How to Build a Parabolic Solar Cooker

Construction Protocol: First let’s look at what you will need in order to build our solar cooker. You will need a cardboard box, scissors, a hot glue gun, manila folders, adhesive spray, and aluminum foil. Now that you have gathered up all of you supplies, take a piece of life-sized graph paper whose each square is 1-inch long, and draw a parabola that’s 2 feet or 24 inches across which will make it the most affective. The parabola’s vertex is at the origin on the graph paper, and they focus is at (0, 6). This is where you should place your hot dog in order to cook it the most effectively.

After you have drawn this on paper, place your cardboard box like shown in the drawing below.

Cut out the parabola from the life-sized graph paper, and place the cut out parabola on the very top of the side of the box like in the drawing.

After this is done, trace over the parabola and repeat on the opposite side, at the exact same place. Once you are done tracing your beautiful parabola onto the box, take some knives and slice through the box, cutting where you traced over the parabola. Be sure to cut both sides. Finally, take some extra cardboard, and glue it at the ends so that the box doesn’t fall over says solarcookers.org.

Next, take your aluminum foil and manila folders, and spray the adhesive spray on top of the folders. After that, carefully place the aluminum foil on top of the folders. When they are properly attached, use something smooth like a ruler, or the edge of and ID to smooth out all the wrinkles.

Construction Protocol Cont.: After this is completed, take the hot glue gun again, and glue the manila folders onto the parabola that you have cut out. Be sure that the folders take the shape of the parabola, or your solar cooker will fail says enterpriseworks.org. Once this is completed, your solar cooker is completed and ready for use to cook some delicious dogs…hot dogs that is. NOTE: WHEN YOU COOK YOUR HOT DOG, BE SURE THAT THE COOKER IS PERPENDICULAR TO THE SUN THIS IS THE MOST DIRECT WAY TO ACHIEVE MAXIMUM YUMMINESS!

Charles Chen

Powerful Solar Cookers. 29 Nov. 2008 .

Energy For the Poor. 29 Nov. 2008 .

Why Use a Parabolic Shape? 29 Nov. 2008 .

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