I intend to investigate whether any correlation exists between the wavelength of light exerted upon a small solar cell impacts its rate of increase to response time

Amrik SadhraQOMFirst Report Solar Cell Response Times Quality Of Measurement Introduction For my quality of measurement coursework, I intend to investigate whether any correlation exists between the wavelength of light exerted upon a small solar cell impacts its rate of increase to ‘response time’ in any way. Response time in this scenario will be defined as the time required for the cell to reach its nominal voltage from 0v. The rate will be a measure of the response time divided by the voltage increase (measure of gradient). This will require the precise control of a number of variables; the largest being the co-ordination of light source start up and the voltage logging from the solar cell. The practical applications of a wavelengths affect on solar cells are limited. In the case of data transfer, much more tailored methods exist. However, a hobbyist could use the information obtained here to build a very cheap receiver and transceiver for the transmission of data, given the low costs of solar cells and their abundance in consumable electronics (calculators, garden lights etc.). The cells response time will dictate the rate of data transfer, as bits can be signified by the rise and fall of the cells voltage. The wavelength of light pulsed to generate these bits will need to extract the highest transfer speeds possible by coaxing a smaller response time from the

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Science
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Waves and Cosmology - AQA GCE Physics Revision Notes

Matter waves * As waves can behave as a stream of particles, particles can also behave as a wave De Broglie wavelength: λ = where mv is the momentum of the particle * Diffraction rings are where electron waves interfere constructively to produce a maximum - energy gained by electron is equal to the kinetic energy of the electron. Here, electrons are accelerated by a voltage of 2000 V; 2000 x (1.6 x 10-19) = x (9.11 x 10-31) x v2 Mass of electron = 9.11 x 10-31 3.2 x 10-16 = x (9.11 x 10-31) x v2 v2 = 7.025247 x 1014 v = 2.65 x 107 ms-1 So the momentum of electron: (9.11 x 10-31) x (2.7 x 107) = 2.5 x 10-23 kgm/s The de Broglie wavelength: λ = = = 2.6 x 10-11 m * If the accelerating voltage increases, energy and momentum of the electron would decrease the wavelength. Shorter wavelength blue light falling on diffraction grating produced fringes that are closer together than longer wavelengths (red light). * Resolving power is the wavelength of radiation used to determine the smallest object we are able to detect with it. The smaller the wavelength, the better the resolution. I.e. Resolution of visible object is limited by its wavelength of 5 x 10-7 m. In electron microscope, electrons are accelerated through 30000 V have wavelength of about 10-12 m, and so can produce images of object as small as a nanometre. When

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Science
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Measuring the Period of a Pendulum Motion

Measuring the Period of a Pendulum Motion Introduction The purpose of the pendulum lab was to form a hypothesis by choosing if either the period of a pendulum depends more on its mass or its length, and state that my hypothesis is either right or wrong by conducting tests with different lengths and two different masses. My hypothesis states that the period of the pendulum will depend more on its length than its mass. My reasoning is that the a long string will require more time for the mass to swing from one extreme and back again than a small amount of string. When there is a longer string attached to the rod, it will take a longer amount of time to reach its full extension and back. Procedure The key materials used in this lab include: * Meter Stick * Rods and Clamps * Wood Ball * Aluminum Ball * String * Scale * Stop Watch First, I made my hypothesis that the length of string would affect the period of a pendulum more than its mass. We than gathered the needed materials listed above. Set-up the clamp on the table which was attached to a rod that was perpendicular to the table. Another clamp was attached at the end of that rod to hold it in place. Next, the wooden ball was measured to be .059 kg and the aluminum ball at .242 kg. The wooden ball was hung from the rod and its measured distance was .888 m. The aluminum ball was then position beside the wooden ball

  • Word count: 1233
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Science
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Discharge Tubes

AIM To observe the effect that different gas pressures have on an electric discharge passed through a discharge tube. BACKGROUND INFORMATION The high voltage produced by the induction coil is applied across the terminals inside the discharge tubes. One plate (the cathode) becomes highly negative and releases a ray (cathode ray or electron). The electron passes through the gas in the tube and excites electrons in the atoms of the gas contained in the tube. The pressure of the gas determines the density of the atoms and therefore the nature of the collisions which take place between the electrons and atoms. Therefore, different discharge effects under different pressures can be observed. APPARATUS * Power pack * Two plug-plug leads * One set of discharge tubes(with varying pressures) * Induction coil * Two plug-clip leads METHOD . Attach the induction coil to the power pack using the two plug-plug leads. Adjust the points on the induction coil to obtain a continuous spark from the coil. Switch off the power pack. 2. Set the power pack at the 6 volts and turn it on. 3. Attach the negative terminal of the induction coil to the cathode of the discharge tube marked with the highest pressure (50 mm Hg) and attach the positive terminal to the other end. 4. Observe the pattern that is produced in the tubes and describe it carefully. 5. Repeat the above procedure using

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Science
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How is the sag of a bridge affected by the load applied at it's mid-point?

How is the sag of a bridge affected by the load applied at it's mid-point? Planning: This experiment is to see how the sag of a ruler, in millimeters, is affected by the weight put on it, the method of attachment, the method of support, the length of the ruler, the width of the ruler and the thickness of the ruler. Preliminary Work: I will do a series of experiments using a 1kg weight to try and determine the best: a) Length of ruler. b) Width of ruler. c) Thickness of ruler. d) Method of support. e) Method of attachment. The best results are the ones, which give the greatest sag. Firstly I did an experiment to check which constant length of ruler I should do: Length (cm) Sag (mm) Wooden: 00 50 80 00 60 50 40 22 20 8 Plastic: 00 85 From this graph I can now see that using a 100cm plastic ruler will give me the best results. I will now find out the best width to use by putting two or more rulers side by side. Width (no. Of rulers) Sag (mm) 3 0 2 60 50 This graph shows me that using one ruler thickness will give me the best results. I can now decide on the thickness of the ruler to use by putting two or more rulers on top of each other to get different thicknesses: Thickness Sag (mm) 50 2 90 3 50 From this graph I can see that I need to use only one ruler to get the best results. I now need to find out the best method of support,

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Science
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Investigating Hook's Law.

Investigating Hook's Law Hook law is when obeying force length on a spring or any extendable materials. Example is when an extendable material is stretched by using different weight of masses, and it was able to go back to its normal shape, this is when hooks law as being applied. In contrast if the spring happened not to go back to it's normal shape, hook law has been disobeyed. This could due to the fact that; too many load are placed on the spring. This can damage the spring. Scientifically this is called elastic limit. During this process, force is applied to spring to pull the atom apart in order to make it stretch. The searching could be small because the atoms of solid are tightly packed together. The Kind of force used to observe the extension of spring after masses has been applied is known as potential force. When the potential force has been applied, one end and suspend sequence of masses are fixed to measure the spring extension. Aim: To observe if an extendable spring obeys hook's law. Prediction: When applying masses expands a spring it will go back to its normal shape in order to obey the hook's law. Apparatus *Clamp *Clamp Stand *Ruler *Hangar *Slotted Mass *Spring *Celotape. Safety: * Stand up while doing the experiment to avoid injuries when masses mistakely dropped. * Handle the mass with care * Use a reasonable surface area to place clam

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Science
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The Anglers Problem

The Anglers Problem Aim To use rubber bands to produce an accurate and reliable spring balance to weigh fish caught by an Angler. We have to consider how reliable and sensitive the gauge will be. Prediction I predict that the greater the weight applied to the band, the further it will stretch. This is due to extension being proportional to load, and so if the load increases so does the extension and so does the stretching distance. I believe that the best device would produce results to form a graph similar to the one below (line of best fit shown in red). I predict that the two bands in series will be the most sensitive device, due to its length. It will also be more stretchy (blue line). However its elastic limit will not be that high. The 2 bands in parallel will not be as sensitive but it will have a high elastic limit (green line). I believe that the 2 parallel connected to the one band will be a good device. It will be sensitive (due to its length) and it could cope with a heavy load due to the thickness of the top half. The two bands in parallel connected to the two bands in parallel will be both sensitive and strong. This would make the best device. Hypothesis Hookes Law states that if you apply force (f) to a spring, the spring will stretch by some length (x). Doubled force means double the stretch. This is known as a mathematically direct relationship. Line

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Science
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Investigate Hooke's law, using masses and springs.

Aim My aim is to investigate Hooke's law, using masses and springs. Background knowledge When weights are attached to one end of a spring it stretches. Hooke's law states that the extension depends directly on the load, that is: Extension (E) is proportional to the load (M) added. So if this is true doubling the load should double the extension. I know the limit of proportionality is when the spring becomes less stiff and the same force causes a greater stretch than below the limit of proportionality. If you carry on exerting a force on the spring then it looses its elasticity and will not return to its original shape. Prediction As the extension is proportional to the force (load) I think the spring will obey Hooke's law until the limit of proportionality. Plan I think the best way to display my results are in a graph because then you can see exactly how the spring obeys Hooke's law, you then also see where it reaches it's limit of proportionality. I will use 100g weights because anything smaller would take too long to do and anything bigger would be too heavy and the spring would reach its LOP (limit of proportionality) too quickly. Apparatus X Lump of plasticine X Mass holder X Meter ruler X Clamp X Boss X Spiral spring X Retort stand X Paper clip X Large weight And a collection of 100g discs. Method I set up my apparatus as shown in fig 1. I

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Science
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Waves notes

WAVES AND SOUND SUMMARY Travelling wave characteristics Waves transfer energy without transporting matter because each part of the medium oscillates on the spot. The medium is the material that vibrates when a wave passes. A transverse pulse causes the spring to move at right angles to the direction of motion of the pulse. A longitudinal pulse causes the spring to move parallel to the direction of motion of the pulse. A transverse wave is polarized when it vibrates in only one plane. Longitudinal waves cannot be polarized. Displacement is the position of a particle in a medium relative to its normal position. Superposition : When two pulses over lap the total displacement at all points along the medium equals the sum of the individual displacements. The speed of the particles of a medium is a maximum when their displacement is zero. The speed of the particles of a medium is zero where the medium has maximum displacement. The amplitude of a wave is the greatest distance the medium moves from its normal position. The wavelength of a wave is the distance from any point to the next corresponding point. The period of a wave is the time it takes to move one wavelength. The frequency of a wave is the number of waves that pass in one second. The frequency is the reciprocal of the period. The speed of a wave equals its frequency times its wavelength. A

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Science
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The aim of the experiment is to determine which factors affect the oscillation of a pendulum.

Introduction: Pendulum, device consisting of an object suspended from a fixed point that swings back and forth under the influence of gravity. Pendulums are used in several kinds of mechanical devices; for example, certain types of clocks use pendulums. The most basic type of pendulum is the simple pendulum. In a simple pendulum, which oscillates back and forth in a single plane, all the mass of the device can be considered to reside entirely in the suspended object. The motion of pendulums such as those in clocks closely approximates the motion of a simple pendulum. A spherical pendulum is not confined to a single plane, and as a result its motion can be much more complicated than the motion of a simple pendulum. Aim: The aim of the experiment is to determine which factors affect the oscillation of a pendulum. Hypothesis: The two factors I have chosen to experiment are length of the string and the angle at which the pendulum is released. Any system, which carries out a repeated "to and fro", is described as an oscillator. Simple examples are a mass on the end of a vertical spring, a pendulum, or a trolley tethered between two springs (A trolley oscillator). The amplitude of an oscillation is the maximum displacement of the system from its rest position. There are a number of other

  • Word count: 2366
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Science
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