SpudFiles

how would you guys go about makeing the worlds best homemade solar cooker. I'm thinking a parabolic mirror aimed at a black pan.

any ideas are appriciated!

You'll need a big damn array of mirrors. You'll probably have better luck with 100 smaller mirrors than one huge one (Easier to aim them all at one spot, easier to position them). I'm wondering about using a Fresnel lens or even a huge magnifying glass to heat a metal plate, connected to your "oven" with thermal grease to transfer as much heat as possible. Research this, similar things have been done before. Mythbusters (a US TV show, if you're not from here) conducted a similar experiment, I'm sure you can find the video on youtube.

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

i'd say good luck, there is not a great chance of you making one of these, on the show "Mythbusters" they made a mirror type thing that consentrated the sun in one spot, but it didn't do much, and it was HUGE! so yeah, it'll be hard.

For cooking food, you don't need a parobolic mirror - and you probably don't even want one.
I'd go with a 4x5 array of 1' mirrors... my 3x3 circular reflector is a bit deficient, although that's partly due to it not being a bit rippled.
You might be able to get away with a 6x6 array of 6" mirrors.

why would you not want to use a parabolic mirror?

a cheap way to do it but no clue how effective it would be.
1. Carboard box cut big hole in the lid
2. Line the box with 1-2 layers of aluminum foil
3. A clear plastic and cover the hole in the lid (stuff you use to wrap food in)
4. Place the food in and place the lid on
5. Place in direct sunlight

Might be good for toast or something but actually cooking food like meat and what not I doubt it.

Anon wrote:a cheap way to do it but no clue how effective it would be.
1. Carboard box cut big hole in the lid
2. Line the box with 1-2 layers of aluminum foil
3. A clear plastic and cover the hole in the lid (stuff you use to wrap food in)
4. Place the food in and place the lid on
5. Place in direct sunlight

Might be good for toast or something but actually cooking food like meat and what not I doubt it.

I actually did something like this for an elementary school science lab. We used a pizza box, cut out a square from the lid (about a 1 inch border), lined it with aluminum foil, and put seran/plastic wrap over the cut out hole. We used it to melt chocolate and marshmallow between grahamcrackers.

A glass case sitting in the sun??

Parabolic dishes are harder to construct and will cook your food less evenly.

I don't care about how even the food is cooked, I pretty much just need to heat up water.... it's a science project.

http://sci-toys.com/scitoys/scitoys/lig ... ooker.html


http://sci-toys.com/scitoys/scitoys/lig ... aster.html

you can get a lense from office max

use one of those bathroom mirrors that magnify your face they are a parabola and work better then an afordable lense. it does take a while to focus though

My friend said that you could make a solar burner with an old T.V.

You take about a 40incher, and take the screen lens out and flip it over, and rub off all of the reflective stuff on it. (Probably toxic be careful.) Then, You attach it to the mirror/ funnel thing that is behind it inside the t.v. (Take the funnel out of course!)
Make sure the screen is flipped over, so the bulging part faces inward.

Supposedly, you have now made a solar burner. My friend and I joked about puting a fiber-optic cable on the end of the funnel, with mirrors and another, small double funnel at the end, so you could point it anywhere you want...... With lenses, you should be able to increase the range.....

Sounds fun!


Think it will work boilingleadbath?