Supercapacitor Storage-based Solar Cell Power Modules
This project is done by Binghamton University mechanical engineering students. It is purpose is to alter the way that solar systems work. Basically super-capacitors are used in the system instead of the batteries to get longer lifetime and smaller size for the solar systems. For more information you can visit this link:
Main purpose of the projects are to prepare a platform that would used to give education to high school senior students or college freshman students about Nano-technology. To achieve this purpose, two animations (Flash animation and google sketchup animation) and a website done by Computer Science Department. This page will include information about how the animations and web page done.
General System Animation
Macromedia Flash 8 is used to create this animation. It is an old version of Adobe CS 5 which is the last version of the Flash suites. Macromedia Flash 8 uses Action Script 2.0. For more information about Action Script 2.0 you can visit this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActionScript .
How the Animation Implemented
As you may know Macromedia Suite allows you to create multiple layers for your animation. This is very useful property of the suite because it makes you separate the object from each other. It is better to separate all the object that you are creating with these layers because you may need to move them around without effecting other objects. Also with ordering the layers, you can make the one object drawn on other.
While creating the animation the background prepared first since we can add objects on the background with using layers. Background included the system design which is an bitmap image created in paint and than modified in Macromedia Fireworks 8. Since Macromedia Flash 8 is an animation suite not design suite, it is easy to design on other suites and than import it into the flash project.
Macromedia Fireworks is a good suite for creating object before importing it to the project because you can create background transparent .png images. Otherwise the images you import to the flash project will include unwanted white backgrounds.
After including background, other objects like cloud, energy flows and arrow added to the project. Action script used to make the electricity look like flowing and to make the cloud and arrow moving.
How to Export Animation
After you done with the animation, you should export it as .swf file to put on the web site. (prefer .swf file because it has better quality and the visitors of the web page may play it without needing any plug in but flash player). To do this you should follow these steps.
Under the File tab you should pick Export->Export Movie or you can press ctrl + shift + alt + S
After that chose appropriate folder and save as type: .swf
Than it will pop up an options menu chose:
Version: Flash Player(latest version) Load Order: Bottom Up Action Script: 2.0
Chose only Compressed Movie option
Set the JPEG Quality to 100 than press OK
This .swf file is ready to put on the web page. You may put it on the web with the help of the dreamweaver or directly writing code on the webpage. This will explained on the web page creation part.
Supercapacitors vs Regular Capacitors Animation
The aim of this animation is to show the users the difference between the supercapacitors and the regular capacitors. The animation shows the inner layer of the capacitors which makes the user to realize how the super capacitor holds more charge than regular one. Google sketchup used to create this animation as movie.
Google Sketchup is a free tool to model 3D or 2D objects. The reason to chose this tool is first of all it is free to use and it allows the user to create detailed models. Modeling on this program is much more easier than modeling on Macromedia Flash 8 but it is harder to move the things around and make frame by frame animation. Since on this animation there wont be any thing moving around but the camera, it was better to use Google sketchup.
This program also has multi layer capability. You can use these layers in animation to show or not show the layer on the specific scene. Also you can design components or groups to use the same thing over and over again. If you change a components shape or color other objects created from this component will be changed. On the other hand if you change a group's shape or color it wont change the other object created from this group. If you want to change only one object created from an component , you can right click the object and chose the Make Unique option. With this way it will only change that object.
