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| The Basic Properties of the Carbon Cycle |
When one typically hears the infamous name of Alexander Graham Bell, one would automatically consider the history of the telephone. He not only contributed to the widely used source of mass communication, but he also contributed his efforts to developing alternative energy sources.
Bell was born on March 3, 1847 in Scotland. He was homeschooled for most of his life, but later went to public high school. He was an average student, but displayed an uncommon ability to solve problems. At the age of 12, he had realized that husking a wheat grain was a slow process. He soon developed a device that husked the wheat grain at a quicker rate, therefore making this his first invention.
After his invention of the telephone, Bell showed interest in the study of alternate energy resources. He was among the first to determine that the increasing use of fossil fuels would eventually harm the environment. He also realized that it was not long before that these nonrenewable resources would eventually be completely gone. Bell used the term “greenhouse effect” to describe the warming of the earth because of the burning of fossil fuels. In the early 1900s, he began experimenting possible alternative energy sources for fossil fuels. After experimenting with different possible alternatives he had finally determined that ethanol or alcohol was the best fossil fuel substitute. He found that ethanol can be produced fairly cheap as long as it is not for human consumption. He discovered that the way to manufacture them cheaply would be to extract it from a corn stalk, but also from any other vegetable matter that is capable of fermentation. This could be also farm stubble, growing crops, or weeds.
The fermentation and distillation of alcohol begins with sugar that comes from various versions of grain such as:
- corn stalks
- barley
- sugarcane
Biomass is also required to complete the process, this includes:
- wood chips
- sawdust, and
- wheat straw
These included cellulose and hemicellulose as well. Alcohol proved to be a better source of fuel because it seemed that its supply was fruitful and did not cause any harmful emissions while burning. However, this source did not come without obstacles. Many of the new automobiles had low-compression engines, whereas today high-compression engines work more efficiently with alcohol fuel. Another obstacle that arose was to sustain a sufficient amount to maintain the rising demand for the new fuel. In the 1920s the total supply of alcohol for all purposes was 100 million gallons, therefore, causing hesitation to use it as a fuel source.
However, Bell’s theories did not go to complete waste because in today’s society alcohol is used as an alternative source. Manitoba’s Riding Mountain National Park has been collecting vegetable oil from local businesses and has been refining it into biofuel to power their park equipment. Kejimkujik National Park, in Nova Scotia, has adopted Bell’s theory of the “greenhouse effect” by having a solar hot water system in the shower building. His theories remain to be used amongst different aspects of science.
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Chriag.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I find it kind of cool how one can just come up with stuff like this just by doing some everyday actions. If I could come up with some type of invention that would benefit the world in a way I'd feel great. I guess it all comes down to the way you think and how something would actually improve the world. I like your blog. Seems as though you know a lot about anything green. Which is great! We know the world should really reconsider ow we live around here. :)
Chirag,
ReplyDeleteThis was a new look on Bell. It was very interesting to find out that he had contributed to much more than the telephone and he was actually an environmentalist. Was he the first to develop the term "greenhouse effect"? Was he one of the leaders in the movement to reusable fuels instead of fossil fuels? I see these terms tossed around a lot in today society, but if it was Bell that pioneered them then it's crazy that the well known telephone inventor sparked all of this. Interesting post, but doesn't seem to have to deal with electrical engineering at all.
Very interesting article on Alexander Bell, he is one of the many developers that we owe much appreciation for his contributions in science.His theories did not go to waste and because of Alexander Bell we have alternative sources. However, I was not aware that his first invention husked wheat grain at a quicker rate, so that was something me that I learnt. Overall, I think you chose a spectacular individual to speak about and keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is really interesting to learn this about Alexander Graham Bell because I never knew he had interest in climate change and the science behind the greenhouse effect. I'm still confused on the relation between all posts in the blog. The post itself was interesting. I feel I have learned something new and would be interested now to do my research on this part about him.
ReplyDelete