The video chat with Uganda went very well. We talked to Catherine Nakabugo and her class. We talked about their daily life at first like what they have for dinner and it turns out they aren’t very different they eat KFC from time to time. Anyways that’s not important once we did get in to the important thing Catherine did all of the talking. We were asking how they got their water and it turns out it gets pumped in to the city. Then we asked about the situation on light. And its not as good as the water is they said that a lot of kids in the rule areas could not study for school because they could not see at night. That was basically all we talked about. I thought that the way way they got water into the city was very interesting because in my mind Uganda was a rule area with little to no water but my mindset was changed after what they told us about the state of the country. They even have a KFC! It felt really weird to have my mindset changed in a matter of minutes because when i went into science class I pictured Uganda’s living quality in a really bad state but from what I could see apart from light poverty its the complete opposite of what I first pictured.
There are a lot of problems that need to be addressed though I would like to focus on light poverty. I heard that last year Mr Robinson’s class addressed light poverty but the way they addressed it could be improved (Mr Robinson if you are reading don’t take offence). I have seen a very interesting flashlight that would help greatly. While Mr Robinson’s table light works very well for studying I would think that its impractical to take around with you. This flashlight concept I was thinking about does not need any power to use. If you did not know motion creates electricity so if I had a “wind up stick” on the side of the flashlight connected to something that could store power we could have a flashlight that works on nothing but turning the nob really fast. The way it would work is someone spins the knob for 5 minutes. That would result in an unspecified amount of power stored in a device that could hold it. Or we could keep the spinning nob but send the power into a converter and when you press the button on the top it would be uninterrupted power for how ever long you spun the knob.
It sounds simple but I have no idea how much or where we could even find a converter that fits in a flashlight. I suppose I could find something online to help me. I would need help from people who are more skilled than me at building electronics. I would need a lot more materials than just a converter I would definitely need a 3D printer even if I have never used one but if i did not build a shell what would hold the light or the knob. And if i were to go on my other route to store energy I would need a bigger base for the flashlight and a device to store the energy for usage, when you press the button on top of the flashlight the power that you have stored will light the LED up and create temporary light for the amount of time you spun the knob.
The reason I am making a flashlight is because I have heard about the light poverty in Uganda and I didn’t think that the lamps Mr Robinson’s class sent were as effective as my flash light will be. I think I did a good job planing and writing about the flashlight I’m making. I did do some research and there are some flashlights with the same concept as mine but they were very expensive.
I couldn’t attend the Skype call because I had an extra block that started in the morning but I did see the result of it. I think it went well even if wasn’t there. Thank you for reading and thank you for mentioning KFC.
you’re saying that the lights that Mr Robinson made last year were inconvenient to be carrying around but I have used a hand crank flashlight and they look like they are as big as the lights due more towards the lever. But it really does depend on the brand or the inside materials.
I have seen some of the ones on the market and they are very big. But I think I could find a way to make a smaller version. I also think the companies that are making these have much more power than we really need.
I am also concerned that the students in the rural areas of Uganda cannot study for lack of light. I am excited that you want to improve my previous classes idea (not offended 🙂 ). That is the way innovation is supposed to be! I look forward to you building on the idea of spinning a knob to create electricity and light. Keep innovating!
I am happy that you like my idea and I am also looking forward to seeing the final result.
Hi Aiden.
I like the idea but you have not laid your strategies to the people reading your information. The small version would make it best however the effectiveness should also be considered.
I like the idea but i think you need to make more research so that in case someone reads out your information, they may decide to sponsor the project.
Sarah Mayanja a student at Gombe High School