AboutDan Fink Expertise Though my experience is mostly in the fields of electricity, magnetism, and physics, I have a broad science background. My career is in the field of alternative power sources -- solar, wind, water and battery power. But any questions about electricity, magnetism, energy conservation, power generation, electric motors, and even general physics are very welcome--especially from kids. They ask the best questions of all! I pride myself in answering science questions accurately, with ideas for SAFE, easy experiments that kids can perform by themselves--and that let them prove the answers to their own satisfaction. I think science should be fun, and available to everyone, regardless of age.
Experience I have volunteered in our local public schools for 5 years. I currently make presentations at our schools about electricity and magnetism, with a focus on solar, wind, water and other alternative power sources. I try to demonstrate at our schools how easy it is to make electricity, with simple devices using spinning magnets and coils of wire--powered by wind, water, bicycles, gerbils...etc. And of course solar panels! I am the webmaster of Otherpower.com, an alternative energy website. I have lived 10 miles from the nearest power pole for 11 years--I make all my own electricity from scratch with sun, wind and water.
Expert: Dan Fink Date: 4/15/2008 Subject: sunlight energy
Question How do all of the living things in a food chain get the energy to live from sunlight? on a fourth grade level
Answer Hi Johanna.
In a food chain it all boils down into producers, consumers, and decomposers.
All the energy comes from the sun.
Producers -- mostly green plants. They harvest energy from the sun, turn it into food for themselves, and then are in turn eaten by:
Consumers -- animals that eat the plants, or other animals (that eat plants).
Decomposers -- when the plants and animals die, the bacteria and fungi decompose them, and turn them back into nutrients again (carbon, nitrogen, etc.) that can be used for growing producers, provided there is sunlight for them to grow again.
So you can see that everything starts with the sun.... sunlight energy for the plants to harvest. If you were to block the sun, the food chain would stop working. Not even the decomposers could help, because the plants need BOTH the solar energy and the nutrients....and the nutrients were made from dead plants and animals.
