A Hands-on Activity on Human-Powered Lights for In-Class Demonstrations

Abstract

To generate electricity by pedaling a bicycle is an old idea but designing and constructing the system to be used as an experiment in the classroom is novel. This work informs students about the efficiency of energy transformations and various light bulbs using a hands-on demonstration and engineering calculations. Three light bulbs of different categories (incandescent, compact fluorescent, and LED) were connected to a motor that is driven by a human pedaling a bike fixed to a frame. The efficiency of the system and each of the light bulbs is calculated using measured voltages and currents. Each bulb's heat dissipation and luminance are captured and measured using a thermal camera and lux-meter respectively. A short survey was given to the participating undergraduate students in an electromagnetics course. According to the survey results, all students found this hands-on experiment very useful in their learning process. This experiment would be a good fit for the students in their sophomore and junior years.