Constructing a Greenhouse Window
Building and testing a sensor to determine number of degrees to which
a window is open
Introduction
When making use of a greenhouse to grow plants out of season or on a
large scale for commercial reasons, the temperature within the green
house must be carefully regulated, in order to ensure that the plants
are under the optimum growing conditions. With the windows shut
permanently, the temperature may become too high, and the windows need
therefore to be opened. This will allow the temperature to drop back
to the correct level.
Different numbers of degrees to which the window is open have
different cooling effects. For example, if the window is open by 50
degrees, then there is probably a more rapid cooling effect upon the
greenhouse than if the window was 10 degrees open. Thus, it is
important to know how many degrees the window on a greenhouse is open.
It could however be very time consuming for people to check the
greenhouse(s) manually, or particularly problematic if the temperature
should become a problem during unsociable hours.
It would be extremely useful, then, if a sensor could be attached to
the windows of a greenhouse, and a reading sent back to a control room
as to how open the windows are. Someone could then either use a motor
attached to the window to alter the setting, or adjust the window
manually. My sensor could be used in conjunction with a number of
other sensors, e.g. temperature sensors and moisture sensors, to send
all the required reading back to a control room, thus allowing the
control of the climate within in the greenhouse to be totally
automated.
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Text Box: Windows need to be opened and closed according to temperature
[IMAGE]
Above: a typical greenhouse
Alex Furber 12HW Sensing Project 20-02-02
PLAN
There a number of ways in which a sensor could be built to measure the
angle at which a window is open.
use a thermometer to measure the temperature; however, this would not be possible with a
We must first begin the today’s lab by connecting the thermometer that digitally detects surrounding temperature to the Lab Pro Interface located on the computer via...
I am going to carry out an experiment to measure the change in mass of
Briefly Describe One Important Tool that Can Be Used to Measure its Occurrence in a Population
IC Temperature Sensors agreed that there is a major diversity of how thermal sensors read the heat, for example, a thermometer measures temperature with mercury rising as heat increases, showing the temperature on the side. However, thermometers only measure the temperature when it is close up to the heat source. Thermographic sensors are long ranged temperature measuring devices which makes them more ideal for this experiment. Thermographic sensors read the temperature using thermograms. Thermograms show a variety of different shades of color depending the temperature. The temperature is based off a number of different variables such as thermal radiation (2007). Thermal sensors that use thermography have many uses that they were created for. Thermal sensors are used in the military to detect explosives frequently. The marines use thermography to spot enemies also. Thermography is not only used by the military, it is also used for medical reasons such as detection of breast cancer (Flir Threat Detection,
This transducer senses its surroundings by emitting and/or detecting infrared radiation (invisible electromagnetic radiation with longer wavelengths than those of visible light). They can also detect the person’s skin temperature through emitted black body radiation.
There can be percentage errors and uncertainties or heat loss in surrounding while executing the experiment.
The sensor, in this case, can be a camera whereas the marker can be something as simple as a QR code. For example, a QR code sticker can be put on the hood of a car which will allow you to see a virtual hood on the car when you see it through the camera.
Possible sources of error in this experiment include the inaccuracy of measurements, as correct measurements are vital for the experiment.
Plants are grown under controlled and sterile conditions which reduce the risk of being exposed to pests, pathogens and diseases.
Another benefit of gardening is reducing the amount of energy required to heat and cool a home.
Ultimately when conducting this experiment I need to look at how to determine chemical change and how to measure
Protocol for taking care of plants.- The protocol for taking care of plants were that they were placed in an incubator where the light and temperature were controlled and stabilized. The plants were watered once every day at a reasonable hour. Other than the need of the fertilizer we did not require any other special material for the experimental pot. The steps I have to ensure is that the plants have stable temperature, stable light, and daily
Spectroscopy is measured using a spectrophotometer. A beam of light is first pointed towards the spectrophotometer. The beam of light then strikes a part of the spectrophotometer called the diffraction grating. The diffraction grating works similar to the prism shown above. It separates the light into its component wavelengths by rotating so that only a specific wavelength will reach a part of the spectrophotometer called the exit slit. On the other end of the exit slit there is a sample located in a test tube as well as a detector. After the wavelength passes through the sample, the detector measures the transmittance and absorption of the sample. The transmittance is the amount of light that was able to pass through the sample and reach the detector, and the absorption is the amount of light that was absorbed by the sample. The detector converts the measure of transmittance into s digital display, such as a graph.