tailieunhanh - An Introduction to Building a Model Solar Car

An odd chance it seemed that brought me, the son of a ban- ished rebel, to the King's aid; but life is odd. I rejoiced because it was odd, and more because of the girl. I had a spare bidon of petrol which, with conventional expres- sions of pleasure, I gave to my fellow motorist. We exchanged compliments, and as nobody stared at me askance, I had reason to believe that neither words, actions, nor looks were out of the way. Yet what I said and did was said and done with no more guidance of the mind than the gestures and speech of a mechanical doll | NREL BK-820-30828 Revised 8 23 01 An Introduction to Building a Model Solar Car Student Guide for the Junior Solar Sprint Competition Produced by Krisztina Holly and Akhil Madhani 1 Introduction Welcome to Junior Solar Sprint By competing in Junior Solar Sprint you will learn how to make your own model solar car that will run entirely from the power of the sun. Design You will experience first-hand the process of design. When you design your car you will start with some ideas in your head and turn then into real-life models that work. Design is different than normal problem-solving because you don t know what the problems are you discover and solve problems as you go along -- everyone s challenges will be different there is never one right answer Designers have to deal with tradeoffs. For example when a car designer uses a larger engine for greater performance this usually sacrifices fuel efficiency. In a sports car performance and speed are very important. But in a city car fuel efficiency is more important. So it is up to the designer to decide which are the most important goals. Even though there is no one right answer some answers may be better than others for a particular application. Obviously in Junior Solar Sprint the faster cars will win. How to Get Started You will receive short handouts on a variety of subjects from how to build the wheels to how the solar cells works. These handouts will cover the following topics chassis how to build the frame of the car wheels and bearings how to make wheels that turn power source how the solar panel and motor work transmission how to transfer power from the motor to the wheels body shell how the shell effects car performance In general when you design it is good to keep the different parts in mind but don t worry about the details of each component until you are ready for them. Each handout will be composed of 4 parts purpose ideas concept suggested materials The concept section will raise issues that will help you .