Steam Engine

Miss Alaina and me

Essential question

Stirling engine

Project description

I think that the most essential piece of knowledge I gained in thermodynamics is the three laws of thermodynamics. I think that this is the most essential part because they are applicable to real life. They also explain why things are possible or impossible. My opinion on science has stayed the same, but gotten stronger. I think that science as a whole is very important, as well as individual scientific topics, such as physics or biology. I think that science is crucial to everything that we do. Without science, we wouldn’t have an understanding of the way things in the universe (and beyond the universe) work. We wouldn’t have the ability to cure diseases, or explore space. We, as human beings, would not be as developed as we are currently without the knowledge of science that we have acquired throughout time.

For my thermodynamics project, Mercedes, Yusra and I created a Stirling Engine. We put copious amounts of effort into this project, and completely restarted building twice. I would say that our biggest challenge in terms of building was getting the piston bent at the correct angles so that it would work correctly. In terms of the entirety of the project. I would say that our largest difficulty was getting the engine to work, if even for a few seconds. We overcame this, however, by continuing to place all of our effort into the engine and not giving up. The thing I, personally, found most frustrating about building our Stirling Engine was getting it to work properly. Because our engine was made out of simple materials, there were a lot of things about it that went wrong, such as melting that occurred in the duct tape when we heated the engine. In contrast, I believe the most rewarding part of creating our engine was seeing it work, even if it did not work how we had originally expected. Originally, what I was going to say I wanted to change if I redid the project was the type of engine I chose. However, after contemplation, I have decided that I would have liked to have redone the project with better supplies.

This project has definitely tested my ability to persevere and to continue working through hardship. My biggest takeaway from this project, I would say, is definitely my increased abilities to persevere. I have appreciated this project greatly due to my increased knowledge about thermodynamics, as well as some skills that will benefit me for my whole life. This project has been one of my favorites that I have ever done.