LINK:http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/solar-concentrator-list-archive/msg00921.html Salvador wrote: > Does anyone knows where can i find information > about the bests curves for trough concentrations? Here are a couple of programs that will help you in drawing the parabolas. http://www.redrok.com/main.htm#chace http://www.redrok.com/main.htm#nick ============================================= Hi Greg; Greg Grochola wrote: > I've been wanting to build a very small prototype > solar concentrator (no more than 1m**2 collecting > area) (as a hobby for some time now but I keep > putting it off). > I'm hoping for an overall efficiency of over 30-40% > (maybe even 50%). The plan is to split the white > light into it's constituency and collect each using > solar cells designed for the appropriate frequencies. > It'll probably look something like this > ---------------------------- ) > - ) / red \ > - ) / > ) ============================ ^ --- green | > - ) | \ > | - ) prism \ blue / > --------+------------------- ) > | > secondary reflecting mirror | > main mirror OK, a cassegrainian optical system. > I'm hoping to collect in the infer-red as well if the > appropriate semiconductor is not too costly. I would > love any advise/suggestions, since i'm starting from > scratch I was also hoping to share the project with > a partner or two. It shouldn't be expensive because > of the size, but if it is we can always scale it > down. Anyone interested? The concept is laudable. However there is a flaw in the use of a prism. Senell's law governs the refractive angle of light. In practical terms this angle is too shallow to efectively separate the light in a optical system of reasonable focal length. You can see this effect by just placing a prism in direct sunlight, and don't use a slit. You will see that while there is color separation the colors are overlaping. If the prism is moved far away the separation is more pronounce but the distance is great. Others have been more sucessful at using dichroic mirrors to separate the light. This is the way it was done in broadcast video cameras. The advantage of the mirror separators is the optical system focal length is much shorter. > - Gregory Grochola Duane -- CUL8ER \ \ \ \ \ \\ \ \ Receiver Powered by\ \ \ \ \ \\ \ \ [*] Thermonuclear \ \Solar\Energy\from the Sun \ /////| Energy(the Sun) \ \ \ \ \\ \ / / /\/ / /| \ \ \ \ \ /\ / \/ / / / | WA0VBE \ \ \ \ / /\ \/ / / \/ /| Ziggy \ \ \/ / / \ \/ \/ /\ | \ / \ \/ / /\ \\ / \ / / | "Red Rock Energy" === ===\ / \ / \ === \ / === Duane C. Johnson, Designer=== === \ \ === / | 1825 Florence St Mirrors,Heliostats,Controls & Mounts| White Bear Lake, Minnesota \ \ / | USA 55110-3364 \ \ | (651)635-5O65 work \ \ / | (651)426-4766 home \ \ | (413)556-659O Fax copyright \ / | (651)583-2O62 Red Rock Energy Site (C)980907 ===\ | redrok@redrok.com (my primary email: address) \ | redrok2@hotmail.com (Hotmail address) \ | duane.johnson@unisys.com (Unisys address) \ | http://www.redrok.com/index.htm (My New Web site) \| These are my opinions, and not that of Unisys Corp. === - To unsubscribe use solar-concentrator-request@cichlid.com Archives ftp://ftp.scruz.net/users/cichlid/public/mailing-list-archives/solar-concentrator.gz Problems to solar-concentrator-owner@cichlid.com ============================== Hi for anyone interested, here is a link to troughs8.zip www.geocities.com/jeremiahchace/extra/troughs8.zip Geocities would not let me put up the .exe so you will have to unzip it. I am the guy who wrote it. let me know if you have any questions on using it. As you will see I am no great programmer, but it does the trick once you figure out where to type in your desired numbers. Jeremiah Chace Rollin45@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 11/29/2000 5:19:05 PM Mountain Standard Time, > redrok@redrok.com writes: > > << > Here are a couple of programs that will help you > in drawing the parabolas. > http://www.redrok.com/main.htm#chace > http://www.redrok.com/main.htm#nick > >> > > There seems to be a problem with both links, at least for me. #chace tells me > the exe. file cannot be found, & the #nick tells me the path is incorrect. Am > using I.E. 5. > This may in fact be something I am doing wrong, would appreciate comments. > regards > steve mackelprang >