[TheForge] crackpottery

[Mike Spencer]

> How bout solar?
> How many square feet of reflective surface does it take to heat a 
> couple of cubic inches of iron to a healthy yellow?
> What's the junkyard tracking mechanism?

Somewhere there must be a huge heap of those 6' diameter satellite
dishes (I only have one I dragged home on junk day.)  They had
positioning motors on them.  Of course, the focal point is too close
but some math, some jiggering with mylar film might do it.  Fill your
yard with them and focus them on a refractory-brick box.  Put a
junk-bin web cam with a filter on each one, have yr computer nudge
each one so as to properly position the sun's disc in the image (more
trig here).  The OFF switch by the anvil causes little electromagnets
to distort the mylar and fuzz the focus.

> All this talk of slacktubsicles leaves me cold.

Yesterday was 10" of sticky snow, then plummet to 10F, ice everywhere,
cold toes in the shop.  Got out my slacktubsicle melter and plugged it
in.  Now it's above freezing, great racket out in the woods from ice
falling off the trees, about to rain.  Welcome sweet springtime.


- Mike
-- 
Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada       .~. 
                                                           /V\ 
mspencer at tallships.ca                                     /( )\
http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/                        ^^-^^