This project has two parts. The first is a passive solar water heater and the second is building an outdoor solar classroom.
Passive Solar Water Heater
This project had us design and build a Passive Solar water heater. Mr.Williams gave us instructions on how to do it, but we barely read it and tried to design one for ourselves. In our final design, we had a water bottle in a cardboard box full of cotton balls as an insulator. That water bottle is connected to a plastic pipe covered in more cotton balls with duct tape to insulate it even more. The plastic pipe eventually leads to a soft copper pipe which is heated up by the direct sun and the sun from the tin foil reflection behind it. The water is then collected again and poured back in. The results were... disappointing at the least. The temperature difference was not a lot considering that you also need
Outdoor Classroom Design
The Outdoor Classroom Design is a simple design with an overhead roof and desks. It is designed so that people can sit in the shade or sun.
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Concepts |
Heat is nothing more that the tiny movement of molecules. That movement is naturally drawn to areas with no movement. Areas with no movement are considered "Cold". Cold is nothing more than the lack of movement in molecules. Heat can be transferred in three ways. Conduction of Solids, Convection of fluids, and radiation. Thermal radiation is the type of radiation that transfers heat. It is the kind of heat that you get in the sun. The conduction of solids is the kind of heat you get from touching a hot stove or from a black leather chair that has been in the sun for an hour. Convection of fluids is the kind you get from opening a hot oven and all the heat is blasted on your face.
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Reflection |