Build your own Solar System

Our sun is a constant source of energy. Each day, the sun bathes the Earth in unimaginable amounts of solar energy, most of which comes in the form of visible light. All over planet Earth, sunlight is by far the most important source of energy for all living things. Without it, Earth would be lifeless.

Sunlight can be a practical source of energy for such everyday jobs as cooking, heating water, or warming up homes. The challenge is to find ways to transform sunlight into usable heat. The most efficient way to transform sunlight into heat is to shine lots of sunlight onto a dark surface. Dark surfaces absorb most of the visible light that falls upon them, and reflect very little. Visible light that is absorbed this way usually causes the dark-colored surface to warm up. Of all colors, black is able to absorb the most light, and produce the most heat.

You are familiar with what happens to a dark-colored surface when sunlight strikes it: it will get warm. But without a little help, there is usually not enough heat produced to cook foods. To produce enough heat for cooking, it is necessary to shine additional sunlight from a wider area onto the black surface. This is easy to do with mirrors or other reflective surfaces, or with glass or plastic lenses.

The solar oven you will be building from this plan uses aluminum foil to gather sunlight. The foil-covered panels of the oven reflect sunlight into the cooking chamber, which is painted black. Heat is produced when the concentrated sunlight is absorbed by the black surface of the cooking chamber. The heat is contained inside the chamber with the help of insulation and a clear plastic oven bag. The result is a great solar cooker and yummy food!

Safety Precautions:

Use extreme caution when cutting cardboard with the utility knife. Extend the blade only as far as is needed to cut through the cardboard, and lock it into place. Do your cutting on a cutting board or piece of scrap plywood, cardboard, or a kitchen cutting board.
Use sunglasses when working with shiny materials in sunlight.
Solar ovens can get very hot! Use oven mitts or gloves to prevent burns.