SmartLab students create a tasty project

SmartLab second-year students Andrew Hernandez and Cody Lopez built a solar oven as part of their Solar Photovoltaics project. The oven was built from a cardboard box covered in tin foil. The box focuses the sun's rays on a baking pan which is surrounded by black paper. The students learn that the black color absorbs light and heat. The focusing area is covered by a clear plastic sheet in order to create convection. The students enjoyed the results of their experiment in class the next day.