Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Week 4 Term 3

On the first period this week, Tuesday, we were catching up on our materials research. I have now posted all mine. On Wednesday we were updating the blog and calendar. I also uploaded lots of photos of the progress of my box last Friday. On Friday we would have had two more periods of practical BUT it was a teacher only day so we were not at school.

Brackets bent 2.1 + 2.2


Brackets with holes drilled 2.1 + 2.2


Brackets scribed and holes marked 2.1 + 2.2


Brackets cut and scribed 2.1 + 2.2


Box Fully Bent into Shape 2.1 + 2.2


Box Half Bent into Shape 2.1 + 2.2



Box with all wholes drilled 2.1 + 2.2


Box with two holes drilled 2.1 + 2.2


Template scribed 2.1 + 2.2


Monday, May 26, 2008

Week 3 Term 2

On Tuesday of this week we were in the computer labs. I was trying to finish my materials research, which is almost done - I'm just working on aluminium research, and doing a little more work on my final design on Freehand. On Wednesday we were back in the com labs and I was updating my blog and calendar. But I spent so much time on uploading photos (of the process of the box so far) that I forgot to actually do my blog. On Friday we had two hours of practical, which is what we will be doing most weeks from now on. I was working on my box. I drilled the rest of the holes out, bent it into box shape and cut out my brackets.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Silicon 1.3

I used silicon in two ways:
1. The solar panel was made of silicon and that converted light energy into electrical energy.
2. I used silicon to seal any gaps, such as under the solar panel.

Aluminium 1.3

I used aluminium to make the box of my prototype. It was cut out on the CAM machine using a net made on the computer. It was cut with a 2mm bit. The folds were bent on the metal bender.

Silicon 1.2

Name, symbol, number
silicon, Si, 14
Element category
metalloids
Group, period, block
14, 3, p
Appearance
crystalline, reflective
bluish-tinged faces
Standard atomic weight
28.0855(3)g·mol−1
Electron configuration
[Ne] 3s2 3p2
Electrons per shell
2, 8, 4
Physical properties
Phase
solid
Density (near r.t.)
2.3290 g·cm−3
Liquid density at m.p.
2.57 g·cm−3
Melting point
1687 K(1414 °C, 2577 °F)
Boiling point
3538 K(3265 °C, 5909 °F)
Heat of fusion
50.21 kJ·mol−1
Heat of vaporization
359 kJ·mol−1
Specific heat capacity
(25 °C) 19.789 J·mol−1·K−1
Vapor pressure
P/Pa
1
10
100
1 k
10 k
100 k
at T/K
1908
2102
2339
2636
3021
3537
Atomic properties
Crystal structure
Diamond cubic
Oxidation states
Electronegativity
1.90 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies(more)
1st: 786.5 kJ·mol−1
2nd: 1577.1 kJ·mol−1
3rd: 3231.6 kJ·mol−1
Atomic radius
117.6 pm
Atomic radius (calc.)
111 pm
Covalent radius
111 pm
Van der Waals radius
210 pm
Magnetic ordering
nonmagnetic
Thermal conductivity
(300 K) 149 W·m−1·K−1
Thermal expansion
(25 °C) 2.6 µm·m−1·K−1
Speed of sound (thin rod)
(20 °C) 8433 m/s
Young's modulus
150 GPa
Bulk modulus
100 GPa
Mohs hardness
7
CAS registry number
7440-21-3
Band gap energy at 300 K
1.12 eV

Aluminium 1.2

HARDNESS : 420 MPa (Mega/Milli – Pascal?)
Aluminium's hardness is relatively low due to its low density. This means that it is easier to scratch than other metals like steel are.

DUCTILITY & MALLEABILITY : High
Aluminium is both very malleable, and very ductile. In fact aluminium is the 2ND most malleable metal, and the 6Th most ductile, both of these are very important for its uses.

ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY : Low 2.65 x 10-8 Ohm metres
Aluminium has a very low electrical resistivity, and therefore a high electrical conductivity.

CORROSION RESISTANCE : High

Aluminium is remarkable for its ability to resist corrosion.


sam.davyson.com/as/physics/aluminium/site/properties.html

Silicon 1.1

Silicon is the most common metalloid. It is a chemical element, which has the symbol Si and atomic number 14.The atomic mass is 28.0855. A tetravalent metalloid, silicon is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon. As the eighth most common element in the universe by mass, silicon very rarely occurs as the pure free element in nature, but is more widely distributed in dusts, planetoids and planets as various forms of silicon dioxide (silica) or silicates. On Earth, silicon is the second most abundant element (after oxygen) in the crust, making up 25.7% of the crust by mass.Silicon has many industrial uses. Elemental silicon is the principal component of most semiconductor devices, most importantly integrated circuits or microchips. Silicon is widely used in semiconductors because it remains a semiconductor at higher temperatures than the semiconductor germanium and because its native oxide is easily grown in a furnace and forms a better semiconductor/dielectric interface than any other material.In the form of silica and silicates, silicon forms useful glasses, cements, and ceramics. It is also a constituent of silicones, a class-name for various synthetic plastic substances made of silicon, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen, often confused with silicon itself.Silicon is an essential element in biology, although only tiny traces of it appear to be required by animals. It is much more important to the metabolism of plants, particularly many grasses, and silicic acid (a type of silica) forms the basis of the striking array of protective shells of the microscopic diatoms.

Aluminium 1.1

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white and ductile member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al; its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances. Aluminium is the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust, and the third most abundant element therein, after oxygen and silicon. It makes up about 8% by weight of the Earth’s solid surface. Aluminium is too reactive chemically to occur in nature as the free metal. Instead, it is found combined in over 270 different minerals The chief source of aluminium is bauxite ore.
Aluminium is remarkable for its ability to resist corrosion (due to the phenomenon of passivation) and its low density. Structural components made from aluminium and its alloys are vital to the aerospace industry and very important in other areas of transportation and building. Its reactive nature makes it useful as a catalyst or additive in chemical mixtures, including being used in ammonium nitrate explosives to enhance blast power.

Assessment Schedule Element 3


Thursday, May 15, 2008

Completed Circuit

My colourful LEDs close up.

Completed Circuit


This is my circuit in its completed state. I have a red, a blue and a yellow LED.

Week 2 Term 2

On Tuesday we spent half the period in the graphics classroom working on a 18242 Safety Sheet. This was concentrated on being safe around soldering irons. For the second half of this lesson we were given a solar panel to pull apart. As we did this we were filling in a component sheet - what each item was, what it was made of, what it was used for and how we could use it in our own lights. For our Wednesday lesson we carrired on with this. On Friday we spent the first lesson in the computer lab updating our blog and calender and also adding a few photos. The second period was more practical, working on our prototype solar lights.

Assessment Schedule Element 2


Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Monday, May 12, 2008

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Week 1 Term 2

On Tuesday this week we were given a list of all the things we should have on our blog. I am up to date with all my reflections but I'm missing some other things, like my brief which I will add today. On Wednesday we continued with trying to complete this list. on Friday we spent one period doing practical, I was working on my solar light circuit. And for the second period we were in the computer labs working on our final designs. I have now added colour to this and I'm beginning to do annotations.

Week 11 Term 1

On Tuesday this week I did practical, working on my solar light circuit. I have ALMOST finished it. Wednesday I worked on my blog and calendar, updating them. On Friday we are doing one period of practical and one period working on our final designs on Freehand.