Science ( Electricity and Electroplating with copper )

Good morning/evening everyone, today for the end of our topic for science. Since it's the end of term 3, and probably we will be moving on to something new and different topics. Our science teacher gave us some different topics, we can choose from but it needs to be related to electricity because that was our focus topic only this term. I can't choose a topic between what's the difference between parallel and a series circuit, and how does lightning work. So I made up my mind, and look about how does lightning work. Also, this is related to static electricity. 

At this point in the hour, for our last session in Science, we did an experiment that is called electroplating with copper. Well, it basically means a type of process of plating a layer of copper electrolytically on any type of surface in an item. The process is that the copper will physically flow through the item, and that is reduced to the metallic state by gaining the electrons. 

Experiments steps: 

 - In a group of 3 to 4, then if you found a team. Gather together a Power Supply, 2 wires with clips, Copper Sulfate solution, Copper, Beaker, and safety glasses. Or any item you wanted to plate. 

- Secondly, put your clips onto the positive and negative terminals of your power supply. Attach the copper to the positive wire and the metal you want to plate to the negative wire.

- Put the copper sulfate solution in a tall beaker and put the copper and item in the solution. Avoid the clips entering the solution.  

- The last step, is that set your power supply to  6 Volts and remember to turn it on! And level it for several minutes. 

Result/Discussion:

The result is actually very interesting, from what I can see is that after leaving it for several minutes. You can see that it will form a thin layer, solid, metallic copper that is spreading all around the surface of the item. Copper in the Blue solution was Cu 2+, with an electrical current turned into Cu ( which is the orange metal ) on the negative electrode. 

Electrons can be managed to knock off the atoms of one object and stick to the atoms of the other when two materials rub against each other. Objects that lose electrons become positively charged, while objects that gain electrons become negatively charged. If somehow the charge difference, known as the voltage, is big enough, electrons are attracted from one object to the other in order to cancel it out. All through thunderstorms, ice crystals in the clouds rub together, leading to a positive charge at the top of the cloud and a negative charge at the bottom. Whenever the charge difference will become very large, the electrons moving at the bottom of the cloud move through into the air to the positively charged ground immediately below it, resulting in the spectacular bolt of lightning. It is worth noting that one bolt of lightning contains enough energy to power a tiny insignificant town for an entire year.

Then I also looked at maglev trains:

To move, the world's fastest train employs electromagnetism. Maglev trains use powerful electromagnets to suspend themselves a few millimeters above the track. In addition, maglev trains do not have engines. Instead of engines, they are propelled along the tracks by the changing magnetic field. A maglev train through Japan has reached a maximum speed of 581 km/h, but if those run into tunnels with no air to slow them down, they could one day reach speeds of over 6,000 km/h.

A connection between both electricity and magnetism, including when an electric current or an alternating electrical field generates a magnetic field, and whenever a changing magnetic field tends to produce an electric field. Electromagnetism has been the science of control and the forces and fields that accompany it. Electromagnetism includes both electricity and magnetism. Electric charges, whether at rest or in motion, generate electric forces.

I got all of my information from a book, that my Science teacher let us have read it. I have enjoyed looking at these different terms.