The+Sun's+Revenge+Solar+Car

**//Solar Car Project//**
//Names: Cynthia Molina and Graham Gallagher//

__//Journal 1//__ If the car came apart or a part broke then what else would you use instead? You'd need a strong frame. How much weight could the car hold? How could it store energy? Another issue is the car's speed. You could also get more energy if you had big panels and a small car. Here is a link with a good, basic diagram and some good, basic information about how a solar car would work: http://solarcar.tafesa.edu.au/raakelly.htm This article talks about the way solar energy works. They have a diagram that shows that way solar energy flows. Sunlight gets to the panels and stores in the battery and then the motor turn the wheels to make it move.

//__Journal 2__// //Here's another link about more advanced solar car technology: http://www.engineering.com/Library/ArticlesPage/tabid/85/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/84/Cross-Canada-in-a-Solar-Car.aspx The first part of this article is about the guy who broke the world record for solar-powered road trip. We're not so interested in that. The second part is about how solar technology works. The PV cells turn sunlight into electricity, which is stored in batteries, which power an electric motor. The article places a heavy emphasis on the batteries. With batteries, an efficient solar-powered car can top 120 km/h. Without batteries, the same car under the same conditions would be lucky to reach 70 km/hr//

//__Journal 3__// Motion and force are required for the completion of this project because we need to know how much energy is required to move the solar car forward. This makes factors like availability of sunlight, traction to overcome friction, the kinetic energy available to a car as it continues to move and the ammount of force nessecary to give the car a significant speed to over the other cars in the race. Understanding motion itself would help towards understanding a more efficient design for the car as one that is conducive to speed.

__//Journal 4//__ The solar car is, in effect, a simple machine, and the motor on the car will do work on the gears and make the car move. This requires energy from the solar panels to be transferred into work.


 * **Potential Modifications** || **Notes** ||
 * Adding a Second Solar Panel || We added a second solar panel to max out the energy potential of the car. We ran into problems due to the size of the panels and securing it properly ||
 * Adding Dual Axle Drive || We are considering this as a solution to the slow speed of the car. Putting two batteries and powering one set of wheels is an attractive solution to the problems of speed. ||
 * Using a Capacitor (Battery) || We haven't considered adding a battery, though it would be useful if we should want to run the car with no sunlight, It may only slow down the car with weight and drag. ||
 * Shape || Presently the car may be far too bulky, and we are looking into options to make it less box-like. ||



Mid-Term Grade: 92/100


 * Comments**: I like the effort that this group is putting into the project. Could use a little mor elaboration on how you understand physics and how it relates to what we are doing with the cars but overall a good job.

Brice

//__Journal 5__//
 * 1) The method for determining the velocity of our solar car was laying meter sticks end to end and timing how long it took for the car to reach the end of the meter sticks. The three meter sticks proved a formidable challenge for our solar car to overcome; the car didn’t have nearly enough momentum for its mass and several times refused to travel at all. The one time it manage to go the full length of the meter sticks, it went at a snails pace of one meter every five seconds and it traversed the course in a haltingly slow 15 seconds. Clearly design improvements need to be made and a wholesale rethinking of the priorities involved in the design.
 * 2) The secound model when more slower than our first one we need to improve it more ....
 * 3) The method to find our car power to run uphill is.....

//__Journal 6__//

=__Journal Assignment #6: __= (A) Read Pages 1-5 on the following site: [] (B) In your journal explain how your current understanding of electricity from the unit relates to the solar car project. (C) Your Kit contains a "capacitor" which acts similar to a battery in that it can store electrical charge that can be used later. Find a way to include the battery into your model if you have not already done so. Can you have both the battery and the cell connected at the same time? Can you find a way to test the battery outside? (D) Respond to Discussion #5 = = =__Journal Assignment #5: __= (A) Determine a method to find the speed (velocity) of your car and test it. Include your method and results in your journal. (B) Compare your results in part (A) to the base model. This may require you to build a base model car from on of the un-used kits. Record the base model and comparison in your journal. (C) Determine a method to find your car's power by running it uphill. Record your method and results in your journal. (D) Respond to Discussion # 4