1. Introduction To be an effective teacher it is essential to capture and maintain the attention of the student. Toward this end it is very helpful to find useful applications of physics topics that may be brought into the classroom and used as a source for example problems, student projects, laboratory experiments, etc. The electric power grid provides many interesting avenues to pursue along these lines and also illustrates the value of physics principles in action. One particularly interesting phenomenon that is here considered as a potential focal point for high school physics students is the occurrence of frequency disturbances that propagate as electrical-mechanical waves through the nation’s power grid. Not only is this a thought-provoking occurrence, a sound understanding of it requires knowledge and experience with both power grid concepts and also many high school physics topics. This makes it an ideal subject to study. Introduction To be an effective teacher it is essential to capture and maintain the attention of the student. Toward this end it is very helpful to find useful applications of physics topics that may be brought into the classroom and used as a source for example problems, student projects, laboratory experiments, etc. The electric power grid provides many interesting avenues to pursue along these lines and also illustrates the value of physics principles in action. One particularly interesting phenomenon that is here considered as a potential focal point for high school physics students is the occurrence of frequency disturbances that propagate as electrical-mechanical waves through the nation’s power grid. Not only is this a thought-provoking occurrence, a sound understanding of it requires knowledge and experience with both power grid concepts and also many high school physics topics. This makes it an ideal subject to study. Methods A novel approach to visualizing power grid frequency disturbances was developed using FNET 1 data from the 2008 Florida generator trip 2. A Matlab script was used to read the raw data files (.txt format), generate 3-D images, and create a video file (.avi format). Additionally, various types of small electrical generators were tested in terms of applicability and practicality for use in a model of the power grid and in experiments suitable for high school physics classrooms. Methods A novel approach to visualizing power grid frequency disturbances was developed using FNET 1 data from the 2008 Florida generator trip 2. A Matlab script was used to read the raw data files (.txt format), generate 3-D images, and create a video file (.avi format). Additionally, various types of small electrical generators were tested in terms of applicability and practicality for use in a model of the power grid and in experiments suitable for high school physics classrooms. Conclusions The phenomenon of a power grid frequency disturbance can provide a useful focal point to enhance the teaching of physics concepts involved in understanding waves, energy, electricity, and circuits. Matthew W. Milligan – Physics Teacher, Farragut High School Center for Ultra-wide-area Resilient Electrical Energy Transmission Networks (CURENT) Knoxville, TN Modeling power grid dynamics in high school physics Results A 3-D video animation of a frequency disturbance was created and experiments with small generators were performed, yielding data that will promote student comprehension of physics and the power grid. Results A 3-D video animation of a frequency disturbance was created and experiments with small generators were performed, yielding data that will promote student comprehension of physics and the power grid. Acknowledgments: This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy under Grant No. 1041877. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Works cited 1 R. M. Gardner and Y. Liu, "FNET: A Quickly Deployable and Economic System to Monitor the Electric Grid," inTechnologies for Homeland Security, 2007 IEEE Conference on, 2007, pp. 209-214. 2 North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Unexpected Loss of Generation Due to Low Voltage on the System, Advistory Background A-2008-06- 26-01, 2008 Works cited 1 R. M. Gardner and Y. Liu, "FNET: A Quickly Deployable and Economic System to Monitor the Electric Grid," inTechnologies for Homeland Security, 2007 IEEE Conference on, 2007, pp. 209-214. 2 North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Unexpected Loss of Generation Due to Low Voltage on the System, Advistory Background A-2008-06- 26-01, 2008 For further information Please contact matthew.milligan@knoxschools.org. More on this and related projects can be found at curent.utk.edu For further information Please contact matthew.milligan@knoxschools.org. More on this and related projects can be found at curent.utk.edu Modeling AC Power A bicycle dynamo (AC generator) can be used to assist student comprehension of the significance of frequency as a characteristic of the power grid. The output of this dynamo was measured with a computerized data collection system (equivalent to an oscilloscope). Students can determine electric power and energy and relate these to mechanical properties of the dynamo’s flywheel in order to draw connections between the frequency and voltage of AC power and the rotation rate of the generator. Bicycle “Dynamo” with Flywheel Experimental Setup Data and Calculated EMF produced by LoggerPro software Disturbance Animation A 3-D animation was created in order to make frequency disturbance more engaging and comprehensible to students. The frequency of the power grid is represented as a surface. The height of each node of the surface is proportional to the frequency measured by one of FNET’s Frequency Disturbance Recorders (FDR’s) 1. The appearance of the waves in this virtual surface is similar to ripples in a stretched bed sheet or table cloth. Students can view this animation and then be asked to determine wave properties such as speed of propagation, frequency, wavelength, amplitude, nodes & antinodes, etc. Students can also be asked to hypothesize on the cause(s) of the propagating frequency variations. These are selected frames from the animation of the 2008 Florida Generator Trip that was produced using Matlab A V in G GV out Power Transmission Model GeneratorsLoadTransmission Line Classroom Power Grid In order to model the power grid’s network of generation facilities and consumer loads, hand-cranked DC generators and simple “flashlight-type” lamps were interconnected. Switches were used to vary loads and simulate faults. Students can observe electrical energy output and mechanical work input. A novel aspect of this activity is that students experience tactile feedback and can actually feel the changes in the amount of power required by the grid. Genecon Hand- Crank Generator Experimental Setup Schematic Diagram Data and Calculated Values of Power & Energy produced by LoggerPro software