M. Schlauch's Blog about Some Things

I got my model to work and I was able to set up all of my cores. I have a ferrite core, a laminated core, an iron core, and an air core, all of which service a different purpose. The goal of the cores that I am testing is to see which core works best with a brushless motor-generator, which has no contact. This is why I predict that the material with the lowest electrical conductivity and the highest magnetic permeability will do the best. The first core I am testing is the ferrite core. Ferrite is a metal alloy, composed of different elements such as iron oxides, nickel, zinc, and manganese, and is commonly used in wiring due to its noted success in reducing Eddy Currents. I hypothesized that this core would perform the best out of the four cores because it was specifically designed to reduce the amount of losses in wiring in order to conserve electricity, and I predicted that this feature would also work well with my project. The second core I am testing is a laminated core...

This book is getting very interesting as Bryson journeys and meets new and interesting people. First off, he meets up with his old "friend" Stephen Katz, an out-of-shape drunk that is hoping to find a new meaning with the hike. Bryson, at first, is excited to reunite with his old backpacking buddy, but his wife is worried, since the last trip they went on together was, long story short, a train wreck. However, Bryson needed someone to go with him on his expedition, and Katz was the only one that was daring enough to join Bryson on his insane journey. After the two have hiked for a few days, they meet a young lady by the name of Mary Ellen. Marry Ellen is a cocky, inexperienced hiker that is constantly insulting Bryson and Katz about the shape they're in, critiquing their choices of equipment, and talking about all of her "interesting" life experiences. Bryson and Katz, fed up with the pestering brought by their new companion, come up with a plan to ditch Mary E...

"A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson, so far, has been an amazing book. It opens with an insightful description of the Appalachian Trail, the hike that the author would be attempting to conquer throughout the rest of the book. Bryson, an already acclaimed author for some of his other novels, describes how he felt an urge to conquer the longest trail in America just to say that he did it. The main reason I love this book so much is because it is not afraid to stray from crude humor, it is about an amazing, humorous journey through some of the most beautiful parts of America, and it does a very good job of incorporating facts about nature, the Appalachian Trail, hiking equipment, the history of the national park service, and so much more into the flowing story that rarely gets repetitive. Probably one of the best examples of this was when Bryson went to purchase his hiking equipment with his son, where Bryson, a novice hiker just wanting to save money, was blown away by the pri...

There are many laws that apply to my project, mostly having to do with how magnetic fields interact with my system. These laws include Faraday's and Lenz's Law, which are commonly grouped together as they were based on one another, Earnshaw's Theorem about magnetic levitation, the concepts surrounding Eddy Currents, and other electrical terms such as resistivity and magnetic permeability. Faraday's Law and Lenz's Law are very important to my project because they explain how moving electricity through a coil of magnet wire will create a magnetic field. This is important because these two laws explain how my non-contact motor-generator can utilize the magnets on my axis to get my FES spinning. Faraday’s Law explains how the movement of coils along a magnetic field produces a current in the wire. The three ways are to move a magnet through a coil, to move the coil in the x- and y- directions in relation to the magnetic field, or to rotate the coil perpendicula...

     This project is a continuation of my science fair project. For my project, I will be taking a Flywheel Energy Storage Device (FES) and I will be changing a few variables on it, including making it levitate using magnets, putting it in a vacuum chamber, varying the type of metal inside the motor-generators, and I will get it to work in a zero-gravity environment.      As of now, FES devices are primarily used in partnership with different renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar energy, in order to store excess energy in an environmentally friendly way. The way it works is whenever there is excess energy, the energy will go to the FES and will get the flywheel spinning at a very fact velocity. Then, whenever there is no more energy going into the flywheel, the FES will regenerate the stored energy by transferring the energy back through the motor-generator. This is useful because the FES is a very clean way to store energy, and also has an ...

Would Santiago have been happy even if he had stayed with Fatima and did not learn of the Soul of the World?

After the Alchemist and Santiago are confronted by the dessert tribe, the Alchemist bargains his and Santiago's life by telling the dessert tribe that if Santiago cannot turn into the wind in three days, then they can kill the two travelers. This already seems out of place with the cool-headed, logical Alchemist, but the scene that follows contradicts the serious Alchemist even more. After Santiago questions why the Alchemist would put their lives on the line when they were both aware that Santiago did not know how to turn himself into the wind, the Alchemist responds with the snarky remark, "'You're the one that may die…I already know how to turn myself into the wind.'" This seems odd, since the Alchemist basically left Santiago on his own to figure out how to do the impossible. This contrasts the serious and logical outlook of the Alchemist, as he usually does not respond with snarky comments but rather with explanations.

One aspect of this book that I dislike is that whenever Santiago is learning from any of his mentors, they give him some vague advice that would leave almost anyone else confused or struggling, but then Santiago figures out some knowledge about the universe without any explanation. The example that annoyed me the most was after the Alchemist's speech about how you have to listen to your heart no matter what. Before this conversation, Santiago was having a lot of struggle trying to listen to his heart, and this was causing him a lot of distress. However, after a conversation about WHY it was important to listen to your heart, Santiago magically learns how to listen to his heart, as it is said, "The boy continued to listen to his heart... He came to understand its dodges and tricks... He lost his fear, and forgot about his need to go back to the oasis." It bothers me that Santiago was struggling with how he could listen to his heart, and then after a vague and confusing exp...

While Santiago is journeying through the dessert with the Alchemist, the old man relays a lot of knowledge that is very useful to Santiago's journey. However, one of the most important things that the Alchemist talks about is how Santiago always has to follow his heart, even if it is starting to become a burden, because the heart will never remain silent. This is shown in the conversation where Santiago is questioning the Alchemist about his heart's intent and how his heart is keeping him from getting rest, in which the Alchemist responds, "'Well, that's good. Your heart is alive.'" The Alchemist goes on to say that your heart came from the Soul of the World, and will help you find ;your way to the Soul of the World. The Alchemist also says that even if you try to ignore what your heart is trying to tell you, you "will never again be able to keep it quiet," which would put you at a state of eternal unrest.

What happened to the Englishman after he met with the Alchemist? Since later in this section, Santiago does not even return to his caravan friend before he leaves the oasis to continue his Personal Legend.

I dislike how Coelho decided to frame Santiago's development. The growth of Santiago seems very repetitive, as Santiago has some sort of conflict, he gets the help of someone wiser than him, and he continues on his Personal Legend after quoting the person that helped him. First off, after Santiago got robbed in North Africa, he was employed by the Crystal Merchant, who eventually taught him the phrase " Maktub ", meaning "It is written", and Santiago repeats this as he is struggling with the decision to continue his journey or go back to being a shepherd. This again happens with the Englishman on the caravan and then, more noticeably, the Alchemist. While the Alchemist is trying to get Santiago to abandon his post as counselor of the oasis and continue his Personal Legend, Santiago refuses, as he wants to be with Fatima in the oasis. However, after a brief lesson with the Alchemist, Santiago has a conversation with Fatima, saying that he has to go, and repeats t...

While Santiago is meeting up with the alchemist in pursuit of dessert life, Santiago exclaims that he "'want[s] to stay in the oasis'" because he has "'found Fatima,'" who he believes is "'worth more than treasure.'" This exact scene has occurred in different forms throughout the novel. At the beginning of the novel, Santiago has doubts about starting his journey to the pyramids because of the Andalusian girl, who he thought he would marry, as well as his good life he already had as a shepherd. This situation also occurred after Santiago worked with the Crystal Merchant, as he was planning to return to his humble life as a shepherd after he was robbed. Santiago's major flaw is that he always wants to give up his Personal Legend whenever things are going well for him, whether he has found a girl that he loves or he has become very wealthy. It takes a wise person to get Santiago back on track, from Melchizedek to the Crystal Merch...

During Santiago's desert meeting with the alchemist, the old man reveals the future of Santiago if he chooses not to pursue his Personal Legend. According to the alchemist, Santiago, if he decided to stay at the oasis with Fatima, would become very wealthy during his first year, and he would become accustomed to the omens of the dessert. However, as time progresses, Santiago would start to remember his Personal Legend, and would continuously make excuses as to why he was no longer pursuing his dream. This internal conflict would eventually lead to some minor problems in his relationship, and Santiago would live the rest of his life as a wealthy, happy many filled with regret. This was a big moment because this persuaded Santiago to give up his life as the counselor of the oasis and continue his Personal Legend to the pyramids. Without this moment from the alchemist, Santiago would have simply kept with his life on the oasis and would never have achieved his Personal Legend.

What role do you think alchemy will have on Santiago's development? Based on the title, the Alchemist that the Englishman is in search for should have great significance on Santiago, but during his caravan trip, the former shepherd shows very little interest in alchemy.

I dislike one small yet significant part of Coelho's writing. One of the thing that bothers me the most about reading this novel is that many of the characters in the novel do not get names. So far, the Andalusian girl, the Crystal Merchant, and the Englishman have been semi- to very significant to the plot of the novel, as well as to the development to Santiago as a character. The reason I dislike these characters not getting a name is that it makes the characters a lot less connectable and not very memorable (as I had to go look back through the novel to figure out what the "merchant's daughter" was referred to as). Even though I can see how Coelho wanted to use these characters more as symbols to contribute to the development of Santiago, it gives off more of a message that Coelho simply got lazy and did not want to come up with a lot of names for his characters. It even bothers me more that the only two characters that have gotten names so far (even though this is...

Beginning during Santiago's hookah session with the Crystal Merchant, the phrase Maktub  is introduced, meaning "It is written" in Arabic. At this time, the phrase does not have much meaning, but later when Santiago is asking for the merchant's blessing, the merchant says the phrase before he "gave the boy his blessing." Later on, during the caravan trip through the Sahara, Santiago recalls the teaching of the Crystal Merchant as he gazes through the desert in search of meaning. Santiago thinks to himself that his intuition is simply his ability to become one with the world and the past, and then repeats the phrase Maktub.  As the phrase continues to be used throughout the novel, Maktub  begins to lose its true meaning as "It is written" and begins to be used as a peace word, where saying the Arabic word gives Santiago a divine peace.

During their trek through the Sahara on the way to Egypt, Santiago and the unnamed Englishman exchange hobbies; Santiago takes up to reading the Englishman's books while the Englishman attempts to enjoy gazing into the desert to find meaning. However, Santiago makes it clear that he does not find an interest or an enjoyment in alchemy, as he questions why the books that the Englishman carries with him have to be so complex. However, the Englishman's response was truly enlightening, as he says that only those with the "responsibility for understanding can understand" the alchemy books, as it would be a terrible thing for everyone to have the ability to turn lead into gold, as he mentions that "gold would lose its value." Not only does the Englishman do an amazing job at passively attacking Santiago's responsibility, he also makes a very valid point about alchemy, as that only a select few should be able to use alchemy since it would hurt the economy if ev...