What Is Light?
Name: Iesha Matthew
Date: 03/03/12
Subject: Science Fair
Initial Introduction
• My name is Iesha Matthew and I am in the 10th grade. I
currently attending FLVS as a full-time homeschooler. The
classes I’m currently taking for FLVS is Economics, Physical
Science, English IV, Adv Pl United States History, and
Chinese 2. I have always been interested in Science because I
can always learn what science has on the affect of all living
things on Earth.
Project Introduction
• My project is going to be what light is and how
it works. My purpose for this project is
because I want to know what material would
be a good conductor to make a light bulb work.
My hypothesis is that if I use aluminum, then it
will be a good conductor for a light bulb. My
goal is to prove that it is possible to use
aluminum as a conductor for light.
Hypothesis
• If I use aluminum, then it will be a good
conductor for a light bulb.
Materials
• The materials that I used for my project are the
following materials:
• A copper wire
• An aluminum wire
• A flash light bulb
• A double AA Rayovac Alkaline battery
Results of Experiment
Metals
Battery Voltage
Coil
Light or No Light?
Copper
1.5 V
1
Light
Aluminum
1.5 V
1
Light
Discussion
• The electrical capacity of any type of cables/wires are depending on the
heat withstand capacity of the material which can be calculated with the
product of square of current, Resistance of the material and Total time for
flow of current. So for a fixed current flow and fixed length of wire the
area of cross section of the cable is directly proportional to the resistivity.
Resistivity of copper is 1.68x10 power -8 and that of pure aluminum is
2.82x10 power -8. So.. for a specific current flow, an aluminum cable size
should be 1.7 times that of copper cable. From my experience, I noticed
that when I used the copper wire the battery heated up less than when I
used the aluminum wire. The aluminum heated up the battery to the point it
was hot to the touch.
Conclusion
• I have concluded that my hypothesis is correct
that aluminum is a good conductor for electricity.
It has been proven that copper is a more
commonly used conductor for electricity than
aluminum. The reason for this is because of the
different electrical capacity that a copper wire and
an aluminum wire have are completely different.
A copper wire can hold more electricity than an
aluminum wire. Though it is possible that an
aluminum wire can be used to conduct electricity.
Bibliography and Acknowledgements
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http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_does_a_light_bulb_work
http://www.ehow.com/how_4798212_light-bulb-work-battery.html
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikijunior:How_Things_Work/Light_Bulb
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Whats_the_difference_between_Aluminum_wires_and_copper_wi
res
Acknowledgements:
My Parents
Photos of Experiment
Supplies:
Aluminum Testing:
Copper Testing: