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Pedal
Generator dramatically demonstrates the amount of energy
it takes to create electricity. A visitor sits in a
chair and pushes pedals connected to an electric generator
through a crankshaft. In front of the visitor are three
headlight- style lamps, two current meters, and a set
of switches to turn on one lamp, three lamps, or none
at all. With none of the lamps switched on, the generator
is very easy to pedal, and the meters indicate that
there is no current flowing into or out of the lamps.
With one lamp turned on, the pedaling becomes surprisingly
difficult and a good amount of effort must be put into
lighting the lamp. This provides a physical example
of the large amount of work required to produce enough
electricity for just one lamp. With three lamps on,
the visitor must pedal furiously to keep the three lamps
at the same brilliance (identical current in and out)
as the original one lamp.
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