Solar powered boats

The boat is an important mode of transportation on water. Nonetheless, We also use it for tourism purposes to explore beautiful places, rivers, and beaches. The project, we are going to discuss today is about 2-stroke engine boats we usually see on popular tourist destinations.2-stroke engines are the most common form of engines used in boats but they are far more polluting than engines used in cars. With toxic fumes they spew, they are destroying our climate gradually. Moreover, this engine emits Sulfur dioxide gas which later reacts with oxygen found in water to produce sulfuric acid. Sulphuric Acid is harmful to the species inside the water as well as for the surroundings.
In this post, we will see, how we can use solar energy in the boat to replace these traditional fuel engines. Converting these engines to electric engine helps our environment and also help us to protect our resources.

Before we discuss any further, first we should look for other renewable energy sources we can use:
Wind Power: Though, It is a good option and has been used for a long time back but we have two basic problems with a wind-powered small boat, First it requires a lot of space inside the boat and second it is not very efficient.

Nanowires new innovation in Solar Energy

In the last post, we discussed "carbon solar cell" which is manufactured using 100 % carbon(widely available and cheaper to use). In that post, we discussed nanotechnology and how carbon changes its behavior on the nanoscale . Today, we will see how we can use nanotechnology with gallium arsenide(a better alternative to silicon in the solar cells).

Gallium Arsenide:

Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is a compound of the elements gallium and arsenic. It is a III/V semiconductor and is used in the manufacturing of solar cells since 1970 when it was first introduced by Zhores Alferov in the USSR. In the early 1980s, the efficiency of the best GaAs solar cells surpassed that of silicon solar cells. These cells have also been used in the rovers Spirit and Opportunity, which are exploring Mars' surface.

Carbon Solar Cells

Though we have discussed a lot about solar energy projects, solar energy is not economically viable for our daily use because of increasingly expensive materials used in traditional solar cells made up of silicon, which is not available in abundance and hence very costly. Today, we will discuss carbon solar cells and how to use them to built complete carbon solar cells?

Solar Powered automatic rain operated wiper

We have discussed many projects related to solar energy and we are going to discuss many more in the next few months. In this post, we will see how we can use sunlight in an automobile.  

Though this project has been implemented by many companies, it would be great to build one for yourself in a lab or as your final year project. When I was thinking about this project, I thought it would be great if we can build it as an extension of rain sensor wipers project idea. 

It is very easy to build and needs very few components. Rain Operated Motor consists of a conduction sensor(Tough Sensor) circuit, Control Unit, Wiper Motor, and Glass Frame.

Build Self Balancing Bicycle and Uni cycles

In today's world, it is easier to imagine Robots walking or crawling but it would much be much better if they can ride a bicycle!. This is possible in various ways but the only solution which pumps in my mind is Self Balancing bicycle. A self-powered unicycle that balances itself in three dimensions, is an interesting problem in robotics and control theory. The concept is similar to what we use in Segway.

Balloon Popping Machines

This project is for 6th-grade kids but parental guidance is very important. You have already seen this project in many movies and I am sure you got amazed while watching it.

This involves a chain of events before the balloon actually pops. It looks awesome to the audience and increases their excitement about what is going to happen after every event.

The things which we need for this project are:

1) Lever
2) Inclined Plane
3) Pulley
4) Wheel & Axle
5) Wedge
6) Screw

Bending Light

Objective: Study about light and what happens when it gets bend.

Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed. This is most commonly observed when a wave passes from one medium to another at any angle other than 90° or 0°.

Glass Harmonica

What is Glass Harmonica?
It is a musical instrument invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1761. That was the time of colonial Era, and Benjamin used to travel to Europe often. During those travels, he attended many concerts and was excited to see how artists and musicians had been using musical instruments made up of glass.

He decided to build one of his own and succeded in 1761 when he completed his Glass Harmonica. Where he carefully designed the glass bowl to produce a different sound when touched by a Moistured finger.

These bowls were connected with each other using the rod in the center and do not touch each other.

When it loses its popularity?
This invention by Benjamin Franklin got very popular till the start of the 18th century but by the end of 1820, its popularity got faded away.

How can I use it for my science project?
But for students, who want to do something very exciting with musical instruments, you can build one for your science project with all the seven nodes. And during the presentation, you can play a beautiful song to impress everyone present.
What is glass Harmonica?
How Stuff Work's article about Glass Harmonica ( make wine glass sing)

Glass Armonica played by Vera Meyer(Video)




Return to Science Fair Project Ideas

Science fair Projects

Award-Winning Project Ideas

 

The Potential for Vegetable-Oil-Based Fuels as a Substitute for Diesel

What is vegetable oil fuel?
The oil produced from Vegetable can also be used as a fuel with some modifications in the engine, to power diesel engines we use for our cars. Also, the mixture of this fuel with diesel has got very popular recently and called Bio Fuel.
Helpful links :

National Biodiesel Board
Northeast Sustainable Energy Association
Grease car Vegetable Fuel Systems

Utilization of Photobioreactor to Optimize the Growth Rate of Lipids in Microalgae for Use in Biofuels

What is photobioreactor?
Mass Scale Solar Production of Micro Algae

Related PDF :

Microalgal Photobioreactors: Scale-up and optimization
Microalgae cultivation

Fire Ants: Height to Nutrition

Determine the maximum height at which fire ants would come to get food. Set out different types of food and then measured the height that the fire ants came to get that food.

Imported Fire Ant Control Using Household Products

You can use several types of household products to determine which ones controlled fire ants the best. You can use products such as Epsom salt, PeptoBismol®, and oranges. You need to make a transect to determine the initial numbers of fire ants in a mound, then present the household product to the mound. Finally, count the remaining fire ants after exposure to the household product.

Maximizing the Power Output of a Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Module Through the Use of Solar Concentrators

Making the Most Efficient Solar Hot Water Panel

Analysis of Noncrystalline Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using New Low-Cost Robotic D-SCOPE

Bioremediation of Greenhouse Gases with Algae.

Glass Harmonica by Ben Franklin

The science behind it has to do with frequency and vibrations. You could make your own glass harmonica of sorts by pouring water into a set of glasses. Align them to make a row. Fill each of them with different amounts of water (fill each with a little more water ). And then use a spoon and tap each of them in order. They should make a Do Rei Mi sound.
Related links about this project:
What wiki says about Glass Harmonica
History of Armonica
Click to know more about this project

University of California, San Diego Projects

12th Grade

Investigating Dinoflagellate Dormancy
Does Smell Affect Food Preferences for Mice?
Vitamin C: Future Steroids for Athletes
Of Mice and Memory. Does Ginkgo Biloba Improve Memory?

11th Grade 

Bacterial Resistance to Antibacterial Soaps
Adenylate Kinase Loss of Activity by Dilution


10th Grade

Stress Comparison: Which is Higher? Adults vs. Adolescents
What's Best For Baby? Frozen vs. Refrigerated Breast Milk
Spectrum Fishing 

8th Grade 

Hydro Growing: Which Nutrient is the Best for Plant Growth?
Thigmotropism: To Touch or Not to Touch?
8th grade Science fair Project Ideas

How to make or build an electroscope?

Method 2

Download pdf's

Electroscope electric charge behavior and Interaction models

Other Useful
What wiki says about electroscope?

Electroscope Video

7th Grade  

Will Salinity Affect the Growth of Toxic Algae?

More Ideas :

Neuroscience for kids - science fair