These energy sources are created over very long periods of time from decayed and fossilized living matter (animals and plants), and the energy in that living matter originally came from the sun through photosynthesis. Right now, much of human activity uses energy from fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas.Hydroelectricity is electrical energy produced from moving water, and water flows because heat energy from the sun causes evaporation that keeps water moving through the water cycle.Wind turbines then convert wind power into electrical energy. Heat energy from the sun causes changing weather patterns that produce wind.Animals eat plants and use that same chemical energy for all their activities. Plants convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy (food) by the process of photosynthesis.And that's what happens with energy from the sun -it changes into lots of different forms: The law of conservation of energy says that energy can't be created or destroyed, but can change its form. We use many different forms of energy here on earth, but here's the thing: almost all of them originate with the sun, not just light and heat (thermal) energy! In just eight minutes, that energy travels 93 million miles to earth. Yet without it, we wouldn't exist!ĭeep in the core of our local star, hydrogen atoms react by nuclear fusion, producing a massive amount of energy that streams in all directions at the speed of light (that's the mind-boggling speed of more than 186,000 miles per second). It seems so commonplace that we rarely spare a thought for that bright object in the sky. Solar Power Science Lesson The Sun: The Ultimate Power SourceĮvery morning the sun rises, bringing light and heat to the earth, and every evening it sets. Maybe you'll be the next scientist to help find out!įor more solar science fun, check out these science projects: Once you've perfected your car, think about other ways you could experiment with solar power.Ĭould you build a solar boat or water pump?Ĭould you perform electrolysis to divide water into hydrogen and oxygen using a solar panel? How can we harness the amazing power of the sun? How fast does it go? Does it drive straight? How would it perform with only one solar cell? What if you used smoother wheels for less friction? Keep testing new ideas to make your car work better. Experiment to see if you can improve the design of your solar car.
#Solar car body design trial#
#Solar car body design series#
Use clear plastic tape to attach the two solar cells together side-by-side then connect them in a series circuit using the alligator clip leads.Mount the motor with glue or tape it in between a small frame of wood or cardboard blocks. Position the motor so the band is slightly stretched (but don't stretch it too much!). Determine where to mount the motor by connecting the driving pulley with the motor pulley using an elastic band as a drive belt. Attach the small motor pulley to the motor shaft.
#Solar car body design how to#
(Use our balloon rocket car project as a reference for how to do this.) Another easy method is to tape straws on the underside of the chassis and threads the axles through them. Depending on what your chassis is made of, you can thread the axle through eye screws mounted on the bottom. Now, mount your axles onto the chassis.If you are using toy wheels like K'nex, you can just use a smaller wheel mounted on the inside of your main wheel to act as the pulley.) (You can try using a film canister cap for this step instead of cutting a bottle cap. You have just created a pulley for your driving wheel the inner rim of the extra bottle cap will support your car's drive belt. Take an extra cap and cut off the sides, leaving just the top part, which usually has a small inner rim to help keep the bottle from leaking. Make sure the stiff wire or wooden skewers you use for axles fit in the holes tightly. Use a nail to poke a small hole in the center of your wheels.(But be careful - if it's too light, it can easily get blown about by the wind.) A big part of engineering is finding the right balance between weight and strength. Think carefully about this: you want something strong, but also something lightweight so it needs less power for the motor to move it. Choose a material for the car body, which is called the chassis.