Sustainability

Project for Physics 324 Fall 2013 HW#2 Due 9/16/2013 (in class) One per group
As I mentioned in the first lecture, I would like to use this class as a guiding principle to motivate you to learn how to apply the physics that youve learned in your classes to answer a real world problem. My hope is that it will help you (and me) appreciate that the abstract concepts that we discuss in class have real world meaning and are important. For this project, which you will do as a team, you will be either (a) Designing a solar powered hydro-steam generating plant to produce electricity for CSUSM or (b) you will be analyzing one of the campus buildings (that is not a parking lot) and you will construct a thermal model of its energy needs along with recommendations for minimizing these. Deliverables: You and your team will present your analysis, including methods, a in class and write a report on your findings by the end of the semester. The report has a minimum of 10 pages, but has no maximum. Monday, September 9th: I need you and your team to discuss and decide on which course of action you will take. There is no wrong choice, but do try and get the best overlap between your interests as a group and the project/building you decide to study. Once you have decided on which project you will tackle, then you will want to start developing a plan of attack to break down what may seem like a formidable problem into doable parts. Here are my suggestions: (1) Visit the building/plant site and walk around it to make sure you dont overlook any major factors that you might need to consider in your analysis. I emphasize major factors because you probably can ignore the power consumption of a radio compared to that of a refridgerated unit or computers in a building. (2) Draw a detailed picture/diagram of the building or power plant and ask yourselves the following:

 -What are the sources of heat (internal and external) in this building, both internal and external? -What are the sinks of heat for this building/plant Remember to think about these questions from a year-round and day/night perspective. For example, does the fact that the building is occupied by students/staff matter? How would you figure this out? And matter compared to what? Once you have identified an initial list of the the major sources/sinks of energy, make a google doc or similar shared document for you and your team and invite me to join your team/group. Or, you can send me an email with your document. Wednesday, September 11th: Be prepared to give a brief presentation to the class on your findings (use powerpoint, whiteboard, etc.) and make a list of concepts/tools that you would like to have to finish your design/analysis. The more you think about this part of the project, the more I will be able to help you. Brainstorm with your classmates. This will give you new ideas and perspectives. Be respectful, ask questions of each other as you might expect me to ask without telling you the answer outright. HW Assignment: Revise your list and send me a document, with group name and group members and what is your choice for the project, your plan of attack (timeline broken down by week is ideal) and list of questions/concepts/information that you think you need in order to complete the study. Remember, this is your education. You get out of it what you put in. Take this project seriously and imagine presenting this work as part of a portfolio of work you have done while you were a student at CSUSM. See you on Monday the 16th. Sincerely, Prof. Dominguez