Turn motion into light
Any relative motion between magnets and conductors will induce electrical current in the conductor. Thus electrical motors are also electrical generators, and you can use this fact to easily power things with motion. A relatively forgiving thing to power is an LED.
The kinetic project is to turn motion into light. Play around with a few alternatives for generators (say, stepper vs DC gearmotor). What is the open circuit voltage and short circuit current of your generator? Is the output AC or DC? Consider various forms of physical input (say, hand crank vs. foot pedal). How hard is it to turn? What physical activity is the input, and what human muscles or other motion does it capture?
Condition the output of your generator to safely power (at a minimum) a light, which could be a single bulb (of any type) or a more complex display. Consider the efficiency of the light source in lumens per watt.
Work in groups of 2 to 3. Document your project in detail, with measurements, and formally present the project in Week 5, February 21.
For this project, I worked with Haonan Qi to create a Zoetrope. We chose this idea because it was a fun way to get a creative output while still lighting a simple LED, and the rotational motion of the zoetrope spinning would work nicely with the kinetic energy generated by spinning a motor.
As a recap from last post, here is our ideation sketch:
Haonan’s sketch of the zoetrope concept.
https://www.reframingphotography.com/content/animating-photographs