 21 to 24 and 38 CHECK IT OUT Gearing Up Transmissions Pages 4 to 9 How to move mechanical energy from one place to another The Models Part 1 Pages 2...

Page 6: ...powered models will depend heavily on transmissions to make their wheels and other components work In this section you will learn how the gears are used to make transmissions that either increase the...

Page 7: ...gear A gear B ro tates three times Gear A has 60 teeth and gear B has 20 teeth Thus after the gears have meshed 20 teeth together the small gear has already spun around once while the large gear has...

Page 8: ...NEED 7 parts from the kit A A A B A B A B A B 2 1 X1 X1 10 X1 19 17 X1 X1 22 X2 The red gear turns counterclockwise when the yellow gear is turned clock wise Gears that mesh with each other change the...

Page 9: ...r turns counterclockwise So the yellow gear is actually spinning in the same direction as the starting red gear because the direction has been changed twice Has the gear train accom plished any change...

Page 10: ...rom the kit The blue gear will turn clockwise The gear train turned a corner Here you see that these gears can be positioned at right angles from one another changing the plane of motion WHAT S HAPPEN...

Page 11: ...here a transmission consisting of four gears carries the motion all the way to the axles on the sides of the unit which can be used to activate your models The solar panel and the electric motor will...

Page 12: ...ed electricity supplied by the solar panel In this chapter you will conduct a series of experiments with a test car that will teach you how the solar panel works and under what conditions it works bes...

Page 13: ...picture step by step Build your test car YOU WILL NEED 20 parts from the kit 22 25 24 23 22 20 18 17 12 8 7 5 4 X2 X1 X1 X2 X3 X2 X1 X1 X1 X1 X4 X1 TIP To remove anchor pins use the part separator to...

Page 14: ...will run better with a 1 mm gap between the gear and frame 4 5 6 7 You assembled a simple test vehicle with which you can now conduct a number of experiments to learn about putting solar power to wor...

Page 15: ...run the motor at all What do you notice about the relation ship between the intensity of the light and the speed of the motor Light sources YOU WILL NEED test car model a sunny day an overcast day de...

Page 16: ...rface area and again note the speed 4 Cover two thirds of the solar panel Does the motor still run Testing different light levels YOU WILL NEED test car model a sunny day or a desk lamp with incandesc...

Page 17: ...n is high in the sky small blocks of wood The motor runs the fastest when the so lar panel is most directly facing the sun Because the sun is so far away its rays hit Earth virtually parallel to one a...

Page 18: ...d to the first layer resulting in an abundance of free electrons Because electrons have a negative charge this layer has a negative charge and is thus called n type doped sil icon The other layer is d...

Page 19: ...tional p n junction at all This is a simplified description and we encourage you to find out more about how solar cells work from books the internet and your science teacher 3 Let there be light When...

Page 20: ...l choose three feet But you can experiment with different distances 2 Using the stopwatch or timer time how long it takes the test car to travel be tween the start and end points Record the time Time...

Page 21: ...3 ft 0 75 ft sec feet ft sec T 4 sec seconds Speed of Car B D 3 ft 0 375 ft sec feet ft sec T 8 sec seconds 3 Now switch the red and the blue gears on your test car to make a different ver sion of th...

Page 22: ...remaining car on increasingly steep ramps until the car can now longer climb as well Which car could climb the steeper ramp Was it the faster car or the slower car from Experiment 9 Torque over speed...

Page 23: ...driving a 20 tooth gear Gear ratio Teeth on driven gear Teeth on driver gear 20 1 40 2 Torque decreases by 2 times Speed increases by 2 times Driven gear Driver gear Model B 20 tooth gear driving a 4...

Page 24: ...every second When this happens huge amounts of energy are released in the form of light and heat Each second the sun produces a radiant energy of 63 000 kilowatt hours per square meter kWh m2 Solar E...

Page 25: ...1 4 kWh m2 Only a portion of that energy is absorbed by Earth while the other half is reflected back into space The sun s radiation is highly variable in dif ferent regions of the world That has to d...

Page 26: ...ell using plates made of an element called selenium It was very inefficient by to day s standards Over the years many scientists did a lot of research on the photoelectric effect In 1939 an American e...

Page 27: ...est by building ten different solar powered models that each use solar electricity in different ways The Models Putting Your Solar Panel to Work The NASA Helios Prototype was a solar and fuel cell pow...

Page 28: ...Race car YOU WILL NEED 22 parts from the kit 25 24 22 20 17 12 7 5 4 3 2 X1 X2 X1 X2 X1 X5 X2 X1 X2 X4 X1 22 1 2 3 26 EXPERIMENT 11...

Page 29: ...Race car 20 22 4 5 6 The Models Putting Your Solar Panel to Work 27 EXPERIMENT 11...

Page 30: ...Race car 7 8 9 The model will run better with a 1 mm gap between the gear and frame 28 EXPERIMENT 11...

Page 31: ...Motorcycle YOU WILL NEED 22 parts from the kit 25 24 23 22 20 18 17 13 12 8 7 5 4 3 X2 X1 X1 X1 X2 X4 X1 X1 X1 X1 X1 X1 X4 X1 1 2 The Models Putting Your Solar Panel to Work 29 EXPERIMENT 12...

Page 32: ...Motorcycle 23 20 3 4 5 30 EXPERIMENT 12...

Page 33: ...Motorcycle 22 6 7 The model will run better with a 1 mm gap between the gear and frame The Models Putting Your Solar Panel to Work 31 EXPERIMENT 12...

Page 34: ...Gyrocar YOU WILL NEED 35 parts from the kit 21 20 11 20 11 25 24 22 21 20 18 17 12 11 9 5 4 3 2 X1 X1 X2 X4 X1 X2 X11 X3 X2 X2 X1 X1 X3 X1 1 2 3 32 EXPERIMENT 13...

Page 35: ...Gyrocar 4 5 6 The Models Putting Your Solar Panel to Work 33 EXPERIMENT 13...

Page 36: ...Gyrocar 22 8 7 9 The model will run better with 1 mm gaps between the gears and frames 34 EXPERIMENT 13...

Page 37: ...ILL NEED 44 parts from the kit 20 15 11 11 25 24 23 22 20 18 17 15 14 12 11 9 8 7 6 5 3 2 X1 X2 X4 X2 X1 X2 X2 X2 X11 X2 X3 X1 X2 X1 X2 X1 X4 X1 1 2 3 4 5 The Models Putting Your Solar Panel to Work 3...

Page 38: ...Sports car 22 22 23 6 7 8 9 36 EXPERIMENT 14...

Page 39: ...Sports car The model will run better with a 1 mm gap between the gear and frame 11 12 10 The Models Putting Your Solar Panel to Work 37 EXPERIMENT 14...

Page 40: ...ht materials are used In solar vehicle design weight and surface area are two key factors the lower the weight the less power you need to move a vehicle the greater the surface area the more solar ele...

Page 41: ...ILL NEED 44 parts from the kit 25 24 22 20 18 17 15 14 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 X1 X1 X2 X2 X4 X1 X1 X1 X2 X1 X2 X10 X2 X4 X2 X2 X1 X2 X2 X1 1 6 2 3 4 5 The Models Putting Your Solar Panel to Work 3...

Page 42: ...Excavator 20 22 11 7 12 8 9 10 40 EXPERIMENT 15...

Page 43: ...11 11 10 The model will run better with a 1 mm gap between the gear and frame Make sure this axle does not stick out through the gear 13 14 15 16 17 18 The Models Putting Your Solar Panel to Work 41 E...

Page 44: ...Solar fan YOU WILL NEED 38 parts from the kit 25 24 21 20 19 18 17 15 14 12 11 9 8 7 6 5 3 2 1 X1 X1 X2 X4 X2 X1 X1 X1 X2 X9 X2 X4 X2 X1 X1 X1 X1 X1 X1 1 2 3 4 42 EXPERIMENT 16...

Page 45: ...Solar fan 21 20 11 11 6 7 8 5 The Models Putting Your Solar Panel to Work 43 EXPERIMENT 16...

Page 46: ...Solar fan Leave a good distance between the wheel and frame 11 9 10 44 EXPERIMENT 16...

Page 47: ...WILL NEED 37 parts from the kit 25 23 22 20 19 18 17 15 14 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 X1 X1 X2 X2 X4 X1 X1 X1 X1 X1 X8 X2 X4 X2 X1 X1 X1 X1 X1 X1 10 1 6 2 3 4 5 The Models Putting Your Solar Panel to Wor...

Page 48: ...Rotating plane 23 22 11 7 12 8 9 10 46 EXPERIMENT 17...

Page 49: ...Rotating plane The small and medium gears must be meshing 13 14 15 Kapitel berschrift 47 EXPERIMENT 17...

Page 50: ...Helicopter YOU WILL NEED 35 parts from the kit 25 23 22 19 18 17 15 14 12 11 10 7 6 5 3 2 X1 X2 X3 X2 X1 X2 X2 X10 X2 X4 X1 X1 X1 X1 X1 X1 11 11 1 2 3 4 48 EXPERIMENT 18...

Page 51: ...Helicopter 23 10 10 6 7 5 The Models Putting Your Solar Panel to Work 49 EXPERIMENT 18...

Page 52: ...Helicopter 22 8 9 Make sure there is a good distance between the small gear and the solar motor unit 50 EXPERIMENT 18...

Page 53: ...YOU WILL NEED 29 parts from the kit 25 24 23 22 18 15 14 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 X1 X1 X1 X2 X2 X2 X1 X1 X1 X1 X1 X6 X1 X1 X1 X2 X1 X2 X1 22 1 2 3 5 4 The Models Putting Your Solar Panel to Work 51...

Page 54: ...Hammer machine 22 23 10 6 7 8 9 52 EXPERIMENT 19...

Page 55: ...Hammer machine 11 11 12 13 14 10 The Models Putting Your Solar Panel to Work 53 EXPERIMENT 19...

Page 56: ...Robot knight YOU WILL NEED 44 parts from the kit 25 23 22 19 18 17 15 14 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 X1 X1 X2 X1 X4 X1 X1 X2 X2 X2 X2 X12 X1 X4 X1 X2 X1 X2 X1 X1 1 6 3 4 2 5 54 EXPERIMENT 20...

Page 57: ...Robot knight 11 11 22 10 7 8 9 10 The Models Putting Your Solar Panel to Work 55 EXPERIMENT 20...

Page 58: ...Robot knight 23 22 10 11 12 13 14 Make sure the cams shaft pins are positioned in the medium gears as shown 56 EXPERIMENT 20...

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Page 60: ...180 The unit of time is the second s 3 600 s 60 minutes min 1 hour h The unit of mass is the kilogram kg 1 kg 1 000 grams g 1 000 000 milligrams mg The unit of speed is meters per second m s This unit...

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