The physics lesson for today.
The question is how much do you weigh? So you get on your scale and see that your weight is 200 pounds, lets say.
Wrong!
The number you are looking at is your mass, not your weight. But the scale is not set up to measure mass because mass does not change noticeably due to velocities at non relativistic speeds. To prove this check your readings, with the same scale, in an accelerating elevator, the number you read would change. Confused?
Well lets describe weight, mass, and acceleration.
The equation for weight is F = m a, one of Newtons laws.
F = weight force; is measured in newtons, its symbol is N.
m = mass; is measured in kilograms.
a = acceleration; is measured in meters per seconds squared.
If you measure your weight with the home scale, while not moving, on the ground at sea level, that will give you your mass or m (more or less). The scale is really set up to read newtons but they fudge the numbers to give you your mass(more or less) if gravity is the only acceleration acting on you. They tell you and You believe it's your weight due to some bad education.
To learn your real weight, measured in newtons (N) --not fig newtons-- take the number your home scale gives you as weight, convert it to kilograms and multiply it times 9.80 .
The number you get will be your true weight measured in newtons.
Acceleration due to the earth's gravity is around 9.8 meters per seconds square.
Taking the equation from above F = m a
A mass of one kilogram multiplied by the acceleration of gravity gives you around 9.8 newtons of weight force.
9.8 newtons(F) = 1 kilogram(m) * 9.8 meters per second squared (a -- in this case g)
Very confusing to many, but only because the educational system in America feels it's necessary to tell untruths to children. Many would think my concern is just stupid, but to a child, just starting out, may feel he's at fault when things don't add up. Could things like this be the reason America is last when it comes to math and science.
Would it be so hard to think of your weight as your mass. An over weight person on the earth if you put him on the moon would weigh only one sixth as much but his health concerns would still be there because his mass did not change.
Installing Solar Panels
When installing solar panels, it is a must that batteries be connected to the system before any product that will be powered by the solar panel is connected to the system. Don't make the mistake of connecting anything directly to the output of the solar panel with out at least having batteries connected to the system first or your product may be severely damaged.
Problems with Home Wind Power
Wind power uses generators or alternators to produce electricity. Unlike solar, which due to it's means of producing power lends it's self to a constant voltage in a wide range of conditions, alternators and generators traditionally use up to 40% of their produced power in regulating their voltage output.
Batteries
Batteries are the most important link in the chain of any home powered, off grid, system. Batteries are where your hard earned power is stored to be used when needed most. There are many types of batteries and all of them are different. Learn what batteries are needed to store power for the purpose you need the power for. more... Home Made Energy Affordable alternative power, is the goal, alternative electricity to be more precise. There are many ways of producing electrical power but which is best for you? Alternative power sources that are realistic are limited. We will be discussing the three main way of producing electrical power in your home, off grid. So why would anyone bother with "Home made energy"? Well thousands of small business in California wish they had. Thousands of small business went out of businesses when the cost of electrical power went through the roof a few years ago. I was personally effected when my meat place, that offered meat at a great price well below the super market price, was forced out of business when their freezer electrical costs went from a few hundred dollars a month to a few thousand a month. These were business that had spent years developing their name, reputation, and product just to be wiped out with a blink of an eye because there was no alternative energy. Can a viable "long term use" cost effective mini home power plant be developed? Well lets look at the facts. The major power plants have costs that a mini home unit would not have. There are huge losses with hundreds of thousands of miles of transmission lines. Ever hear them buzzing and crackling at night, that's electricity being given away in the air. Also there is line resistance, electricity thrown away on heat. In big cities all over the world, in summer time, that heat almost melts the power lines off their poles. That heat is due to resistance in the hundreds of thousands of miles of transmission line. These are huge losses. Then there is profits, the power company needs to make a profit, the middle man has to make a profit, the stock holders need to make a profit, and the CEO's and the upper management people need to make out of this world profits.