Journal 4-5

Alana Prettitore
May 4, 2008
Journal 4-5

Electricity/Magnetism

I. Research Question

In the last entry, I was curious to learn about facts about worldwide energy consumption. I found that in 2004, the total worldwide energy consumption of the human race was 500 EJ ( 5 x 1020 J); 86.5% derives from the combustion of fossil fuels. However, there is at least 10% margin of error! While the vast majority comes from America, many other countries consume a large amount of energy per person. Surprisingly, the United States does not produce the most per person. According to Wikipedia, the United States has 11.4 kW per person and Japan and Germany are 6 kW per person. Canada has the highest energy consumption per person; the lowest energy consumption takes place in developing and under-developed economies. In developing countries, like India, the per person energy use is closer to 0.5 kW. Japan and Great Britain have the most energy efficient systems in the world!

(I’m going there! My mom calls me a tree hugger)

II. Summary

This week, we delved into the Electricity/Magnetism issues more thoroughly. In the first class, we reviewed for a quiz. We did another experiment and recognized the significance of the closed loop. Also, we discovered just how many people do not know how to create a basic system. An interesting documentary was illustrated. Harvard and another noteworthy corporation interviewed MIT and Harvard graduates on Commencement Day. They discovered that relatively no one was able to create light with a bulb, wire, and battery. This shows a severe inability to understand the most basic foundations of electricity – something that most people in the Western world would commit suicide if it didn’t work!

Then, we took the quiz and developed a stronger understanding of the topic. We started a new topic in our unit on capacitors and whatnot. It looks pretty complicated at first so I will have to work on understanding it better! We learned about the poles as well and more issues related to magnetism.

III. Question

What would happen if the poles switched?