To make the simplest solar concentrator (in common people - a lens) with your own hands, you will need ordinary ice, which can be easily "prepared" at home - in the kitchen. Moreover, the lens should turn out concave, and therefore it is better to use two convex glass covers from modern pans as a form.
Turn off the handle covers and fold them together with the inside. Then, using ordinary adhesive tape or electrical tape, it is necessary to tightly seal the place of their connection, as well as one of the holes for attaching the handle. Please note that the covers must be clean, otherwise the experiment will not work.
Features of manufacturing a solar concentrator
In order for the lens to work correctly, its production requires the most transparent ice, so for freezing it is advisable to use water with a minimum amount of various impurities, well filtered and, better yet, distilled.
Gently fill the water prepared for freezing with a syringe through the remaining open hole in the top cover. The whole form must be filled with water. To get crystal clear ice, freezing must be performed smoothly. This feature is available in modern freezers.
Useful tips for beginner experimenters
If your freezer is not adjustable, then place the form in a thermal bag - this will reduce the speed of freezing, but the transparency of the ice will be higher. You can get ice out of the freezer after about 1-2 days. In order for the lids to be easily separated, it is necessary to warm the mold a little with a household hair dryer.
Do not forget that in the summer period the "life" of the ice lens is very short, so immediately after you get it out of shape, hurry outside to conduct an experiment. Use pieces of polystyrene foam to hold the lens in your hands.
