fairfolio
Saved Projects

Magnet Madness: Using Transverse Wave Motion to Propel Electromagnetic Induction

CSEF · 2009 Energy & Power (Junior Division Only) Honorable_mention Award

Thomas O. Yaeger, Jr. · St. Martin of Tours School, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County

Overview

Objectives/Goals Can a windbelt, an alternative wind powered device using a ribbon belt instead of blades, generate enough wave energy to oscillate a magnet and coil induction circuit to power a 1.5 volt lamp and how do the position of the fan, coil and magnet affect the amount of wave motion needed to produce measurable power? Methods/Materials First I designed and built a windbelt structure to suspend a taut Mylar ribbon. I conducted multiple trials on the device to test the fan angle and magnet placement in different positions along the belt for determining the best placement to generate a rapid wave motion to move the magnets in an electromagnetic induction circuit. I then switched the coils position along the ribbon belt and tested by using a voltmeter to see if there is any difference in current output. After each trail I connected the 1.5 volt lamp to the coils. Results I found that a homemade windbelt could power a 1.5 volt light bulb. The best angle generating the most consistent wave motion was at a 90 degree angle. I found that the bottom portion of the ribbon belt near the securing tower was the most consistent wave. The fan did produce a wave motion in the ribbon belt sufficient to create a current in electromagnetic induction circuit. The ribbon belt tension had a great influence on the amount and "quality" of the motion. Conclusions/Discussion A Windbelt converts wind energy into movement (waves) of a ribbon that can be used to move a magnet past a set of coils to generate enough power to light a small light bulb. The amount of flutter and current is dependent on the amount of wind, the tension of the ribbon belt, the position of the magnets, the weight of the magnets, and the angle of the air flow. My windbelt was simple to prove the concept. Further work would need to be done to maintain the ribbon belt at the optimal angle relative to wind direction

Summary statement

I tested the affects of wave motion and magnet placement on a ribbon belt to power an electromagnetic induction circuit.

Help received

My mother helped me with the graphs and proofreading. My Father helped buy the materials. Richard Remillard of Fuel Solutions Inc. helped me with understanding the bridge rectifier solution.

Awards (1)

  • Honorable Mention

Competition history

  • CSEF 2009 Energy & Power (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1042

Resources

Related projects

Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.

Browse more like this

Source: California Science & Engineering Fair public projects

Save projects to your library

Sign in with Google to keep track of projects you find interesting, organized into folders. An account also raises your daily allowance for “Has this been done?”, and lets you create a key for the MCP server with a much higher limit than anonymous use. Browsing stays public.

Continue with Google