Message-Id: <v01510100b13ae002b424@[205.134.241.11]>
Date: Sun, 22 Mar 1998 07:42:22 -0800
To: pinhole@exploratorium.edu
From: bcomet@sirius.com (Burt C. Kessler)
Subject: Re: building a solar oven
>I am taking my 7th grade class to the beach and would like them to build and
>test a simple solar oven. Any suggestions for materials or where to find?
>Thank you, Nathan Comito
I hope this doesn't come too late for you. The simplest solar oven I know,
that can be built on the beach, is a parabolic pit lined with aluminum
foil. The pit can be any size, the trick is the parabolic curve. A little
practice makes this not too difficult. A template prepared before hand
makes it simple. The more perfect the parabola, the smaller the focal
point. Even a rough parabola will focus the light into a softball sized
focal point. The focal point can be found by hand, moving your hand around
until you find the hottest spot. On a bright day you can easily cook hot
dogs, or fish which don't need much cooking, just as you would over a
campfire. A really true parabola will ignite wood at its focus. good luck
Burt
Because life is short its wise to make it broad.