Experience of a chain of components, all of them energy transfer devices, provides the basis for thinking about energy transfer, storage and dissipation. The animation then provides a similar system and takes concept development further.

A chain of transfers

Connect the solar cell to the motor and fan.

Shine the light from the lamp onto the solar cell.

You have made a chain of components, from the lamp to the fan.

• Does all of the light from the lamp reach the solar cell? What happens to the rest?
• Decide which, if any, of the components:
  
  
  
  
  1. Stores energy
  2. Passes some of the energy it receives on to another component in the chain
  3. Passes all of the energy it receives on to another component in the chain
  4. Passes all of the energy it receives to the surroundings

• From what parts of the chain is energy transferred so that it becomes dissipated?
• What eventually happens to all of the energy that the lamp supplies to the system?

Requirements

• A SEP Energy Transfer Kit, and in particular the solar cell, motor and fan. (If the Kit is not available then other sources can be used provided that the solar cell is matched to the motor)
• Lamp intense enough to allow the solar cell to drive the motor