Visit to California Science Center - Essay Example

In contrast with the other institutions, the California Science Center has sufficient hands-on exhibitions to go around (Falk, pg 38). For children under seven years of age, the discovery rooms create an imaginative world over there. Apart from this, it has some great gift shops, technical museum books, geeky t-shirts and souvenirs, games, which are based on science and technology and a superb collection of books for every age group. Admission to the science center is free of cost if we do not seek an IMAX film or any other special thing but we can give donations inside the center.

Although everything was of great interest, but the thing, which attracted me the most was the model of solar energy transportation and a wind tunnel. I saw the model of solar energy transportation at the creative world, which explores the discoveries of people from communication to transportation. At the creative world, one can learn about the historical as well as latest technologies of transmitting sound and fuel-cell technology. Besides this, visitors can run the cars, which are solar powered and can discover the ways in which buildings were created to be free from the threats of earthquake.

I learnt about the solar energy transportation by visiting there. The transport, which runs through solar energy travels at a speed of 200 miles at 35-40 mph. Such type of transport does not produce any kind of pollution because it generates energy through the Photovoltaic effect (Falk, pg 38). Photovoltaic Effect The photovoltaic effect was discovered by Edmond Becquerel. According to his research, when some type of solid is exposed to the sunlight, it generates some amount of electricity. This effect further showed that it is a transformation of light energy into electricity at the atomic level.

It is due to this effect that electricity is generated through the light energy to run the transport (Fonash, pg 39). Solar Panels By combining many photovoltaic cells, solar panels are produced. These solar panels generate one and two watts by operating fifteen percent efficiently. In order to form modules, these cells are linked into a group of 40. For forming an array, a group of 10 is formed. Array can generate 800 watts of electricity (Fonash, pg 34). Batteries Since storing of the solar energy was difficult, so for this purpose, Lithium ion and Nickel-metal hydride batteries are made.

Nickel-metal hydride battery can bear heavy load. These batteries lose half of their charge in a year but this obstacle is not of much significance. Other Obstacles The transport model, which I saw at the California Science Center, has the capacity of only two persons. This is a great obstacle of transportation through solar energy because solar transportation does not have much engine power. In spite of these little barriers, it is likely that the transportation through solar energy will bring a rapid change in the transportation industry in the near future.

The other thing, which excited me the most, was a wind tunnel, which had both ends open. When one person speaks from one end of the tunnel, the other person hearing at the other end of the tunnel can clearly hear the person. It was looking like a magic and attracted me so much. Although it seems to be a magic but there is a logical theory behind it. Sound is a complete set of ordinary decompression and compressions, which are also referred as rarefactions. The theory behind the wind tunnel was that sound wave is a longitudinal