Methods Conclusions Water-Drop Electrostatic Generator Luke Birch Energy Systems Senior Research Lab Data Literature Cited 1.. I constructed a frame from pieces of wood that I found in my garage and in the technology storage room. I cut out two pieces of 2”x12”x36” wood and four pieces of 2”x4”x32” wood. I used one of the 36” pieces as a base and nailed the other four so that their 2 inch sides were flush with the edge of the base. 2.I then proceeded to make a mid beam which would direct the tubes carrying the water through the soup cans. I drilled two holes in this beam, each approximately 7 inches in from the edges and centered. I also drilled one large hole completely centered on the top beam in order to direct the tube connecting to the water source. 3.Next I constructed the “inducers” of the project. I cut two pieces of 7” pieces of PVC pipe. I then cut out the bottoms and tops of two soup cans and hot glued each PVC pipe to each can. I then nailed supports to the side and attached the PVC pipes to them. I made sure the centers of the cans were directly in line with the holes above them. 4.I then soldered an aluminum wire to the inducing cans and the collector cans and set the collector cans on insulating plastic. 5.Finally, I found a water dispenser in my garage and decided to use that as the water source. I took a tube and attached it to the dispenser and led it through the hole on the top beam. On the other end of the tube, I attached a splitter, which split into two separate tubes that were led through the holes on the mid beam. I attached Styrofoam to the bottom of the mid beam in order to direct the tubes directly through the inducing cans. Beaty, B.. (1995). Kelvin's thunderstorm: lord kelvin's water-drop electrostatic generator. Retrieved from Eskimo. Com/~billb/emotor/kelvin. Html. Chong, W., Naghavi, M., Poh, S., Mahlia, T., & Pan, K. (2011, April 13). ScienceDirect - Applied Energy : Techno-economic analysis of a wind- solar hybrid renewable energy system with rainwater collection feature for urban high-rise application. ScienceDirect - Home. Retrieved September 20, 2011, from Overall, I believe I was successful because I was able to demonstrate the basic function of a water-drop electrostatic generator. My model did not function as well as many existing ones, but it also contained different parts that could have led to some of the inconsistencies. I was able to show that electricity can be produced, even if in very small quantities, from random occurrences such as water-dropping. The purpose of my project was to create a functioning model of Lord Kelvin’s water-drop electrostatic generator with only spare parts I found around the research laboratory and around my house. I would deem my project marginally successful, as I was able to get some good voltage readings the first day I tested it. However, I was not able to debug the device after it did not work in the following days. Obviously, a water-drop electrostatic generator cannot produce mass amounts of electricity. Perhaps next year, someone could continue my project and try to develop a generator that produces a substantial amount of electricity from rain water. I have already purchased the materials needed for such a water reclamation system, and it could be easily constructed and installed by a student in the coming years. A water-drop electrostatic generator may not be practical yet, or ever, but it demonstrates how someday we may able to find a viable solution to fossil fuels, it just takes some creatitivity. Introduction Results One of the largest problems that the world has faced in recent decades and is still yet to be resolved is the problem of energy. We still use fossil fuels more than any other types of energy and we only have a limited supply. However, a variety of different solutions to the energy problem has been and continues to be developed. Solar, wind, nuclear, and water power have been the most prevalent of these solutions. The one I decided to focus on was the most latter: water. Obviously water should be something that we should utilize, as it is completely renewable and over 70% of our earth is covered by it. As I discovered in my research however, water solutions have been around for a good deal of time, as well as other unique, creative solutions not necessarily dealing with water. One of these solutions was developed by the world renowned physicist Lord Kelvin in 1867 – a water-drop electrostatic generator. I will explain later some of the intricacies of the generator, but the overall premise of it is that someone can take dripping water and produce voltage to generate electricity. My goal was to be able to make a model of Kelvin’s device, without purchasing any materials and using only spare parts I found around the lab or in my garage, and generate voltage. I read several pieces of scientific literature that aided me in my project, but two in particular were especially essential: Chong et. al’s Applied Energy: Techno-economic analysis of a wind-solar hybrid renewable energy system with rainwater collection feature for urban high-rise application and Bill Beaty’s Kelvin's thunderstorm: lord kelvin's water-drop electrostatic generator. Chong et al.’s article helped me understand the basic premises of hydropower, and the available combinations of different energy sources. Beaty’s article gave me an in-depth guide on the water-drop electrostatic generator, and helped me understand the ins- and-outs of the device. If I were able to produce voltage with my own water-drop electrostatic generator, I would be able to further prove the fact that electricity can be generated by many different ways and – all it takes is some creativity. Discussion In order to test the generator, I pushed gently on the dispenser button so that equal water cam out each tube and each stream split into water droplets during its brief period between the inducing cans. I attached a wire from a multimeter to each collecting can and tested for any change in voltage. The first day I tested I was able to get several readings. However, everyday I tried to perform the test after that produced either inconsistent or nonexistent readings. This could be due to numerous factors, from humidity, to lack of quality insulating materials, to bad electrical connections, etc., etc. The readings I was able to obtain are provided in the graph below.