Foundations of Engineering

To generate energy from the sun, solar panels absorbed the sunlight to generate electricity.  To generate energy from the wind, we use wind turbines that generate the wind that passes through the blades to convert the energy to electricity. To generate energy from gas, natural gas in gas turbines to generate electricity.

The first thing we tested is if the color of the wires would affect the power generated. We tested 3 different color wires and neither one of them affected the generated power. Next, we tested if the number of blades would affect the power generated. We found out that 2 blades produced the most power. Then, we tested how the width of the blades would affect the power generated. The 4x2 blade generated more power. Afterwards, we tested how much distance between the turbine and the fan would affect the generated power.  Having the turbine 12 inches away from the fan helped the turbine produce the most power. Next, we tested how a 30 degree and 45 degree angle of the blade would affect the power generated. Thirty degrees was the best angle to get the most power. Lastly, we tested the width of the motor and we found out that the wider motor produced the most power. For our optimized fan we used a red and black wire, two 4x2 inch blades at a 30 degree angle, and a bigger motor. I think optimization is finding the the best traits for something to work more effectively.