Saving Electricity

For the past two class days in physics we’ve been learning about saving electricity. My electric bill is around $300. My father works at Hawaiian Electric Company as a machinist. After talking with him about conserving electricity and lowering the electric bill, he told me several ways that our family could help to lower the bill. Putting a timer on the water heater, taking cold showers, turning the shower off when you soap yourself, unplugging things (like fans) you don’t use constantly, hanging clothes instead of drying them and using a fan instead of the air conditioner are some ways that you can save electricity, along with lowering the amount of money my parents pay for the electricity bill.

Circuts

There are two types of circuits possible. One is a DC Circuit and the other is an AC Circuit. A DC Circuit is a direct current in which the charge flows one way. For example my Kindle is a DC Circuit. When I charge it, the charges from the wall go into my phone. My phone doesn’t give charges back to the wall, making it a DC Circuit. An AC Circuit is an alternating current. A conventional current is the direction in which the positive charges flow. I also learned the reason why the band ACDC got its name and why they have a lightning bolt on all their merchandise.

Capacitance

A capacitor is a device used to store an electric charge, consisting of one or more pairs of conductors separated by an insulator. It gets its name from the fact that it has a capacity to sore both electric charge and energy. A capacitor is like a battery in the sense that they both store electrical energy. Inside the capacitor, terminals connect two metal plates separated by a non-conducting substance or any non-conductive substance. Once one plate acquires a charge, the other acquires and equal and opposite charge. The greater the charge for a given voltage, the greater the capacitance is of the capacitor. An example of a capacitor is an electrograph. An electrograph is a machine used for the electrical transmission of pictures.

Electric Potential

This is a picture of a power strip and it exhibits electric potential. Electric potential is a measure of potential energy unit per charge, or in other words voltage. The power strip allows you to plug in multiple items to one outlet using only one plug. This words because the electrical currents go through the plugged in power strip and to the other outlets attached the original outlet. The potential energy is measured in joules and charge is measure in coulombs. The SI unit is joules per coulombs or volts. After googling about electric potential I learned that electric potential and electrical potential energy are two completely different things.

Insulators and Conductors

An insulator is a material or object in which charges are not free to move. In other words it’s a material or object that holds in charges and doesn’t move to other objects. It can also be an object that resists the flow of electrical current. Some examples of insulators are rubber, plastic, wood and glass. That’s why the coating around your electronic chargers is rubber or plastic, so you don’t get shocked. A conductor is the opposite of an insulator; it is an object or material that allows charges to move freely. Anything metal is a conductor of electricity, which is why all plugs are made from metal.

Positive, Negative and No Charge

 

A proton is a part of an atom that is positively charged. An electron is a part of an atom that is negatively charged. A neutron is a part of an atom that has no charge. Within the nucleus of an atom are protons and neutrons. Electrons orbit around the outside of the nucleus. In an atom, the amount of neutrons is usually the same amount of electrons with makes the atom electrically neutral. This happens because opposite charges attract to one another. And same charges repel one another. There is no reaction when two neutral charges are near one another.

What I Learned This Semester

This semester I honestly learned a lot more than I thought I would’ve. I wasn’t too nervous about taking physics because I’ve always liked science classes. I learned that my teacher teaches the concepts of each unit and it’s up to us as students to apply them to problems as well as everyday life. I really liked the momentum and energy unit. Because both have law of conservations, it made the whole concept really easy to understand. I’m a bit upset at myself because I could’ve done much better first quarter with the kinematics units. Now that I look at the problems and equations I feel really dumb for not being able to understand them. The second quarter was much better for me and I feel like I better applied/prepared myself for the tests and quizzes. Altogether I really look forward going to physics class. The learning environment is fun when it needs to be and I still learn a lot, which is perfect. I am really happy I got the teacher that I did because I feel like all my friends with the other physics teachers are suffering big time when I feel excited about physics. This semester I learned a lot about.