EXPERIMENT
DIY FUN: TESTING THE POWER OF THE SUN CONDUCT A COOL EXPERIMENT WITH THESE SIMPLE TOOLS AND STEPS! By: Zakiyah Ebrahim
By now, we know that clean sources of energy have an incredibly lower environmental impact than conventional energy technologies. Solar energy comes from the sun and can be captured with various technologies (primarily solar panels), explains EnergySage. If you’re keen to try your hand at a DIY experiment that tests the power of the sun, you can build a simple solar updraft tower (also called a solar chimney) – this is a fun experiment we found on Almostunschoolers.blogspot.com. “Updraft'' refers to the kind of wind where the air moves up. In this experiment, the updraft tower will take sunlight (or the sun’s heat) and use that to expand air and ultimately spin a paper pinwheel. Best of all? You can try this right in the comfort of your home. All you need to do is wait for a sunny day to conduct this experiment.
Almostunschoolers.blogspot.com 32
Science Stars Energy Issue | www.sciencestars.co.za
Here’s what you’ll need: • • • • • •
Three clean tin cans (top and bottoms removed) Tape A piece of wire, such as a paper clip Drawing pins Two big, thick books A sheet of paper
Instructions: 1. Cut a piece of paper into a square (around 15cm on each side). 2. Stack up the cans and tape them together really well. 3. Bend the wire or paper clip into an arch shape. 4. Tape the wire to the top of the tower of cans. 5. Attach the drawing pin to the top of the wire arch with tape. 6. To fold the pinwheel, grab your square paper and cut it diagonally from the corners. 7. Stick the pinwheel onto the pointy end of the drawing pin. 8. Now that your tower is ready, you’ll have to place it on top of the two books – ensure there is a gap at the bottom to allow air to flow in from underneath. 9. Place the tower, along with the books, near the window where it will receive direct sunlight. 10. After some time, you’ll notice the heat from the sun will warm the air inside the cans, creating a “convective updraft”, and will spin the pinwheel!
