What Have You Learned Today?

[Nielk1]

We have our president here telling business owners and entrepreneurs that they didn't make their own businesses. It is pretty bad. I can find the exact quote.

[Psychedelic Rhino]

We have our president here telling business owners and entrepreneurs that they didn't make their own businesses. It is pretty bad. I can find the exact quote.

The thing about Obama that irks me at the moment was his incessant mantra of 'transparency' during his 2007 campaign. Now "he" (his campaign) wants Romney to release more tax documents. More than is required by law, i.e., Romney is breaking no law or trust. But ok, sure, that's all well and good, more information about a candidate can't hurt, right?

But when Obama's Attorney General is found in criminal and civil Contempt of Congress, and Obama ALSO refuses to release his documents pertaining to the matter. . . well. . .maybe the transparency thing isn't such a great idea.

[MrsGSH]

I learned how to plot modulus equations on a Cartesian Plane. They look pretty neat however finding x and y intercepts is a pain (you have to consider 2 answers for the modulus brackets).

I remember my first use was with my dad to make a parabolic template to make plywood pieces to assemble a solar reflector.

What did you do with the solar reflector?

I was hoping to build a solar oven on whatever property we ended up buying, but the only place that gets good sun is our front yard and it seems weird to have your pot roast hanging out there.

[Nielk1]

Hopefully not an Archimedes-death-ray.

[Psychedelic Rhino]

What did you do with the solar reflector?

I was hoping to build a solar oven on whatever property we ended up buying, but the only place that gets good sun is our front yard and it seems weird to have your pot roast hanging out there.

Oh my, I did many things with it, but cooked hot dogs mostly. Hotdogs are fairly dark. Dark items cook (absorb) MUCH better from direct light than items such as whitish chicken. For lightly colored items I use an iron pan (pic below). Built it for a 6th grade science fair. I have been fascinated with solar concentration all my life.

My only remaining item from that interest is a 24" x 36" fresnel. I do still cook with it occasionally. Below is some chicken I cooked up a few years ago. As the insert shows, one of the MAJOR caveats in cooking with a large fresnel is NEVER cook with the focus point above your surface or food. My lens has a dime-size focus point that hovers around 2,900F on a nice sunny day. If you pass a plastic spatula or a glass lid with a plastic handle into the focus point, it will ignite the plastic instantly. I can melt a stack of pennies to a bubbling slag in a couple minutes. Needless to say, it's not pleasant for a finger or hand to pass into the focus point.

One of the more esoteric projects I did was taking an old round 36" mirror and build a round plywood frame supporting the outer edge. I then epoxied a small wood block to the center of the backside and screwed a small eye-bolt in it. I then made a small screw mount where i could pull the center of the mirror ever-so-slightly into a spherical curve, giving the mirror a focal length of about 12 to 18 feet. It was a hoot lighting wood on fire from that distance.

HERE is a Youtuber that has gone a bit off the deep end with his series of videos and has done far, FAR more than I.

[Red Spot]

I'm starting to wonder what sort of 'pet projects' you have around the house

[MrsGSH]

I have been fascinated with solar concentration all my life.

I was into it for a little while as a young adult, but I was living in apartments at the time and unwilling to sneak around management to get up on the roof. If I had gotten into it while living with my parents, I could have done more. Their property had good light. All we did then was fry ants with magnifying glasses.

Our property now is well shaded which makes for great utility bills and poor solar concentration, at least poor in the sense of leaving something out in the sun for a while. I'm sure when the kids are old enough, frying up hot dogs will be easy to do in the afternoons.

[Psychedelic Rhino]

I'm starting to wonder what sort of 'pet projects' you have around the house

No worries. None threaten the structure of the universe or our way of life. . . I think.

[Zenophas]

Is this how you cook out when you go camping?

[Red Devil]

probably just ants and bugs

be nice to see someone on Survivor™ use this method to start a fire (one person finally thought of using their glasses after 8 seasons...)

also be nice to make an omnidirectional solar tube that directs the rays to your stove top inside. get to work on that, will ya rhino?

[Psychedelic Rhino]

Is this how you cook out when you go camping?

No, but you can get a fire going with a baggie or a piece of plastic and urine.

I DO carry a little credit card size freznel in my wallet for that purpose.

[Zenophas]

That incest is illegal in the US.

[Red Devil]

That we're surrounded:

http://www.local10.com/news/Police-resp ... ource=wplg

[HitchcockGreen]

That incest is illegal in the US.

Better late than never, I suppose.
Also somewhat illegal in most western countries.

[Red Spot]

Somewhat?