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Inside the Machine G3 to G5 / Week 06 / Monday
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Week 06 · Power and heat

Monday

Where the power comes from
// From the wall to the warm little fan
⏱ about 15 min

Monday: Where the power comes from

A neighbor sets a laptop on the bench. "It will not turn on at all," he says. Rocket presses the button. Nothing. The screen stays black.

Raven looks at the side of the laptop. "What do you notice? There is no little light by the power port."

Nova hums quietly. "Would you like a hint? Every part you have met needs one more thing. Without it, the whole system sleeps."

Rocket feels warm air from a laptop vent. A small fan spins and a grown-up holds the charger.

Everything needs electricity

The processor, memory, storage and screen all run on electricity. No electricity, no computer.

Electricity can come from two places. One is a wall outlet. The other is a battery inside the device.

Wall electricity is strong and pushes back and forth. The small parts inside need gentle, steady electricity.

A power supply changes one into the other. In a laptop charger, the power supply is the brick.

DeviceWhere its power comes from
Desk computerA power supply inside the case, plugged into the wall
LaptopA battery, filled by a charger
Tablet or phoneA battery, filled by a charger
Wireless mouseA small battery inside
Grown-ups and plugs
Wall outlets, chargers and power supplies are for grown-ups only.
A kid may look at the charge level and tell a grown-up what it says.
A kid never plugs in or unplugs anything at the wall.
FOLLOW THE POWER
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
What does every part of a computer need to work?
What does a power supply do?
Who plugs a charger into the wall?

The black screen case

The laptop had no light by its power port. That light means the charger is connected and working.

Rocket asked a grown-up to check the charger. The brick was plugged in, but the cable had slipped out of the wall brick.

The grown-up pushed it in. The little light came on. After a few minutes, the laptop woke up.

The crew wrote it down: no light means no power is arriving.

StatementTrue or false?
Every part of a computer needs electricity.?
Wall electricity is gentle enough for the small parts inside.?
A power supply changes wall electricity into steady, gentle electricity.?
A kid may plug a charger into the wall.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEPower is the start of everything. Knowing where it comes from helps you notice when it is missing.
What part changes wall electricity into gentle electricity for the parts?
WHY THIS EXERCISEThe power supply protects the small parts. Without it, wall electricity would be far too strong.
PUT THE BLACK SCREEN FIX IN ORDER
  • ?Look for the little light by the power port
  • ?Notice the laptop will not turn on
  • ?The grown-up pushes the loose cable in
  • ?Ask a grown-up to check the charger
  • ?Test: press the power button again
WHY THIS EXERCISEA missing light is a clue a kid can spot. The fix itself is a grown-up job.
Try it
With a grown-up, look at a laptop or tablet charger from a safe distance.
Find the brick, the cable and the plug that goes into the device.
Point to the part that changes wall electricity into gentle electricity.
Every part of a computer runs on
The brick on a charger is a small
A laptop that is unplugged runs on its

Great start, Crew Technician! You found the first clue in any power problem: the little light. Tomorrow you will look inside a battery, in pictures only.