FW: [Malvern] FW: Only You Can Save the World

[Chris Eilbeck]

On Tue, May 02, 2006 at 10:14:55PM +0100, Ian Pascoe wrote:
> Chris
> 
> Good news on the program and tracking - not sure on the mechanics of such
> though.

Screwjacks are what people use to move satellite dishes around.  You need a
motor driver to control them and some switch inputs for calibrating up the
end stops etc. but I've done all this before and it's not difficult.

> The original conversation was around renuable energy sources followed by
> creating a solar powered steam turbine to generate electricity.

Is this efficient?  Would a thermocouple pile be better?

> However, this is a tad ambitious to start off with so just boiling up some
> water to start with and then who knows.

So you don't necessarily need a tracking system just yet, a manually pointed
large mirror will do for now?

> I supose naf CDs are probably not a bad idea as an initial reflective
> source (with all the bad burns and freebie CDs we get these days) as with
> the inbuilt hole for securing them it should be quite easy to make up a
> frame. How big was the one you saw?

4ft square with overlapping CDs mounted on rings of wooden wedges.

> Has anyone tried to deliberately reform a CD into another shape - ie
> heating it or some such to make it saucer shaped instead of flat, or would
> that destroy the reflective coat?

Well if you had a ring the diameter of the circumference and you put a big
washer and a screw in the middle of the CD you can pull it into a parabola
just by adjusting the screw, no need for thermal forming or anything.

> I am going to have to have a hot cup of tea now and try and think of
> something else or it will be the early hours before I can get to sleep!

Where were you planning on doing this?  Unless you've moved I don't really
remember your place having much of a view of the sky to the south.  I guess
we could try something out on Poolbrook Common but I can see the
Conservators getting their respective arses in their hands about geeks
messing around with a solar death ray.

Chris
-- 
Chris Eilbeck
MARS Flight Crew                              http://www.mars.org.uk/
UKRA #1108 Level 2                                                UYB
Tripoli UK Member #9527                                          LSMR