She’s only year nine, but student Eva Lloyd is definitely one to watch after last week’s Cawthron Science and Technology Fair Awards.
The Nelson College for Girls student took out four awards including one of the highest awards of the night, the Des Duthie Technology Award.
Eva’s project, ‘A Handy Solution’, found a way to power bike lights using body heat.
The 13-year-old placed electricty-harnessing peltier tiles onto aluminum handlebars.
When gripped, a rider’s body heat warms up one side of the tiles while airflow and the aluminum bar cools down the other side, this heat transfer generates electricity which Eva wired to illuminate a 3 volt LED bike light.
An avid biker, Eva says she was inspired to create the handlebars after constantly dealing with batteries and hearing about too many accidents involving people cycling around the city without lights at night.
“Coming from a family who love biking, not being visible enough on your bike at night is something you’re aware of and there’s nothing worse than having your batteries run out as you’re coming down Codgers.”
Eva says she knew nothing about peltier tiles or how to wire a circuit when she started, but got the concept after reading an article about a girl who had made a hand-held torch using the tiles.
“I was talking to my science teacher and an electrician about the tiles and no one had heard of them, so it was quite a cool experience discovering what the tiles can do.
“My biggest challenge was creating a big enough temperature difference to create the amount of voltage I needed for the light, but I managed to do that by using aluminum and adding more tiles.”
This year’s Cawthron Science and Technology Fair saw over 70 students enter.
The projects were judged by 68 judges and Cawthron’s Christina Armstrong says this year’s fair celebrated some incredible young talent, with both the supreme science and technology awards going to year nine and ten students.
The other supreme award went to Waimea College student Kendall Shuker.
