Jump to content

gdaunton

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    69

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    2

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by gdaunton

  1. gdaunton

    Teslas and Fire

    By gdaunton,

    Cars are complex machines. The run off of the oxidation and ignition of gasoline which drives several pistons attached to a drive shaft which spins the wheels. However a certain car made by a certain company named Tesla runs entirely differently. It runs off of batteries which power an electric motor which sends power to the wheels. However if this process doesn't involve violent explosions like a gas car does, how come a few Tesla's still catch fire?

    Well its all about what the batteries have inside of them. Consider this, you are driving you brand new Tesla down a country lane. Of course, with it being a Tesla, you are doing a steady 50-60 mph down that lovely country lane. Now imagine that you lose control of the car and smash into the curb on the side of the road. If you were in a gas car, no problem, you might have a ruined bumper, but you would soon be on your way. However in a Tesla, since the batteries are near the bottom of the car your tale might proceed a bit differently. When you hit the curb if something manages to get through the thick battery shield, (we are talking worse case scenario here) and punctures one of the large lithium-ion cell batteries and the fluid spills out of which contains pure lithium you might be in trouble. Because lithium is part of the alkaline metal family, if it becomes exposed to the water vapor in the air or on the road a violent reaction could occur which might include many small explosions and eventually a fire.

    Lithium-ion batteries are great and can hold immense amounts of charge, however it is also a small bomb if it overheats and ruptures. Fun Stuff.

    P. S. your phone uses a lithium-ion battery, food for thought


  2. gdaunton
    While a group of undergrads were learning to use a telescope from there professor at the University of London they spotted something amazing: a super nova. On Jan 21 the students' 10 minute lesson about telescopes turned into a rush to document this amazing occasion before the weather turned. The super nova happened in the sector M82 and is one of the closest of the super novas to our solar system.


  3. gdaunton

    Mars One

    By gdaunton,

    In keeping with the mars theme I found myself on the homepage of Mars One. Mars One is a privately funded expedition to mars that will transport 4 people to mars with no way back. The 15 year endeavor is currently looking for applicants from the general public to train until 2024 for the trip to mars. Anyone can apply and they are still accepting applications so if you ever wanted to be stranded on mars, now's the time. The launch of the first crew is set for 2024 along with a second crew in 2026.

    Want to apply? https://applicants.mars-one.com/
    More info: http://www.mars-one.com/

  4. gdaunton

    Opportunity

    By gdaunton,

    Well its been a while since there has been any talk about the rovers on mars and they are still chugging along. The interesting thing about that is that one of the rovers, the opportunity rover, has just reached its ten year anniversary on the big red planet.



    The opportunity rover landed on mars on January 25, 2004 to carry out a 3 month exploration of the surface. Remarkably after 10 long years the rover is still able to move and collect data along with its big brother curiosity.

    Its amazing what we have discovered about mars in the short time that we have had on the planet. It will be even more amazing when we see the first astronauts walk on mars next to those rovers, but until then may opportunity and curiosity keep on rolling.
  5. gdaunton

    Plasma Powered Rocket

    By gdaunton,

    All this talk about mars is great but how are we going to get people to mars in a timely and efficient manor? Enter the plasma propelled rocket. Developed during the past 4 decades by Franklin Chang-Diaz, a former NASA astronaut and CEO of Ad Astra, the rocket could make it to mars in a blistering 39 days. The engine works by using radio waves to heat gasses to create plasma which then, using magnetic fields, is propelled out the back to create thrust. Because the large amount of thrust that this engine creates its fuel consumption is drastically smaller than a conventional booster.


    The company is also looking into ways to use this to create renewable energy.
    For more visit http://www.adastrarocket.com/
  6. gdaunton
    Just recently on the dwarf planet called Ceres a atmosphere full of water vapor has been observed. This is the first planet in our solar system besides our own to have traces of water found on it. Ceres used to be the largest asteroid in our solar system but because of its size has been named as a dwarf planet. But before you make plans for your expedition to Ceres there's one problem, its in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and its very very cold. Ceres' surface is covered in ice which, when heated, releases loads of water vapor into the planets atmosphere. If melted the ice could yield more fresh water than what we have on earth.

Terms of Use

The pages of APlusPhysics.com, Physics in Action podcasts, and other online media at this site are made available as a service to physics students, instructors, and others. Their use is encouraged and is free of charge. Teachers who wish to use materials either in a classroom demonstration format or as part of an interactive activity/lesson are granted permission (and encouraged) to do so. Linking to information on this site is allowed and encouraged, but content from APlusPhysics may not be made available elsewhere on the Internet without the author's written permission.

Copyright Notice

APlusPhysics.com, Silly Beagle Productions and Physics In Action materials are copyright protected and the author restricts their use to online usage through a live internet connection. Any downloading of files to other storage devices (hard drives, web servers, school servers, CDs, etc.) with the exception of Physics In Action podcast episodes is prohibited. The use of images, text and animations in other projects (including non-profit endeavors) is also prohibited. Requests for permission to use such material on other projects may be submitted in writing to info@aplusphysics.com. Licensing of the content of APlusPhysics.com for other uses may be considered in the future.

APlusPhysics Books

APlusPhysics Books

×
×
  • Create New...