Solar power

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How about having a solar power expert help the Junkiees make a car or a boat that is powered by the sun?

-- Aaron Engi (lospantalones@yahoo.com), January 30, 2001

Answers

This is a neat idea. I built this cool little solar powered sub in a clear pill-type container to play with in the pool. The major problem is finding the solar panels in a junkyard to power the machine. Unfortunately they are rather expensive and brittle. I'm not sure about the costs of amorphous solar film, however. It will take more than a serious fistfull of solar powered calculators to generate enough electricity to move a vehicle of any substance.

Depending on how you link them together you can increase the voltage. ie.. two panels in parallel would increase current while two pannels in series increases voltage.

Maybe I'm wrong and there is a way. Maybe they could make solar powered flashlights too ;}

-John

-- John Newman (jcnewman@buffalo.edu), January 30, 2001.


Instead of photovoltaic systems, have a solar boiler to generate steam. The teams will have to decide how to harness a (very) small quantity of steam for their purpose. On the other hand, the challenge could just be build the boiler!

-- Arthur Majoor (a_majoor@hotmail.com), February 02, 2001.

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