estimate energy bills – the cost of living
This quick post is for anybody wondering how much money they need to put aside for energy. If you don’t use electricity for keeping warm, your summer and winter electricity bills will be similar....
This quick post is for anybody wondering how much money they need to put aside for energy. If you don’t use electricity for keeping warm, your summer and winter electricity bills will be similar....
I am the person who wants to know if using an electric fan heater in one room costs less than heating the whole house using gas*. At parties I can keep a sofa to...
IT ideas for an electricity topic
Capacitor charge and discharge The voltage & current of a capacitor are measured as it charges and discharges. Sensors allow a graph to be plotted as this happens. The effect of different values of...
Current-Voltage relationships In this experiment the resistance of a lamp, resistor or diode is measured as the current is varied. Voltage and current sensors make the measurements while the software plots the results in...
Thermistor characteristics The voltage & current of a thermistor are measured as its temperature changes. Sensors allow graphs of voltage and current to be plotted against time. Not only can the resistance of the...
Heating effect of an electric current The temperature, voltage & current of a heating unit are measured over a period of time. This allows us to calculate the power of the heater (voltage x...
A thermistor is an electronic component whose resistance changes with temperature. The voltage and current of a thermistor can be measured as the temperature changes. Sensors allow you to take the many readings necessary...
You can ‘see’ magnetic fields using iron filings. You can measure the strength of magnetic fields using a magnetic field sensor connected to a computer. How, for example, does that field vary as you...
In this experiment the resistance of a lamp, resistor or diode is measured as the current is varied. Voltage and current sensors make the measurements while the software plots the results in real-time. After...
The voltage and current in a circuit change when a capacitor charges and discharges. Computer sensors can measure these changes and software can plot a graph as fast as this happens. Also, the effect...
Batteries or electrical cells are made using different substances. There are zinc dry-cells, alkaline cells and lead-acid accumulators. When you use them, the chemicals become exhausted at different rates. So choosing the right battery...
Batteries are a handy source of power. You’ll know that there are different kinds of batteries, and maybe that some are good for some jobs, and some for others. But battery power is expensive. It...
rogerfrost.com is a compendium of ideas for using technology to find answers to sciencey questions. Since 1995 it has provided ideas to school science teachers. Since 2020 we’ve focussed on questions around the home with a new home automation section. So today we look at ways to measure and monitorĀ around the house.
You will find everything here tagged and indexed by topic or technology.
Roger Frost was a writer from 1988 and this web includes many of his articles for magazines and newspapers. They tell how the early Internet developed; how real scientists work and how real people, like you might use technology at home or school.
Do please add a comment to an article or say hi via the social links. Use this content freely and link back here if you can.
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