Final Touches - Week Eight

This week the team finished up the sterilizer. The reflective wings were finalized, the mechanism to angle the sterilizer was added and a paint job was done for appearance and practical applications.

To represent the reflective wings that are added to the sterilizer to focus the light energy and add more area to the amount of light it absorbs, cardboard and tinfoil were used. These materials would not be used in for a working prototype because they would not be reflective enough and could catch on fire. Ideally, polished aluminum or tin would be used.

The angle of the sun changes all day and in order to account for that, a mechanism was added to the bottom to change the angle throughout the day. This was a very simple design. A base and hinges were added to the bottom and a block can be used to prop up the main component of the sterilizer. This design is both simple, and effective without using many materials. It is an essential component of the sterilizer because the reflective materials are angled to concentrate direct sunlight.

The entire sterilizer, except the glass and reflective material, were painted black. By painting it black it absorbs more energy and heats faster. Although the outside wood heating will be negligible as far as heating the inside goes but it will mostly help the insulation by reducing the temperature difference across the barrier. In addition to the practical aspect, it also added to the aesthetics of the design

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