Have you wondered what happens to the excess water that flows away when you wash your hands? What can we do with that waste water? Well, with a simple turbine and a motor, we can generate a decent amount of electricity just through the water collected from the sink drain.
What is the science behind this?
This involves the creation of an AC (alternating current) generator. A rubber tube will connect the sink drain with the water turbine housing to allow it to spin. Two magnets are placed on the side of the generator, and a coil placed in the centre to create a DC (direct current) motor. When the turbine spins, this allows the coil to spin as well and converts electrical energy to mechanical energy. The water turbine is also attached to a DC motor with a rubber band, so when the water turbine spins, the DC motor will be able to generate electricity.
Using Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction, we can predict the amount of electromotive force (emf) this generator is able to induce.
N = the number of coils in the DC motor
Φ = the change of magnetic flux, also known as cos(θ)BA
B = the magnetic field strength measured
A = the radius of the hole in water turbine housing
ΔT = the change in revolutions per minute
With my design, I used 300 coils in the DC motor. I measured the magnetic field strength to be 0.008T, through the use of a gaussmeter, and the radius of the hole to be 0.000314m. I calculated the change in revolution per minute to be 0.138. Through substitution of the values into the formula, the final emf induction is -0.00536V. Negative voltage is possible when the direction is backwards. Thus, Faraday’s law is applied into real life situations to harness energy in the most sustainable and effective way.
Works Cited
Khanacademy.org. (2023). Khan Academy. [online] Available at: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/magnetic-forces-and-magnetic-fields/magnetic-flux-faradays-law/a/what-is-faradays-law [Accessed 19 Jan. 2024].
Comments