How To Make Solar Concentrating Mirrors (super HOT focal point)

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6 жыл бұрын

In this video I show how to convert inexpensive truck mirrors into powerful first surface solar concentrators. Check out my sponsor Brilliant for a really fun way to learn! www.Brilliant.org/NightHawk
First surface mirrors are an extremely efficient way of concentrating solar energy, much more efficient for their size than a fresnel lens. This type of mirror is also essential for optical applications.
Check out the video about making first surface mirrors over on GreenPowerScience: • First surface mirror D...
Thanks to all my Patrons for helping me make these videos! A special thanks to my top Patrons: Syniurge, Matthew Leitzke, TheBackyardScientist, Enzo Breda Lee, John Johnson, & Thibaud Peverelli! / nighthawkprojects
Thanks for watching!

Пікірлер: 473

@Nighthawkinlight 6 жыл бұрын

Yes, I did repost this video. Last Thursday it seems KZfaq was having some internal problems or perhaps was running an experiment with the promotion algorithm where videos posted on that day were shown to an unusually small amount of people. Reposting a video almost always results in worse performance than the original, but in this case so few of my subscribers were able to see the clip when I published it that I decided it was worth the risk to give a few more of you the chance to watch. I also wanted to add an additional warning about the vapor of the dichloromethane paint stripper I use in the video as it is a rather dangerous chemical if not used carefully. It must be used with a lot of ventilation as it is metabolized by the body into carbon monoxide and poses similar risks.

@kenshiromilesvt.7037 6 жыл бұрын

NightHawkInLight I was actually going to watch the vid again to get the brand name of the aircraft paint stripper and got the notif today lol. Thx. love all your vids and GreenPower as well. Very high quality videos that have cleared up a lot of uncertainties for me. Keep it up!!

@rianmach9043 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for re uploading it! I always insta-click your videos when I see them pop up but for some reason it wasn’t there. Hmm

@hiimmike_r 6 жыл бұрын

Didn't make the video worse.

@purplejerry1 6 жыл бұрын

glad you reposted since I seem to be one of the people who didnt get notified :)

@FlesHBoX 6 жыл бұрын

youtube's terrible promotion system is why I just view all new videos from my subscriptions instead of relying on a broken system to delivery interesting content... Of course, this means that I rarely discover new channels, but it is the only viable solution until youtube gets their stuff straight (if ever)

@theCodyReeder 6 жыл бұрын

I’ve used carburetor cleaner to remove the paint, the benefit of that is the high pressure jet helps remove the paint no scrubbing needed.

@BeeKisses 6 жыл бұрын

YES Cody!! Can't wait to see your video on it!!

@danielpas368 5 жыл бұрын

These puny mirrors aside, make a giant one out of a space blanket and melt rocks with it!

@Chromwel-A 4 жыл бұрын

Daniel Pas kinda remind me a bit of death star.

@markowease9947 5 жыл бұрын

I don't mind watching it again. And i shall watch it again . I love how in depth yet simplistic you make everything seem to be. Please keep up the outstanding work. Love your Channel.

@joehopfield 7 ай бұрын

Using smoke to show the difference between curved & parabolic - deeply satisfying.

@trcostan 6 жыл бұрын

You should read about the solar collectors used to simulate the thermal pulse of a nuclear bomb. Crazy how powerful the roughly 1kw/m2 of the sun is when you focus it to a small area!

@nikolasangelides1481 6 жыл бұрын

No problem for reposting! Im happy to watch it again! Keep up the good work

@JavierSalcedoC 2 жыл бұрын

Glass made pot covers make for an excellent glass concave surface to make this project. Cheap, no paint to remove, small hole in the middle for support, many sizes available. You'll need to apply the reflective paint of course

@pezesu 6 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad you made this video, my father found a mirror like this on the road and I had tried to make a parabolic mirror. Thanks to you I should be able to make one.

@willcool713 3 жыл бұрын

I know this is a very old vid, but this is a thought experiment I run in my head, ad infinitum: How to make a big mirror for a Dobsonian telescope. There was an article in Popular Science, I believe, which had a great method -- basically a 15"-20" bowl, on an old record turntable with the central spindle removed, filled with very slow setting epoxy. And set the whole thing up on some foam in a place far from traffic or other vibrations. It creates a parabolic surface, the focal distance determined by the RPMs of the turntable. But you still have to send out for silvering. I love to think on ways to achieve such a surface myself. This is a clever solution (and I wonder if polishing might improve optical quality).

@diesockedeslebens6599 2 жыл бұрын

Hey what do you think of diy plasma sputtering for the reflection property's. I love the turntable idea, any new info?

@willcool713 2 жыл бұрын

@@diesockedeslebens6599 No. Most ideas have fatal flaws. Putting a coat of thin chromium paint on it while still spinning, is the best I've come up with. Thin, runny paint which is still dense enough to cover the surface doesn't seem too difficult to come up with, and that would leave the layer on the surface very thin, to minimize imperfections due to drying. I dunno if you'd get even atomizing with plasma. Ideally, you'd want a single molecular thickness on the surface of a perfect parabola. I have heard of other people using the spinning motor, but with a bowl of mercury as the reflector. If you can isolate interfering vibrations, then that kinetic mirror would be beautiful. But it'd need mountaintop sorts of isolation.

@charliesteiner2334 2 жыл бұрын

@@diesockedeslebens6599 It would be a heck of a vacuum chamber, but you could do it. For real big sizes you probably want an atmospheric pressure process like chemical vapor/solution deposition. (A lot like how they silver normal mirrors)

@platinumsky845 Жыл бұрын

@@willcool713 two minor corrections, first of all, metal doesn't form molecules in this kind of example and therefore is an irrelevant way of measuring, would be easier to measure in micrometers or nanometers at these scales. And lastly, ions don't "atomize" in the conventional sense. It's literally like a "field" of spray rather than a jet or stream, it's just about the most smooth and even coating you could get.

@willcool713 Жыл бұрын

@@platinumsky845 Yeah, I guess I'm not familiar with the plasma techniques. I was imagining something makeshift, not precision. I'm still thinking along the lines of a chromium flake paint with an evaporative base that effectively leaves no binder. But even a thin clear top residue might be okay at the resolution I'm likely to work with. Putting it on while spinning ensures any slight excess conforms to the same parabola. It wouldn't be a perfect surface, but if the mirror were large enough it could probably stand up to 8K imaging, as long as the rest of the optics were quality. Not sure how far you could push the resolution for optical zooms, but it would be easy to image, say, craters on the Moon and see how precisely you can focus. If the surface distortion is less than atmospheric twinkle, then it's good enough for my purposes. I've just about got a plan. I'd really like to create a cheap, big mirror that's easily replicated.

@theantichrist6524 5 жыл бұрын

That was a good video I was able to finally see exactly where the focus point was when you used the smoke test

@electronicsNmore 6 жыл бұрын

The video brings back memories of years ago when I built my 12.5" Newtonian telescope. The 1" glass was ground down and aluminized. Great video!

@Nighthawkinlight 6 жыл бұрын

Did you hand grind your mirror? I've been watching some videos on the process. Astonishingly I've read that hand ground mirrors can be made to tighter tolerances than is possible by machine, though that fact may be out of date.

@kaczkinson 4 жыл бұрын

Hi :) I'm thinking about making my own telescope, but I got no idea how to do it in the cheapest way. mirrors for telescopes are not cheap :(

@scottmichael3745 4 жыл бұрын

@@kaczkinson I bought a 6 inch telescope mirror off of eBay for $30 years ago.

@jeremytheimer7443 3 жыл бұрын

@@scottmichael3745 no way, nowadays a 3 inch telescope is 100 dollars,

@David-bc4rh 3 жыл бұрын

@kaczkinson I've had this Telescope Building with John Dobson about hand made telescopes showing up in my recommendations and it is very interesting. I believe the handmade method would be project overkill if the desired use is just to focus the sun, however, the option it use it in a powerful telescope in the future would be available. All the really hard work has already been performed, lol

@joeyho5134 Жыл бұрын

I'm glad you reposted this video as the concept may become a valuable part of my project. Thank you very much.

@TheAstronomer 6 жыл бұрын

What a beautiful show of spherical abberation. Well done. Liked and subscribed.

@IntuCars 6 жыл бұрын

I look forward to all your posts. I will be making this. Can't wait!

@johnernest2779 4 жыл бұрын

The more I watch your channel the more I'm impressed with your experiments. It's always interesting and your voice is clear and easy to understand. You must be a teacher in real life, if not, you should be! Thank you for interesting videos. I will be trying this as I did the star lite. That one really blows Mike mind as it works so well and can be used for many things. Sometimes I have plumbing projects that I need to sweat a pipe too close to a wall and worry about starting the house on fire. Now I can mix up a small batch and use it as a backstop behind the pipe I heat up. You should do a video of this mirror using the focal point to see if you can burn through the star lite as you already have both available and that would be a cool test of durability. Thanks again for cool experiments!

@TelecasterRon Жыл бұрын

I have built some telescopes since 60's. However also Solar Furnaces as well in the 80's and 90's. They sell a 4'x8'x1/8" sheets of acrylic mirrors. Base upon 100 watts per foot. You can easily reach temps over 1200 degrees..It will be a second surface. Which will eliminate surface deterioration your first surface ones will encounter guickly. There are telescope film coatings that will slow oxidation and degradation. I typically made a 8 foot single plane design. Y²=4sx or by taking two tape measures you can easily draw an accurate parbolic curve on plywood for the ribs. I used 5 or six after cutting 1 to use as a pattern for the others. Careful cutting and sanding and clamp them together aligned precisely and get them all sanded then bore holes through the them to provide for 3x8 all thread rods. With nut and washers you can make a 4' wide 8 feet long mounting ribs for the backing and use a 4' 1x4 on the end or a outside metal corner to force the flexible mirror to conform to the ribs. 3.2 kws is easy. Note a curve ratio of dia. or length to focal point of around .5 is good. Or in this case about 48" F.P. I built a equatorial mounting for the ones I made. Test revile about a 60-70% efficiency. I used a glass encased copper tubing and backing plate black. Note it will shatter the glass enclosure around the collector if any moisture come in contact. A 3/8" wide 48" long focal point is hot and extremely brilliant. WARNING EYE DAMAGE IS INSTANTANEOUS. ALSO ONE DESIGN SET MY WIFES APPLE TREES ON FIRE. NOT GOOD. 25 FEET AWAY. BEWARE OF AXIS AND LONG FOCAL LENGTHS.. OFF AXIS SUN ANGLES ARE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND WILL START FIRES WITH IN SECONDS. I ALSO BUILT MOTOR DRIVERS AND TRACKERS USING SOLAR CELLS AND 741 CHIPS AND RELAYS. WILL TRACK AND RESET TO MORNING. OR WHERE EVER THE SUN IS ANALOG IS BETTER THAN DIGITAL. DECLINATION AXIS AND RIGHT ACCENTION AXIS ARE BOTH DOABLE. ALSO WATER CIRCULATION PUMPS YOU CAN USE SILICON DIODES AS HEAT SENSORS AND PUMP OPERATOR DETECTORS. DO NOT. DO NOT USE OIL AS A TRANSFER MEDIUM JUST TO FLAMMABLE AT THESE TEMPS. I EASILY PRODUCED HEAT GAIN OF 66-70 PERCENT. WILL MELT SILVER SOLDIER QUICKLY SO MAKE SURE YOU CIRCULATE WATER BEFORE SOLAR ALLIGNMENT. ONE FULL SATELLITE DISH DESIGNS ARE DOABLE. A 5 METER DISH USING REFLECTOR BALL MIRRORS WILL MELT ALMOST ANYTHING AT A FP OF APPROX. 3 IN DIAMETER. I HAVE A HERO 5 METER DISH WITH A 5 FT. FP. UNBELIEVABLE. HEAT. INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS ALSO. MUST USE WELDERS GOGGLES. Around 22.5 kw.

@kengamble8595 6 жыл бұрын

Sure, I'll watch it again ! 😊 Thanks for sharing and take care. 👍

@abcstardust Жыл бұрын

Thanks for another informative video. These mirror techniques are right up my alley!

@TrollFaceTheMan 6 жыл бұрын

As I said in the original video the info about the Aeroplane stripper is very useful, thank you.

@quelinda8413 3 жыл бұрын

Great how to video. Thanks so much for sources and descriptive information. Really appreciate your time providing this information. Thank you. I will watch again too. Just because it's so interesting.

@grayeagleswolves 6 жыл бұрын

This was Really Helpful being an Rv person I can do this and have NO Bills thank you Love the channel

@LightningEagle14 6 жыл бұрын

That is so cool! I love being able to see the focus point.

@pocket83 6 жыл бұрын

Interesting as usual. Thanks.

@esau93631 6 жыл бұрын

Always love to watch your videos! This video got me thinking more about altering the direction of a IR laser beam for a laser microphone used at large distances...

@abettermousetrap 3 жыл бұрын

a well spoken young man. Very interesting and well thought out and put together. Kudos

@ThistlesGarden 6 жыл бұрын

Love the shout outs to other channels, it's my favorite way to find new content.

@king4aday4aday 6 жыл бұрын

If you wanna go bigger, one method I remember mythbusters trying is stretching a mylar foil (space blanket) over a large cylinder (turkey fryer or something), and pulling a vacuum. For that you can either drill a hole on the bottom and add some fittings and pump out some air, or you can also heat it up a little, and then stretch the foil quickly, and as it cools it will stretch the foil in a paraboloid.

@MiguelAbd 6 жыл бұрын

I did get the video last time you uploaded, but I'm fine with watching it again haha

@BeatlesCuber 6 жыл бұрын

Miguel Almeida me too.

@rajatroy1138 6 жыл бұрын

Wow man the spherical mirror focus point was amazing ...

@stevepapaw6615 10 ай бұрын

Excellent presentation, @nighthawkinsight. I've always wanted to make a giant telescope, but my problem was always the cost of the primary mirror. Thanks for sharing.

@MrHanumanthaReddy 11 ай бұрын

I love your way of expression it's very nice thanks

@12thsonofisrael 2 жыл бұрын

Good source for materials I had not thought about.

@ahoahat7919 6 жыл бұрын

Amazing video: it's unbelievable of things you can do, with every day mirrors that you buy at a truckstop LOL awesome video dude! Keep them coming

@barthanes1 6 жыл бұрын

Cool video, and thanks for the tip. I think one of those might be useful in a camping kit.

@jamaicanbutter Жыл бұрын

Wow, this video was very interesting and left me wanting to learn more.

@mico6181 2 жыл бұрын

Very good teacher ! I do enjoy your shows everytime. Tqs.

@anilshirsat4406 3 жыл бұрын

Fantastic demonstration with also clear concept 💡 👌

@chrisellenback6210 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, that's great!!! The applications are limitless

@GrizaLeono 4 ай бұрын

Tre interesa filmeto. Gratulon kaj dankon!

@evapena100 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this video clip, is the first I found of this type. Lvoe to learn something new.

@Moohie 6 жыл бұрын

Love you man , great content

@chriswentzel5339 5 жыл бұрын

7:42 you can see smoke or vapor in the back ground hit the focal point and heat up and rise again...pretty cool Awesome video thanks :)

@atom2319 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for teaching this about mirrors

@VisualBasic6 6 жыл бұрын

neat ! i'll be keeping one in my car for sure !

@itsaaa_meeeeee 6 жыл бұрын

Even better the second time 🖤🖤

@avenuex3731 5 жыл бұрын

Sweet! You might be amazed at how easy it is to PVD an Al coating on glass. You know, just in case you ever wanted a different focal point than a truck mirror.

@dayanidhirath3060 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your efforts

@CaptZenPetabyte Жыл бұрын

Thank you. Ive been looking for something like this for a while to heat a small Sterling Engine for a proof of concept. This will help a lot! 😎🤜💥🤛

@GrizaLeono 4 ай бұрын

Tre interesa ideo! Gratulon kaj dankon pro la montrado!

@fazliwajid611 5 жыл бұрын

You are genius man. Keep it up. I love ur video especially solar tracking. please do some work on solar airconditioning, batteries, mobile energy storage system.

@GREENPOWERSCIENCE 6 жыл бұрын

Awesome video Ben!

@legoman2470 3 жыл бұрын

Are you verified

@superdave1263 2 жыл бұрын

@@legoman2470 Last I checked I am verified.

@BarnabyFalls Жыл бұрын

Excellent work!

@TClockerman 6 жыл бұрын

Watching again because I wanna help out an amazing content creator!

@_Shubham_769 4 жыл бұрын

Amazing video. Very informative for me.

@johnwahlers3363 3 жыл бұрын

Video on a solar concentrator for hot water. I'm thinking copper tubing but I'll let you work out the details of the project. Thanks can't wait to see it.

@AydaWalsh 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome video!- Thanks for sharing!

@Fabio-hc9bv 4 жыл бұрын

I took a parabol mirror(tv) and put reflective foil on it. Worked great. I had to use welding goggles when i burnt wood for testing because it was extremly bright (looking at the spot).

@WhatAWondWorld 3 жыл бұрын

It is interesting. Excellent method! Thanks

@clemkadiddlehopper7705 3 жыл бұрын

the lenticular lenses from old big screen tvs are awesome, too

@rangerbravo 6 жыл бұрын

I'll watch it again. Fellow Michigander here.

@roehle9962 6 жыл бұрын

Know what? I'll watch it again. I won't lie, your videos are so informative and kinda have this hypnotic vibe... 😂

@alihaydartunc7249 3 жыл бұрын

Very clever a technique. Congratulations.

@easymac79 4 жыл бұрын

1:05 GreenPowerScience was one of the first channels I subscribed to like 10 years ago!

@aidanwansbrough7495 6 жыл бұрын

Very cool! That would be very fun to make!

@ABaumstumpf 4 жыл бұрын

First surface mirrors are used mostly for one specific reason: Ghosting. On a normal mirror a part of the light gets reflected by the glass it self. For scientific purposes you very very likely do not want that. The second reason why it is done sometimes is when the optical transparency of the carrier material is not as desired - normal glass mirrors absorb the near IR spectrum. It is not that much of the total power of sunlight. And if you do not need the mirror for "optical" purposes ( i mean like taking photos ) then you can get a big parabolic dish and cover it with aluminium tape, mylar or even tinfoil if done carefully.

@madamlalsharma9646 3 жыл бұрын

Very very nice and useful information

@user-gv3nq5uv4h 3 жыл бұрын

very helpful, thanks.

@jawadnaseef9457 5 жыл бұрын

thank you very much for your video, it is very useful!!

@RexAlfieLee 4 жыл бұрын

That was great, learnt heaps...

@SakellarisNikolaos 2 жыл бұрын

You can try an offset satellite dish by making reflective the surface😊😊

@youwilldiy471 6 жыл бұрын

THANK YOU

@briantw7096 5 жыл бұрын

Still a great video!...please keep them coming

@cnmpscy34 4 жыл бұрын

I subscribed and like to your videos. The project that you're doing are very great perfect for kids who like to do extraordinary projects like yours

@samsworldofrations6996 6 жыл бұрын

Great informative video 👍

@yurikhakhnazarian7664 3 жыл бұрын

very interesting. Thank you very much for nice video

@AngloBoerWarResearch 5 жыл бұрын

Brilliant! I’m a 60 year old from South Africa, and very interested in solar.

@gerrymanuel7640 2 жыл бұрын

thank you, will look for truck rear view mirror

@liveevents9191 2 жыл бұрын

Very nice. Thanks!!

@gearhead1302 5 жыл бұрын

I wonder if you could use fiber optic cable at the focal point to transfer it to wherever you want

@ribeiroflyby9766 4 жыл бұрын

I new member of channel. Im your fan. From Brazil.

@prophesci7773 3 жыл бұрын

It's such an interesting project...hope I can make it too..

@taitelennox4514 6 жыл бұрын

Awesome job

@valveman12 3 жыл бұрын

Great idea!

@user-vq4mt4zd4e Жыл бұрын

great job and thanks

@motsregor3723 3 жыл бұрын

COOL THANKS MAN

@EnjoyerofYoutube 6 жыл бұрын

Your videos are so good, they almost mesmerize the viewer. Before I know it, they've ended, and I've been entertained the whole time.

@munawarkhan4926 5 жыл бұрын

very very nice informational vedio.thanks bro

@UmarFarooq-zq8jt 6 жыл бұрын

Very Excellent sir.

@turgutbelen6374 6 жыл бұрын

I love it. Thanks

@c.b.4548 2 жыл бұрын

Good vid!

@JoseFlores-fh6yq 5 жыл бұрын

Nice video!

@akamjo1 4 жыл бұрын

Congratulations it was great

@Wilder941 6 жыл бұрын

I would love to see a project making a solar generater out of this.

@spod32827 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah with a mini steam turbine setup. If someone could develop a home-scale version of this... we're off the grid man! (except for internet connection obvs.) (and TV)

@nicholasherrera1785 2 жыл бұрын

@@spod32827 ha, well check this guy out for the wifi

@nicholasherrera1785 2 жыл бұрын

I am also interested in setting this up with a steam turbine. If you come across any resources on building one from scratch lmk please.

@thomasroth4695 2 жыл бұрын

@@nicholasherrera1785 check out a “ sterling engine”. Will get you on your way i hope. Good luck

@TelecasterRon Жыл бұрын

Read my post.