| | Category | EN | P16 | The Little Engine That Could... Power Itself Using Alternative Fuels |
| | Abstract | This experiment tested which alternative fuel would most effectively |
| | power a steam engine. The purpose of this experiment is to find an |
| | alternative energy source that is effective. Water covers nearly 70% of |
| | the Earth’s surface and this project may find an effective way to use |
| | water as a power source. The steam engine was first patented by |
| | Thomas Savery. A steam engine works by using a heat source to boil |
| | water forming steam. This steam is forced into the motor unit and moves |
| | the piston. |
| | This experiment was conducted by using 6.0g of Esbit solid fuel, wood |
| | fire starters, wood, corn, peanuts, pistachios and soy beans to power a |
| | steam engine. The steam engine was connected to a wheel that could |
| | accurately calculate the number of revolutions the engine made. Each fuel |
| | had a total of three trials in which the amount of time for the water to boil, |
| | the amount of revolutions made by the engine, the time the engine was |
| | revolving, the RPM’s of the engine and the mass remaining after the trial |
| | was measured. Each fuel burned for 1 minute 15 seconds after the water |
| | had began to boil and then the steam engine was activated by ¼ turn of |
| | the flywheel. The hypothesis was if 6.0 grams of Esbit solid fuel, peanuts, |
| | soy beans, corn kernels, pistachios, wood, and wood fire starters are |
| | burned to power a steam engine, then the Esbit solid fuel will be the most |
| | effective fuel based on the amount of time to bring the water to a boil, the |
| | amount of revolutions made, the time revolving and the amount of mass |
| | remaining after the trial. |
| | After this experiment was completed, it is safe to conclude that the |
| | wood fire starters were the most effective fuel based on all categories |
| | tested. The wood fire starters were the quickest to bring the water to a |
| | boil, had the most revolutions of the steam engine made, the longest time of |
| | the engine revolving, the most RPM’s, and the most mass remaining after |
| | the trial of any fuel. The corn kernels were the only fuel that did not bring |
| | the water to a boil. Based on these results, it is safe to conclude that the |
| | hypothesis that the Esbit solid fuel is the most effective fuel is incorrect. |
| | These results also show that the wood fire starters are an effective fuel |
| | to power a steam engine and that corn kernels are not an effective fuel. |
| | Bibliography | "Exhaust gas -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 8 Jan. 2009 |
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| | "HowStuffWorks "How Steam Engines Work"" Howstuffworks "Science |
| | Channel" 8 Jan. 2009 <http://science.howstuffworks.com/steam1.htm>. |
| | |
| | Miller, Kenneth R., and Joseph S. Levine. Prentice Hall biology. Upper |
| | Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. |
| | |
| | "Steam engine -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 8 Jan. 2009 |
| | <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_engine>. |
| | |
| | "Steam Engine History." Inventors. 8 Jan. 2009 |
| | <http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsteamengine.htm>. |