Question

(a) Name that part of a box-type solar cooker which allows the sun's heat rays to enter the box but does not allow the inside heat logo out.
(b) Explain why a plane mirror reflector is used in a box-type solar cooker.

Answer 1

Hint: Solar energy is the radiant light and heat from the Sun that is captured by a variety of ever-evolving technologies including solar heating, photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture, molten salt power plants, and artificial photosynthesis. It is an important source of renewable energy, and depending on how it captures and distributes solar energy or converts it to solar power, its technologies are classified as passive or active solar.

Complete answer:
(a) A solar cooker is a device that heats, cooks, or pasteurises beverages and other foods using the energy of direct sunshine. Many modern solar cookers are low-tech and affordable, while others are as powerful or costly as traditional stoves, and modern, large-scale solar cookers may cook for hundreds of people.

Many charitable groups are encouraging their usage worldwide to help cut gasoline expenses and air pollution, as well as to help slow down deforestation and desertification, because they consume no fuel and cost nothing to run. The box-type solar cooker is the most common type of solar cooker. The building and operation of a box-type solar cooker will be discussed in this section.

The following are the components of a box-type solar cooker:
-The black box is a heat-absorbing insulated metal or wooden box that is painted black on the inside.
-As a cover for the box, a glass cover constructed of two sheets of toughened glass joined together in an aluminium frame is employed.
-Hinge-affixed plane mirror reflector — The plane mirror reflector is hinge-affixed to box B.
-The mirror reflector may be angled towards the box at any angle. The mirror is set up in such a way that the reflected sunlight falls on the box's glass lid.
-Cooking Containers — In a box, you'll find a set of blackened aluminium containers.

(b) In a box type solar cooker, a plane mirror reflector is used to get a strong beam of sunlight after reflection from the mirror. The solar cooker is set up in the sun with a plane mirror reflector so that a strong beam of sunlight enters the box via the glass sheet. The heat created by the infrared radiation absorbed by the blackened metal surfaces in the wooden box elevates the temperature of a blackened metal surface to around 100°C.

Note: Solar cookers do not require any fuel. This saves money and protects the environment by preventing pollution. Cooking without carbon dioxide-based fuels reduces carbon footprint. In overcast conditions, solar cookers are less effective. Food takes longer to cook in certain solar cookers than it would on a standard stove or oven. Strong gusts might influence some solar cookers, slowing down the cooking process. Cooking some thick dishes, such as huge roasts and loaves of bread, may be challenging.