DIY Solar Concentrators, Made Better.

Check out my sponsor Brilliant, free for 30 days (and get 20% off a premium subscription!) by using this link: https://brilliant.org/nighthawk In this video we dive into compound parabolic concentrators (CPCs) and their incredible ability to focus light from multiple input angles onto a central target at once. This allows them to provide concentrated solar heat without active solar tracking, as well as increased absorbance from indirect sources (such as scattered light in cloudy weather). The method I use in this video is called a "string construction", which uses a string to simulate the reflection of light rays and sketch out idealized reflective curves. Resources for further reading: Online tool for plotting CPCs with tube collectors (thanks Koen Siteur!): https://www.desmos.com/calculator/ocg... Another great simulation by Matthew Pritchard: http://bit.ly/4lsTm1Y "A Review of the Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) with a Tubular Absorber": https://www.researchgate.net/publicat... "Mathematical Modeling and Simulation of a Compound Parabolic Concentrators Collector with an Absorber Tube": https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/1/287# Power From The Sun e-book, chapter 9: http://www.powerfromthesun.net/Book/c...) Non-Imaging optics article discussing concentration limits of CPCs: https://ebrary.net/204001/engineering... Interactive model of an ordinary parabolic concentrator (great for emphasizing how much light is ordinarily lost at offset input angles): https://demonstrations.wolfram.com/Pa... A special thank you to my top patrons: Aik193, Aleksander, bandit, Bartholomew Spawndoom, Boatyard McBoatface, Brad Alan Armstrong, Brian, Brian Bowles, Bryan Shattuck, Carl Katzenberger, Chris, Christopher Calkins, Christian, Connor Davis, Daniel Bauman, Dan L, Daniel Moore, David Burburan, Dean Maurer, Dustin B, Edward Ivory, Edward Unthank, Eugene Pakhomov, Enzo Breda Lee, Etalon, Evan Hughes, Evan Relf, GadgetPatch, GEOCAHEPUNA, Gusbear, Henner Zeller, Isaac Wiebe, Jedediah Kivi, Jeremy, Jon Hartmann, Johnathon Otte, Jonathan Wilt, Josh Hoppes, Julian Meßmer, JWC, Keith Tucker, Kejie YU, Kris Pockell, Lisa L, Manuel Barkhau, M W, Mark Roth, Martha Williams, Matthias S., Merrill Crawford, Michel Pastor, Moopy (Mike), Oliver, OscarCorx, overra, PabloXIII, Parker Jones, Peter Gordon, PeteyPak, PFC_CMC, RPMatthew, Ryan Shoaf, Sam Hodge, Santiago Perez, Scott Schlesier, Shadow VanDusen, Simone Chiesi, Steve C, Syniurge, Ted Brandston, The Coldrays Team, Trance Maharaj, TWSBI, Walter Montalvo, White Hat, Y@, Yanko Yankulov, Alvaro Figueroa   / nighthawkprojects   Thank you for watching!