Mirror Parabola vs Heat Scifair Projects

Energy and Mirrors

Mirrors are used in the production of solar power. Mirrors are used to collect and concentrate the energy of the sun.

Solar House Experiments Kit	EDU 8405 Solar Power Science Kit	Windmill Science Fair Projects	SCG-125 Snap Circuits Green Alternative Energy
Ages 12 and up	Ages 10 and up	Age 10 thru college	Ages 8 and up

Objectives/Goals

My project was to determine what kind of mirrored parabola produces the most heat.

Methods/Materials

Three solar ovens were constructed each using a different parabola. One parabola was deep, one parabola was shallow, and one was in between deep and shallow. They all had the same amount of mylar surface area.

Results

The solar oven that was in between deep and shallow produced higher temperatures more quickly.

Conclusions/Discussion

My conclusion is that the middle oven did better because it had a focus that was more sheltered than that of the shallow oven and it had more solar collecting area than the deep oven. 3rd party contributor