Anand’s Bright Idea
The issue of rising energy consumption is becoming increasingly prominent due to population growth and the adoption of newer and less sustainable technology. High fossil fuel prices are stoking inflation with the addition of falling household incomes, making it increasingly difficult to meet costs of living. As a result, finding a clean energy source is extremely beneficial to not only the economy but the future of energy resources (International Energy Agency). This international movement for scientists and activists has spread to Peninsula, where students make their own efforts to combat the energy crisis. Sophomore Anish Anand has been attempting to find a solution for this issue for the past six months during his science research class. He has dedicated his scientific research project to finding a new technique that will enable corporations to harvest a clean energy resource by using something increasingly accessible in the age of the internet: a wireless network.
The basis of Anand’s project surrounds the use of a system that will transmit power wirelessly. The wireless power transmission system (WPTS) is composed of two main components: a phased array transmitter and a fresnel lens. The phased array emits power in a cone-like formation, delivering power using 2.4 GHz of electromagnetic waves which are commonly used in bluetooth devices. The second component is the fresnel lens, which concentrates specs of light into a relatively narrow beam to match the phase of a signal from a stream of light particles which transmits power indirectly. The lens will allow the power transferred to travel a further distance from one place to the another. To validate his project, he used high-frequency simulation software to test his WPTS design. To further ensure the WPTS worked in real-world conditions, he made a 3D-printed prototype built to measure data with a light spectrum analyzer and support the simulation’s data. Anand concluded that the electromagnetic fresnel lens combined with phased arrays can create a WPTS powering a lightbulb, which ultimately beams energy through wireless radio frequency. Using a lightbulb to showcase his design, he demonstrated at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Science and Engineering fair how the bulb lights up from currents generated through wireless transmissions.
“I specifically wanted to carry out this research [with a focus on] clean energy because it is the key to the advancement of humankind,” Anand said. “The process was a [very] long but fun journey that allowed me to gain a passion for the different aspects of light and [electromagnetic] waves. This project provided me the opportunity to work with many new scientific materials but it also was a [difficult] task to carry out.”
Throughout Anand’s research, he had to overcome many technical difficulties. One of the most difficult challenges he faced was creating a fresnel lens that would work with a 2.4 GHz of transmission. By using a specific GHz of transmission he had to ensure the lens was the correct size for the project for it to perform well. He first attempted to print it out, but found that it would be cost inefficient and too big to use for his prototype. His solution was to completely redesign the lens using an electromagnetic wave propagation theory. Using this theory, the lens was split up into concentric rings and angles. For the rings, he developed a new method to ensure that all the waves exit the lens in the same phase. This was accomplished by 3D printing the fresnel lens with different electric currents in the concentric rings. Additionally, he added new angles to alter the direction of the waves so that they could all become parallel to one another.
Advanced Placement (AP) Physics 1, AP Physics 2 and AP Science Research teacher, Mark Greenberg, advised Anand throughout his month-long science research project. Greenberg meets with his science research students twice a month to help solve difficulties or provide guidance. One of the main components Greenberg assisted with during Anand’s project was the materials used for the experiment as it was only available in Europe. This obstacle required him to ask Greenberg for assistance, which he contacted people in parts of Europe to ship the materials to him. In addition, Greenberg has helped Anand with complex mathematical problems to further ensure a quality understanding of the project.
“My real role during [Anand’s] project was to stay out of his way,” Greenberg said. “Talented researchers hit targets no one else can reach and as for [Anand], he aims for targets no one else can imagine. His project [was so] ambitious, I had my doubts that it would succeed, but [Anand] put in consistent hours to ensure that it would.”
Placing first at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Science and Engineering Fair for Engineering Mechanics and Engineering Technology, Anand was also recognized by the Yale Science and Engineering Association for the most outstanding exhibit in science, technology and mathematics for high school students. For this science research project, he was specifically inspired by Elon Musk’s energy research for Tesla and how it incorporated a clean energy source into the cars. He wishes to branch out into other scientific fields such as electrochemistry and physics in further science research projects. Junior and fellow AP research classmate, Jacob Ma, is proud of Anand’s science research project and the motivation behind it.
“I think [Anish’s] project was very innovative and will [most likely] be used in our generation,” Ma said. “I am really proud of everything he has accomplished and it is very exciting to see a friend of mine succeed [with such passion]. It is also inspiring to see how hard he worked for this science project and the dedication he put into this research [did not go unrecognized].”
