Wednesday April 9t

Conventional current is the flow of positive charge. The charge flows from postive to Negative. However, in reality electrons are being flowing in the oppositive direction. Electronn current is when electrons (or the negative charge) are flowing from positive to negative. The Right Hand Rule is important because it shows the direction of the magnetic field aoudn a current carrying conductor. By putting your thumb upright, is shows the currents direction. The direction that the fingers curl show the direction of the magnetic field. The concentric cirlces of the magnetic field aorund a current carrying wire can be labeled with dots or crosses. Solenoids is the wire wound as a helix around a metallic core. When an electrical current is passed through it, it creates a magnetic field. A bar magnet is similiar to the field shape of a solenoid madnetic field. The field can increase with greater current, more turns of wire, and soft iron core. When using the right hand rule for a solenoid, the thumb must point to the north pole.

Wimshurst Machine

This machine creates electric charges through electrostatic induction and is used to generate high voltages. It was develeped between 1880 and 1883 by a British inventor by the name of James Wimshurst. This machine consists of two insulated disks and their metal sectors which rotate in opposite directions. This movement creates an imbalance of charges which is amplified and collected by two pairs of metal combs. These combs have points placed near the surfaces of each disk and are mounted on insulated supports. These are then connected to the output terminals. If everything goes as planned you will see a spark jump across the gap.

Tuesday April 1st

Today we started out the day by going over our homework from last night. (it was that packet with all the different circuits) A few things to remember is to watch out for when it is K-ohms. It is a good review, definately worth doing if you haven't already. We then started with notes. It was pretty much a review of yesterdays lesson. See Pauls post if you missed Monday! We worked on a practice worksheet as well. It was helpful because it helped to reinforce and actually see these rules applied. A few things to note when drawing circuits. Be careful as to where you place the Ammeter. Be sure to place it where you get the full currect and not between where the current may be split. You can use your reference table to help you with the signs that need to be used. Also another thing from the Practice Worksheet always look at the different options you have to equations.
We also learned about meters in circuits.
A voltmeter: It is connected in a parallel circuit and it is intended to measure potential difference between two positions in a circuit. It has an extremely high internal resistance which means it won't let much current through.
A Ammeter: It measures current through a single point in a circuit. It has an extremely low internal resistance which creates an extremely small voltage drop.
There was no homework assigned today. There is a test Monday, I suggest doing the review packets.

Today we analyzed circuits, learning primarily about equivalent resistance, which is always measured from the source. The equation is R=V/I. There are two primary types of circuits, series and parallel. Series circuits have only one path for the current to travel, with many drops of potential along the way. Here is picture of a series circuit:

The current in a series circuit is the same throughout, and the sum of the potential drops is equal to the source potential. In this type of circuit, resistance is measured as the sum of the resistance of its components. On the other hand, parallel circuits have only one potential drop because there are multiple paths for the current to flow. In this case, total current is measured by the sum of the branch currents, which is equal to the current supplied by the source. Here is a picture of a parallel circuit:


As in a series circuit, resistance in a parallel circuit is measured as the sum of the resistance of its branch resistors, however the reciprocal must be taken in this case. That just about wraps up today’s lesson, peace.

3/26

Today we learned about circuits and currents.

We learned the difference between an alternating current and direct current which is self explanitory by the name

We learned what a current was, the flow of electric charge, and that the symbol was I. The unit of charge is an Ampere or Amp.

Resistance is the opposition to current flow and is represented by the symbol R. Its unit is the Ohm.

Ohm's Law-At constant temperature, the current in a metallic conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference between its ends.

Ohm's law has a few equations such as R=V/I, I=V/R, and V=IR

3/28/08 Circuits Blog

Equivalent Resistance = V/I

Ohm's Law applies to the circuit as a whole, and to each individual resistor. We can build circuits in several different configurations. The current flow can branch out and back in.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Today we started off writing sentences that accuratley incorporate the word circuit. We then went to notes where we learned about circuits. An electrical circuit is a closed loop or path through which charged particles can travel through. A closed electrical circuit allows for an electrical current to form. An electrical current is formed by a source of potential differences and includes one or more resistances.

We then learned about how water is analagous to electrical flow. We also watched a video on electrical flow. This video mentioned how the invention of the battery revolutionized technology and eventually led to Thomas Edison to develop electricity lamp.

Then we learned about circuit elements. Circuit elements include:

Source elements, which produce a potential difference

Load elements, which is a device that the source is connected to

Control elements, that controls the flow of electric current such as a switch

We also learned some new terms such as Current (I) which is the flow of electric charges. It is also the time-rate at which charge flows past a given point in a circuit. We found out that other electrical terms and equations are in our reference tables. The equation I= the change in charge (q)/ time(t).

Question #63

The Wimshurst Machine

The Leyden Jar

A leyden jar is a 1746 device that is still very known today. It was first created by the Dutch physicist Pieter van Musschenbroek of the University of Leyden and Ewald Georg von Kliest of Pomerania, working separately. However, today, most of the credit of the device is given to Pieter.
A leyden jar is made up of a glass jar with an outer and inner coating of metal which covers the bottom and sides of the jar almost up as far as the neck. Sealing the jar is a wooden stopper with a brass rod through the center of it. This brass rod has a ball at the external end of it and connects internally with the metal coating through a loose chain. This is shown in the picture above. When a charge is applied to the knob at the end of the rod, positive and negative charges emerge from the metal coating on either side of the jar. However, they are not able to discharge because of the glass between them. This means that there are two conductors (the metal covering) which are separated by an insulator (glass). As a result, the positive and negative charges hold themselves together in equilibrium until a grounding force is applied. This results in a storage of electricity. To use this electricity, the two conductors must be somehow connected, either with a wire which would allow the use of this electricity, or with a hand which could result in a serious shock. It was the very first capacitor.
The Wimshurst Machine was created by an Englishman named James Wimshurst who was part of the shipping business for the British Board of Trade. Today, however, he is known for his work in improving the Voss’ electrostatic generator. He changed the design so that the disks of the machine contra-rotate. The metal foil portions on the disks induce charges on each other which can be taken off by small, metal brushes and stored within the Leyden jars mentions above. The Wimshurst machine works through the quantum effect in that when two different conducting metals touch each other, a small current is transferred between them because of the different number of electrons in their atoms. This is able to occur on this machine when the sectors in the disk pass through one of the charge neutralizers. Once this occurs, the sector becomes charged and when it passes by a sector on the other side of the disk, it results in an equal and opposite charge on that sector. The front disk has one charge and as it spins, it begins to create a negative charge on the other side of the disk. This also occurs with the lower part of the disks but reverse. Therefore, when the sector passes by the neutralizer bar, it becomes neutral and is ready to be charged again. As a result, there are low and opposite charges on the top and bottom and high and equal charges on the sides. The high charges are then transferred over to the layden jars attached to the machine which are then connected to the discharge terminals. After the voltage builds up, a spark occurs across the terminals and the cycle begins over again. The entire process is demonstrated in the clip listed below:
http://www.wimshurstmachine.com/

Sources:

http://www.powerlabs.org/wimshurst.htm

http://www.sparkmuseum.com/LEYDEN.HTM

http://www.thebakken.org/electricity/Leyden-jar.html

Question #63

Throughout history there have been many early sources that helped us study static electricity. One of the most earliest sources was the leyden jar. The main idea behind the leyden jar was the concept was to store electrical energy, most likely between two conductors. This device was invented by the brilliant Pieter van Musschenbroek in the year of 1745. It later became credited as the first capacitor, but was first referred to as a condenser. After energy was stored, it could be used to charge something. A leyden jar would have looked like the following.


Another notable invention was the Wimshurst Machine. This was a device that was created by James Wimshurst. It was invented around the year 1880. Unlike the other device, this one was used to generate electricity, not store it. It would later be referred to as an electrostatic generator. It was designed to have two roatating discs which allowed a current of electrons to be transferred between. Both of these inventions were notable in the field of electricity.

The Wimshurst Machine was developed between 1880 and 1883 by James Wimshurts. It is an electrostatic device created for the purpose of generating high voltages. It has two contra-rotating discs on a vertical spine with two cross bars, metallic brushes, and a spark gap. It is an influence machine because it creates electric charges through electrostatic induction. It is self-starting but does need mechanical power initially to rotate the disks. The current produced is constant and proportional to the size of the metals disks and the rate at which they are rotating. The Leyden Jar is an early storage device for electric charge. It was the first capacitor. The original form of the device was just a glass bottle partially filled with water, with a metal wire passing through a cork closing it. Soon it was found that it was better to coat the exterior of the jar with metal foil, leaving the impure water inside acting as a conductor. Franklin invented his electric bells in the middle of the 18th century when noticed that a pith ball or cork would initially be attracted to a charged object, but if the two touched the ball would be repelled. He realized that this was because the two objects were initially charged differently but once they touched they took on the same charge. Franklin realized that if he replaced the charged object with a bell, he could make an "electric bell." He soon found practical use for his bell as a lightning detector. When connected it to his lightning rod, the bell would ring whenever an electrical storm was nearby.

Chapter 20: Question #63

Katie Shill
12 March 2008

Numerous research devices were used in the 17th and 18th centuries to study static electricity, including the Leyden jar and the Wimshurst machine. First, the Leyden jar was invented in 1745 by a man named Pieter van Musschenbroek. The Leyden jar was the first capacitor. A capacitor is an electronic device that can store energy in the electric field between a pair of conductors. The process of storing energy in the capacitor is known as "charging", and involves electric charges of equal magnitude, but opposite polarity, building up on each plate.
A battery of four Leyden jars:

Another invention used during this time period was Wimshurst machine. The Wimshurst machine is an electrostatic device for generating high voltages. It has a distinctive appearance with two large rotating discs mounted in a vertical plane, two cross bars with metallic brushes, and a spark gap formed by two metal spheres.
A Wimshurst machine with two Leyden jars:

Works Cited

chem.ch.huji.ac.il/instruments/archaic/leyden_jars.htm

www.wikipedia.org/

Question #63

The leyden jar was an early device created for storing charge. It was invented in 1745 by Peter van Musschenbroek. It was the first capacitor ever invented and was used in many early electricle experiments. The creation of this device pathed the way for further progresses in electricity and its storage.

The leyden jar worked by having an electrode connected to a foil inside of a jar. A conducting foil was rapped around the outside of the jar. Or the inside of the jar was partially filled with water. The water at first was used as a conducter, later they found that foil works better to collect the charge. The process was powered by an electrostatic generorator. The charge is stored in the glass of the leyden jar. The thinner the dielectric and the closer the plates were to each other increased the capacity at a certain voltage. It has later been found that the dielectrics were not neccesarry but just increased the capacity and prevented arcing between the plates.

The leyden jar was a break through in the storage of electricity. This discovery eventually led to the modern capacitor.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Today in class we talked about action at a distance.  The electrostatic force is an example of action at a distance.  Non contact forces are action at a distance forces.  Gravity is another example of action at a distance forces.  A diagram was given of an electroscope.  A charged balloon was moved toward the electroscope and it acted on the electroscope at a distance.  Action at a distance forces are also known as field forces.  An electric charge creates an electric field.  This field alters the space around it.  The magnitude of electric field strength is equal to force per unit changed.  The direction of the force exerted on a positive test charge.  The electric field is made up of a single point charge; either positive or negative, a charged conducting sphere, or two point charges; both either negative or positive, and a pair of charged parallel plates.  The point charge equals all charge concentrated at a point.  A charged conducting sphere acts as though all the charge were concentrated at the center.  A field within a charged conducting sphere is zero.  The same principle is used in the faraday cage.  A diagram of a pair of positive point charges, a pair of negative point charges, and one point charge that is negative and one that is positive.  The electromagnetic field always runs in through the negative point charge and out through the positive point charge.  A diagram of charged parallel plates was shown.  The top plate was positively charged and the bottom plate was negatively charged.  The field was moving in a downward fashion, from the positive to the negative.  The intensity of electric field varies inversely with the square of the distance from the point charge.  The greater intensity seen by greater concentration of field lines.  Two diagrams showed how more lines indicated stronger electric fields and the way the way the field lines were when objects had unequal charges. 

Chapter 20 Question 63

Static electricity has been studied for a very long time, beginning in 600 BC. People discovered that when amber was rubbed with cat fur, pieces of paper were attracted to the amber. This basic knowledge was able to help later scientists in their studies of static electricity. People experimented with electricity by using conductors, and discovered that sparks, chains, and strips could pass to these conductors which joined the conductors to insulated glass globes (Electrical Machines History). Later, in the seventeenth century, Otto Von Guericke invented a machine that produced static electricity (Artwork LDC). Inside a glass globe, Von Guerbicke placed a sulfur ball mounted on a pole. This machine was rotated by a hand crank. When it was spinning, it rubbed against a pad which then generated static electricity sparks (Artwork LDC). This machine was the first electric generator.
During the eighteenth century, machines involving static electricity improved. One of these machines was the Ramsden Friction Machine. This machine was made up of a circular piece of glass which was on an axle. The machine was turned by a handle which allowed it to rub against two pads. This caused the machine to be electrified on two sides (Electrical Machines History). When the handle turned, the glass plate was charged positively. The plate repelled positive charges to the ends of the conductors and left parts of them with a negative charge (Electrical Machines History). Friction allowed the glass to be continuously positively re-electrified.
In 1772, a scientist by the name of LeRoy invented a machine that included two insulated cyllindric conductors that were placed horizontally. These conductors collected both positive and negative charges. One of the conductors was positively charged while the other was negatively charged (Electrical Machines History). Van Marum created another machine which was similar to Ramsden's. The object of the machine was to collect positive and negative charges (Electrical Machines History).

Works Cited:

Artwork LDC. Ottoman Von Guericke 1602-1686. About.com: Inventors. 2008. 11 March 2008. >.

Electrical Machines History. Sparks Museum Early Radio and Scientific Apparatus. 11 March 2008. <http://www.sparksmuseum.com/FRICTION_HIST.HTM>.

Kodiac1. Static Electricity. Urban Dictionary. 3 July 2006. 11 March 2006. >.

Fiber Optics Project

You hear the term fiber optics alot when people talk about telephone systems and cable tv. They have become a large part of our society helping us to become more technologically advanced. This technology helps with many things you would never expect. They are hiding in many electronics we rely on such as cable, phones, many internet providers use them, and they are used in many other electronics like surround sound. This technology provides us with a way to get information fast and makes everyday life a lot easier for everyone.

So we use fiber optic cables everday without knowing it, how does it work? The primary idea revolves around light traveling to provide fast transport of information. This occurs by taking an insulator primarily plastic or glass and using it to prevent the light energy from escaping. The light then travels through the cable which is hollowed out. The light is kept inside of the core by total internal reflection. This prevents loss of information and provides fast transport. The use of this technique causes the fiber to act as a wave guide. There are multimode fibers and single mode fibers. These are the main to kinds of fiber optic cables. The multimode fibers have more than one path for the light to travel down while the single mode fibers only have one. The multimode fibers are less common and are used for carrying large amounts of data shorter distances, they are used of often in buildings. The single mode fibers are used more often and are good for distances longer than 200 meters, these are the fibers used in phone wires.


Fiber optics are more complicated to put together than metal wires. They must be evenly cut and fitted together properly. The benefits are there though. The speed of light provides fast and large information travel possible. They have very high bandwidth which is what allows for the large amount of data travel. They also do not radiate which means no interference at all. This is relevent because when two singnals interfere their quality decreases. An example would be when you hold a cell phone next to a radio of some kind. If anyone has done this often you will get a loud noise thats extremely annoying. This makes fiber optics much better than metal wires because all electronics not using fiber optics give off radiation. This is why many orginizations such as the NSA (national security association) use fiber optics because the radiation caused by regular wire can be picked up and cause data to be stolen. Fiber optics is used for security for its unique ability to insulate and not loose any photons at all. In the end there is no reason not to use fiber optics unless you dont need the speed or the capacity otherwise it is the future and will continue to provide some of the best data transportation.

The principle behind light guiding used in fiber optics was first displayed by Daniel Colladon and Jaques Babinet in 1840. John Biard helped to pioneer the idea in the 1920's he was a television pioneer. The pricnicples set by these men helped usher in the idea of fiber optics. In 1970 the Corning Co. created a fiber optic cable made of glass that made long distance use possible. The use of this new technology allowed for the creation of the internet.

Fiber optics have a huge effect on our lives each day without them many of the conveniences we take for granted would not be possible.

Question #63

There were many different devices used in the 17th and 18th century to study static electricity. One of the main ones was the Leyden Jar. This was invented in 1775 and was used to store electric charges. Today the inner and outer charges store equal (but opposite) charges. The original make of this “jar” was that it was a glass jar filled with water and usually contained a cork with a metal chain passing through it. Today it is made out of dielectric, which is an insulator with a layer of metal foil on the inside and outside. The outside is grounded and a charge is given to the inside, which then creates that equal, but opposite charge. Then when the two surfaces (the outside and the inside) are connected with a conductor there is a spark. This spark makes everything turn back to normal. The amount of charge these devices can store depends on the applied voltage and its capacitance. Which basically means it depends on the area of the foil or metal used, the exact material between the two layers and the thickness of the material. This would be a typical set up:

There was one machine in particular that actually was used in treating various health issues, such as: treating paralysis muscle spasms, and to control heart rates. Those being the main uses but they were also used for filling the body with electricity, drawing sparks from the body, and applying sparks from the generator to the body. These machines were called the Ramsden electrostatic machines. Another interesting fact was that these machines were actually used to charge the Leyden Jar. All you had to do was to touch the top of the Leyden Jar which then formed static electricity which would then be stored in the jar.

Invented in 1745 by Pieter van Musschenbroek, the Leyden Jar is an early device for storing electric charge. The most common design has a top electrode electrically connected to a metal foil coating part of the inner surface of a glass jar. A foil is then wrapped around the outside of the jar; the jar is charged by an electrostatic generator which is connected to the inner electrode while the outer plate remains grounded. In short, this is a way of storing fairly large amounts of electric charge (for the time period).

The Wimshurst machine is an electrostatic device that is used for generating high voltages. Developed between 1880 and 1883 by James Wimshurst, it belongs to a class of generators called influence machines, which are able to create electric charges by the process of electrostatic induction. Two insulated disks and their respective metal sectors are designed to rotate in opposite directions, passing a crossed metal neutralizer and it’s brushes. As a result, there is an imbalance of charges; when the imbalance reaches the breaking point, a spark jumps across the gap.

History of Science

Benjamin began to be interested in electricity in 1745. At that time long glass tubes, about 3 feet, and about an inch to an inch and a half in diameter were rubbed either with a dry hand or with brown paper dried by the fire. There are two categories of electrical machines. These two categories are Friction and Influence. A friction machine generates static electricity by direct physical contact. Objects such as a glass sphere, a cylinder or plate is rubbed by a pad as it passes by. While influence machines produce charge with no physical contact. There are many scientists such as:

• Benjamin Franklin- Who developed the terms positive and negative. He wrote the book Experiments and Observations. In this book he “discusses the action of pointed conductors (i.e. the lightening rod), the use of lead as the inner coat of a Leyden Jar, and describes in detail his famous kite experiment.”
  





• Jean Antione Nollet- In 1745 he developed a theory. This theory was about electrical attraction and repulsion that questioned the existence of the flow of electrical matter between charged bodies.
  





• Allessandro Volta- He invented the Battery in 1800. He experimented with two different metals in a conductive environment. He also experimented with muscle spasms, he noted that these were the result of external electrical stimulation.
  

The Leyden jar was created through Pieter van Musschenbroek’s work in 1746. A Leyden jar is made of a glass jar with an outer and inner metal coating covering the bottom and sides. This metal coating nearly covers all the way up to the neck. Then there is a brass rod that ends in a knob that is external. The knob passes through a wooden stopper and is connected to the inner coating by a loose chain. Positive and negative charges accumulate from the two metal coatings when an electrical charge is applied to the external knob. As a result there will be equilibrium of charges until there is a discharge path provided. They were first used to store electricity when they were used in experiments and then they were used as a condenser when wireless equipment began to be invented

The electroscope was a device that was created by William Gilbert. It was originally called a versorium. It is a mental needle allowed to pivot freely on a pedestal. When charged bodies were brought near metal would be attracted to these charged bodies.

THE POST BELOW MR. WIRTH IS THE ANSWER OF QUESTION #63 FROM THE TEXT BOOK.

GARRETT ROOT

Static Electricity Blog 3/13/08

During one of his many experiments around the middle of the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin noticed that a pith ball or cork would initially be attracted to a charged object, but if the two touched the ball would be repelled. He realized that this was because the two objects were initially charged differently (dissimilar charges attract) but once they touched they took on the same charge (similar charges repel).

Franklin realized that if he replaced the charged object with a bell, he could make an "electric bell." He soon found practical use for his bell as a lightning detector. When connected it to his lightning rod, the bell would ring whenever an electrical storm was nearby.

Lyden Jar and Wimshurst Machine

Leyden Jar 1st picture
The Leyden jar was invented in the 1745 and it was was an early device for storing electric charge and it was the first capacitor. Leyden jars were used to conduct many early experiments in electricity.

A typical Leyden Jar design consisted of a top electrode electrically connected by some means (usually a chain) to a metal foil coating part of the inner surface of a glass jar. A conducting foil was wrapped around the outside of the jar, matching the internal coated area. The jar was charged by an electrostatic generator connected to the inner electrode while the outer plate was grounded. The inner and outer surfaces of the jar stored equal but opposite charges.

Benjamin Franklin investigated the Leyden jar and concluded that the charge was stored in the glass, not in the water. The charge was actually stored not in the conductors, but only in a thin layer along the facing surfaces that touch the glass, or dielectric, maybe leaking to the surface of the dielectric if contact is imperfect and the electric field is intense enough. Because of this, the fluid inside can be replaced with a metal foil lining. Experimenters found that the thinner the dielectric, the closer the plates, and the greater the surface, the greater the amount of charge that could be stored at a given voltage.

Further developments in electrostatics revealed that the dielectric material was not essential, but increased the storage capability (capacitance) and prevented arcing between the plates. The two plates separated by a small distance acted as a capacitor.

Wimshurst Machine 2nd picture
The Wimshurst machine was an electrostatic device for generating high voltages developed in 1880-1883 by. Its distinctive appearance has two large contra-rotating discs mounted in a vertical plane, two cross bars with metallic brushes, and a spark gap formed by two metal spheres.These machines belong to a class of generators called influence machines, which create electric charges through electrostatic induction, or influence.

In a Wimshurst machine, the two insulated disks and their metal sectors rotate in opposite directions passing the crossed metal neutralizer bars and their brushes. An imbalance of charges is induced, amplified, and collected by two pairs of metal combs with points placed near the surfaces of each disk. These collectors are mounted on insulating supports and connected to the output terminals. The positive feedback increases the accumulating charges exponentially until the dielectric breakdown voltage of the air is reached and a spark jumps across the gap.

The machine is self-starting which means that external electrical power is not required to create the initial charge. But the machine does require mechanical power to turn the disks against the electric field, and it's this energy that the machine converts into electric power. The output of the Wimshurst machine is a constant current that is proportional to the area covered by the metal sectors and the rotation speed. The insulation and the size of the machine determines the maximum output voltage that can be reached.

The Leyden Jar

The Leyden Jar was created by Pieter van Musschenbroek. Mussenbroek was a physcisit that created this "condenser" as the Leyden Jar is commonly called. this is because many people at the time thought that electricity behaved as matter and it could be condensed. The leyden jar was the first item that could store large amounts of charge. The leyden jar was also the first capacitator. It is also used to help build and store electric energy. The amount of charge that the leyden jar can store is related to the voltage applied to it x the capacitance of the leyden jar. The capacitance of the leyden jar depends on the area of the foil or metal and the type of material and the thickness of that material between the two layers of foil that make up the jar. The leyden jar was able to be charged by bringing the exposed end of an attached conducting wire into contact with a device that would generate static electricity. As the first object to store large amounts of charge, the Leyden jar paved the way towards advancing the study of electrostatics.

Sources:
http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/instruments/archaic/leyden_jars.htm
http://www.alaska.net/~natnkell/leyden.htm

#63

The Wimshurst machine was developed between 1880 and 1883 by a British inventor James Wimshurst. It created electric charges through electrostatic induction. It has two large contra-rotating discs mounted in a vertical plane, two cross bars with metallic brushes, and a spark gap formed by two metal spheres. The two insulated discs and their metal sectors rotate in opposite directions passing the crossed metal neutralizer bars and their brushes. The machine does not need any initial charge, but it does require mechanical power to turn the disks against the electric field. A difference of charges is induced and collected by the two metal combs near the surface of the discs. These collectors are put on insulating supports and attached to the output terminals. If there is positive feedback it will increase the accumulating charges continually until there is a spark that jumps across the gap which means there is a dielectric breakdown voltage of the air. The Leyden jar can be used to increase the accumulated spark energy.
The Leyden jar was invited in 1745 by Pieter van Musschenbroek. It is an early device for storing electric charge. This device was used to conduct many early experiments in electricity. Its appearance is a top electrode electrically connected usually by a chain to a metal foil coating part of the inner surface of a glass jar. Another foil is wrapped around the outside of the jar to match the internal coated area. The electrostatic generator is what the jar is charged by is connected to the inner electrode while the outer plate is grounded. Therefore the inner and outer surfaces of the jar store equal but opposite charges. The initial form of the Leyden jar was a glad bottle partly filled with water. It had a metal wire passing through a cork. The experimenter would take the role of the outer plate. Originally he believed that the charge was stored in the water. However, Benjamin Franklin investigated that the Leyden jar was actually stored in the glass, but only in a think layer along the facing surfaces that touch the glass.

3/10/08 Class Notes

Opposite charges attract, while like charges repel.

Objects aquire a static charge by the transfer of electrons

A coulomb is 6.25x10^18 elementary charges

Force obeys inverse square law



Conductors- objects that allow the flow of electricity to go through them



Insulators- objects that stop the flow of electricity from going through them



Conductivity is a continuum

An electric charge creates an electric field
If another charge gets close enough, it will be affected by the field

SI Unit= Newton/Coulomb (N/C)...Equation= E=Fe/q

#63

Many instruments were used by early scientists to study electricity. The Leyden jar is an early device for storing electric charge invented in 1745 by Pieter van Musschenbroek (1692–1761). It was the first capacitor. A capacitor is an electrical/electronic device that can store energy in the electric field between a pair of conductors. Leyden jars were used to conduct many early experiments in electricity. The original form of the device was just a glass bottle partially filled with water, with a metal wire passing through a cork closing it. The role of the outer plate was provided by the hand of the experimenter. Soon it was found that it was better to coat the exterior of the jar with metal foil.

Problem 63 Static electricity

Lyden Jar: Consists of a top electrode electrically connected to a metal foil coating of the inside of a glass jar. A conducting foil is wrapped around the outside of the jar. The jar is charged by an electrostatic generator connected to the inner electrode while the outer plate is grounded. The inner and outer surfaces of the jar store equal but opposite charges.
The original form was just a glass bottle filled a little with water, with a metal wire passing through a cork closing it. The outer plate was replaced by the hand of someone. It was believed that the charge was stored in the water. Now it is clear that the charge is actually stored not in the conductors, but only in a thin layer along the facing surfaces that touch the glass. The amount of capacitance was measured in number of 'jars' of a given size, or through the total coated area. A large Leyden jar has about 1 nF of capacitance.

Wimhurst Machine: Machine created electric charges through electrostatic induction. In a Wimshurst machine there are two insulated disks and their metal sectors rotate in opposite directions passing the crossed metal neutralizer bars and their brushes. An imbalance of charges is induced, amplified, and collected by two pairs of metal combs. These collectors are mounted on insulating supports and connected to the output terminals. The positive feedback increases the accumulating charges exponentially until the dielectric breakdown voltage of the air is reached and a spark jumps across the gap. The machine is self-starting and requires no external electrical power but does need mechanical power to turn the disks. The insulation and the size of the machine determine the maximum output voltage that can be reached. The output and the sparks can be increased if a lyden jar liked mentioned above is added to the output terminals.

P Boyar

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki>

Blog post 3/6/08

Today we learnt about some new topics Conservation of Charge was one of them. This states that the total charge in a system remains the same, and charge cannot be created or destroyed. Charges in a system can be transferred around to different objects. This stuff is basically taken straight from the conservation of energy idea. Apparently the amount of the charge must be a multiple of the elementary charge. As shown by the equation below.

Q = ne

Q= the charge on the object
N= the number of elementary charges
E= the elementary charge

You can charge an object through induction. You induce a charge separation, then ground one region of the charge. This was demonstrated to us through the electroscope.

We also learnt about coulombs law. The electrostatic force between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of the charges, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers. Sounds like gravity. This is all represented in the formula below.

Review of Electricity and matter 3/5

Today we reviewed the fact that matter is composed of atoms. The parts of the atoms are the proton which is positvely charged, the electron which has a negative charge, and the neutron which has a neutral charge. There was a video clip about Ben Franklin. Franklin was the first to publish the theory of electrical charge and force. We learned that the Coulomb is an SI unit of charge and it is a scalar quantity. 1 Coulomb is equal to 6.25x10^18 elementary charges. 1 elementary is equal o 1.60x10^-19C.

We learned when objects become positive and negative:

- objects will become electrically positive or negative when there is a loss or gain of electrons.

-Electrons are always in motion

-different materials have tendencies to gain or lose electrons relative to the material it comes into contact with.

Water:

- neutral objects can be attracted to a charged rod. this is because water has a partial positive and partial negative end.

The electroscope:

-the electroscope is used to determine the presence of a charge.

- an object of known charge is brought close to the electroscope, and the behavior is observed.

Grounding:

- grounding the electroscope means that electrons are added or removed to neutralize the static charge.

We are just beginning our unit on electricity, today was day one. Stemming from New Latin, electricity means “amber-like,” because some really old guys put it together that rubbing amber on fur would result in the attraction of very light objects such as feathers. They had way too much time on their hands. To kick off our new little unit, Mr. Wirth aka “Dubbs,” began by performing the following demos: rubber and fur, glass and silk, rotating rod, magic water, and the electroscope. The electroscope is used to detect the magnitude of electric charge on a body. A gold leaf electroscope is pictured below:

Notice that the two gold leaves separate from each other, indicating the presence of an electric charge. If the electroscope is brought near a charged object, without touching it, the leaves diverge, because charges in the disk with identical polarity to the charged object are repelled to the leaves. A pretty complicated way to tell that something is electrically charged, but it gets the job done. Next up is static electricity. It is not really static because electrons have obviously moved around, but in any case the electrons stick to objects that are poor conductors of electricity. This phenomenon of static electricity requires a sustained separation of positive and negative charges; when you touch the surface that is charged, you get a pretty sick shock. Ever shocked someone on their neck with your finger? That’s pretty much static electricity right there. This is quite possibly the most messed up picture I have ever seen, but it shows what’s up with static electricity. Don’t let this be you:

The fundamental idea behind electricity is matter, and the fact that it is composed of atoms. In turn, atoms are composed of protons, electrons, and neutrons. Protons have a positive charge, electrons have a negative charge, and as you may be able to guess neutrons are neutral. Certain objects can and do become electrically positive or negative when they have a lack or an excess of electrons. Why electrons and not protons? Protons are constant; they are trapped in the nucleus of the atom and cannot get out. When an object has an equal number of protons and electrons, it is electrically neutral. We have here students a picture of an atom:

By loosing or gaining electrons, metals become positively or negatively charged. For the rest of the class we watched a short video. Peace-PC

The Human Eye

Taryn McCrobie
The Human Eye
The eye is an essential organ within the human body. Without it, our days would be dark and gloomy. We wouldn’t be able to witness the wonders of a rainbow or the magic of a starry night. Although we constantly use our eyes, most people do not know very much about them. Therefore, by researching the anatomy, function, and problems of the eyes, I was able to not only expand my knowledge, but will now also be able to take better care of my eyes.
The eye is a very unique and important organ within the human body and it contains three layers of tissue to allow it to do its job. The first of these layers is called the sclerotic coat (sclera). This is a tough layer which appears white everywhere except the cornea. The cornea is a raised area on the front of the eye which admits light and bends the light rays so that a single image can be made. In order to perform its essential function, the cornea is kept moist and clean by the secretions of the tear ducts in each eye. This is made possible by the conjunctiva which is a mucus membrane on the inside of the eyelids. When an infection occurs in this area, it is called conjunctivitis, more commonly known as pink eye (Basic).
The second layer of light is called the choroids coat and is extremely pigmented with melanin. The major job of this layer is to reduce the reflection of light within the eye so that a more focused image may be produced. It also contains the blood vessels that supply blood to all of the structures of the eye. The choroids coat on the front of the eye is called the iris and is forms the color of the eye depending on how much melanin there is. Less melanin makes blue eyes while more makes brown. The ciliary body is also a part of the second layer of the eye. This is a muscular area that is attached to the lens to control the amount of light that enters the eye by regulating the size of the lens. The dilator is the muscle that allows the iris to become smaller which makes the pupil larger to allow more light to come in. This is good for human vision at night because each shred of light that can be reflected into our eye allows us to see our dim environment better. There is also the sphincter which makes the iris larger and the pupil smaller to allow less light within the eye. This is helpful in broad daylight when there is more than enough light to see things around us and too much of it could damage our eyes (Basic).
Finally, the last layer of the eye is the retina. This contains cones and rods which are the light-sensing portion of the eye. Rods are used for vision in low light while cones are used for color vision and detail. In the center of the retina is the macula and in the center of that is the fovea centralis, an area which contains only cone cells and is responsible for seeing the details of the environment around us. The retina is also made up of a chemical called rhodopsin called “visual purple” that converts light into electrical impulses that the brain deciphers into vision. To do this, there are also the retinal nerve fibers at the back of the eye which form the optic nerve. The optic nerve then conducts the electrical impulses to the brain. However, there is one section within the eye where the optic nerve and the blood vessels exit the retina. This spot is called the optic disk and results in a blind spot because of the lack of rods and cones. Lucky, each eye covers the other eyes blind spot so no grief comes of it. The optic disk is represented in the picture to the right (Basic).
Within the eyeball are two chambers full of fluid and separated by the lens. The larger of these contains a clear gel called the vitreous humor. The second chamber contains aqueous humor which is also clear but very watery fluid. This section is split up into two parts called the anterior chamber and the posterior chamber. The liquid is produced in the ciliary body and is drained through the canal of Schlemm (Basic).
The eye also contains a lens which is shaped as a bi-convex structure and is about 10mm in diameter. The lens is able to change shape because it is attached to muscles around the eye. This part is essential for fine-tune vision (Basic).
Since it is so delicate, the eyeball is protected within the orbital cavity which is made of bone. Within the bone, the eye is in a layer of fat which is similar to resting on a pillow. The eyelids protect the open portion of the eye from dust by blinking away dust and dirt in the air. This also keeps the eyes moist by spreading the liquid from the tear ducts. Tears are produced through lacrimal glands which are located above the outer segment of each eye and then drain down into the inner corners of each eye. Finally, eyelashes and eyebrows protect the eyes from larger particles that may result in injury. However, the eyeball is still able to move around because the orbital cavity is round and the fat is flexible. The muscles that allow this movement may be seen in the picture above (Basic).
In order to see color, various color-responsive chemicals in the cones are used called cone pigments. It is very similar to the mechanics of the rods except photopsins are used instead of scotopsin. This leaves the pigments to be made of retinal and photopsins and creates three kinds of color-sensitive pigments. These include red-sensitive pigment, green-sensitive pigment, and blue-sensitive pigment. Each cone cell has one of these pigments and can therefore only sense one of these colors. In addition, the eye is able to see almost any color that results from a mix of one of the three pigment colors. The diagram to the right shows the wavelengths of the three types of cones at the colors peak absorbency (Color Vision).
However, since the eye is such a complex organ, it can have numerous problems. One such problem is color blindness. Color blindness can be defined as “the inability to differentiate between different colors.” This problem is more common among males (eight percent of males are color blind) than females (four percent of females are color blind). The most common type of color blindness is with red-green and occurs when either the red of green cones are not present or not performing as they should. Fortunately, people with this problem, are still able to somewhat see these two colors, however, they often mix them up. This is a genetic disorder that is carried on the X chromosome and is very rare in seeing only different shades of gray (Color Blindness).
Another very serious problem is blindness. Normal vision (or visual acuity) is determined by reading a Snellen eye chart (to the left) and can be defined as 20/20 (being able to see an average amount of details from twenty feet away. 20/40 vision represents bad vision in that while you stand twenty feet away from something, you are only able to see what a normal person can see at forty feet. This logic continues up to 20/100 and at 20/200, one reaches the cutoff for legal blindness in the United States (Normal Vision). There are various ways that a person can become blind. A common one of these are cataracts which is cloudiness in the lens that blocks light from reaching the retina. Luckily, this may be cured through surgery by removing the lens and replacing it with an intraocular lens. Another way that a person may become blind is through glaucoma. This occurs when the aqueous humor fails to drain correctly and pressure builds up in the eye. This causes the cells and nerve fibers in the back of the eye to die. However, this may also be treated with medication and surgery. Diabetic retinopathy can also cause blindness and is the result of diabetes. A person with diabetes can easily get a blockage or leakage of blood vessels which can lead to scarring and ultimately, blindness. This may be treated with laser surgery. Trachoma is an infection that is caused by an organism called Chlamydia trachomatis which often causes blindness. However, it is very rare in the United States because it can easily be treated with antibiotics (Blindness).
Another common problem of the eye is nearsightedness and farsightedness. Nearsightedness (shown at the right) occurs when a person can only clearly see objects that are close by. Objects that are farther away are brought into focus at a point in front of the retina which makes them appear fuzzy. However, a diverging lens can be placed in front of the eye to adjust the light rays so that the image rests on the retina, creating a focused image. Farsightedness on the other hand can only clearly see objects that are farther away. Close objects are focused at a point behind the retina which also creates a fuzzy image. A converging lens can be used to cure this, however, by allowing images to once again, rests directly on the retina. Farsightedness can be show in the picture below (Sight).
A less common problem that occurs within the eye is Vitamin A deficiency. As a result of extreme deficiency, night blindness may occur. Vitamin A is necessary for retinal which is part of the rhodopsin molecule within rods. When there is a lack of Vitamin A, the levels of light-sensitive molecules become low. With this, the low amount of light may not be able to be detected by the weakened eyes. However, during the day, there is enough light for vision even if there is a low amount of Vitamin A (Vitamin A).
We all know that the eye plays an essential role in our every day activities. However, many people don’t know how complex the eye can be, and how many problems it may obtain. By learning more about it, we may be able to prevent getting these various problems in the future.


Works Cited

Bianco, Dr. Carl. "Basic Anatomy." How Vision Works. How Stuff Works. 3 Mar 2008

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Bianco, Dr. Carl. "Blindness." How Vision Works. How Stuff Works. 3 Mar 2008

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Bianco, Dr. Carl. "Color Vision." How Vision Works. How Stuff Works. 3 Mar 2008

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Bianco, Dr. Carl. "Color Blindness." How Vision Works. How Stuff Works. 3 Mar 2008

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Bianco, Dr. Carl. "Normal Vision." How Vision Works. How Stuff Works. 3 Mar 2008

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Bianco, Dr. Carl. "Vitamin A Deficiency." How Vision Works. How Stuff Works. 3 Mar

2008 .

Sight. Think Quest Junior. 3 Mar 2008

.

Human Eye

The human eye is unique in that it accommodates for different light intensities and also focuses light rays that come from different distances from the eye. Light is then converted into impulses and sent to the brain where this image is perceived as what it looks like. Vision is very dependent on light. The light rays are reflected off object and then make their way into the eye. The light rays enter the eye through the cornea and the cornea refracts the light as it enters the eye. After passing through the cornea the light rays pass through the opening called the pupil. The iris is the part of the eye that controls the dilation of the pupil. This allows a certain amount of light into the eye.

How we see colors- The retina has cells called rods and cones. The rods and cones absorb light rays and change them into electrical signals. The electrical signals are then transmitted to the brain, which produces the familiar sensations of color. If any part of this system is damaged, then people may lose their ability to see some or all colors.

Color Blindness- The inability to perceive differences between some or all colors Two main types of colorblindness: Red/Green Blue/Yellow

Causes- Often due to genetics Also can result from damage to certain areas of the body… Eye, Nerves, Brain, Exposure to certain chemicals

Signs/Symptoms- Difficulty distinguishing between reds and greens Difficulty distinguishing blues and greens Objects appearing as various shades of gray Reduced vision Nystagmus-involuntary eye movement

Diagnosis- Most commonly detected with Ishihara Test Plates Ishihara Test Plates-Special colored charts that are composed of colored dots that form the shape of a number If the patient can not distinguish between certain colors then they will not be able to detect the number on the chart.

Treatment- No known treatment People with colorblindness learn to associate certain colors with objects to better identify colors. This helps in determining and recognizing certain colors.

Statistics- The most common form of color blindness is Red/Green Color Blindness Consists of 99% of Color Blindness cases Blue/Yellow color blindness is rare Total color blindness is extremely rare

Rainbows

Rainbows are optical and meteorological phenomena that have amazed people for as long as time. The beautiful colors that appear in a rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) all make for an exquisite sight to see.
The “bow” part of the word describes the fact that the rainbow is a group of nearly circular arcs of color all having a common center. Though rainbows are bow-shaped in most cases, there are also phenomena of rainbow-colored strips in the sky: in the shape of stripes, circles or even flames. So it is not always a rain”bow!”
Rainbows cause a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines onto droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. The traditional rainbow is sunlight spread out into its spectrum of colors and diverted to the eye of the observer by water droplets. The rainbow's appearance is caused by dispersion of sunlight as it goes through raindrops. The light is first refracted as it enters the surface of the raindrop, reflected off the back of the drop, and again refracted as it leaves the drop. The overall effect is that the incoming light is reflected back over a wide range of angles, with the most concentrated light at an angle of 40°–42°. A color that travels more slowly in glass will bend more sharply when it passes from air to glass, because the speed difference is more severe. A color that moves more quickly in glass won't slow down as much, so it will bend less sharply. In this way, the colors that make up white light are separated according to frequency when they pass through glass. If the glass bends the light twice, as in a prism, you can see the separated colors more easily. This is called dispersion. Drops of rainwater can refract and disperse light in the same basic way as a prism. In the right conditions, this refraction forms rainbows.

Rainbows are optical and meteorological phenomena that have amazed people for as long as time. The beautiful colors that appear in a rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) all make for an exquisite sight to see.
The “bow” part of the word describes the fact that the rainbow is a group of nearly circular arcs of color all having a common center. Though rainbows are bow-shaped in most cases, there are also phenomena of rainbow-colored strips in the sky: in the shape of stripes, circles or even flames. So it is not always a rain”bow!”
Rainbows cause a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines onto droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. The traditional rainbow is sunlight spread out into its spectrum of colors and diverted to the eye of the observer by water droplets. The rainbow's appearance is caused by dispersion of sunlight as it goes through raindrops. The light is first refracted as it enters the surface of the raindrop, reflected off the back of the drop, and again refracted as it leaves the drop. The overall effect is that the incoming light is reflected back over a wide range of angles, with the most concentrated light at an angle of 40°–42°. A color that travels more slowly in glass will bend more sharply when it passes from air to glass, because the speed difference is more severe. A color that moves more quickly in glass won't slow down as much, so it will bend less sharply. In this way, the colors that make up white light are separated according to frequency when they pass through glass. If the glass bends the light twice, as in a prism, you can see the separated colors more easily. This is called dispersion. Drops of rainwater can refract and disperse light in the same basic way as a prism. In the right conditions, this refraction forms rainbows.
A rainbow does not actually exist at a particular location in the sky. It is an optical illusion whose apparent position depends on the observer's location and the position of the sun. All raindrops refract and reflect the sunlight in the same way, but only the light from some raindrops reaches the observer's eye. This light is what constitutes the rainbow for that observer. The position of a rainbow in the sky is always in the opposite direction of the Sun with respect to the observer, and the interior is always slightly brighter than the exterior.
Rainbows are amazing marvels that are the result of hard science at work!

Works Cited
http://www.atoptics.co.uk/bows.htm
http://eo.ucar.edu/rainbows/
http://www.jiskha.com/science/earth/rainbows.html

Rainbows, Mirages and the Sky

Physics is a huge part of our life that we are oftentimes unaware of. For example, people all around the world appreciate rainbows, but a small fraction of these people are able to explain why rainbows are the way they are. Many of the physics principles we have learned this year can help explain why rainbows look the way they do.
The first principle is refraction. Refraction is something we have previously learned as bending light. This bending of light occurs because light can change speed. The speed of light in a certain media is always constant, but changes as the media changes. So as the light changes media it has to bend to accommodate for the different speed it is traveling. As the light changes from raindrops to air it undergoes refraction. Different colors refract at different angles.




The next component to understanding rainbows is the idea of white light. White light is something that we see everyday. However what we cannot see without proper tools is that white light can be broken down into all wavelengths of visible light. Basically when white light is separated, one can see that it is in actuality a mixture of all the different light types. The mixture would be a spectrum of all the different colors. A prism would be one such device that could break white light down into different spectrums. A raindrop can act as such a prism, dividing white light into different wavelengths. These wavelengths are ROYGBIV, or red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.



The next part of a rainbow to analyze is the way in which the colors fall. First of all the raindrops do not actually reflect mini rainbows that combine into one large rainbow. Each raindrop reflects a different single color because one raindrop would be far too small to reflect an entire rainbow. The raindrops that are located lower in the sky portray blue and greenish light, while the drops in the higher sky make up the red and yellow light. Because the single droplets do not make up the rainbow, there has to be something else to contribute to the entire rainbow picture. This is where the antisolar point comes in. It is the point that is 180 degrees away from the sun. This is essential to determining rainbows, more importantly where rainbows are in the sky. Along the antisolar line is also where the light that is being broken apart will be getting reflected. For one example red light gets reflected back at 42 degrees while blue light gets reflected back at only 40 degrees. This helps us understand rainbows because of how the colors are organized. The color red is placed on top for specific reasons. Each color of light has a different frequency, and when combined they form white light. But when separate each color is independent in terms of frequency and speeds. At different frequencies they refract in different ways as represented by the rainbow. Evidently these different concepts of everyday physics make something seen by all, able to be also understood by all.


Another miracle of everyday life are mirages. However they are not in fact miracles, because they after all can be explained by physics. Mirages rely primarily on refractions. Mirages can occur where different types of air congregate. As these different medias can congregate, refraction can be ongoing. And this refraction can produce the illusion of an image. This refraction occurs when the air near the bottom of the floor is a different temperature. So that this can be refracted at the boundary between the temperature difference, and then light from the sky will be reflected onto the floor. A mirage can also happen when there is a temperature difference in the air. Then in this case, with the right type of boundary, the image will be magnified in the distance. Mirages have fascinated people, because often times it is more interesting to believe in something else than a scientific explanation. Refractions of light in the sky can even account for some of the UFO spotting that occur around the world. Obviously these different types of mirages can occur and they can each be explained by something in physics.


Lastly the power of light refraction can help us explain some of the most widely acknowledged beauties of the world- sunsets and sunrises. People travel all around the world to find areas where the sunset or the sunrises are beautiful. However far fewer people are really interested in the physics behind these phenomena’s. They can be explained through the manner in which the eye works. The sun rays have to travel through several different parts of the universe and atmosphere before they reach our eyes. And as they travel through these parts they are refracted and broken down into the colors our eyes see. However the blue light is almost never seen due in part to the vast number of ways it refracts and how our lens works. If we use physics we can understand some of the most profound beauties of the world.



Bibliography

Metz, Dan. "How Rainbows Work." How Stuff Works. 2008. How Stuff Works. 2 Mar 2008 .

Gache , Gabriel. "How Mirages Work." How To. 14 12 2007. How To. 2 Mar 2008 .

Rayne, Edward. "Why does the red color appear at the horizon during sunset?." Physics and Astronomy Online. 2 Mar 2008 .