Solar Death Ray 10,000 suns 48" DIY Giant Archimedes Parabolic Mirror Reflector

once you watch this video you'll figure out exactly what's going on this is along how-to video loaded with information on the various materials used and I'll be uploading some of the individual segments and future videos for those of you with a short attention span hello I'm your host Dan Rojas in this video I'm going to be showing you how you can make your own 48 inch by 48 inch very powerful reflector for less than 25 bucks and you can adjust it to just about any focal length this single reflector uses a vacuum to draw a parabolic curve in the mirror and mylar the stronger the vacuum the shorter the focal length at 60 feet off axis from the Sun this reflector produces temperatures on a dark surface close to 500 degrees Fahrenheit shorter focal lengths produce a more concentrated collection area creating higher temperatures this piece of cardboard with the squirt of black spray paint instantly catches fire at 20 feet when exposed to the concentrated redirected sunlight at the minimum focal length of 10 feet this reflector creates temperatures over 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit while at the maximum focal length of 100 feet it produces temperatures up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit over a larger area on a chilly 40 degree floor today I am using thin walled metal cookware that is very inefficient because it radiates heat rapidly into the surrounding atmosphere by leaning the reflector against a tree I am manually readjusting the position of the mirror every 15 minutes at 10 feet the focal pattern covers the entire surface of the pan containing one and a half gallons of water I protection is definitely recommended for this project using a small piece of wood estimating the optimal focal point is very easy in under 30 minutes our water is nearing a full boil there is a bit of light scattering due to the square design but the focal point is very accurate leaving the surrounding areas warm to the touch this evacuated tube no collector can boil water over a several hour period when exposed to direct sunlight combined with my reflector the water boils easily in under two minutes while this is not as powerful as our large for Nolan's Big Daddy the cost difference makes up for it imagine the impact of a low cost rapid solar cooker that could be built on-site in areas of the world that have to spend all day looking for combustible cooking fuel they could free themselves with the power of the Sun this is one of our 48 inch diameter UV resistant flange parabolic collectors we make and have professionally mirrored available on our website removing the protective coating reveals the pristine true mirrored surface our mirrors are used by scientific research companies all over the world and are now installed on all seven continents including a Research Center in Antarctica there is no comparison to the optical quality nor the solar power this mirror ignites a piece of wood so efficiently that there is virtually no smoke if you need constant precision focal lengths and optimal efficiency custom solar mirrors are the way to go so why square not round like our custom-designed solar parabolas keep in mind the material used for the square reflector is inexpensive and a circle fits nicely into a square so our collection area is almost equal I have tons of experience cutting various materials into perfect circles and have a video demonstrating how you can cut circles using a regular table saw I have also shown you how to make cement parabolic molds for casting resin based materials and I frequently been wood strips for clients creating curved wood rails and parabolic troughs a technique I will be sharing with you in future videos if you are hung up on making your project round a 50 gallon drum would be a great option so you have seen this bad boy in action let's get to building one start with two very straight two by fours 96 inches long also known as eight footers miter cut the end off of them at a 45 degree angle rotate the wood forward and measure 48 inches point-to-point after you make your second miter cut your first rail is done because the remaining wood already has a 45 degree cut in it you only need one more miter cut for this board I like to use a first piece of wood as a guide to ensure that they are exact as you actually can make 49 inch rails out of a 96 inch piece of wood but having a little bit extra scrap allows for errors repeat this process you have four rails and then use heavy-duty wood glue I am using a lot more glue than normal to insure an air tight corner seal and a solid connection once a line drill a 3/16 inch pilot hole one inch deep and secure the corner with two coarse wood screws measuring two and a half inches long repeat this process for your other rails and you should have two large ELLs arrange them to make a box then glue and screw just like we did before 2x4 edges are usually pre-curved by the wood mill but you still need to sand down any rough spots and remove the sharp corners from the miter points adding additional 45-degree supports is a good idea but not necessary if you do add them make sure that they are recessed and not flush to the base as this can prevent a good seal a proper frame should be square side one measures 68 and 1/4 inches corner to corner as does side 2 for this next part strapping tape works best it is a good idea to pre-cut three and a half inch long pieces then tear them in half along the strapping pattern this is an inexpensive mylar emergency blanket I like this material because it is very thin and shapes well when a vacuum is drawn you can use thicker mylar but it tends to creak around the edges when a vacuum is drawn and does not stretch well first some facts about mylar one of the things a lot of people don't know about mylar is that it has eight for surface side and a second surface side you can tell by testing it with your mouth just like you do a 9-volt battery and actually feel a little bit of your body's electrical current on the first surface side it's the way you test it in the field if you don't have a good meter I can tell the difference between the first surface mirror in a second surface here just by looking at it I have the dull side up right now nothing happens if I flip it over to reveal the slightly shinier side you can see that it is conductive on the opposite side because the aluminum coating that they put on this is exposed on this side so I recommend putting the first surface side on the interior part of your construction and the second surface side out unless you're in a very dry climate in that case you probably want to get the slightly better reflective effectiveness by swapping them it's now time to break out Denise's Galvan a high-frequency machine we covered in a previous video the high voltage low current conducts across the entire length of the Mylar blanket creating a painful zap using a steel blade the surface of my skin is increased creating a near painless spark before you wrap yourself at a Mylar blanket for protection and run towards your giant Tesla coil generator there's something you need to know about mylar the electrical charge actually vaporizes the thin aluminum coating leaving a clear spot as less and less conductive material remains the spark arcs become longer as the distance from the generator increases here is a close-up of it take notice of the small arcs illuminating along the fold lines of the blanket this process totally removes any traces of the metallized surface and in a future video I will be illustrating how this can be used to make your own mirrors with vacuum deposition you can also have a little bit of cautious fun with a setup like this I'll smooth the aluminum that sucks before we move on to stretching this mylar here's my background on stretching different types of materials these are paintings I made with canvas I stretched myself several years ago here are some of Denise's paintings done on regular drop cloth canvas purchased at a home-improvement store that I also stretched before a green power science Weaver artist and art curators we also made canvas reproductions for artists called G clays a few years ago I did a video on my other YouTube channel demonstrating my stretching technique several experts commented that the canvas will sag with humidity and not work our offices not climate-controlled and is exposed to hot humid Florida weather and cold spells after six years this canvas is tight as a drum it's now time to stretch some mylar the emergency blankets are usually 52 inches wide which is perfect for our 48 inch frame leaving a two inch overlap on two sides arrange one in from the length to also overlap two inches and cut off any excess mylar from the remaining end this stuff tears easy so take your time at the center of your first rail tape the mylar to the frame wrapping the tape around the backside directly across at the center of the opposite rail tightly draw the mylar and secure with your strapping tape making sure your tape wraps around the back this prevents the tape from lifting as the tension in the mylar increases after stretching the mylar on your final two rails in the center a diamond-like shape should be revealed split the difference between the corner and the center tape anchor and secure with more tape do the same for the connecting rail of the same corner then after this step is done move on to securing the opposite corner if you have a piece of tape that is too short go with it as removing the tape from the mylar can cause tears wrap your corners around and secure neatly your original centers may need to be readjusted as the process proceeds make sure the mylar is nice and tight I suggest tape every four to six inches to ensure a tight fit your reflector should now be near distortion-free using three inch wide clear cellophane tape seal the mylar to the wood and thoroughly rub down the tape this creates the airtight seal on the front since the sides get most of the abuse when handling use the full two-inch strapping tape and seal the entire sides with two or three layers done correctly the reflector should be near distortion-free even to the effects of gravity as tension forces a straight line much like a piano string by vigorously shaking the frame you can make your own seizure ray while in a flat state be very careful not to point towards automobile traffic or airplanes as unlike a parabolic current mirror this flat surface is blinding even at two hundred and fifty feet away can honestly say that is completely punishing go ahead and hit me with it like I don't see how you can even conceive approaching somebody with it okay alright that's good once you have had some fun with your reflector on a flat clean surface place your reflector face down and seal all four inner corners with clear silicone do not use white caulking as it does not seal properly take a piece of solid material like door skin luan board or thin plywood and cut to 48 inches by 48 inches I am using 1/2 inch thick coroplast material I will save that scrap for another project bead silicone along the inner part of your rails all the way around adding extra to your corners I am also adding an extra bead of silicone just to play it safe because the coroplast has a very low density the screws we are about to use will easily rip through the material if you're using thicker material like wood you can skip this next step these scrap pieces of thin wood will act as a washer gasket to evenly tighten the core Plast without ripping through it after measuring and cutting my first 45-degree angle I cut two rails simultaneously to ensure they are the same length since we need four straps line them up clamp them together and cut all four while nicking the top two straps frame them out and clamp down your first strap using one and a quarter inch fine drywall screws I am using the reverse strip drilling method that saves time and prevents wood debris caused by pre-drilling to do this you pressure dig the tip of the screw into the wood reverse the drill to strip out the top strap then drill the screw in this prevents wood splitting but only works with fine threaded drywall screws if you mess up like I did and punch a hole through the back of your project don't worry simply apply a squirt of silicone to the hole and cover it with strapping tape the coroplast is fluted so I filled the holes to ensure a good seal this is not necessary for plywood or other non fluted materials once completed all your mitre should meet up perfectly with securing screws every six inches while the vacuum can be drawn with a small tube in human suction I will be using a 1/2 inch piece of threaded pipe and a ball valve using a 3/16 inch paddle bit drill a hole one inch deep but do not go all the way through then drill a small 3/16 of an inch hole down the center to access the inner chamber and add some silicone you will need to clean out the hole again to prevent the silicone from clogging it add pipe threading screw on the ball valve then tap it into place draw a vacuum before the silicone sets so it sucks into any crevices that may be present around the pipe as I discovered the hard way a few years back do not orally draw a vacuum until a few days after the silicone has set or you will be huffing nasty unhealthy silicone vapours be careful not to set your lawn on fire and you are ready to go because of the longer focal length many of these reflectors can be arrayed together to form one super powerful focal point if you get a tear use clear tape as a patch the weak point on the mylar is where it contacts the frame I suggest placing strapping tape over this area to one interesting fact about mylar is that it is semi-transparent placing a piece over the camera reveals the effect before sealing up your project to protect the inner first surface side and bump up the reflective power a bit spray a light mist of gloss black enamel spray paint do not go too thick or this paint will easily run 1 light mist is all that is needed to protect the inner aluminum coating once you get the hang of it this project should only take about an hour to to complete and produces amazing results information on the materials used is on our website I'm your host Ian Rojas thank you for watching and enjoy our videos

Channel: GREENPOWERSCIENCE

Views: 1,091,544

Keywords: SOLAR, COOKING, POWER, GREENPOWERSCIENCE, PARABILIC, PARABOLIC MIRROR, Global, Solar Energy (Industry), Power (politics), Warming, Change, Green, Gas, Earth (Planet), CONCENTRATED SUNLIGHT, SOLAR COOKING, DIY MIRROR

Id: FyCLOXF1188

Length: 15min 13sec (913 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 27 2012